Hopefully, many of you will recognize the title from the Jack Black/Kyle Gass satirical rock band 'Tenacious D'. I felt it was a fitting title to discuss a genre of the music scene which goes largely ignored, the tribute band. A tribute band is basically a group of adoring, talented fans who decide to form a band to portray the image and music styles of their idols. The better ones will even create stage sets which are strikingly similar to their counterparts.
I recently had a chance to check out some tribute band shows at Pops Nightclub and concert venue, (popsrocks.com) located in Sauget, Illinois. The shows are usually 'all ages' so I brought my eleven year old daughter Samantha with me to get a small taste of mega acts she may never get to experience.
The first band we saw was 'Strutter', a KISS tribute band formed in 1988 by brothers Bill Sabetta, (Gene Simmons) Tony Sabetta, (Ace Frehley) Rob Bradford, (Paul Stanley) and Troy Powell, (Peter Criss). Although the smaller venue size prohibited the use of the pyrotechnic portion of the show, the rest was about as close to experiencing the real KISS as one could hope for. It certainly didn't hurt, (at least not until AFTER the show) that my daughter and I were practically leaning against the stage directly in front of the speaker stacks making for an ear splitting good time. The voices were spot on, the set looked incredibly realistic, and Bill Sabetta has a tongue that would definitely rival the real Gene Simmons. All the blood, the smoking guitar, the make-up and costumes were, for the most part, true to form. The only complaint I had was the Paul Stanley wig which looked more like a cheap Wal Mart Halloween afro wig. I certainly recommend this band to KISS fans who wish to see 'the hottest tribute band in the world...STRUTTER!!'
Our next foray into the tribute band scene was several weeks later when we got the opportunity to see 'Who's Bad? - The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band'. Coming on the heels of the twenty fifth anniversary of the 'Thriller' release, 'Who's Bad' is headed up by Joseph Bell as Michael Jackson, Kevin Timmons, Vamsi Tadepalli, (founder) Stephen Coffman, Hugh Swaso, and Ray McCall, I must say these guys were the ultimate showmen! I have never seen the real Michael Jackson live but I have to believe that this is as close as it gets. The moon-walking by Joseph, (as Michael) and other choreographed dances by the rest of the cast were lively and in sync at all times. One gets the immediate impression that these guys really enjoy what they do. If you never get to see The King Of Pop perform, at least check out 'Who's Bad?' a band which also deserves the royal treatment.
I went alone to the 'Zoso' show, a band that attempts to capture the spirit and style of Led Zeppelin. There was a lot of hype surrounding this band which also played at Pops in Sauget. The house was packed...standing room only. The large video screens which usually show advertising for upcoming shows and local brews were reserved for showing a feed of the band for those fans who were sitting in the back or at an angle to the stage. As a HUGE Zep fan, I was extremely disappointed in this production. The band consisted of Mike Morgan, (Jimmy Page) Adam Sandling, (John Paul Jones) Johnny Richards, (John Bonham) and Matt Jernigan, (who sounded more like Billy Squier than Robert Plant) I left the show after about forty five minutes shaking my head as to what the fuss was all about.
Last, and certainly not least, I took Samantha to see Chicago based 'Nevermind - A Tribute To Nirvana'. This band was far and away the best of all the tribute bands we'd seen to date. The mellow yet awesome unplugged set on a very realistic stage setting at the beginning left my daughter wondering if this was all they had. Little did she know about what was to come. When they came back out rocking hard and the crowd on the floor started moshing and slam dancing, she realized what the barricades and event security were there for. I saw her eyes almost pop out of her head and I appreciated that we decided to watch the show in the relative safety of the balcony. The guys that make up 'Nevermind' are three siblings, Alex Veldman on bass, Sam Veldman on drums and backing vox, and J. Veldman on guitar and vocals as he takes on the personna of Kurt Cobain. This band is certainly the top shelf of tribute bands as their tour schedule can attest. No need to dress up for this tribute of arguably the best grunge band that ever was... just 'Come As You Are'.
