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ONE love, blood, life
U2 Too
Where the band's a no-name: A local group captures the vibe as 'real' idols head to town to fill the FleetCenter
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | May 1, 2005
A ringing, staccato guitar riff pierces the air, joined by a pulsing bass and insistent drums. A front man in a black shirt and sunglasses lets loose a yearning wail. The music, anthemic yet personal, is unmistakable, and the crowd roars its approval. The sound and spirit of legendary rock band U2 surges from the stage.
As it turns out, it wasn't Bono and the boys stopping in for a set at Harpers Ferry in Allston last weekend -- just an uncannily authentic echo, courtesy of The Joshua Tree, a local U2 tribute band with a growing following of its own. Delivering faithful renditions of classic and contemporary U2 hits, the group caters to true believers by seeking to capture the celebrated energy and conviction of the band's live performances.
Those chiming guitar lines and keening vocals? Meet Ivo Matos, a 29-year-old part-time music producer, and Craig Rawding, a 35-year-old medical technician. The galloping rhythm section? Introducing bassist Joe Wilson, a 35-year-old who works at a cycling shop, and drummer John Perkins, a 35-year-old construction worker.
Their day jobs aren't glamorous, and as rock musicians they haven't gone platinum, played during halftime at the Super Bowl, or met the pope. They don't champion political causes. But they replicate U2's signature sound with a skillful forgery born of musical talent and affection.
Carrie Alison, chief editor at interference.com, a popular U2 fan site, says the band is ''held in high regard in the fan community" for including older, more obscure songs rather than ''sticking to tried-and-true hit singles."
With U2 arriving in Boston for three sold-out shows later this month, The Joshua Tree is poised to serve as a power-pop primer and proxy for the internationally acclaimed Irish band. Clubs and bars around the FleetCenter have booked the group to play before and after U2's shows, so concertgoers can get pumped up ahead of time, then celebrate afterward. Likewise, the ticketless can take some measure of comfort in hearing live versions of their favorite tunes in an intimate venue, at sharply reduced cost.
While many tribute bands are ''all show" and spend most of their time dressing up like the parent band, The Joshua Tree focuses on the chord changes and harmonies, according to Pat McGettrick, who books bands at The Beachcomber in Quincy. The Joshua Tree is scheduled to play The Beachcomber on May 21, the Saturday night before U2 touches down in Boston. It's the ''unofficial welcome" for the band, McGettrick quips.
''The quality of the sound is unbelievable," McGettrick says of The Joshua Tree.
Wilson, who also sings backup vocals, calls The Joshua Tree, ''U2, 95 percent off," and many of the 250 fans at the Harpers Ferry show said seeing a tribute band with kindred spirits is a cost-effective way to satisfy the addictive adrenaline rush of a U2 concert.
''It's impossible to see U2 live, so this is the next best thing," says Michelle MacInnis, a 22-year-old from Waltham. ''You can still get your fix without having to pay a million dollars."
U2 has inspired hundreds of tribute bands around the world, including another outfit called The Joshua Tree in Anaheim, Calif. Paying tribute has paid off for the local version. The foursome previously performed as Vibrotica, a modern rock group influenced by Radiohead and Jeff Buckley. They played major clubs and released multiple records, but weren't earning enough to get by. Wilson came up with the idea of playing cover shows to save Vibrotica from extinction.
The prospect of setting aside their original music to mimic another band, no matter how acclaimed, was unsettling. They worried they were selling out, and cringed at the idea of covering Top 40 or oldies.
''We weren't going to play 'Mustang Sally,' " Matos says with obvious disdain.
But as loyal U2 fans, covering songs that were part of the soundtrack of their youth sounded a lot better than giving up music altogether. At the urging of Wilson, a dedicated follower who has seen more than 15 U2 concerts, the group three years ago reinvented itself as The Joshua Tree, taking its name from U2's most celebrated album.
There was one caveat: The band would only imitate U2's sound. No copying wardrobe or hair style like look-alike tribute bands. No fake Irish accents, no flashy costumes or choreography.
''Don't expect Zoo TV," Rawding says, referring to U2's 1992 tour that relied heavily on video monitors and glam-rock costumes. ''It's just about the music, and capturing its energy and emotion."
Rawding, who has Bono's vocal stylings down cold but rarely imitates his stage mannerisms, didn't even wear the star's trademark sunglasses at first. But the crowd insisted the shades were a necessary prop to maintain the realism, so Rawding now tosses on a $5 CVS pair to appease them.
When The Joshua Tree began, U2 was basking in its triumphant return to the pop limelight with the 2000 release of ''All That You Can't Leave Behind." Along with last year's ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2 had reached a new generation of fans eager to pump their fists to ''Pride," bounce to the driving beat of ''Vertigo," and belt out the chorus of ''Beautiful Day."
''It's just a frenzy right now," Matos says. ''People can't get enough."
Early on, mastering U2's sound took a lot of rehearsal and research, band members said. But now, learning new songs has become fairly straightforward. The key to a good show, they agree, isn't simply churning out the hits note for note like a jukebox. It's evoking a bit of the immediacy and magic of U2's music.
Still, winning over a crowd swimming in nostalgia as they sing along to songs they know by heart isn't the toughest sell, and band members are torn between reveling in the cheers and feeling vaguely guilty about it.
''It's hard not to get spoiled," Rawding admits. ''It's almost like cheating, because we're riding their coattails. You get that rush, but then you suddenly realize, 'Hey, I didn't write this song.' So it's bittersweet."
Those mixed emotions don't come across live, when the band seems to take genuine pleasure in its craft, an enjoyment the crowd feeds off of. Listening to a U2 record at home is one thing, but hearing the songs performed in person among fellow disciples makes the music come alive, fans say.
Many of those fans are more hard-core than they are, band members admit, so sets always include songs from the '80s that U2 rarely play live anymore. That devotion also means the band is held to a high standard.
''Any U2 cover band has to be great, because U2 is great," says Laurie Rogers, 34, shouting above the sonic roar of ''Vertigo." ''But these guys, you can feel U2 in them."
Kneeling on a barstool to see over the crowd, Darlene Foster, a 34-year-old from Cambridge, swayed to the rhythm of ''Pride" while waving her hands in the air. She's seen The Joshua Tree six times, and said the band, like U2's music, never gets old.
''It's the spirit," she says. ''The U2 shows I've been to -- this has the same vibes."
Some tribute band skeptics came away from the show convinced.
''I didn't think they could pull it off," says Keith Mailloux, 25. ''I've been to a lot of other tribute [bands' shows] that didn't have it, but these guys are for real. Close your eyes, and you're at a U2 concert."
Where the band's a no-name: A local group captures the vibe as 'real' idols head to town to fill the FleetCenter
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | May 1, 2005
A ringing, staccato guitar riff pierces the air, joined by a pulsing bass and insistent drums. A front man in a black shirt and sunglasses lets loose a yearning wail. The music, anthemic yet personal, is unmistakable, and the crowd roars its approval. The sound and spirit of legendary rock band U2 surges from the stage.
As it turns out, it wasn't Bono and the boys stopping in for a set at Harpers Ferry in Allston last weekend -- just an uncannily authentic echo, courtesy of The Joshua Tree, a local U2 tribute band with a growing following of its own. Delivering faithful renditions of classic and contemporary U2 hits, the group caters to true believers by seeking to capture the celebrated energy and conviction of the band's live performances.
Those chiming guitar lines and keening vocals? Meet Ivo Matos, a 29-year-old part-time music producer, and Craig Rawding, a 35-year-old medical technician. The galloping rhythm section? Introducing bassist Joe Wilson, a 35-year-old who works at a cycling shop, and drummer John Perkins, a 35-year-old construction worker.
Their day jobs aren't glamorous, and as rock musicians they haven't gone platinum, played during halftime at the Super Bowl, or met the pope. They don't champion political causes. But they replicate U2's signature sound with a skillful forgery born of musical talent and affection.
Carrie Alison, chief editor at interference.com, a popular U2 fan site, says the band is ''held in high regard in the fan community" for including older, more obscure songs rather than ''sticking to tried-and-true hit singles."
With U2 arriving in Boston for three sold-out shows later this month, The Joshua Tree is poised to serve as a power-pop primer and proxy for the internationally acclaimed Irish band. Clubs and bars around the FleetCenter have booked the group to play before and after U2's shows, so concertgoers can get pumped up ahead of time, then celebrate afterward. Likewise, the ticketless can take some measure of comfort in hearing live versions of their favorite tunes in an intimate venue, at sharply reduced cost.
While many tribute bands are ''all show" and spend most of their time dressing up like the parent band, The Joshua Tree focuses on the chord changes and harmonies, according to Pat McGettrick, who books bands at The Beachcomber in Quincy. The Joshua Tree is scheduled to play The Beachcomber on May 21, the Saturday night before U2 touches down in Boston. It's the ''unofficial welcome" for the band, McGettrick quips.
''The quality of the sound is unbelievable," McGettrick says of The Joshua Tree.
Wilson, who also sings backup vocals, calls The Joshua Tree, ''U2, 95 percent off," and many of the 250 fans at the Harpers Ferry show said seeing a tribute band with kindred spirits is a cost-effective way to satisfy the addictive adrenaline rush of a U2 concert.
''It's impossible to see U2 live, so this is the next best thing," says Michelle MacInnis, a 22-year-old from Waltham. ''You can still get your fix without having to pay a million dollars."
U2 has inspired hundreds of tribute bands around the world, including another outfit called The Joshua Tree in Anaheim, Calif. Paying tribute has paid off for the local version. The foursome previously performed as Vibrotica, a modern rock group influenced by Radiohead and Jeff Buckley. They played major clubs and released multiple records, but weren't earning enough to get by. Wilson came up with the idea of playing cover shows to save Vibrotica from extinction.
The prospect of setting aside their original music to mimic another band, no matter how acclaimed, was unsettling. They worried they were selling out, and cringed at the idea of covering Top 40 or oldies.
''We weren't going to play 'Mustang Sally,' " Matos says with obvious disdain.
But as loyal U2 fans, covering songs that were part of the soundtrack of their youth sounded a lot better than giving up music altogether. At the urging of Wilson, a dedicated follower who has seen more than 15 U2 concerts, the group three years ago reinvented itself as The Joshua Tree, taking its name from U2's most celebrated album.
There was one caveat: The band would only imitate U2's sound. No copying wardrobe or hair style like look-alike tribute bands. No fake Irish accents, no flashy costumes or choreography.
''Don't expect Zoo TV," Rawding says, referring to U2's 1992 tour that relied heavily on video monitors and glam-rock costumes. ''It's just about the music, and capturing its energy and emotion."
Rawding, who has Bono's vocal stylings down cold but rarely imitates his stage mannerisms, didn't even wear the star's trademark sunglasses at first. But the crowd insisted the shades were a necessary prop to maintain the realism, so Rawding now tosses on a $5 CVS pair to appease them.
When The Joshua Tree began, U2 was basking in its triumphant return to the pop limelight with the 2000 release of ''All That You Can't Leave Behind." Along with last year's ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2 had reached a new generation of fans eager to pump their fists to ''Pride," bounce to the driving beat of ''Vertigo," and belt out the chorus of ''Beautiful Day."
''It's just a frenzy right now," Matos says. ''People can't get enough."
Early on, mastering U2's sound took a lot of rehearsal and research, band members said. But now, learning new songs has become fairly straightforward. The key to a good show, they agree, isn't simply churning out the hits note for note like a jukebox. It's evoking a bit of the immediacy and magic of U2's music.
Still, winning over a crowd swimming in nostalgia as they sing along to songs they know by heart isn't the toughest sell, and band members are torn between reveling in the cheers and feeling vaguely guilty about it.
''It's hard not to get spoiled," Rawding admits. ''It's almost like cheating, because we're riding their coattails. You get that rush, but then you suddenly realize, 'Hey, I didn't write this song.' So it's bittersweet."
Those mixed emotions don't come across live, when the band seems to take genuine pleasure in its craft, an enjoyment the crowd feeds off of. Listening to a U2 record at home is one thing, but hearing the songs performed in person among fellow disciples makes the music come alive, fans say.
Many of those fans are more hard-core than they are, band members admit, so sets always include songs from the '80s that U2 rarely play live anymore. That devotion also means the band is held to a high standard.
''Any U2 cover band has to be great, because U2 is great," says Laurie Rogers, 34, shouting above the sonic roar of ''Vertigo." ''But these guys, you can feel U2 in them."
Kneeling on a barstool to see over the crowd, Darlene Foster, a 34-year-old from Cambridge, swayed to the rhythm of ''Pride" while waving her hands in the air. She's seen The Joshua Tree six times, and said the band, like U2's music, never gets old.
''It's the spirit," she says. ''The U2 shows I've been to -- this has the same vibes."
Some tribute band skeptics came away from the show convinced.
''I didn't think they could pull it off," says Keith Mailloux, 25. ''I've been to a lot of other tribute [bands' shows] that didn't have it, but these guys are for real. Close your eyes, and you're at a U2 concert."
