If you happened to be within earshot of the Gexa Energy Pavillion just on the outskirts of downtown Dallas, you may have heard the familiar sounds of screaching guitars and singers doing their best to emulate their musical heroes.
Saturday night, local radio station JackFM hosted its first JackThrowback festival featuring some of the best cover bands playing rock from the 70s,80s & 90s. Overall it was a decent idea, though you wouldn't necessarily know that based on the attendance or crowd interest.
The four bands, Queen Nation, Fan Halen, Guns 4 Roses and headliner Back In Black. all took their turns with sets close to an hour or more trying to lure the audience into their musical time machine by playing hits that make us want to dance in our seats or do our best air guitar.
Overall, the concert was a great idea. It was a good mix of music to suit all. That's not to say the music itself always sounded good.
The show started with Queen Nation, obviously a Queen tribute band. Their setlist was short and simple, yet they played the songs all of us remember. Lead singer Gregory Finsley had the stage presence of Freddie Mercury and did a very decent job with his vocals. Guitarist Mike McManus looked all the part of Queen guitarist Brian May, including the trademark hair. His tone was dead on, and his guitar solos matched with the original. The crowd loved them, and responded well to the opening act.
Now, before the next band came out, a couple had decided they wanted to get married onstage at this show. Now while the joining in holy matrimony is all good, a rock show isnt the place for it. The couple came complete with their own pastor. The "ceremony" seemed to last forever and no doubt if most people wanted to witness a wedding, they would turn to their telvision sets for a reality show or reruns of the royal wedding. Really, keep this kind of stuff in a church or the palace of love of your choice. Not at a rock 'n roll show.
After those several wasted minutes of love and bliss, the Van Halen tribute band Fan Halen took the stage. Sporting all the looks and details right down to the clothing, the band nailed every song they played. Lead guitarist Derek Fuller did his best Eddie Van Halen impressions with screaming solos, finger tapping, and improvisations that would make even Edward proud. Opening their set with Panama, it was quickly obvious they were well versed in the Van Halen language of instrument tones and respect for the originals without straying away from the true sound of the song itself. Even the lead singer was able to have the right moves of David Lee Roth including the signature jumps, twists and turns. Throw in some audience participation from the Diamond Dave impersonator, and it amounted to an awesome show that brought the crowd to its feet.
The third band to take the stage was Guns 4 Roses and this is where the show lost some of its cover band validity. It even showed by the audience response between songs. While frontman Jason tried admirably to pull off the high pitch roughness of Axl Rose, he fell short several times struggling to fully finish the note before falling off as if he was losing his voice. His attire was Axl friendly, from the bandana and sunglasses, all the way down to the red kilt. Looked the part, but just did not sound it. Slash, played by lead guitaist Eamonn, seemed to have the persona and feel of the real deal, but his solos seemed to lack the true depth of the song. Even the simple opening riff of Sweet Child Of Mine sounded like it was missing one important note as the lick repeated itself. It wasnt just the performers, but the overall sound itself seemed to lack the clean transition from instrument to amp. Maybe this can be pinned to the sound engineers, or maybe even the venue acoustics. Still, the sound appeared to be louder and more distorted than it had to be.
The final act of the evening was headliners Back In Black, the AC/DC cover band and they did not disappoint. Lead singer Darren Caperna hit every note with a rock fluid style almost bringing back the soles of Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. His stage presence kept the band in flow, feeding off of guitarist Mike Mroz (Angus Young) and his clean riffs. Complete with the schoolboy look just as the real Angus, Mroz stayed active during each song with the signature moves of Young and of course the all important head bob. His Gibson SG was clean sounding, and the passion could really be felt thru his playing. Rythym guitarist Mike Wagner was excellent with his backing sound that conformed perfectly with Mraz an his style. Though they were the final act, the audience mustered up enough energy to hang well with the songs and fist pump their way back in time. An excellent way to end the show.
Yes, it was a night of tributes to the bands we love, and the songs we turn up loud in our cars.
Just next time, please do not invite the Wedding Singer.
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