Can Someone Explain Why Anyone Would Want to See a "Tribute Band"?

I enjoy the occasional Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) show and I saw the genuine Grateful Dead countless (at least I lost count) times.

Sometimes I'm just happy to get the hell out of the house and hear some live music. I enjoy being around other people who are also enjoying themselves.

 

When you go and see a 'real' band and they happen to do a cover of a song you really like, do you put up a stink or do you just enjoy it?

 

There's a local Steely Dan tribute band here in Iowa City called the Fez (believe it or not), and they're terrific. I first saw them at a free arts festival, but I'd pay to see them again. Why? First, they're very talented musicians playing some of my favorite music. Second, it's fascinating and fun to see how they recreate the Steely Dan sound (and they do a fantastic job). Third, I doubt that Steely Dan themselves sound like this live today -- in other words, they're probably more true to the sound of the classic 70's albums than Donald and Walter would be. And last, they're a lot of fun. They obviously do this because they love the music, and the band. They're not in it for the money -- they only play sporadically.

Oh, and my 7 year old son digs them in a big way, which lets me share my love of Steely Dan with him.

 

I saw Def Leppard in concert a few years ago and I think they should of stopped touring. I can see a tribute band being better.

 

I enjoy it, because they are playing a good song, not indulging in some ridiculous fantasy. The answer to the OP's question is "no, I can not". I find the whole concept incredibly depressing.:thumbsdn:

 

I'll see The Musical Box any time, any place.

 

Can anyone explain to me why people would like to have fun and spend time with other people?

 

Back in the early 90's I used to see the Bruce Springsteen tribute band "Backstreets" in clubs around north Jersey. I'm not a big Springsteen fan but I always thought they were a decent band. Better than most of the other local bands at the time,who were playing covers by a variety of different bands and a couple of lame originals.

 

I would pay to see The Osaka Ramones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOxTMgzYAa8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wOmkFTR_o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23e0Bfahry0

 

I saw a great Cheap Trick band in the mid-90s called Mo's Dream Police that were great. They were playing stuff that I never heard CT play to top it off. To me, it's a great potential opportunity to hear something besides the greatest hits.

There's also a group of professional musicians in the the Chicago area called Tributosaurus (www.tributosaurus.com) that covers a band per month. Take a look at their setlist link and look at the variety of bands that they cover.

 

Especially when there are waveforms to be analysed.

I saw the Abba tribute band Bjorn Again at Reading the year when Nirvana played. They were happily trotting out the Abba hits and a few songs in they played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in the style of Abba. Literally thousands of previously disinterested audience members rose to their feet and started dancing and from then on in the audience (me included) were putty in their hands. This is one of my favourite musical memories, slotted inbetween being bored out of my head by hundreds of crappy non-tribute bands.

 

Back in my barhopping days I saw a Rolling Stones tribute band. They were pretty good, and by my sixth beer it may as well have been the Stones...

The singer also fronted a Doors tribute band. He pulled it off pretty well (no, not literally)

 

Fantasy of what? Becoming famous as a cover band? I doubt any of them are that naive. It's a celebration of music so I'm baffled by how this puts anybody off.

 

That's the definitive answer!

 

How could you not have fun at something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KISMm14C5gU

 

I saw The Musical Box live performance of Genesis' Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in November. The musicianship and accuracy of the performance was impressive, including original Genesis slides and Peter Gabriel's costumes. Every detail was spot on. It was a great experience and after awhile you couldn't help but buy into the illusion that it was the classic Geneis line-up performing live.

 

I currently play drums in a Doors tribute band in the UK: The Strange Doors. We've been getting quite a bit of work lately and having an absolute blast.

We try to look the part, but sound the part is more important. Our "Jim" puts on a great show ... and we recently acquired a vintage Gibson organ and Fender Rhodes piano bass!

Check out this clip from a gig in London last weekend ... it's all about having a good time. Why the hell not?

http://youtu.be/Dbi9bWdqlQo

Cheers!

 

In the future Rock Bands and their estates will make millions franchising their artistc brand to bands that will tour the world.
The beginning has really started with artists playing their classic albums as showpieces.
Next will be the band name with younger musicians in place of any of the original.
There will be a Rolling Stones USA and/or Rolling Stones Euro playing at the same time using classic albums as the centerpieces.

Eventually it will be completely about the music and not the musicians.

Normally I would have thought that this stuff will fall out of style, but with an electric digital media creating an endless web of info, every artist that ever lived will have their own cult following.

See ya' in the next world
Don't be late

 

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet. Most tribute bands are quite compressed compared to the originals, many to the point of being brickwalled. :thumbsdn:

Right on! "Real" rock bands never indulge in any ridiculous fantasies.

 

...unless they are a Beatles tribute band.

 

This made me laugh out loud!

 

I used to feel the same way as the OP until about 15-20 years ago when I saw Backstreets down the Jersey shore. I am not sure if it was the large group I went with, the fact that I was on vacation, the massive quantity of beer consumed or maybe the band was just that good, but it was one of the most fun shows I've ever seen. After a couple of hours, they were Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The only other tribute band I've seen was Sir Rod, and just like his career, the first set (Faces and early solo hits) was tremendous and the second set (post '77 fluff) was pretty lame.

 

Great songs are great songs. Regarding tribute bands -As someone who loves music why WOULDN'T I want to watch a bunch of musicians play some potentially play some great songs in a live setting if it's done well.

Also there sometimes is that added benefit of tribute bands playing songs that the original band never played in concert.

 

Last year I saw a Beatles tribute band called Rain. I thought that it was a lot of fun listening to Beatles music performed live. The band was really pretty good. As most Beatles tribute bands, Rain changed their clothes to reflect the different beatle eras.

Recently I saw a Steely Dan tribute band called Reely Dan. I think that the venue that they performed in had a lot to do with how poor they sounded. They played at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights Illinois. The rear wall is curved and it is all brick?? The sound bounced everywhere. Plus, they played TOO DAMN LOUD!! Steely Dan music should not be played real loud.