My buddy Mick (not that one) and I managed to catch The Unauthorized Rolling Stones tribute band in a local gig at Don Quixote's in Santa Cruz recently. It's a nice small club and they serve decent mexican food and marguaritas, so it's a good time all 'round. I always like to see a good tribute band and when the band looks and sounds the part, it makes for a fun, nostalgic evening. I've never seen the Stones live, but I think The Unauthorized Rolling Stones do a great job.
The band came on 30 minutes late (though a more accurate tribute would have been at least 2 hours longer delay) and opened up the set with "Jumpin' Jack Flash." They ploughed through many of the Stones hit songs, including "Sympathy for the Devil," "Brown Sugar," "Some Girls," "Beast of Burden" and others. The first set drew from the earlier part of the catalog and the second set added more songs from the late 70s and onward, including a kick-ass version of "Start Me Up".
Musically, the band does a great, edgy version of a Stones live show. The songs are not exactly note-by-note renditions as played on the albums; instead they are typically faster tempo and a bit more rocking. The guitar work by Mark Banning (as Ron Woods) and Dave Garcia (as Keith Richards) was exceptional giving a Stones vibe and tone that cut through the music with force. Banning outplayed many an arena guitarist as far as I'm concerned.
I'm not sure anyone can re-create Jagger's 70's vocals, but lead singer Johnny Moroko does a good job and is close enough to the real thing to make the whole show work. His voice is smooth but has that Jagger twang to it when needed. Moroko is a recent addition to the band, taking over from the original front man Rudy Colombini who has stepped down for health reasons and will be back in a couple of months time.
Check out a few of the videos below. The Unauthorized Rolling Stones tour regularly so be sure to watch for them on tour with some upcoming gigs in California.
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