Tribute acts, good thing or not ?

[coupe deville]

Saw "Thin Lizzy Experience" on Friday, second spot, not bad but I had my beer goggles on. Saw the real thing in 1976, Brilliant and much missed.
What do you guys think of tribute acts ?
A good substitute when you can't see the real thing or somebody profiting on the back of another's talent ??
Anybody seen any really good or bad ones

 

[RodgerDodger]

Saw "Thin Lizzy Experience" on Friday, second spot, not bad but I had my beer goggles on. Saw the real thing in 1976, Brilliant and much missed.
What do you guys think of tribute acts ?
A good substitute when you can't see the real thing or somebody profiting on the back of another's talent ??
Anybody seen any really good or bad ones

All things considered - good entertainment

i've seen quite few - some really good and some really ....well TRAGIC!!!

even the bad ones - they give you a good lagh

 

[Godot]

I think they serve a purpose, they would do their "cover versions" anyway. Limits their act to the Artist(s)'s materiel, but can be entertaining & that's what it's all about really...entertainment!

 

[stats007]

Some of them are better than the real band...

 

[Meldrew2]

I saw a cople of Beatles tributes - "Beetles-UK" (from Rochdale) were good, but "Cheatles" stank!

There's some pretty ropey Abba tributes out there too.....

IMO, it's not pure accuracy that's important, it's stage presence. Some acts can really communicate with the audience, while others just stand there and sing.

 

[trapperjohn]

Nor seen many but Im with RodgerDodger - good entertainment on the whole. Saw a tribute band to Madness (Badness?) once over (not even my sort of music really) but they were an absolute hoot and I would pay to go see them again anywhere. Tribute bands to Queen, seen a few of them - forget it - only one Freddie, ever. Not even sure Paul Rodgers cuts it. Bjorne Again dont cut it either - but pleasant enough.

 

[robert.saunders]

I saw a Madness tribute, they were excellent, but I can't remember the exact act name - which is a problem in its own right, surely

I have seen Bjorn Again and really enjoyed them; Bootleg Beatles however I was very disappointed with

 

[Meldrew2]

I was disappointed with Bjorn Again when I saw them (I got the impression one of the band was off sick and they had got their driver to fill in - he couldn't hold a tune in a bucket)... and really disappointed with Bootleg Beatles the first time I saw them (both these were at Warner hotels - and I won't go again)

The second time I saw Bootleg Beatles was on a cruise ship - they were far better rehearsed and more polished.

I think sometimes the acts (or their agents) take on too many bookings (Cheatles were doing their second gig on NYE when I saw them) and don't take the time to properly sound-check, and as a self-confessed audio nut, poor sound quality really turns me off.

The last "genuine" act I saw was Tina Turner, last November in Orlando. What a show - she really blew me away. Fabulous sound, fabulous staging, fabulous voice. A million times better than any tribute I've seen - just amazing.

We combined the concert with a couple of days at Disney and a week's cruise - but she was worth flying to the USA for on her own.

She's in the UK in March - I've booked tickets for two more concerts. Highly recommended.

 

[AMGeed]

If you like Pink Floyd, try and catch "The Australian Pink Floyd" on tour every year in the UK. Exceptionally good, so much so that David Gilmour invited them to play on his 60th birthday.


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-El3qfc-yR4

 

[agatward]

If you like Pink Floyd, try and catch "The Australian Pink Floyd" on tour every year in the UK. Exceptionally good, so much so that David Gilmour invited them to play on his 60th birthday.

I second this... absolutely fantastic both live and on the DVDs. See http://www.aussiefloyd.com/ for tour dates.

 

[masher_uk]

The ones I've seen have been excellent, inexpensive entertainment.

banditdave - If you like your Lizzy then, checkout http://www.limehouselizzy.co.uk/ when they're round your way. A couple of the members have played alongside the real deal. http://www.wholelottaled.co.uk/ are also outstandging!

 

[coupe deville]

The ones I've seen have been excellent, inexpensive entertainment.

banditdave - If you like your Lizzy then, checkout http://www.limehouselizzy.co.uk/ when they're round your way. A couple of the members have played alongside the real deal. http://www.wholelottaled.co.uk/ are also outstandging!

Funny you should say that. Limehouse Lizzy are playing the Birdwell Club in Barnsley 14th March. Tickets £7 bargain I'd say, might get to see em if I can make it fit

 

[kraftwerk]

I made up a few tribute band names...

Nearly Furtado
Not Was (Not Was)
Vanessa Parody
Wurzel Homage
Geoff Leppard
Jamiroquiet
The Fibbertines
Nigh-on Adams
Damon Allbut and Slur
Ultrapprox
Silly Allen
Phoney Christie

and my personal favourite...

Fake That.

 

[Frank O' Phile]

Went to see the Smythes before Christmas. They were very good (singer even looked like Mozza) and they were talented in their own right, but the amps were all turned up to 11 and the sound was crappy.

 

[grober]

I'm going to be in a minority here I fear but so called "tribute bands" are not my cup of tea. The bands they copy ( be it visually or by playing their material) are famous because they were in some way original or unique. Almost all wrote their own material or put their own particular interpretation on a song. However the most important thing was they were "of their time". They reflected how people felt at a particular time - relationships,social issues of the day, youth movements or fashions,even world politics or events all influenced how they wrote or performed their music. No"copy" however good or faithful to the original can truly duplicate that feeling.

Far better to go and see the hundreds of new young talented artists writing and performing their own unique material all over the UK today. :bannana: There's a big music festival in Glasgow at the moment "Celtic Connections" It runs for about a month in January/February. http://www.celticconnections.com/ Its jam packed with talented young and old musicians from all over the world playing a unique brand of vibrant traditional music of today.
By watching these artists struggle to communicate their message to their audience-you become part of the event too-its your unique experience never to be repeated.
I guess what I am saying is watching new live music is being a participant, watching tribute bands is being a spectator.

Who knows one day you may be able to utter the ultimate " I saw them before they were famous when they were just starting out in 2009"

 

[bouncer]

I saw a Madness tribute, they were excellent, but I can't remember the exact act name - which is a problem in its own right, surely

I have seen Bjorn Again and really enjoyed them; Bootleg Beatles however I was very disappointed with

I saw a Madness tribute band in Blackpool that were excellent called Badness, couldn't tell them from the real thing.

Seen QEII Queen tribute at the White Tower also in Blackpool they were on for hours the place was packed.


sTeVe

 

[Mr E]

I've played / depped for a couple of tribute bands, and have also been in band doing orignal and covers material.

The tribute bands - as long as they are good - provide a means of enjoying a live performance when the original either doesn't exist any more or tours infrequently / never. I've never worked with any that dothis from what i would call an interlectual perspective - there's got to be soul and emotion behind what is being played, not just a mechanical reproduction of notes. So when I've done this, I've concentrated on the syle and sound and the general shape of solos - if the band has required a note-for-note copy then i walk away.

The guys I've played with have been in it becasue they love the music - and that usually comes out in the live experience. When it's a more "crank the handle" approach (and unfortunately most of the ABBA and similar tribute bands fall into this category IMHO) you might as well listen to a few albums with your friends and dance around the living room.

The Musical Box (Genesis) are superb - they work a lot behind the scenes with Mike Rutherford and the original masters to get things right and are real anoraks about the band. Two or three of the Floyd tributes are very good (the Aussie one being the best, I reckon). Best ones I've seen are a Madness one a few years back and The Hamsters - although they wouldn't bill themselves as a tribute band (and they do really good original stuff too) they do cracking ZZ Top and Hendrix sets.