Saturday 20th July

I often written about my hatred of tribute bands, coining the often used quote 'a boil on the arse of the live music business', while at the same time acknowledging that they are something that generates a lot of income for pubs and smaller venues at a time when they are struggling. My initial problem with the 'trib' was that I used to work in a live music venue in Southend-On-Sea that had more than enough tributes on, in fact you could say they filled the Status Quota! I wouldn't have minded quite so much, but they were largely shit. A particular memory is of a band called Gunz N Rozez, (see what they've done there?), who used backing tracks to cover their musical inadequacies and gave themselves away by having a worn out tape that kept speeding up and slowing down. Another bad memory was a Yes tribute, which I insisted on referring to as No. There were a couple of good ones; Not The Jam were an excellent sounding tribute to The Jam apart from that they were a four piece, as the singer didn't play bass. Aside from that slight inaccuracy, they were pitch perfect.

To be a little self-indulgent, when The Sunday Alternative returned to radio this year, (you're welcome) my first live session came from Rebel Rebel; a Nottingham based David Bowie tribute. I was impressed by the tracks I had been sent, (a slight misunderstanding of my request for Bowie covers), and invited them in. They were great and I wanted to see them live, but I've not had the chance to until yesterday. It meant a trip to Carlton, but it was worth it. The pub was a bit grim, but even though it looked like a typical 'regulars' drinking pub, they were all up for a good time and all seemed appreciative of David Bowie's songs, (I don't trust anyone who doesn't like David Bowie). After saying hello to the band, we took our seats with a reasonable view and waited.

They did their set in three acts, starting the show with 'Where Are We Now' and working back from there. Although I can't remember the exact set-list, they powered through my favourite Bowie era; Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, and through to the early 1980s more commercial stuff. Mandi was disappointed that they didn't do any of the later dance stuff, but I'm sure they know their audience and this was much more of a singalong crowd. I was just happy when the singer David announced from the stage that Trent Sound were in the house.

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