Go to www.tribute-band.com and just check out the 21 pages of cover bands listed. There is somebody out there paying tribute to pretty much every stripe and type of music (and some of the names are pretty funny): Alyson Chaynes…hahaha…and, of course, the ubiquitous Zeppelin, Beatles, Journey, Hendrix and Stones – plenty of those. I guess, I was not surprised to see multiple Tim McGraw, LadyGaGa…but what about “Manna” as a tribute to Bread, and some guys in the UK are called: KINGSO FLEON. Guess who?
It was written recently that Dallas has ALWAYS been a “haven” for cover bands – 400 or so in the area. No surprise – in Big D, people like to get their drink on, have a good time, and if they have to listen to live music, it might as well be songs they have known and loved from some era or another of their life.
Well, riding that (new) wave for the past few years is Dallas’ own Le Cure, paying homage to who else but - The Cure. It has always been my contention that to be a gigging cover band, which accepts a paycheck and wants the tip bucket to be filled, you got to really BE IT. And if you have ANY passing knowledge of The Cure, you know there are multiple phases of their history, and some DEEP DEEP cuts that need to be handled with care and precision to not suck. Le Cure handles that like pros.
I caught Le Cure for the first time at Lee Harvey’s recently. “Just Like Heaven”? Check. “Lovesong”? Check. “Lullaby”? Check. “In Between Days”? Check. “Close To Me”? Check. But, again, you have to go deep to be a good tribute band. Deep cuts, no problem: “A Forest” (from Seventeen Seconds, 1981), “Fire in Cairo” (from Three Imaginary Boys, 1979), and “Siamese Twins” (Pornography, 1982). That’s deep.
Sure, you can bang out some cover songs at a crappy little bar, play for beer and try to not suck, or you can take it to this level and master some great music and have fun doing it.
Le Cure is:
Mark Hernandez - Vox
Brian Miller - Guitar
Bobby Hoke - Keyboard
Doug Grabowski - Bass
Alan Mouradian - Drums
Upcoming: July 29th Le Cure plays Black Thursday at Lakewood Bar and Grill – 9 p.m., $5.00 cover (don’t forget the great LBG wings). August 6th at Wizard’s Sports Café, on Central Expressway in Richardson, and August 12th, Le Cure will be playing Nou Wave Thursday at W Hotel’s Ghost Bar.
