Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Who's Bad -- Not this Michael Jackson Tribute Band

I've always enjoyed seeing tribute bands. Some of my musician friends make fun of them. They don't see the point of seeing a fake Rolling Stones band. Or a guy pretending to be David Bowie or Freddie Mercury. And I have to admit, seeing a Queen tribute band one time at the Casbah was strange. When the guy came out, with tight black leather pants, and those mirrored sunglasses like the cop from Village People...with a big black mustache that looked to be fake, many in the crowd laughed.

But for a band like Wild Child, well...you can't see The Doors anymore. So spending $15 at 'Canes, for a great re-creation, is a good deal if you're a fan of the band.

It is silly when there are tribute bands of bands that are still around touring. I've seen listings for Metallica and Journey tribute acts. And well...with Journey now having a singer that used to be in a Journey tribute band...that opens up another whole can of worms.

So I figured the Michael Jackson tribute band "Who's Bad" is probably one of the few groups of people around that didn't mind so much that Jackson had an early death. I know that's horrible to say. But I have to think it sure helped business.

At their show at the House of Blues Saturday night, the place was packed.

I got to wear my "Thriller in Manilla" shirt, which shows Michael Jackson boxing Muhammid Ali.

I saw a lot of middle-aged couples, having more fun then they probably have in years.

There was a 60-year-old, heavy-set black woman behind me, in a beautiful dress. She moved her head and hips, and sang along to every song.

There were a few in the crowd that were dressed odd. One had the red leather jacket Jackson wore. Remember the one with all those zippers?

Another woman had a hat and white T-shirt, and was sporting the later Jackson look. And at one point, she ended up on stage with about seven other attractive women, dancing along to a song.

The singer was a good dancer, although he did seem a step or two slower than the real Jackson. And he never did whip out any moonwalking.

He sounded great, though, starting things off with some songs from Off the Wall and Thriller. About 45 minutes into the show, the crowd was even more enthusastic then I thought possible. People would sing along to a certain chorus. Fists were pumping up in the air.

There was a corny moment where the singer put on a huge afro.

I had seen Lionel Richie do that when he performed some old Commodores songs. Although, this was a bit odd, as the singer didn't really look like a young Jackson, as they started singing a few of the Jackson 5 tunes.

Although it was interesting that they incorporated them into their set.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Last plane out of Seoul, 1950

Memories of a daring escape at the start of a war
Next Article

Last plane out of Seoul, 1950

Memories of a daring escape at the start of a war

I've always enjoyed seeing tribute bands. Some of my musician friends make fun of them. They don't see the point of seeing a fake Rolling Stones band. Or a guy pretending to be David Bowie or Freddie Mercury. And I have to admit, seeing a Queen tribute band one time at the Casbah was strange. When the guy came out, with tight black leather pants, and those mirrored sunglasses like the cop from Village People...with a big black mustache that looked to be fake, many in the crowd laughed.

But for a band like Wild Child, well...you can't see The Doors anymore. So spending $15 at 'Canes, for a great re-creation, is a good deal if you're a fan of the band.

It is silly when there are tribute bands of bands that are still around touring. I've seen listings for Metallica and Journey tribute acts. And well...with Journey now having a singer that used to be in a Journey tribute band...that opens up another whole can of worms.

So I figured the Michael Jackson tribute band "Who's Bad" is probably one of the few groups of people around that didn't mind so much that Jackson had an early death. I know that's horrible to say. But I have to think it sure helped business.

At their show at the House of Blues Saturday night, the place was packed.

I got to wear my "Thriller in Manilla" shirt, which shows Michael Jackson boxing Muhammid Ali.

I saw a lot of middle-aged couples, having more fun then they probably have in years.

There was a 60-year-old, heavy-set black woman behind me, in a beautiful dress. She moved her head and hips, and sang along to every song.

There were a few in the crowd that were dressed odd. One had the red leather jacket Jackson wore. Remember the one with all those zippers?

Another woman had a hat and white T-shirt, and was sporting the later Jackson look. And at one point, she ended up on stage with about seven other attractive women, dancing along to a song.

The singer was a good dancer, although he did seem a step or two slower than the real Jackson. And he never did whip out any moonwalking.

He sounded great, though, starting things off with some songs from Off the Wall and Thriller. About 45 minutes into the show, the crowd was even more enthusastic then I thought possible. People would sing along to a certain chorus. Fists were pumping up in the air.

There was a corny moment where the singer put on a huge afro.

I had seen Lionel Richie do that when he performed some old Commodores songs. Although, this was a bit odd, as the singer didn't really look like a young Jackson, as they started singing a few of the Jackson 5 tunes.

Although it was interesting that they incorporated them into their set.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

He-Mahn vs. Skeletor

Next Article

The Flight of the Conchords

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader