The lights go down at Slim’s on a particularly boozy Saturday night. The air is filled with the scent of thick, syrupy stout and woodsy whiskey, sweaty bodies mass at the bar and at the front of the stage. A black and white projection draws the attention of the audience as Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” blares on the PA system. Three guys saunter on stage and take to their respective instruments, woots and whistles vibrate the air as the nondescript band plays the first few notes of U2’s “City of Blinding Lights.” As the audience hops in syncopation with the music, a man in black leather pants and a black T-shirt makes his way from the back of the club through the crowd, microphone in hand. He croons the first lyrics to the passing adorers, they clutch at his shirt as he sings, “The more you see the less you know, the less you find out as your grow.” The man sounds, and looks, uncannily like Bono.
Clearly, this isn’t U2. The audience cannot be fooled, despite the 80-proof circling it’s way through their veins. Yet, the place is packed, surging with energy, seething with intensity, people singing along and grabbing each other in joy as their first notes of their favorite tune is played. Everyone is here to fool themselves, to fall under the spell of Zoo Station, the Bay Area’s U2 tribute band.
Tribute bands are nothing new—many mainstream bands started out doing covers of other band’s songs. U2 started their career covering David Bowie, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. But, recently the trend has spread like wild fire all over the Bay Area, offering fans an inexpensive alternative to their favorite bands or a night of tunes by their favorite defunct act. The city boasts a few seasoned bands like Stung, that covers The Police and Sting tunes, and even more promising upstarts, like This Charming Band that belts out The Smiths and Morrissey.
But, when original acts can be found in San Francisco any night of the week, why are people shelling out 15 bucks to see a cover band?
“We give people that closeness that you don't get from the real thing,” says David Mattock, keyboardist of For the Masses, a Depeche Mode tribute band, who, for their second public performance, played a sold-out night at Slim’s alongside Zoo Station and Stung. “Some bands play for decades and never get to perform to a sold out crowd at Slim’s or Rockit Room.”
When Vince Littleton first saw Super Diamond, a super sequined Neil Diamond act, he was astounded by how many songs he knew and could sing along to. “The band was rockin’ and tight and played the songs with a lot of fire and charisma,” says Littleton. He enjoyed the band so much that he quit the band he was in to join Super Diamond’s on drums.
The appeal of a super-charged, charisma driven performance by Surreal Neil, Super Diamond’s rhinestone singer, and the rock interpretation of Diamond’s tunes regularly packs in the crowds at sell out shows at Bimbo’s 365 Club in North Beach and allows the band to tour the country, enticing crowds of all ages and backgrounds. Though Bimbo’s is one of SF’s larger clubs, here the audience can get that much closer to Surreal Neil and obey his command during, “Touch You, Touch Me.”
“People who have never seen Super Diamond might think it’s a kitschy lounge act,” says Littleton, “But it is actually a rock band where everyone puts their own musicianship and spice into Neil's classic songs.”
Being in a tribute band has greater rewards than a built in fan base and a set of sure fire tunes. Littleton recalls his proudest moment when the real Neil Diamond, the Rhinestone Cowboy himself, shared a table with the six members of Super Diamond at the House of Blues in Los Angeles and showered the band with compliments—a truly surreal moment.
“There is an immediate fan base for tribute bands as long as you can reproduce the sound and put on a good show,” says Mattock. He explains that while Depeche Mode is a great act to see in the flesh, not only are their tickets expensive, but the band only tours every five years or so.
If you’re lucky enough that your favorite band is still together or even tours, add on a couple umpteen dollars to see them front row. Paying a small cover to see a tribute incarnation leaves that much more cash to put yourself under the influence and in the right mood to replicate your favorite concert experience, whether it be soaking up “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” or hopping along to “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.”