"It was very character-driven, with wigs and everyone playing really, really badly."
After a show last weekend in Melbourne, a woman approached AJ Navarrete, vocalist for The Smiths tribute band Ordinary Boys. She came with a compliment — and a confession.
“Man, you guys are so much fun. It’s almost like watching a concert in the ’80s, with the energy and the music,” she said, in Navarrete’s recollection. “But I honestly came here tonight to see how bad this was gonna be. I wanted to see how laughable it was gonna be.”
After more than a dozen years traveling the United States sharing beloved songs by The Smiths and singer Morrissey, Navarrete understands the skepticism of the faithful who have never seen Ordinary Boys perform, who wonder how they dare to attempt this sacred music?
“I put my arm around her and I looked at her square in the face, and I said, ‘You’re not the first one that’s ever told us that,’” Navarrete says, laughing.
Such is the life of a South Florida tribute band — especially the groups who simulate music created by bands whose peak performances still feel contemporary.
Read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel