Concert Review: Almost Queen and Philadelphia Freedom Tribute Bands Double Bill
Answering my earlier question about the validity of tribute bands
A few months ago I wrote about buying tickets to see two tribute bands, a concept I was on the fence about. Are tribute bands valid entertainment or copycat kids playing dress up, I asked.
Now that I’ve seen both the Elton John tribute band Philadelphia Freedom and the Queen tribute band Almost Queen, I have the answer:
It depends.
I saw the concert on November 23 at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA. While the show was partially ruined for everybody in the balcony because of exactly four people in the front who were rowdy and stood up and danced through the entire thing despite being asked politely to sit down- and then called security on the people who had asked them to sit down….
I’m not going to talk about that (I promised myself I wouldn’t — though I may write another entire article about it.)
What I am going to do is talk about the bands, one at a time, and end with some thoughts on tribute bands in general.
Almost Queen: Almost Good
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Almost Queen or Philadelphia Freedom. I knew both bands dressed as the original performers. But I didn’t know how far they carried the imitation.
What surprised me the most about Almost Queen is that they have an outlier: the bass player, Randy Gregg. He doesn’t impersonate original Queen bassist John Deacon. He’s just himself.
Why? I have no idea. When each member of the band introduced another band member, it was, “Joseph Russo as Freddie Mercury,” “Steve Leonard as Brian May,” “John Cappadona as Roger Taylor,” and “Randy Gregg… as Randy Gregg.”
Is John Deacon not worthy of being impersonated? Or does Randy Gregg have to be the spokesperson during the show so that Joseph Russo does not have to step out of character to talk to the audience about real-life things?
That was the impression I got, because Russo as Freddie did indeed seem like a method actor playing a role. He was Freddie between songs. He faked an English accent and called the audience “Darlings,” constantly. Gregg took the mic when it came to talking about the merchandise for sale in the lobby and the proceeds being donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
I didn’t like Russo’s complete absorption in the role. I found it to be a little too much — and a little disturbing.
After seeing this band and Philadelphia Freedom, I have learned that some tribute bands do this, and others don’t.
Musically, Almost Queen was pretty good. Cappadona’s drum solo was amazing. Leonard’s guitar solo sounded a bit too much like Brian May’s original on the Sheer Heart Attack album. It was the lengthy stretch of music from the song “Brighton Rock,” and I suspected some additional music was being mixed in.
Russo sounds like Freddie, but at a small venue with loud rock music, it can be really hard to hear anything clearly. They started off big with “We Will Rock You,” then went straight into “Tie Your Mother Down.” They covered Queen from the first album (“Keep Yourself Alive”) to the end, and encored with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a redux of “We Will Rock You,” and finally, “We Are The Champions.”
And then Joseph Russo came out as Freddie in the cloak and crown, and I wanted to cry.
Maybe I just think Freddie can’t be imitated, or as a lifelong Queen fan I believe they should be imitated at all, but I just wanted Russo to drop the act and admit that he’s not really Freddie. I wanted him to be himself, just once.
Philadelphia Freedom was the opening act, but I’m writing about the bands in reverse order for a reason: I liked Philadelphia Freedom better and I wanted to save the best for last.
Philadelphia Freedom: Oh Doug, he’s really keen
Doug Delescavage as Sir Elton John doesn’t pretend he’s from England when he’s leading Philadelphia Freedom. He wears a messy blond wig and glasses like Elton circa 1973, and his bandmates have long hair and wear bell bottoms, but Doug talks to the audience as himself, talks about being a Wilkes-Barre native (at least when he’s performing in Wilkes-Barre), and even says hello to his students who are in the audience, informing us that he teaches music at a local school.
It’s clear that he’s not really Elton John but he plays him on stage.
I watched some YouTube videos of Doug when he was younger, doing Elton songs but looking like himself. Up close, he gives the impression that he’s trying just a little too hard to imitate Elton’s voice.
But when you put it all together with the wig, the glasses, the flashy outfits, and the whole band, it works.
The setlist for the concert I attended included almost exclusively songs from the 70s. The 80s were only touched upon with “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues.” I liked it that way, because the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album was a huge part of my childhood. They didn’t do the title track, but they did do “Candle in the Wind,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Grey Seal,” and the show opener, “Bennie and the Jets.”
Other songs included “Daniel,” “The Bitch is Back,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Rocket Man,” and of course, “Philadelphia Freedom.”
I don’t want to end this with the impression that I disliked Almost Queen. They are talented, and Joseph Russo does do a very good impersonation of Freddie Mercury.
Perhaps a bit too good.
In my previous article I mentioned the Led Zeppelin tribute band called Get the Led Out. They are coming to the same venue in Wilkes-Barre next month. In its Facebook post for the upcoming concert, it says “No wigs or fake English accents.”
I can understand that this is a selling point for some. For me, it could indeed be, but I have to admit, if Doug Delescavage hadn’t been dressed at classic 1970s Elton, it wouldn’t have been as much fun.
My opinion on tribute bands now is that I do like some imitation of the real artists, but in moderation. The performers need not bury themselves in the part.
