Even better than the real thing

There are secret selves lurking deep within certain average-looking men and women. By day they hold down day jobs and positions of responsibility, by night they unleash their inner rock monsters. Taking Rimbaud’s “I is another” as their oracle, some metamorphose into Elvis, others become Bono, and then there’s Nirvana, and Abba... not to mention Jimbo Morrison.
A couple of weeks ago, Temple Bar Music Centre played host to a sight normally seen at Croke Park, Slane or Lansdowne Road: people in full U2-disciple regalia, starting to queue hours in advance of a show. The venue was packed that night with people desperate to hear U2 music in a live setting – as performed, in this case, by the tribute band Vertigo. Fans, it seems, want to see their favorite bands’ songs performed, no matter who is playing them!
With acts such as Zoo Station (another U2 tribute outfit), Pearl Jem, the Australian and Irish Pink Floyds, Limehouse Lizzy, The Back Doors, Classic Clapton, and Stairway to Zeppelin playing in Ireland over the next few months, there is indeed something for everyone on the cover band scene. In some cases, the names alone deserve kudos: Led Zepplica, Abba Cadabra, the Bees Knees (Bee Gees), Elton Tom, Are We Them (REM), Bjorn Again and the Floydian Slip (Pink Floyd). Indeed, grand scale stage shows like The Bee Gees Experience and Elvis: the Las Vegas Show constitute near theatrical spectacles.
Having witnessed Depeche Mode at The Point in July and U2 several times during the Vertigo tour, I was curious to see how the Depeche Mode tribute band D-Mode and U2 imitators Vertigo would compare with the real thing .
Although lacking the flair of Dave Gahan and the boys, D Mode managed to achieve a sound very close to the original – and attracted the typical black clad Depeche crowd. Sean Barron (who features in the role of Martin Gore) explains what he believes draws people to the shows.
“I think we have a big following because Depeche Mode don’t play Ireland that often,” he says, “and it’s a perfect opportunity to meet other fans and simply hang out, have a great evening and listen to great music. I don’t think we are your typical tribute band. We play the music of Depeche Mode, but we don’t try to look or act like them.”
Vertigo, on the other hand, have been playing together for less than a year, but make a good stab at looking like U2. They put on a convincing show, including songs U2 themselves haven’t performed in years.
“I get paid much better doing this than the day job,” explains lead singer Derek Power, who sports Bono’s signature cowboy hat and shades. “Most places you get a fixed fee, but places like TBMC you take the door – so if there’s a good crowd you make much more. But it’s a risk if no one comes.”
Stephen Curran of Wonderland Promotions believes that the bubble burst two or three years ago on the tribute act scene. “ We’ve seen a sharp decrease in attendance, despite the growing number of bands,” he says. “We’ve had some disasters, and overall less people seem to be turning up at shows, with a few exceptions like the Stone Roses Experience.”
Wonderland, based in Belfast, promote all sorts of acts, but they do a decent line in rock-related tribute bands. “We thought when Bon Jovi came out with a new CD that Bon Giovi would have experienced a big increase in ticket sales,” Curran adds, “but I didn’t notice much of difference, which isn’t promising for the future of the scene.”
But Derek Power knows how to make the business economical.
“We started playing The Hub last September,” he says, “which is much smaller than TBMC. We got a good crowd there, without any posters on the billboards, just the web and posters in all the hostels. Then we did Eamonn Doran’s and then TBMC. When I went on the stage in the TBMC I thought I turned up at the wrong gig, it was packed and they we’re all screaming.”
In fact the band has played for Bono’s wife Ali, at a Chernobyl Children’s Project event.
“A person from the charity saw us at a gig and recommended us to play at the send-off party,” Powers recalls. “Ali was really nice and very down to earth. When we were playing we saw her going through the crowd with one of her sons. He was dragging her back looking strangely at the stage. She said later to us that her son said, ‘I didn’t know daddy was here!’ We were flattered by that!”
Irish Times writer Kevin Courtney also has an alter ego: he is a journalist by day and rocker by night. Currently in a Britpop tribute band called Indie Head, he has also been in The Madchester Experience for the past four years, doing Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Primal Scream covers.
“I’ve attempted to write songs in the past, but quickly learned that it’s better left to the experts,” Courtney says. “ I’d love to be able to write my own music and have loads of hit records. My least favourite part of being in a tribute band is the crushing realisation that we’re not really pop stars, just pale, pathetic, low-rent imitations of pop stars. But the best part of it is the fun of pretending to be real pop stars, just for a couple of hours every night. We may not be able to fool anyone in the audience, but we’ve gotten very good at fooling ourselves.
“My biggest goal would be if Radiohead or Oasis or Blur were playing a big gig in Dublin, to have everyone decide to come to see us instead, because they reckon we’re better than the real thing. I also think if we’re replicating a band on stage, then we should also be able to replicate their riches and lavish lifestyle offstage (laughs).”
When asked what promotional advice he would offer to those seeking to break into the tribute band business, Stephen Curran says: “Be a good musician. A few haven’t pulled it off because they were horrible live and didn’t even bother to learn to play their instruments. The more exposure you get, then more likely people are to want to see you play, and that is the way to develop a following.”
Where does one draw the line though? Are there any acts that simply should not be ‘covered’? According to Kevin Courtney, it’s when you start seeing a copy of a copy: “Don’t ever do a tribute band to a tribute band. Nobody wants to see The Almost Complete Stone Roses, the Fake Counterfeit Stones or ReBjorn Again!”
So that’s agreed, then...