# Cover band and the real thing
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 25, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884 "2012-04-25T05:00:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/1 "2012-04-25T05:00:19Z")
Has a cover band opened for the band they do covers of? I have never heard of it happening although it might be daring for the both of them.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/2 "2012-04-25T08:15:35Z")
I found this one:[
> [@](#):
>
> They Might Be Giants has occasionally played their own tribute band, opening for themselves as Sapphire Bullets and performing the album Flood from start to finish.
]([Tribute act - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_act#Parody_acts))
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### Author:  [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/3 "2012-04-25T11:17:58Z")
The Australian Pink Floyd played at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday party.
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### Author:  [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/4 "2012-04-26T01:11:55Z")
I don’t know if this counts but I saw the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder revue in the mid 1970s which had people such as Roger McQuinn (Byrds) and Joan Baez appearing before Zimmerman came out. Both had done a number of Dylan covers but didn’t that night. The only song McQuinn did was his own “Chestnut Mare” and Baez did “Diamonds and Rust” and a couple others.
I remember some benefit concert on MTV in the 1980s when two people did “Everytime You go Away”-Paul Young and maybe Alison Moyet. In both cases it was still a shitty song.
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### Author:  [@dzray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzray)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/5 "2012-04-26T20:49:35Z")
Ex-Lion Tamers (With a young Jim DeRogatis) [opened](http://gojohnnygojohnny.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/the-ex-lion-tamers-wire-the-amazing-story-via-cassette/)for Wire on tour back in 1987.
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### Author:  [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/6 "2012-04-26T21:15:20Z")
In the film “A Mighty Wind” (one of my all-time favorites), The New Mainstreet Singers did a song which was a cover of The Folksmens’ hit, “Never Did No Wanderin’” causing an argument among the group if they should go ahead and do their own song anyway. This was a case of the cover group sounding better than the originals.
If you are old enough to remember the “Hootenanny” shows, I highly recommend this film! 🙂
Q
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-band-and-the-real-thing/619884/7 "2012-04-26T22:50:06Z")
A couple of sort-ofs:
When I saw Sparks circa 1982, Ron and Russell Mael opened for themselves in the persona of a lounge act, doing easy listening versions of Sparks songs. I don’t remember what they called themselves, and I think they reversed roles: Ron singing and Russell playing the keyboard.
I saw a Van Morrison set where the first couple of songs were Van Morrison numbers sung by backing singer Brian Kennedy before Morrison himself appeared.