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Musical Tributes
By
Tina K Burton
A couple of weekends ago, we went to see the tribute band 'Rumours of Fleetwood Mac'. I have never seen them before, and being a Mac fan, I was really looking forward to it. As Fleetwood Mac split up a few years ago, there's not much chance of seeing them live, so it was the next best thing. I thought they were great!Before the gig, I was chatting to their roadie John, who asked me what my favourite tracks were. There were too many to mention, but I particularly like 'Gypsy' and 'Dreams'. He said he would see if they'd dedicate 'Dreams' to me.
The show started with a recorded message from Mick Fleetwood saying that this year is the 30th anniversary of the Rumours album, (which came out in February 1977), thanking the fans for their loyal support throughout those last thirty years and that he hoped we'd have a great evening with his friends Rumours of Fleetwood Mac.
After Mick's message, the band came on stage, the lighting did its thing and the music began. The opening song 'Gypsy', led us into the greatest hits period, which included 'Everywhere', 'Sara', and 'Big Love'.
Centre stage, Louise Rogan did a fantastic job as Stevie Nicks. Her 'Rooms on Fire', and 'Dreams' - which she did kindly dedicate to me - were brilliant. She sounds like Stevie, and looks the part too.
The band then went into the earlier, Peter Green era, performing amongst others, 'Black Magic Woman', 'Oh well' and of course 'Albatross'.
After a break, they came back and did the whole 'Rumours' album.
They thrilled us with 'I Don't Want to Know', 'Gold Dust Woman', 'Go Your Own Way', and 'Second Hand News'. Amanda Kostadinov's 'Oh Daddy' and her hauntingly beautiful 'Songbird' had us all in a melancholy mood, but we were soon stamping our feet again with the rest of the more upbeat songs. The show ended with the fantastic 'Chain' and its instrumental piece at the end, which most people will recognise as the Formula 1 theme tune, which gave bass player Ian Robinson a chance to show what he could do. To rapturous applause, they did an encore of two more songs, which had the audience on their feet, clapping and dancing.
It was a great concert and I would definitely see them again.
I remember a couple of years ago we saw a tribute band to Sting's group The Police. We didn't intend to watch them, but they were playing at a hotel we were staying in, so we decided it would be an interesting way to spend the evening. I have to say, they were good too. The lead singer sounded a lot like Sting, and they did all the famous Police songs.
So, what do you all think of Tribute or Cover bands?
If you search on the internet, there are literally hundreds, for almost every group you can think of - past and present. Now obviously some are going to be better than others, and whilst a few of them might look like the original artists, they might not sound like them. I think for me, it is less important how they look, and more important that they sound like the group they are portraying - they can't really call themselves a tribute band if they sound nothing like them.
And I don't just mean the vocals either. They should I feel, get everything right - from the bass player, to the keyboard, guitar and drums. Apparently, there are some very good tribute bands for The Who, Pink Floyd, T-Rex, Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones.
Would you go to see one, or do you think they are a poor imitation of the real thing?
If a group I liked were still together and touring, I would love to watch them; my first preference would always be the originals. I've only just discovered that Foreigner - anyone remember them? - have been touring, and I would really like to see them, but I've missed the opportunity as they are now at the end of their tour.
Some people feel that tribute bands are taking an easy route and cashing in on the name of the original artists - if they are reasonable musicians, why don't they write and perform their own songs instead?
That may be true for certain cover bands, but I don't think it's so for all of them.
Many just love the act they represent, are paying homage to their idols and keeping their music alive. They are playing it for the hundreds of fans who want to remember their favourite group, and bringing it to a whole new generation of people who might otherwise not listen to it. Some of those people might then go out and buy the original albums.
Of course, tribute bands will never be quite the same as the originals, although I read a review of one, which said they were better than the original group - I'm not quite sure what the author meant by that!
I've heard someone ask, 'why pay to go see a fake band when you can stay at home and listen to the original CD?' Well the answer to that is - yes we can stay in listening to a CD, but it's about the whole experience too isn't it, visually as well as auditory - the lighting, crowd, performance and atmosphere - which you certainly don't get in your own home.
If you enjoy listening to and watching live bands, tributes are a great way to spend an evening, and not as expensive as paying to see the real group. Wasn't there a big hoo-ha a while ago because Barbara Streisand tickets sold for £500 each? And more recently, with the reformation of Led Zeppelin and their one-off concert next year, their tickets are apparently selling for thousands of pounds. It's okay if you can afford it, but a lot of people can't.
Many original bands are no longer together or don't tour anymore, so the cover band are the closest we can get to seeing our favourite group live. Some of these acts are so good, that they do sound very much like their idols; and if you are listening to the music you grew up with, for a couple of hours you can be transported back to your youth, reliving the memories that the songs evoke. You never know, you might even find yourself on your feet clapping, singing and dancing, like I did.
Earlier columns.
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