In a recent e-mail exchange with my good friend, Pencil Storm’s own Ricki C., there was mention of the growing trend of music venues featuring mostly tribute bands. Ricki C. noted this as a “rock & roll industry-wide plague.” His insight and everpresent knack for a great turn of phrase inspired me to write this. I understand that venues must have a business model that works, and if this is what the people want, they can have it. I say no thanks. Night after night of tribute bands and the growing abandonment of original music is downright depressing. I am trying to think if I have ever seen a tribute band… I am confident the answer is no. Cover bands, sure, but a band that just pretends to be someone else. I don’t really get it. This phenomenon is apparently nationwide. I live in Virginia, an hour or so outside of D.C., and I know I am seeing the negative effects of this growing plague. Read on…
While I could make a long list of many venues from Richmond, VA to D.C., let me just elaborate on two. My wife and I have been frequent visitors to The State Theater in Falls Church, VA and to The Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA. Both are on our side of D.C., they are a fairly suburban, so getting to them is easier than downtown D.C. and both have affordable hotels nearby so we can make a full night of it. I will start in Falls Church.
My wife and I have seen bands at the State Theater including X, The Smithereens, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers (multiple times), The Alarm and The Psychedelic Furs to name just a few. Kix played there within the last couple of years. D.C. punks Scream played at the premiere of a skateboarding documentary movie called Blood and Steel. These are older bands, yes, but there are plenty of new bands that used to appear at the venue as well. Sadly, it’s been a year and a half or more since our last visit. Why? Well, here is a taste of the latest calendar for the venue:
Get Poison’d – Tribute to Poison
Badfish – Tribute to Sublime
The Dave Matthews Tribute Band (These guys couldn’t even come up with a clever name, let alone an original song, apparently.)
Greggie and the Jets – Tribute to Elton John (maybe these guys shouldn’t have even tried to come up with a clever name.)
The Stranger – Tribute to Billy Joel
Nirvani – A Nirvana Tribute Experience
Tusk – The World’s Number One Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Really, World’s Number One?)
Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience (What’s better, world’s number one, or the ultimate?)
That, my friends, is four months’ worth of shows, with an ‘80’s cover band or two, a couple of comedy shows and against all odds, The Smithereens featuring Robin Wilson of Gin Blossoms thrown in there. I’m sorry, but that’s just pathetic.
UHH, THIS IS NOT BRETT MICHAELS, BUT I GUESS YOU CAN GET POISON’D AND PRETEND HE IS.
My second example is the Tally Ho Theater. At least this place hasn’t surrendered altogether, but the plague is setting in. My wife and I have been there many times, and we like it. We’ve seen Buckcherry, Kix (multiple times), Faster Pussycat (multiple times), American Jetset, Enuff Z’Nuff, Sponge, Tom Kiefer Band (Cinderella), and plenty of other great - if somewhat older - bands. Now for the latest look at the Tally Ho schedule:
The Ten Band – Tribute to Pearl Jam
Get Poison’d – Tribute to Poison (playing the circuit I guess.)
U2topia – Tribute to U2
The Rush Experience – Tribute to Rush
Girlfriend in a Coma – A Tribute to Morrissey and The Smiths (Does the world really need this…? Good name though.)
Eyes of the Nile – Iron Maiden Tribute Band
Philadelphia Freedom – A Tribute to Elton John (Maybe the aforementioned Greggi and the Jets can open.)
Shot Thru the Heart – The Bon Jovi Experience
The Grateful Dub – A Reggae Tribute to The Grateful Dead (I guess they are at least putting a spin on things.)
Eaglemania – The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute Band
Red Not Chili Peppers – Tribute to Red Hot Chili Peppers
Best of Foo – Tribute to Foo Fighters
Again, those are all shows scheduled over the next four months. Now to be fair, The Tally Ho has a lot more shows than The State, and so there are a large number of original bands scheduled in that time frame as well. My point is though, it didn’t used to be this way. Where did all these bands come from? Is it all about nostalgia? Do all of these shows draw good crowds? I don’t know, I’ve never been. I once contemplated going to see Live Wire, an AC/DC tribute band, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I hate this trend, I really do. And I’m kind of mad at Ricki C. for making me realize how huge it is. I look forward to your comments.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital and grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He just turned 60 years old, he has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house (and sometimes further).