Sometimes I go see tribute bands. There. I said it. Mostly I don’t as I prefer to see the real deal or, like in the case of The Grateful Dead, I prefer to rely on memories and Sirius Radio than to see some dopey band stumble through bad Dead songs. I saw ThundHer Struck not that long ago. All girl ACDC tribute. They were OK. The girl who played the Angus Young part looked great in her little schoolgirl outfit but sorta sucked on guitar so…that detracts from the entire experience. WELL, I am HAPPY to say the bands I saw on Saturday night did NOT suck in ANY way! They were excellent, just like the bands they were covering.

It was at Paladinos, a notorious Valley nightspot known for its slew of tribute bands and up and coming bad metal bands on it’s calendar. Oddly, it’s always full of folks and even the pool tables are busy every time I go in there. It is tucked into a strip mall in Reseda so, the glamour of The Strip seems a million miles away. Which is mostly good as I don’t want to run into my friends heading to some cool lounge while I am on my way in to check out the UFO tribute band opening for the Black Oak Arkansas tribute band. But this time I would have been PROUD to be caught! The two bands were Caress of Steel, a Rush cover band and Gabble Ratchet, a classic Genesis cover band. They were both top notch and will be seen by me again.

Caress of Steel is a…trio as you would imagine and while I only saw the 2nd set, they were essentially spot on note for note throughout. As you would first ask, the guy who played the Geddy Lee part, played bass effortlessly ( a sweet black Rickenbacker btw!) and  almost nailed the voice. At least he sang in tune, knew all the words, and also handled the keyboard responsibilities. The Alex Lifeson guitar guy had a huge array of foot pedals and played with the fury of Rush and nailed all the tricky parts. Real good. Then the guy who did the Neil Peart drumming part was huge! He had the double bass drum rocking with the famous “starman” logo on each head and used his monster kit to it’s fullest almost crowding the stage with that set-up. They played hits from all the albums as well as a few deeper tracks and did not disappoint. Clean sound, no fuck-ups, and a genuine effort.

But the REAL stars of the show were Gabble Ratchet. They were in no way missing a thing and truly blew me away. I have seen them before but, they didn’t sound as precise as they did this time. They didn’t have a rock band confidence that they certainly had going on Saturday night. They WERE rocking OUT SUPER hard. I mean, I guess you would have to love Genesis (maybe more than I do) to be able to put so much of yourself into a band that plays it almost perfectly. For instance, they did a MUCH better job than Phish could ever do on any Genesis song. Which brings me to another point. Didn’t you listen to Trey at the Hall of Fame induction? I didn’t see a single phish fan in there, and I can point them out (and sadly know most of them here in LA). Did you just watch Trey discuss the importance and beauty of Genesis with a string of drool coming down from your festering gobs and only think, “I can’t wait to see phish again….”? Jeez, here we are lucky enough to have our own Genesis tribute band in Los Angeles and you don’t go and at least dip your foot in the pool? No? You stayed home and listened to phish? Cool…..OR….it coulda been my fault for not telling all my friends….NEXT time!

So, Gabble Ratchet was uplifting, exciting and historic in their approach to these Genesis tunes and I really felt lucky to be there as they ripped through The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, In the Cage, Firth of Fifth, Fountain of Salmancis, Supper’s Ready and some other choice cuts. The guitar work of Jeff and Jim was intricate, heavy, precise and when necessary, absolutely shimmering. Scott Connor’s drumming was colossal ; pounding when it needed to be and soft like traveling through a mossy grove when need be. Brownie on keys was a master to be able to pull all of it together and be SPOT ON when it really did matter. You could see his enthusiasm for the music in every move and the payoff was obviously how it sounded. Dave Hussey had the front man post and held it admirably. He even had a little bed-side table with all kinds of noisemakers on it as well as a flute which he seemed to play with aplomb. He did an excellent job of not trying to imitate Gabriel in every way and stayed true to the music. His energy level and clear enjoyment of the band’s ability to nock the socks off everyone in the room was more than apparent. They DO have a special upcoming gig in April so, THIS time, try and see something special and DON’T MISS Gabble Ratchet again. Go at least once. You will smile.

and of course: http://www.gabbleratchet.com/

Dawes? You heard of this band? Well, I predict that after last night at the Troubadour (world famous hollywood juke joint) it will be the last time I will be able to buy a ticket the day of the show. And it DID sell out too. I know, who AM I some young buck 33 year old? Out to see live music TWICE in one week??!?!?! But it was totally worth it. These kids really did define and pump up the definition of Power Pop. They were brilliant! I want to keep this post short but let’s just say I was SUPER impressed with these guys and I really do think that they will live up to their hype. They have been in Rolling Stone recently, have a ton of gigs at SXSW, are playing Bonnarroo and just finished up a little tour of everywhere.

They played a solid set and were wickit high energy. They were like….gloriously un-ripped on drugs and tight as can be with clear vocals and hitting every 3 part harmony (which is tough to do) and encouraged sing-alongs which the sold out crowd of mostly hollywood hipsters and kids from their North Hills home sang along with gusto and really ate it up. Their new album (North Hills) definitely has that “Americana” sound but, live they step it up a few notches and come off like The Jam meets The Band. Lead singer Griffin Goldsmith has a wonderful humor filled voice and can actually handle the guitar in an understated Carl Perkins style mixed with Weller-like aplomb. His brother hits the skins like Levon helm and even sings one! Wylie Gelber plays one of those Gibson Gene Simmons Hotter than Hell era basses and makes it thump along with power enough to shake the seats. Alex Casnoff stands and plays keys like a seasoned pro and totally fills out the sound and makes it special. He has a pretty stripped down rig and uses it like and old session guy in Nashville. AGAIN, these guys are YOUNG and blessed with talent. We are lucky they stayed together after some internal strife and they really are almost showing off how skilled they are.

Almost all the songs are about love: Lost love, past love, looking for love, done wrong by love, etc. It actually is sorta refreshing and makes the stuff easy to digest (like good power-pop lyrics should be!) and genuine while being enjoyable from start to finish. PLEASE go to their myspace site and give some of their ditties a listen. You will be kinda stoked. Go see ‘em too. Oh and they are named after their grandfather….nice touch American youths!!!

Here’s the place: http://www.myspace.com/dawestheband