Escape

A couple Fridays ago, I went with some friends to see another friend's band. I know a lot of people in bands, so I get out to shows quite often. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to actually like their band! That's always a bonus.

This particular evening was a project my friend does maybe once or twice a year. They always sell out our local hipster club, make a chunk of change and have a blast. They are called Infinity. They are a Journey tribute band.

The first time I saw them play was a couple years ago. The show was at a cool lesbian bar (the singer of Infinity is a woman - who better to do Steve Perry, really?) and they sort of did it as a joke. They were so spot on, however, that they began getting requests to do the show again around town, do some proper Hollywood gigs, become a REAL TRIBUTE BAND.

When I was explaining to some friends of mine what I was doing that night, there was a snicker. I tried to defend myself, "But they're funny! And they're really good!" I stopped, horrified. I was defending a tribute band. I tend to be the first to mock tribute bands, because I usually see them as something white collar types see to let off a little steam at the local bar on a Friday night, before they go back to their stucco'ed home and listen to the REAL band they just saw the facsimile of that very evening, drunkenly singing along with their hairbrush in the mirror. Because these types don't have the time or desire to get out and discover anything new, try out a band they have maybe heard a little something about, take that risk and maybe learn something. Instead, they revel in their drunken comfort zone of hearing Led Zeppelin or Doors knock offs.

I know, I know... I'm a total snob. And a total hypocrite. Because I Heart Journey. Maybe because I can sing along with them, maybe because they are totally non threatening, maybe because they are kind of nerdy and funny. And I spent my Friday night with a bunch of hipsters, pretending that we had nothing in common with the white collar types who would normally frequent these kinds of shows, wholeheartedly singing along with every word. "Oh I want to be THERE... in myyyyyyyy ci-tay-ay..." Oh oh oh. We love it.

There are some tribute bands that escape the classification I throw them into - Infinity, AC/ DShe, Mini-Kiss maybe (although they don't actually play, which would make them better)... but really, a tribute band is a tribute band, right?

Don't Stop Believin'.