I'm torn over this subject. At one of my local venues you can go and see a tribute band any day of the week. There are some awful ones. I can kind of see the point for bands no longer with us but sometimes you get tributes to still touring bands like Greenday etc.

I haven't yet seen a decent Stones tribute, but then I'm a bit fussy. Has anyone seen a decent one? I can see the point if they nailed, for example, the Mick Taylor or Brian Jones era.

Who's Who are execllent and the Keith Moon guy is amazing. I once saw an excellent Gram Parsons tribute act - made better by the fact that they didn't try to dress up or pretend to be the real thing but concentrated on the music. The ACDC act I've seen with both singers was Highwire - an excellent band excet the Bob Scott guy thinks he actually IS Bon Scott and has an awful premadona attitude and was very rude to people coming up to him afterwards.

The good points for me are:
1. it encourages people to see live music
2. it gives musicians an earning
3. when done well, it can recreate a band in its peak

Now on to the bad points:
1. it takes audiences away from seeing original live music that they've not heard before
2. some members of the bands start to belive they are really great - as opposed to a caberet act copying someone else
3. many venues stop doing "local" music in favour of these tribute acts, meaning less opportunities for local acts

Btw, Tatters, thanks for the Farley/McCartney interview, funny.

~"Love is Strong"~

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buffalo7478
a sad waste of time

oh my goodness..yes! If a band wants to play covers, play covers by all means, but pretending to be the band is lame-o. If you missed the real thing, we now have access to youtube -- and the ability to see all the greats at their peak at the click of a button! Tribute bands are the antithesis of rock'n'roll.

The Floyd tribute band The Machine is excellent.

They can be great fun. The Counterfeit Stones, for example, do what they do with both love and humour. When you haven't seen the original a tribute band can be really authentic. I know I'll be slaughtered for saying that and I've never seen a Stones tribute that I thought authentic but the Bootleg Beatles and Bjorn Again were/are fantastic.

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rebelrebel
They can be great fun. The Counterfeit Stones, for example, do what they do with both love and humour. When you haven't seen the original a tribute band can be really authentic. I know I'll be slaughtered for saying that and I've never seen a Stones tribute that I thought authentic but the Bootleg Beatles and Bjorn Again were/are fantastic.

The Counterfeit Stones are excellent, as are the Cavern Beatles. If you acknowledge that the halycon days are gone and that to see the Stones on the farewell tour (although this could turn out to be a Sinatra type farewell) will cost a months salary, then £10-15 to see a tribute band, sing along with all the great songs, well where's the harm. At least you know you won't feel a hand on the shoulder from one of the purists as they wouldn't be seen dead at a tribute gig, wouldya......

x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-21 00:04 by tatters.

the japanese band brown sugar are exceptional !!
they dont take anything away from, the current stones but provide a 60 s 70 s stones to perfection ,something we'll never see again , i think its great , superb playing !

[www.myspace.com]

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buffalo7478
a sad waste of time

Totally agree!

Here's a show I saw a few times that I really enjoyed. The Music of Led Zeppelin, performed by members of the band Zebra, backed by a full symphony orchestra. Loud and surprisingly intense. Actually, I always wished Robert Plant would do a tour like this.

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Rockman
Opinion mmmmm let's see......They are there if ya need 'em ...

absolutely the best answer

they pretty much ALL SUCK

There's an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I have no problem at all with tribute bands, in fact I do admire the fact that some tribute bands really try to nail the sound,look and feel of great rock bands during thier peak era. That being said I have seen maybe a dozen tribute bands over the years. I don't plan ahead to go see them, its more of me being in the right place at the right time and then I will buy tickets at the door.

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its good to be anywhere
There's an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

It's also a great form of free advertising for the band that's being imitated, which is why tribute bands are rarely ordered to cease their activities.

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BluzDude

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Rockman
Opinion mmmmm let's see......They are there if ya need 'em ...

absolutely the best answer

Sure, but the same could be said about anything else. Hookers, intoxicants, commemorative coins ....

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Mathijs

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Naturalust
Lame, just really lame. To put so much energy into trying to be someone else?

I have been in a Stones tribute band. And what we tried was not to be the Stones, but we tried, in a way, extend the Stones. So, let's not copy Gimme Shelter from Philly '72, but let's try to play Can't You Hear Me Knocking as if it was played by the Stones in Philly '72. Let's play Paint it Black, but like the Stones would have done it in Chicago in 1969.

In this way there really is a lot to be explored. And, it is true -while most bands struggle to get a gig once in a while, we hit the tribute band circuit and had to decline gigs, even ones paying lots of money.

Mathijs

The way you put it Mathijs I can understand, even respect your efforts. Certainly alot of new ground to be covered there and new ground is what rings my bell.

I imagine you could take that to the extreme and use the popularity of the band to secure more musical opportunities for yourself in many ways. Any way it takes to make a living is this day and age deserves respect.

But there is something more spiritually rewarding in gaining the popularity based on your own original compositions and original sound that would seem to be lacking when the draw is based on the original band being paid tribute to. Some people are in it for the money some for other reasons. But you gotta eat and pay the bills so more power to you Mathijs! peace

saw the Blushing Brides a couple times last year; once in Boston and once in London (Ontario), they are a Stones 'tribute' band. very entertaining and inclined to play 'obscure' tracks and B sides as opposed to all warhorses, all the time, which is cool. they started back in the late 70s when the only other 'tribute' bands were beatles and doors ones. during that period they were doing 250 gigs a year, a huge number for any band, let alone a tribute act. at one point they canned the Stones thing and went 'for real' but that dive bombed, and so back to the Stones thing it was. i'm not a huge fan of tribute bands per se, but i like the Brides, they are good at it. they're still doing 50 or so gigs a year.

Both The Counterfeit Stones and the Rollin' Stoned (UK tribute bands) are great for a boozy night out on the town with your mates.

Here's the Rollin' Stoned complete with an angelic Brian Jones!





Here's The Counterfeit Stones.

I went to see Flight to Mars. A UFO tribute band featuring Mike McCready from Pearl Jam last night. Really good. A lot of fung. Pretty cool to see the guitar palyer from a major band like Pearl Jam decide to do a tribute band as as little side project.

So many nasty comments here. What's the problem?

I play bass in a Stones cover band and guitar in another one. So what? Should I feel guilty for something?

It's fun, you know?

Last week I went to see a concert of classical music. Technically a "cover" band!

C

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21stcenturystones
they pretty much ALL SUCK

How fortunate you are to have seen them all to be able to offer that opinion

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andrewt

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buffalo7478
a sad waste of time

oh my goodness..yes! If a band wants to play covers, play covers by all means, but pretending to be the band is lame-o. If you missed the real thing, we now have access to youtube -- and the ability to see all the greats at their peak at the click of a button! Tribute bands are the antithesis of rock'n'roll.

Limehouse Lizzy play Lizzy songs very well but make no attempt to be Lizzy. The bad Bon Jovi tribute I saw pretended to the band. So I don't think they all attempt to be the band.