The Waiting Room was packed Saturday night (11/23) for a four band bill of alternative rock acts including RGF, Defnotes (Deftones tribute), Badmotorfinger (Sound Garden tribute), and Alice Unchained (Alice in Chains tribute).
If you’ve been following Stories from the Crowd for a while you know that Deftones is my favorite band of all time. So, when Defnotes announced they were coming back to the Waiting Room I was super psyched. They did an awesome set over the summer and Saturday night’s set was just as good!
But first up was RGF or Rose Garden Funeral. I hadn’t heard this band before, but their sound was definitely familiar. Drawing upon 90s alternative acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Sound Garden, the band garnered a lot of praise from the crowd. Not wanting to be left out of the tribute band scene, RGF closed their set with a raucous cover of “I Want to be Your Dog” by Iggy Pop.
After RGF were the dudes from Des Moines, Defnotes! These guys absolutely rip and it’s always a fun time when they come through. Lead singer Dan Medeiros jumped up in his flannel shirt with pulled up knee high socks and did his best Chino impression, making all the girls swoon.
Dan and crew stuck with the hits including “Diamond Eyes,” “Digital Bath,” “Change (in the house of flies),” and “Minerva.” But they also worked in a few lesser known cuts including “Knife prty” and “You’ve Seen the Butcher.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Defnotes set without “My Own Summer (Shove It).” By the time Defnotes got to the last song everyone on the floor was rocking out. With glasses raised and horns in the air, they screamed along with Dan “See I try…to look up…to the sky…but my eyes burn!!”
Dan’s vocals were on point too. I talked with him after the set and he mentioned he’d been doing some scream training. Whatever he’s been doing, it’s definitely working. Not to leave out Spencer Ross, Derek Austin, and Drake Lindsey. Everyone was gelling together and I’m sure the real Deftones would be proud.
Defnotes have plans to come back in early 2020. I suggest giving their page a like so you don’t miss out!
Next up was the Sound Garden tribute Badmotorfinger. I got to see these guys over the summer so I knew the crowd was in for a treat. They played all the SoundGarden hits the crowd could handle and even brought out a guest spoon player during “Spoonman”! I heard several people in the crowd saying how impressed they were with lead singer Mike Kirk’s vocals. Chris Cornell will go down as one of the best there ever was, so even hitting half of his sound is a huge accomplishment. It was a fun set, the highlight being “Hunger Strike” by Temple of Dog.
The last band of the night was Alice In Chains tribute Alice Unchained. As the band was getting ready to come on, a video of “I Stay Away” played in the background. The crowd cheered with anticipation. Alice Unchained kicked things off with “Them Bones” and got the place rocking! I never got deep into Alice In Chains’ discography, but I certainly know all the hits. It seemed to me that there were quite a few deep cuts in Alice Unchained’s set. Not that it’s a bad thing. I think it’s cool that the band went deep into the catalog and gave Alice’s true fans something special.
All of the bands on the bill were super talented and I’m glad I was there to take it all in. A special thanks to Dave Campbell and Midwest Elite Concerts for the guest spot. Make sure you’re following Midwest Elite on Facebook to keep up with all the great shows coming to Omaha! Defnotes and Alice Unchained photo galleries can be found below.
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Defnotes
Alice Unchained
