The Joshua Tree U2 Tribute (Boston)

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U2387

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I am just in from seeing these guys at Harper's Ferry, a live music club in the Allston section of Boston.

This is my first U2 tribute band experience, so I don't have anyone to compare them to, but my thoughts follow:

They were EXCELLENT. All 4 of them. They don't much go for the image, no conscious effort to look like their counterparts. The bassist dresses a little more like Adam and the guitarist a little more like Edge, and the drummer wears the white shirt w/the same design as Larry on 360 but that's about it.

They go for the sound, and it shows. All of them were very, very tight and accurate, so much so that I always knew the next note, just like when I am at a U2 show. The Edge sound was replicated very well, and the drummer had the 2 floor toms that give Larry's fills their unique touch. You could tell these 2 guys especially had watched a ton of video and knew Edge's and Larry's set ups cold. The bassist hit the notes, even playing Streets like Adam does live, with that slight tweak. Unlike with the real U2, the bassist is the back up vocalist. The singer himself was also spectacular. The guy knows he is not Bono, and aside from copying some stage mannerisms, he brings his own unique touch. He does the songs justice but does not go overboard trying to copy Bono exactly. The words are right, the highs and lows are right, the emotion is there at exactly the right spots, and its easily recognizable as Bono style singing. The emphasis is there over trying to sound exactly the same, which is probably impossible for any 2 humans. I don't think all tribute singers grasp this the way he does.

I came in skeptical having seen U2 live 4 times and now seeing a tribute act in a small club. I had a great time and left very impressed. What brought me the most joy was to see what I always see at U2 shows; people in their 60s and people in their 20s, and everyone in between having a great time together! I was so impressed with all the people who were in the crowd belting out the "wide awakes" in Bad and singing All I Want Is You and Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses! Alot of them were about my age- early 20s. I really needed this reassurance as the hatred of U2 in my age group has been remarkable the last couple of years. Granted, most people there knew a U2 tribute band was playing that night and chose to come. That explains some of the 21 year olds' knowledge of Bad and OOC, but we all know at nightclubs, people come in groups and often go along with what 1 or 2 friends or their boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse want to do. You also have the regulars who will come no matter who is playing. So not everyone there is super fan, especially when you are not shelling out $100 for tickets.

Not everyone is super fan, but most were extremely into it. I loved how a good amount of the crowd left by the time we got 80% of the way through, and the only ones left at the end were the die hards who knew every word! I swear, most of the 200 or 300 people left out of about 800 at the end of the night were screaming out "I fought fate, there's blood on the garden gate...." It was awesome!

My suggestion: If you are in Boston, see Joshua Tree, you will not regret it! If you are anywhere else and are wondering whether or not to see a tribute band, definitely do it! It will be in a small club guaranteed to draw other committed U2 fans to talk to, you will see just how popular U2 and their music are with the average person, and it will be a high energy, intimate experience. I only hope you are lucky enough to see a tribute band as good as Boston's Joshua Tree!!

Here is what they played:
Magnificent
New Year's Day
Gloria
In God's Country
Helter Skelter
Desire
Unforgettable Fire
Running To Standstill
Bullet The Blue Sky(no, not a typo, they reversed the order!)
Still Haven't Found
Crazy Tonight
Beautiful Day
------------SHORT BREAK------------------------------------------------
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Pride
Vertigo
Elevation
Electric Co
Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
City of Blinding Lights
Bad
All I Want Is You
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mysterious Ways
Out of Control
Streets
With or Without You/Shine Like Stars(with Zoo TV Washington Solo!)

Highlights: IGC, Electric Co, OOC. Especially Electric Co, the guitarist and drummer knocked this one out of the park and then some, it ROCKED!
 
That sounds way awesome man! And im glad to hear that they didnt buy into the whole lame side of being in a tribute band.
 
That sounds way awesome man! And im glad to hear that they didnt buy into the whole lame side of being in a tribute band.

Buy into the "whole lame side of being in a tribute band"

What might that be?

I've seen various tribute bands over time. All I have seen, for the most part, are fans of a particular band that are having a great time playing the music they love and sharing it with others. Nothing lame about that.
 
I've seen them twice since, the first time I forgot to post the set list here, I think I did somewhere else.

Either way, saw them again tonight and they were absolutely incredible! Much, much better than the previous 2 shows they did, which were also great, but this one was a whole new level!!

They are 4 guys who have regular jobs(though I think one quit, and the other 3 admit that they only work for fun, they don't have to), drink a beer or 2 for hydration on stage, yet they NAIL ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. Its not like I am some drunk who anything sounds good to because I am drunk, I go to the bar, have one drink before they hit the stage, then I pay full attention to what they're doing. I am a diehard who knows every song, and they do not f up, and they do not try and be something they are not.

These guys also know how to do a set list!!

Magnificent
Gloria
New Year's Day
In God's Country
Helter Skelter
Desire
Gone
Bullet The Blue Sky
Still Haven't Found
Angel of Harlem
Crazy Tonight
All Because of You
No Line On The Horizon(they recently learned this, unreal performance!)
Beautiful Day

TAKE A BREAK(rap tunes over the PA, music sucks, but I get to watch scantily clad girls my age dance around-:drool: and wish one of them would notice me, but no luck)

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Kite
Who's...Wild Horses-Can't believe how well this always goes down with the casual public
Until The End of The World
Bad
Out of Control
Mysterious Ways
One
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride
I Will Follow
Streets
With or Without You/Shine Like Stars (built up to with Zoo TV solo outro)
 
Saw them again tonight at The Newport Blues Cafe in Newport, RI. Beautiful night, great place, great show, but the crowd definitely left a lot to be desired. They were into the show, but there were more middle aged and obnoxious people there than I've seen other places. Had 2 guido jersey shore posers only they were in their late 30s come in with 2 fake looking highly unattractive blonde cougars who they thought were smoking hot. They were bumping into me all night and slurring out incoherent crap at me. Maybe its just the fact that everything, and I mean every little thing about Rhode Island is strange, who knows.

Or maybe I am just a bit disappointed that I found myself down there and not at the newly renovated open floor nightclub on the beach on the South Shore of Massachusetts. That is where I had planned on seeing JT Friday night until everyone decided to panic over a non event that barely made it to Tropical Storm status. The show was cancelled due to "Hurricane" Earl.:angry:

Anyways, Joshua Tree are always great.

Here is what they played:

Magnificent
Gloria
New Year's Day
In God's Country
Helter Skelter
Desire
Angel of Harlem
Still Haven't Found
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miracle Drug
Crazy Tonight
Beautiful Day
Vertigo
Walk On

TAKE A BREAK

City of Blinding Lights
Who's.....Wild Horses
Until The End of The World
Elevation
Out of Control
The Sweetest Thing
Two Hearts Beat As One
Bad
All I Want Is You
Pride
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mysterious Ways
One
Streets
I Will Follow
With or Without You/Shine Like Stars (Zoo TV Solo)

I sound like a broken record here, but performance is always spectacular. I'd enjoy any song these guys decided to put in here. The set list itself I think was better the last time, but I am still glad that I heard Miracle Drug and The Sweetest Thing. These are songs that I was pretty unlikely to call up on my personal playlist anytime soon, but actually hearing them instead of discussing them to no end here made me appreciate them again.

I know Sweetest Thing and especially Miracle Drug are certainly not top tier U2 songs, but sometimes we forget just how incredible of a band U2 is. Even their lesser songs are really great

Overall, another highly enjoyable evening. I never regret seeing these guys!
 
Hmmm playing aweful club and rap music between U2 Tribute sets totally defeats everything the band has played up to that point. That's why we no longer play at bars for 20 year olds. They just don't get it. Real music is dying ... I hope it comes back at some point.
 
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