Tribute shows have the added pressure of having to live up to the expectations of hardcore fans who relish their favourite artists and know the nuances of their songs. Unlike original compositions, tribute shows have to please an audience that has sung along to these songs.
On Saturday night, the Lady Andal auditorium saw a packed audience of young and old ready to hear their classic favourites. Boardwalkers presented ‘The Buzz — Living Performances — A Tribute to the Legends of Rock’. The performance by The Blue Birds featured songs of legends Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and The Rolling Stones.
After a delayed start, the show picked up with numbers like ‘Start Me Up’ by The Rolling Stones. Lead singer Rajasekaran accompanied his on-stage antics with powerful vocals and where he lacked in technicality he made up with gusto. He was joined by Kavita Thomas on harmonies that added depth and sensitivity to the songs.
In the ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin, Maarten Visser charmed the audience with his dynamic saxophone solo and Rajan on the bass complemented him. This was followed by Deep Purple’s iconic number ‘Highway Star’ which had Antony Karuna on keys creating magic while ‘Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones was powerful with Maynard Grant on the drums lending the required effect.
Timothy Madhukar took the stage with Deep Purple numbers and hit all the right notes with ‘Never Before’ and ‘Strange Kind Of Woman’. Jude Reeves on lead guitar complemented Rajasekaran as he got the crowd singing along to ‘It’s Only Rock And Roll’ by The Rolling Stones for male vocals, Kavita Thomas held the audience spell bound with her husky and sensuous voice as she performed ‘Stairway to heaven’ and ‘Black Dog ’, that were highlights of the night. The show ended with all three vocalists singing ‘Smoke on the Water’ that got the audience on their feet as they relived memories. The show was just what you needed if you really are a rock and roll fan. Quite like the lyrics of a Rolling Stones number, ‘you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes — you get what you need’.
