Appetite for Destruction: A GnR cover band

Blowing the dust off this old blog. It's certainly been awhile since I've been on here, but I'm back.

Ed and I went to go see a Guns n' Roses cover band last night, but it wasn't Cocaine Tongue (shocking). This GnR cover band travels all over the country and stopped in for a show at the Middle East downstairs last night. The last time I was at the Middle East was Roadsteamer's last show before the band broke up. The Middle East is still a great venue to watch a show (I could definitely see the stage as a background of any level in Guitar Hero). Anyways, on to the show.

One of the opening bands, ZO2, was pretty good. The lead singer reminded me alot of Steven Tyler before he started getting old and looking like an old lady. When AFD came out, each band member dressed the part of each person in the band (which I believe is a must for a cover band like GnR, I once saw a Van Halen cover band that didn't dress up at all, the guy that was supposed to be David Lee Roth was like 5'4 and bald!!!!). The lead singer definitely had the look of an Axl Rose, Slash was a little suspect though, but the effort was there. The sound itself was great, alot of the songs were spot on (I would recommend going to their website to get a good idea: http://www.notquitegnr.com/index2.aspx?pageid=6 ).

Now, one thing Ed and I were doing throughout the show was comparing this band to Cocaine Tongue. If AFD is one of the better GnR cover bands in the country, then CT stacks up pretty well with them (and no, it's not because they shot outs at the show and I go way back with a few members of the band). I think both versions of Axl Rose do a great job with vocals (getting through every lyric of "You could be mine" is quite the accomplishment). Both bands are able to emulate the sounds of the original GnR. One big difference between the two bands is that AFD did not have a keyboardist. This surprised me because one of GnR's biggest hits, November Rain, does require someone on keys, therefore it was no surprise that AFD didn't play it last night. Cocaine Tongue does have a keyboardist and are not only able to do November Rain, but have also done a cover of Black Sabbath's "It's Alright" (so would that be a cover band covering a cover?). Great crowd though, as most cover band's will bring out both young and old to sing along with songs from long ago!

Runaway High at Dodge Street

Hi,
This past Saturday, Nick and I (later to be joined by Ed) went to the Runaway High/Cocaine Tongue show. I was actually surprised to see that the band was headed up by no other than Ryan Davison (also of Cocaine Tongue and Autumn Above). The other band members Mark, Jim and Rob have joined Ryan to form this Motley Crue tribute band. Runaway High has the same energy that Cocaine Tongue brings (they also dress the same as Motley Crue, which I believe is essential for any cover band covering any band). If you check their myspace page, they are playing in and around the Boston area, including a return trip to Dodge Street in mid-January. This band is a must see for fans of Motley Crue and of old school rock and roll.

Happy New Year!

-DBR

Thoughts on the OT Bar in Beverly

Hello,
I know it's been awhile since I've posted. However, I wanted everyone to know that Cocaine Tongue is coming back to Beverly on Saturday, November 22nd and is playing at the Overtime Bar on Rantoul Street. (9PM start time)

I find it interesting that the OT is starting to have bands like Cocaine Tongue play there. Anyone from Beverly knows that when the OT used to be Mai Tai's, there were all kinds of issues with fights, people drinking too much etc. Then, Mai Tai's closed, got new management and now it's the OT. I went in there at the beginning of the year and found it was an older crowd (I'm not at that age yet personally, so it wasn't my "cup of tea", but thought they did a nice job with the place). Now, at the end of 2008, the bar is trying to cater to a younger crowd.

I have no problem with catering to a younger crowd, in fact, it would be nice to have a local bar in Beverly that can host local rock bands like Cocaine Tongue. However, OT's management should be mindful of what happened when it was Mai Tai's, as well as the on-going issues with the Press Box down the street. If I'm the OT management, I take the same stance as Dodge Street Bar and Grille in Salem: zero tolerance. Frank has done a great job in Salem keeping the riff-raff, untucked dress shirt crew out of Dodge Street (notice in the paper how surrounding bars in Salem have had all sorts of issues, not Dodge Street though).

As a fan and supporter of local music, I hope the OT succeeds in bringing in bands like Cocaine Tongue and other rock bands down the line. They must also be aware of the troubled past certain bars in downtown Beverly.

See you all on Saturday night!

-DBR

The Evening show

This was probably one of the most anticipated shows for me over the past couple of months. So, Ed and I battled the hurricane and headed into Boston. On our way in, I saw that Avalon was gone. I've seen a couple of Social Distortion shows there. I liked Bill's Bar because it had a little bit of that Dodge Street mentality, as opposed to Tequila Rain (there was some fat 30 year old guy singing "Like a Virgin" inside there, haha).

The show itself was great. The Evening remind me a little bit of Status Green in terms of how the keyboards are used. Plus, the lead singer, Ben Goodman, plays both guitar and the keyboard, much like the lead singer of Status Green. Pete got to play the Evening version of "Fallen", which was great because since Roadsteamer broke up, I've been dying to hear a Roadsteamer/one of Pete's songs (and I think I'm not the only one out there that misses those songs). They also did one of The Morning's old songs in "Mistreated" and worked in an excerpt from "Teenage Wasteland", which I thought was great because I know Pete and probably other members of the band have an appreciation for classic rock. The guys sounded great and would recommend going out to see them. Here's a link to "Fallen:

The Evening: Fallen

I've mentioned to Pete that they should play at Dodge Street, but he thinks that there might not be enough room for all of the equipment. I bet Frank could pull something off though.

El Rancho show and The Evening update

We returned to Dodge Street this week to see a rock band called "El Rancho". If anyone can remember Zippo Raid, it reminded me alot of them, except they had more of a rock sound rather than a punk sound. They have a good fan base too with some wearing Somberos and even a gorilla running around! I recorded some video of the band, which I will be putting up over the next couple of days.

I also ran into Pete Tentindo last night to get more information on the upcoming "Evening" debut show. The show is on September 6th at Bill's Bar in Boston. I was told that the band will be going on around 11. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.onslaughtentertainment.com/tickets/
under "Soul Movement's CD release party". There's also a Facebook event page at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=55801108#/event.php?eid=24684029140&ref=mf

Next Saturday, we are heading to the Lobster Shanty to see Pete and Grateful Ted. I hope to shoot some video then as I was unable to at the Black Lobster due to shitty lighting.

Music Scene at Old Orchard Beach

Howdy,
Just came back from Old Orchard Beach and have lots to talk about. The second night we went up there, we went to this night club at the end of The Pier (I forget the name of it). Anyways, the upstairs is like a night-club with a spring break like atmosphere (it was where all the "beautiful people" go). On the first floor though is where the bands play. Now last year, one of the bands that played there did a great cover of "Freebird" (after of course Nick and I yelled it after every song). This band that was up there were older guys, so you would think they would play classics. THEY PLAYED BLINK 182, WTF!!! Not my idea of the best band to cover.

The following night, we went to a place called Club Mirage (check the DBR myspace page, they are on there). I wanted to check them out because Cocaine Tongue is playing there THIS SATURDAY! (((MONSTER TRUCK VOICE))) It reminded me of Dodge Street north in a way that their band line up and types of bands reminded me of Dodge Street. Also, if you check out Club Mirage, check out a band called "Losing Tomorrow". I shot 3 videos of them and they are now up on the YouTube page. I even got a free cd! I was about to get the cd when this girl who either worked there or was a follower of the band said I had to lick her chest to get it. That alone makes it the best free CD ever!

For those of us that don't have the money for gas, Cherry S/T is playing at Dodge Street this Saturday. Also, Nick wants to make his debut on the blogs soon (get spell check ready).

-DBR

Black Sabbath cover band: Supernaut

Last Saturday, Black Sabbath cover band Supernaut opened up for Cocaine Tongue. I thought they did a decent job covering Black Sabbath and most of the people that I talked to said the same thing. Most of the time, the opinion of cover bands is in the "eye of the beholder". For instance, a couple of months ago I saw ToolFist and thought they did a great job, yet you look at the comments on some of the videos and they are all negative. Anyways, check out Supernaut on the YouTube page or check out their MySpace page.