John Lennon UK at Acapela Studios, Pentyrch, Cardiff on Saturday 4th May 2019.

If you are the biggest band of all time, you’re always going to generate some attention. The Beatles were probably the first band ever to have a serious ‘Tribute’ industry grow up around them. But then again, how many artists of any genre of the Arts have, within 10 years, changed the world, forever? What John, Paul, George & Ringo achieved in their 10 years together will probably never be repeated. To have 3 astonishing songwriters within one band will probably never happen again. The world is too ego-centric these days. So it was inevitable that The Beatles would kick start the ‘Tribute’ industry properly. There seem to be 100s of Beatles tribute artists around. Some exceptionally good, some exceptionally bad.
But it’s somewhat rarer to see a Tribute dedicated to the individual members. So, it was with some enthusiasm that I booked tickets to see Gaz Keenan bring his John Lennon Tribute Show to my favourite venue, Acapela Studios.
Armed with just an acoustic guitar, Gaz came to the mic alone and launched the gig with a splendid version of Working Class Hero.
I’ll lay my stall out straight away here. I like a decent tribute act. As long as they don’t try and imitate the artists concerned. I’m more about hearing these great songs being played live once again. I don’t want an imitator. And to his credit, despite the fact that he dresses in the Lennon guise, it is a SHOW after all, Gaz uses his own voice to sing the songs of Lennon. Yes, he uses Lennon’s inflections sometimes, but that’s ok. It’s the vibe and the passion and in Lennon’s case the humour that I’m looking for. And tonight Gaz and the band deliver it beautifully. Right, now that’s out of the way, let me discuss the evening.
To see the full review visit the Macwood Fleet blog.