Out Drew The Beach Boys and Beatles Tributes. Fans packed Prescott’s Entertainment Plaza, Who Show fans mesmerized by the show as they endured 90-degree temps…
Swarming band members after the show for contact and autographs, and it was a great time! Tribute bands have been a huge success this summer at the Entertainment District in Prescott Valley. Saturday evening it was a Who band’s turn to entertain an overflow crowd that heard many of the legendary band’s hits from Tommy, Quadrophenia and more.
“We’re gonna need a bloody amphitheater for this,” said drummer France DiCarlo looking out at the big crowd, estimated by some to be the largest ever seen in the ED for a concert; easily surpassing last month’s estimated attendance of 700 for the Beach Boys tribute band. Some of the surrounding businesses reported they had their best night ever.The four band members spent decades studying Who member mannerisms and music before taking their show on the road. Lead singer Jim Ferguson twirled his microphone as deftly as Roger Daltrey, bassist Jim Kennelly (as John Entwistle) handed out guitar pics to eager kids and lead guitarist Chris Propper did Pete Townshend like leaps and airborne guitar twirls to audience delight. “I’m playing the music I love,” Kennelly said after the show. “When I saw Entwistle doing a riff on “Can’t Explain,” I just knew I wanted to be able to do that someday.”
The four Who Show members are accomplished musicians in their own right. “We make so many people happy doing this,” said DiCarlo, who portrays legendary Who drummer, Keith Moon. The band plays all over the U.S. with plans to go to Dubai and Japan in the near future. Ferguson said Who lead singer, Roger Daltrey, was one of his rock idols growing up and ironically enough, in the 1980’s, people starting telling him he bore an uncanny resemblance to the legendary rock singer “I was wondering what Prescott Valley would be like,” he mused. “It’s really a pleasant surprise to see such a big crowd out here. It definitely motivates you to get a response like this,” Ferguson said as he and his band mates signed shirts and autographs for kids and adults.
Even though he had to miss his son’s all star baseball game to be here, Ferguson said his portrayal of Daltrey is “my alter ego. I’m going to keep doing it for awhile.”
More information on the Los Angeles based band as well as their concert schedule may be found at www.thewhoshow.com.
The show went so well the band was even able to use concert-ending rain showers to its advantage.
As the rain fell and the crowd clamored for an encore, the band returned to play a rousing, authentic sounding version of “Love, Reign O’er Me.”