Featured Live Music Artist of the Week - Remedy

"Freebird!!!!" comes from crowd

The lead singer looks out into the crowd, spots the fan (who is only having fun), and replies with "Yes - yes - we are actually doing Freebird next.  Now, it might sound a lot like Cult's Fire Woman, but I promise it's Freebird".

And they launch into Fire Woman, much to the enjoyment of the Freebird fan and everybody else who enjoyed the moment of fun.  And that was just one of the many qualities of the band - they interacted VERY WELL with the crowd.  (Oh, and Fire Woman was so spot on, it really sounded like The Cult).

Remedy is a band based in the Quad Cities of IL/IA along the Mississippi River.  And, contrary to the usual stereotype of rock-n-rollers, they actually DO get up before noon.  Or at least they did for this particular occasion.  Remedy provided finish-line/post-race party music at the Quad Cities Marathon Event.  I'm not sure what time they started, but they were already well into their set when I finished running around 10:30am.  And even though it was before noon - this band was kicking it up as if it were a bar and 1:00 in the morning!!! 

Their music ranged from The Cult, to Nirvana, to Poison and/or Cinderella (I can never tell them apart), to Metallica - yes Metallica - and everything in between.  And it's not just 80s/90s rock,  I do recall hearing some songs from the 70s when I finished the race (but to be honest, I was more focused on getting water....so I don't recall the early set list).

The one thing we all noticed about Remedy was how spot-on their songs were.  In all reality, nobody expects cover bands to BE the actual bands, we just expect them to be close and faithful to the song.  But these guys, very often, were spot on. During The Cult, seriously, they sounded just like The Cult.  Then they announced they were going to play Sandman, not the easiest song in the world to reproduce.  And they did it - perfectly.  The vocalist was spot on, the lead guitarist hit the solos without flaw, and bassist hit those bass notes with the force we all know, and the drummer and rhythm guitarist were so spot-on that it all just fit together perfectly.  And it just wasn't that song - it was pretty much the entire set.  They were so precise, that it was actually a topic of conversation among people sitting in the crowd - and that says something.

The things I remember most about the band - they were having fun (always a key in my opinion), they were always interacting with the crowd in some fashion, they were musically spot on, and they were quite professional (I mean really, what rock-and-roller wants to get up and start playing at 9:00am on a Sunday morning????? - but they did, and they did it with the same energy as a regular night time gig)

A fun band, able to roll with whatever was going on...................