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Famous bands' clones to perform in concert at amphitheaters, parks and local town squares
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 02:08 p.m. EDT, Jun 10, 2009
One of the aspects of Northeast Ohio that never fails to interest me is the acceptance and love of tribute bands.
I've seen folks at Rockin' on the River in Cuyahoga Falls and Lock 3 Park in Akron body jamming and grooving to ersatz versions of their favorite bands as if the (rock) stars themselves were on stage.
Sometimes I swear I can see fans' eyes glaze over as they retreat into a distant memory from their simpler, salad days, when their biggest worry may have been whether their dad was going to lend them the car Friday night.
Well, summer is almost here and that means in local amphitheaters, parks, museum parking lots and town squares, there will be plenty of chances for classic rock lovers to groove to the sounds that made up the soundtrack of their lives.
Right in downtown Akron, WONE (97.5-FM) continues its Friday Rock the Lock series with the Dave Matthews Tribute Band this Friday.
I've made no secret of the fact that the music of Dave Matthews live and on record makes my ears unhappy. (Actually, the left one just gets bored, while after an hour or so, the right one starts to get angry, but that's probably too much information.)
Anyway, the DMB is boring as hell (though the members all seem like nice guys and it sucks when a band mate/friend dies), but I actually saw the DMTB perform several years ago and dang it if those guys weren't pretty good.
The band tours relentlessly, playing more than 200 gigs a year, in part because it's the only way members can make money.
To stay off the radar of the DMB/record label's legal department, the DMTB has no merchandise to sell and obviously no publishing royalties to reap. But it does have a serious love of the DMB's music and the chops to play the music.
The band also follows Matthews' example and plays benefit concerts for charities and even has a Caribbean cruise lined up for 2010 for those who can't afford the real DMB's periodic cruises.
Interestingly, nearly all the band members also write original music that they never have time to perform or record because they make a living playing someone else's songs, which makes them stuck between a (soft) rock and a (not very) hard place. (Rim shot, please.)
If classic jam-pop/rock isn't your bailiwick and you're more in the market for classic rock, the fine folks at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Nelson Township near Garrettsville in Portage County will probably make your weekend with their awkwardly titled Floyd/Zeppelin Classics Fest.
One aspect of tribute bands I enjoy is their choice of names, which are often taken from a song title or song lyrics of said band, with some tribute acts being more imaginative and obscure than others.
The three-day festival will feature popular Led Zeppelin tribute act Kashmir (that one's pretty easy) and Pink Floyd tribute act Several Species. (Quick, name the song!)
The bill is quite full, so see whether you can guess the tributees.
Performing will be BritBeat (Beatles), Limelight (is it Rush or a tribute to the desperation of Spencer and Stephanie Pratt to get to minute 16 of their ''fame''?), Whipping Post (duh, the Allman Brothers Band, bro), Ragged Glory (Neil Young), War Pigs (doesn't every other Black Sabbath tribute band use that title?), Slowhand (some guy named Eric Clapton), Evil Ways (the world's first Dick Cheney tribute band; relax, we kid — that would be Santana), Ball and Chain (Janis Joplin or perhaps a tribute to the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin); and local boys the JiMiller Band, who recreate Grateful Dead shows.
Also there will be a special appearance by veteran local singer/songwriter Alex Bevan (performing his own music!) and some late-night bluegrass from the Halftime String Band and the Weedhawks.
That's a lot of classic and local rock for $55 for all three days or $45 for Saturday and Sunday.
By the way, the Floyd tribute band presumably took its name from the musique concrete/sound collage Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict from Floyd's 1969 album Ummagumma.
If you are more interested in the possible classic rockers of tomorrow, the Akron-Summit County Public Library in downtown Akron has eight teen bands ready to perform at the Main Library Auditorium for its Teens Rock Akron 2009.
Performing will be Auto Punch, Chil, Corrupted Youth, Doomsday Conspiracy, Maunderers, Stasis, Stimulus and Thing 1 and Thing 2. Though I haven't heard any of the bands play, I do appreciate that someone looked up ''maunder'' in the dictionary.
The concert is free and some of these kids will no doubt be populating the stages of local bars and clubs in a few years and perhaps even arenas and amphitheaters.
So if you go and be supportive, perhaps five years from now, when one of the bands is playing Blossom, you'll be able to say, ''Dude, I saw them at the library before they were famous.''
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
DETAILS
• What: Floyd/Zeppelin Classics Fest
• When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Where: Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, 12001 Nelson Ledge Road, Nelson Township
• Tickets: $45, $55
• Information: 440-548-2716, http://www.nlqp.com
• What: Dave Matthews Tribute Band with Cats on Holiday
• When: 7 p.m. Friday
• Where: Lock 3 Park, 200 S. Main St., Akron
• Tickets: Free
• Information: http://www.lock3live.com
• What: Teens Rock Akron 2009
• When: 6 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St., Akron
• Tickets: Free
• Information: 330-643-9067, 330-643-9032 or http://www.akronlibrary.org
One of the aspects of Northeast Ohio that never fails to interest me is the acceptance and love of tribute bands.
I've seen folks at Rockin' on the River in Cuyahoga Falls and Lock 3 Park in Akron body jamming and grooving to ersatz versions of their favorite bands as if the (rock) stars themselves were on stage.
Sometimes I swear I can see fans' eyes glaze over as they retreat into a distant memory from their simpler, salad days, when their biggest worry may have been whether their dad was going to lend them the car Friday night.
Well, summer is almost here and that means in local amphitheaters, parks, museum parking lots and town squares, there will be plenty of chances for classic rock lovers to groove to the sounds that made up the soundtrack of their lives.
Right in downtown Akron, WONE (97.5-FM) continues its Friday Rock the Lock series with the Dave Matthews Tribute Band this Friday.
I've made no secret of the fact that the music of Dave Matthews live and on record makes my ears unhappy. (Actually, the left one just gets bored, while after an hour or so, the right one starts to get angry, but that's probably too much information.)
Anyway, the DMB is boring as hell (though the members all seem like nice guys and it sucks when a band mate/friend dies), but I actually saw the DMTB perform several years ago and dang it if those guys weren't pretty good.
The band tours relentlessly, playing more than 200 gigs a year, in part because it's the only way members can make money.
To stay off the radar of the DMB/record label's legal department, the DMTB has no merchandise to sell and obviously no publishing royalties to reap. But it does have a serious love of the DMB's music and the chops to play the music.
The band also follows Matthews' example and plays benefit concerts for charities and even has a Caribbean cruise lined up for 2010 for those who can't afford the real DMB's periodic cruises.
Interestingly, nearly all the band members also write original music that they never have time to perform or record because they make a living playing someone else's songs, which makes them stuck between a (soft) rock and a (not very) hard place. (Rim shot, please.)
If classic jam-pop/rock isn't your bailiwick and you're more in the market for classic rock, the fine folks at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Nelson Township near Garrettsville in Portage County will probably make your weekend with their awkwardly titled Floyd/Zeppelin Classics Fest.
One aspect of tribute bands I enjoy is their choice of names, which are often taken from a song title or song lyrics of said band, with some tribute acts being more imaginative and obscure than others.
The three-day festival will feature popular Led Zeppelin tribute act Kashmir (that one's pretty easy) and Pink Floyd tribute act Several Species. (Quick, name the song!)
The bill is quite full, so see whether you can guess the tributees.
Performing will be BritBeat (Beatles), Limelight (is it Rush or a tribute to the desperation of Spencer and Stephanie Pratt to get to minute 16 of their ''fame''?), Whipping Post (duh, the Allman Brothers Band, bro), Ragged Glory (Neil Young), War Pigs (doesn't every other Black Sabbath tribute band use that title?), Slowhand (some guy named Eric Clapton), Evil Ways (the world's first Dick Cheney tribute band; relax, we kid — that would be Santana), Ball and Chain (Janis Joplin or perhaps a tribute to the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin); and local boys the JiMiller Band, who recreate Grateful Dead shows.
Also there will be a special appearance by veteran local singer/songwriter Alex Bevan (performing his own music!) and some late-night bluegrass from the Halftime String Band and the Weedhawks.
That's a lot of classic and local rock for $55 for all three days or $45 for Saturday and Sunday.
By the way, the Floyd tribute band presumably took its name from the musique concrete/sound collage Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict from Floyd's 1969 album Ummagumma.
If you are more interested in the possible classic rockers of tomorrow, the Akron-Summit County Public Library in downtown Akron has eight teen bands ready to perform at the Main Library Auditorium for its Teens Rock Akron 2009.
Performing will be Auto Punch, Chil, Corrupted Youth, Doomsday Conspiracy, Maunderers, Stasis, Stimulus and Thing 1 and Thing 2. Though I haven't heard any of the bands play, I do appreciate that someone looked up ''maunder'' in the dictionary.
The concert is free and some of these kids will no doubt be populating the stages of local bars and clubs in a few years and perhaps even arenas and amphitheaters.
So if you go and be supportive, perhaps five years from now, when one of the bands is playing Blossom, you'll be able to say, ''Dude, I saw them at the library before they were famous.''
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
DETAILS
• What: Floyd/Zeppelin Classics Fest
• When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Where: Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, 12001 Nelson Ledge Road, Nelson Township
• Tickets: $45, $55
• Information: 440-548-2716, http://www.nlqp.com
• What: Dave Matthews Tribute Band with Cats on Holiday
• When: 7 p.m. Friday
• Where: Lock 3 Park, 200 S. Main St., Akron
• Tickets: Free
• Information: http://www.lock3live.com
• What: Teens Rock Akron 2009
• When: 6 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St., Akron
• Tickets: Free
• Information: 330-643-9067, 330-643-9032 or http://www.akronlibrary.org
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Willoughby, OH
Posted 04:10 PM, 06/10/2009
List of bands with no dates???? DUH
akron, OH
Posted 04:38 PM, 06/10/2009
Too bad so many cheesy tribute acts in a region with so much good original music. Oh well, I guess that's what draws ther rednecks out.
Canton, OH
Posted 05:50 PM, 06/10/2009
TRIBUTE BANDS SUCK. . BE YOUR OWN PERSON. . .
akron, oh
Posted 08:19 AM, 06/11/2009
tribute bands are the plague...the scourge of the music industry.
Lakemore, Oh
Posted 09:42 AM, 06/11/2009
If you don't like the tribute bands, come to Rock the Docks for a sampling of our ORIGINAL LOCAL BANDS!
It takes talent to be able to play--whether its your own music or not. But the REAL talent is in writing your OWN music...
The clubs and other festivals are only booking tribute bands. The original bands have to Pay To Play, which is unethical and NOT fair. The club owners sit back and do NOTHING to promote your shows. You, the musician, must sell your own tickets and promote your own show. TRY RAISING YOUR FAMILY ON THAT! Most musicians are NOT salespeople...
End result is: the creativity is capped. There's no encouragement for creativity in writing your own music. There is nothing like being appreciated for the efforts you've put in and being able to make a few bucks for it. If you're not appreciated for what you do and you're not making any money at it, where's the encouragement?
End End Result: EVERYONE SOUNDS THE SAME. Anyone remember the 80's?? All the bands had the same Gary Newman-ish sound..can you really handle that again?
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSICIANS!
SUPPORT ORIGINAL MUSIC!
SUPPORT ROCK THE DOCKS!
Lakemore, Ohio
akron, oh
Posted 04:35 PM, 06/11/2009
i totally agree
Lakemore, Oh
Posted 06:08 PM, 06/11/2009
oops! July 10, 11, 12 this year...
good lineup of GREAT bands!
Fireworks..
Air guitar contest..
Raffle for a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar..
Nice place to plug, eh?
