Traveling Wilburys Tribute

[queenofthehours]

Guess who's coming to Gorleston -

www.gorlestonpavilion.co.uk/whatson/show/sb

I'm intrigued, will they be doing all Wilbury stuff or solo music too? It will either be everybody's dream concert or nightmare.

[unomusette]

Will you be going, to find out?

[Platypus]

Others probably know what they do, but I didn't:

[queenofthehours]

I can't go and see them but I wish I could just to experience it good or bad. It would be wonderful if each member were also members of Beatles, ELO, Heartbreakers, Dylan and Orbison acts!

[queenofthehours]

I'm going to see the Traveling Wilburys tribute show next week!

It would be a shame to miss it when it's coming so close to home. There are only a few seats left in the auditorium so it seems they are popular. I'm not really concerned that I'm sitting further back than I would have liked had the band been real. This is because I don't want to see them all so up close that the magic spell is broken and I see them for what they are - imposters. I just want to hear the music and, if they are good enough, wallow in the Wilbury sound live.

My main reasons for going are -

1, scientific evaluation for the good of the forum and my general Wilbury/ELO/Jeff education.

2, the original group never toured or did gigs. This is the only chance to see something that has never happened.

3, I hear they will do other songs such as 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Pretty Woman' etc. Although this is 'non-Wilbury' behaviour and I'm unsure about tribute singers, it will be kind of nice to hear the songs.

The problem with the area I live in is that there are so many tribute acts doing shows that nobody can tell the real groups from the fake. I bet the real Dylan could do a gig and people would thing he's the fake version.

[unomusette]

I'll be most interested to hear how this goes, all hail queenofthehours for your public-spirited outlook

[wolvesgirlgonewild]

I look forward to hearing about this queenofthehours, I feel the same about tribute acts I'm a bit wary of them because I do compare them to the real thing! But as you say The Wilburys never toured so this is the closest to seeing them live. I know they have an ELO tribute band perform at The Robin 2 in Bilston and I was tempted to go but I would find myself not enjoying myself because I'd rather see the real thing and I'd be constantly comparing them to the real deal

[queenofthehours]

I saw a poster at the weekend for a Bon Jovi tribute act also coming to play locally. The "Jon" character looks more like Tom Petty than the Petty in the Wilbury tribute.

[queenofthehours]

Please, if you want to go and see the Wilbury Tribute show and want a surprise don’t read on!

Here is my concert review posted in three parts:

The Traveling Wilburys Tribute show came to town not too long ago and I can safely say that it was the best night out I’ve had since…well, since seeing the real Jeff Lynne in concert. And if I hadn’t seen Jeff in real-life I’d count my Wilbury night as probably the best show I have ever seen. Yes it was THAT good and that’s saying something for me to admit that I was wrong about the thoughts I had when I decided to go. I said earlier here that it could either be a dream concert or a nightmare – well, it WAS a dream concert! Just like I used to have disparaging opinions about ELO before I fell in love with Jeff literally within minutes, I completely changed my mind about tribute acts that night. Friends, those guys on that stage singing and playing Traveling Wilburys tracks are just like all of us on this forum. They are passionate musicians who love what they do and the songs they sing. They are not simply a tribute act, they are fans.

I could pinpoint my change of mind to an exact moment – when I walked into the venue and saw the merchandise stall. What I saw for sale I’ll talk about later but everything indicated that good things were to come.

After getting everyone ready for Wilbury-world by playing a selection of recordings by the real band over the tannoy, the show started with ‘Pretty Woman’ which I can’t remember much of as I was still getting adjusted to the sight of the band. It was a fantastic opener but, wow, where else could you see Bob Dylan singing along to ‘Pretty Woman’? Left to right on the stage from my viewpoint were “Jeff”, “Bob”, “Tom”, “Jim Keltner” (yes, they even had a Buster Sidebury), “Roy” and “George”. I know I said I didn’t care how far back I was sat, well, it happened that I had an excellent view and could see their faces quite clearly. I had the best view of Bob and Tom and an even better view of Jeff who was directly in front of me. Had he been the real Jeff I might have fainted . I also had a good view of George. Roy and Jim were harder to see as somebody’s head was always in the way and the seating was flat.

I can’t remember the exact order of the songs played but most of the memorable Wilbury tracks were all there such as ‘Heading for the Light’, ‘She’s My Baby’ ‘Last Night’, ‘Wilbury Twist’ and ‘Handle With Care’ along with a handful of solo songs for each member, usually Jeff-related.

The main “host” of the night was Roy Orbison (Paul Hopkins) who admitted himself that he would be stepping out of character to introduce songs, tell stories and explain how the Wilburys got together. I thought this was a nice touch as it showed not only that the band were knowledgeable but they wanted to share the Wilbury-world with the audience, not all of whom may know the story. One detail that “Roy” gave was about young Jeff listening to Orbison on the radio after which they played ‘Only the Lonely’. Roy sang ‘I Drove All Night’, ‘You Got It’ and ‘A Love So Beautiful’. The latter was sung accompanied by piano which made it different and more lovely than ever.

Bob Dylan, unlike the real Wilburys, was not for the main part on guitar; he played keyboards at the back. When he did take the lead on songs, “George” took over on keys. In the first half Bob’s set consisted of ‘Blowing in the Wind’ and ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ both of which were great. However Aubrey Robinson looked, to me, far more like Bruce Springsteen! And he seemed to be enjoying himself far too much, far more than the real Bob would let show, judging by the smile he had throughout the show. But since this is a fantasy concert, Bob Dylan should be allowed to be happy! Much was made about Aubrey’s local roots (Sheffield), and he was congratulated on winning the Nobel prize! I’d like to point out that ‘Knocking on Heaven’s’ Door’ has a great little guitar solo which was taken by "Jeff" and played with as much quality as the real Jeff would. 

Also in the first half, George sang ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and Tom performed ‘Free Fallin’’. To me, “Tom” (Owen James) was the most convincing character. He looked and moved just how the real Tom might. His hat could have helped but everything about him was utterly convincing. The only thing that didn’t seem right about Matt Gaffiney’s George was that in the first half he wore the coat George wore in the ‘Handle with Care’ video, the real George wouldn’t have worn that outfit onstage (although it did lead to some Columbo jokes!). But never mind, in the second half George wore a more suitable black polo neck and black jacket.

Jeff, as played by Richard Gibson, was just about spot on. In the first half he wore the same outfit sported by the real Jeff on tour this year and in the second a jacket over a band t-shirt. I could swear in certain lights he really did look like the real man! “Jeff’ sang ‘Mr Blue Sky’ (of course!) which was introduced by Roy/Paul telling a story about how a little old lady in the audience one night called the song “Mr Sunshine” (you have to admit that’s a good alternative title!). The WHOLE track was performed yet, obviously, the lack of Tandy-ness meant Jeff had to do his own vocoder business. I was most impressed by Jeff’s guitar work. The ‘MBS’ solo was absolutely spot on, as precise and perfect as the real Jeff. I have to confess I probably enjoyed the tribute ‘MBS’ more than the real Jeff’s tour live version but only because I was so glad to hear it and didn’t have the overwhelming importance of the moment weighing on me. Jeff also played ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, which was a surprise, and took the lead on ‘Runaway’ which was introduced with a few facts about Del Shannon and how he almost joined the band. When it came to Jeff performing ‘Rattled’ Roy introduced the song by saying that it was “written by Jeff, played by Jeff, sung by Jeff, produced by Jeff – Jeff the megalomaniac” . Well, that pretty much described the man to anyone in the audience who didn’t know him!

[wolvesgirlgonewild]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us queenofthehours, it sounded like you had a good time!

[BSJ]

Details. Details. That’s what made it real, right? Case in point, having a “Keltner”. This we hard core fans appreciate. “Jeff” playing on "Knocking On Heavens Door"!? A favorite Dylan song. That would have done it for me! Fold me up, mail me home!

[queenofthehours]

Part two -

During the first half Roy asked the audience at various times who was a fan of whichever musician he was introducing. There was a lot of cheering for every character, slightly less for Tom but some enthusiastic person at the back cheered very loudly indeed! At one time Roy asked if we knew who the Wilbury drummer was. I’m pretty sure I was the only one who shouted anything then!

The second half opened with an ‘acoustic set’ with “Jim Keltner” up front. They sang ‘Nobody’s Child’ and ‘My Sweet Lord’ which mesmerised me as I watched Tom on rhythm acoustic guitar. George was rather good at slide work and didn’t disappoint me at all. Jeff did ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman’ which took me onto an ELO-high I hadn’t felt since the tour (of course I sang along, like I did to every song that night!). Bob had his ‘She’s My Baby video hat on and performed ‘Mighty Quin’, which went down very well and was the singalong-clapalong hit of the night. Bob also sang ‘Tweeter and The Monkey Man’ which was a work of art in Aubrey Robinson’s hands. To learn that and perform it so well must have been a labour of love. Roy performed ‘Penny Arcade’ which was the only surprise for me of the night as I didn’t know it previously. It was a splendid version with some top-trumpeting by Tom Petty! Roy also sang ‘Not Alone Anymore’ which was introduced as the last song Orbison ever recorded. George went on to sing ‘Got My Mind Set on You’ and when ‘End of the Line’ was performed they really did take Roy from the stage and have a guitar alone in a chair. The effect was actually rather emotional.

I have to say now which track was the number one highlight for me and that would be ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’. Tom didn’t get as many solo tracks to perform that night but he really blew the audience away with this. Watching Owen James performing as Tom Petty was almost like the real thing. When the band played this track you could imagine they were a real group rather than the tribute they were marketed as. Tom’s performance, the guitar, the perfect solo, the energy and power, the loudness! It was a really storming version and the audience knew it. I think their reaction to it was the biggest of the night. I challenge the real Tom to do a better version.

The impersonations, other than to an extent Tom, and the vocals, other than to an extent Roy (both my personal opinions), were never going to be close to accurate. But you WANT to believe. That's the main thing. And you behave accordingly with as much excitement as you would if you were seeing the real deal. And no band member failed. Sure "George" had a different face shape and moved with better rhythm than the real one but he still had great slide skills. Sure "Jeff" looked more confident, moving around the stage and concentrating less than the real man, but who knows how Jeff would act onstage among friends? Would he be more self-assured and look at the audience more than at his band-mates? Because the tribute Jeff did. Perhaps the real one WOULD be more confident onstage as a Wilbury? False Jeff certainly succeeded in imitating Jeff's thumbs up and precise guitar mastery to perfection. Anyway, the band didn't take themselves seriously at all, just like the true Wilburys. There were plenty of jokes and stories, they even made jokes about their make-up and the bits they had to stick on (this reminded me about the real Jeff's remark about "war paint and chewing gum" during the Wogan interview). What I appreciated was the attention to detail only fans would know. Like the addition of Buster. Buster Sidebury could have been the best impersonation of the night, it's so hard to make an impersonation of a non-singing member but Buster's drumming had THAT sound.

I MUST mention the sound. The band had the Lynne-sound exactly right. The drums had that special sound that only Jeff can coax from them and the backing vocals were very impressive, perhaps the best technical element of the night. It sounded as if the group had listened to a lot of Wilbury related recordings in order to get this good. So what if the vocals didn't sound like the real thing - the backing vocals most certainly did. I was very, very impressed.

[unomusette]

Wow, sounds like a totally epic night, thanks for the lovely long and detailed review @queenofhehours(and more to come, I believe?) The range of songs played is really impressive, I'd definitely try to see them if they ventured down this way

The closest I've seen to this would be The Bootleg Beatles - it was at quite a big venue so you couldn't see their faces so well but it didn't matter because they had the little mannerisms down perfectly. It could easily have been the real thing from where I was sitting; Seems something similar happens with The Wilbury Tribute. Plus of course if they are real fans that must shine through.

[Helmut83]

Wow, queenofthehours ! Sounds like an amazing night! After reading your very descriptive report I can only imagine more vividly how much I would have enjoyed being there. To hear a live version for example of "Nobody's child", a song I love, in the style of the Wilburys, that alone would have paid half the price of the ticket. Then many others... I really envy you, I wish I could get a chance like this in Argentina.

"But since this is a fantasy concert, Bob Dylan should be allowed to be happy!"

[queenofthehours]

Nov 17, 2016 22:52:52 GMT unomusette said:

Wow, sounds like a totally epic night, thanks for the lovely long and detailed review @queenofhehours(and more to come, I believe?) The range of songs played is really impressive, I'd definitely try to see them if they ventured down this way

The closest I've seen to this would be The Bootleg Beatles - it was at quite a big venue so you couldn't see their faces so well but it didn't matter because they had the little mannerisms down perfectly. It could easily have been the real thing from where I was sitting; Seems something similar happens with The Wilbury Tribute. Plus of course if they are real fans that must shine through.

The venue I saw the Wilbury act in was rather small, little more than a hall. That was the biggest and perhaps only giveaway that they were not "proper" musicians as the real lads would likely play stadiums or at least large theatres.

There were far too many details for them not to have been fans.

They clearly were not real yet it didn't matter. You wanted to BELIEVE so much that they were, and so they became real in your head. I bit like a child meeting a department store Santa.

Nov 18, 2016 5:06:20 GMT Helmut83 said:

Wow, queenofthehours ! Sounds like an amazing night! After reading your very descriptive report I can only imagine more vividly how much I would have enjoyed being there. To hear a live version for example of "Nobody's child", a song I love, in the style of the Wilburys, that alone would have paid half the price of the ticket. Then many others... I really envy you, I wish I could get a chance like this in Argentina.

"But since this is a fantasy concert, Bob Dylan should be allowed to be happy!"

I'm pretty sure 'Nobody's Child might have kicked off the second half. I was not expecting the song at all like I never expected 'Runaway' - on the best sort of "tribute" group play b-sides! Surely.

And I think most of the audience knew and enjoyed both 'NC' and 'Runaway' because they were covers. A hall full of people singing along to the Wilburys!

Bobby D playing the riff from a Del Shannon song on a keyboard is a sight you'll never see again.