The Idol Kings
Mohegan Sun Wolf Den
Uncasville, CT
November 4, 2016

 

Tribute bands are not an uncommon thing for our website to cover, but I am use to a tribute band playing the music of a specific musician or group. The Idol Kings, are more than just that.

This band travels from venue to venue, playing tribute to Journey, Tom Petty and John Mellencamp. They morph into each roll with their ability to imitate the different artists with their amazing sound, dress and energy.

On Friday, I had to opportunity to watch them bring Journey to life at the Wolf’s Den in Mohegan Sun. The Wolf’s Den is a concert hall that offers free live quality entertainment. I’m going to stress quality, because I have never seen one of their free shows be anything less.

Michael Crow played the part of Journey’s former lead singer, Steve Perry, and he played it well. Everything from his hair, to his white sneakers, and his voice were perfect. Even though he was playing a part, he was still himself. He spoke to the crowd about Journey, asking some pop quiz questions. He made a few jokes, like saying he was going to play a B-side track that people may not have heard of, and then went into a hit.

The band itself sounded great, from guitar solos, to the drums, everything was as it should be. The keyboards, which is my favorite part of the “Journey” sound, were amazing.  If I closed my eyes, I could have been at an actual Journey show.

The dance floor was pretty bare, even though there were plenty of people dancing in their seats. At one point Michael pointed out that there was indeed a dance floor and that people were welcome to use it, or wait until there liquid courage kicked in to do so. Thats all the fans needed, from there on out, the dance floor was packed.

They managed to squeeze in a couple of hits from Prince, to pay homage to him.  Journey and Prince were big at the same time, so they thought it was a fitting way to pay tribute to the legendary singer.  They sang it as Journey, singing Prince.  It was a great twist on “Purple Rain” and broke up the Journey set for a few minutes.

Then they went back to playing every hit that you can think of, and even ones you may have forgotten about. “Lights”? Check. “I’ll be Alright Without You”? Check. “Loving’, Touching’, Squeezing’”? Check. “Don’t Stop Believing”? You better believe it. He even made sure that he invited all the men to bring their loves to the dance floor when he sang ‘Open Arms’, and when they tried to leave, he broke into “Faithfully”.

Thank you Michael, from all the ladies.

This band has been performing for the past 5 years, and I fully endorse seeing them. Check out their website HERE and throw them a like on there Facebook page so you can stay in the loop for the next time they come around!