tribute bands don't suck

Or maybe it's just that not all tribute bands suck. My experience is now up to 1, so I clearly don't have a broad experience base to draw on.

When I saw on Facebook that Jeff was going to go see Elevate, a U2 tribute band, at Jeff Healey's on Saturday, I realized that, despite my total lack of experience at the time, I certainly had expectations. Not all of them good.

I decided I wanted to go, because I like live music, because I like watching audiences at live music, because I like U2, and because I wanted to meet Jeff, who had been until then only negligibly "real", as I'd only before "met" him online. Welcome to the world of Facebook friends. Then I started noticing my biases. I expected the band to be kind of fun, kind of good, kind of camp, and kind of lame. Yes, I know... despite zero experience.

What actually happened completely blew away my expectations, and has totally changed how I will approach tribute shows in future. First off, the band was actually good. Really good. Kevin Strom ("The Edge") in particular impressed me, but the whole band was great. Second, the band was fired up, genuine, and enthusiastic. Third, the audience was fired up, genuine, and enthusiastic. Fourth, and this was something that hadn't occurred to me at all beforehand, this was as much about the band loving U2 as it was about the audience loving U2.

All in all, it was a remarkable, unique experience. Check 'em out if they're coming anywhere near you.