While the music business in general is currently in the doldrums, one area is thriving — tribute bands. San Diego’s club scene has been practically overrun with groups playing entire sets dedicated to one iconic band or another. While this has been a mixed blessing for artists playing original music, for music fans it’s a different story. Tribute bands can be the next best thing to seeing your favorite act. This is especially true when they are as solid a bunch of performers like Full Moon Fever, which performs at Dream Street on Aug. 28. The five-piece band has been together for two years, uniting informally. “The band started as a bunch of friends jamming in the garage,” said drummer Paul Talanian. “On one occasion, we ended up playing Tom Petty songs all night. It sounded pretty good, so we decided to go for it.” The quintet is rounded out by keyboardist Mick Matuszkiewicz, lead guitarist Ed Posnak, bassist Ken Titilah and a frontman who coincidentally has the same name as long-time Petty collaborator and fellow Traveling Wilbury, Jeff Lynne. “I’m not sure how many people are that into Petty’s background to get the connection,” Talanian said. “But it is quite a coincidence.” Though the band plays deep catalog from Petty’s albums, so far it hasn’t added any Wilbury’s songs. “That’s something we’ve been meaning to do. We’ve actually worked on a version of ‘Handle With Care’ and ‘End of the Line,’ but they haven’t made it to a stage set yet,” Talanian said. Talanian said the biggest crowd pleasers are pretty obvious. “We try to play a bit of everything, but you’re stuck doing the hits because that’s what the audience is most familiar with and really wants to hear,” said Talanian. He cites “Break Down” and “Free Fallin’” as two specific live favorites. “The stuff that’s gotten radio airplay always gets the biggest reaction, but we can play at least a couple of songs from each album, including more obscure songs such as ‘Rhino Skin’ from the Echo album,” Talanian said. “They always go down fine but, as you’d expect, it’s the hits that really get a crowd moving.” Full Moon Fever does play the occasional non-Petty tune, but only if he recorded it. “We have fun with that sort of thing,” Talanian said. “We’ve mixed in things like The Byrds’ ‘Feel A Whole Lot Better’ or the Beatles’ ‘Taxman,’ as they can be found on his albums as well. Crowds always love to hear a Beatles song,” Talanian said. The band strives for accuracy, but skips costuming when it comes to their live performances. “With us, it’s just the music,” Talanian said. “Our goal is to play the songs as close to the studio album version as possible. Unlike some bands, we don’t put our own spin on the music or create new versions. We try to replicate the feeling of his live shows.” While some might find playing one artist’s music limiting, Talanian is of a different opinion. “We don’t see it that way because there is so much to choose from,” Talanian said. “I wouldn’t call Petty’s music eclectic, because it’s all pretty much straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll. But we try to mix things up. “Certainly, whenever a new album comes out, we jump in and add songs to the set as quickly as we can,” he added. “Petty has a big catalog of songs, so there is a lot of space and variety.” Full Moon Fever performs at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28 at Dream Street, 2228 Bacon St. The show is for those 21 and up. Cover TBD. For more information, visit www.pettyband.com.
