POP MUSIC REVIEW : A Tribute to the Stones Rejects Idolatry for Affectionate Note

When it comes to cherishing a great rock band, affection is much healthier than idolatry.

With the popularity of “Beatlemania,” rampant Elvis impersonation and clone bands that specialize in note-for-note replications of various rock heroes, too many musicians and fans are eager to worship in high-decibel wax museums.

Tuesday night at Bogart’s in Long Beach, on the 26th anniversary of the Rolling Stones’ first gig, a loose confederation of Orange County rock musicians got together to pay the Stones an affectionate, non-idolatrous tribute.

The show before a small but receptive audience evolved from informal musical get-togethers among friends who jam most Wednesday nights at Beggar’s Banquet, an Anaheim record shop named after a classic Rolling Stones album.

The band, loosely billed both as Some Boys and the Beggars, hadn’t rehearsed enough to render precise replications. But it captured the essence of the Rolling Stones, which is to bash out good, raunchy, hopped-up Chuck Berry licks and have a good time doing it.

Most of the singing fell to Jeff Drake, front man of the Joneses, and he carried it off with nasal, drawling vocals that followed Mick Jagger’s phrasings. One look at Drake made it obvious that this wasn’t Stonesmania. He didn’t try to put on a Jagger pout or ape Jagger’s shimmy-and-shake stage presence. With a drink perpetually clutched in his left hand and a cigarette almost constantly lit in his right hand, Drake was clearly taking the casual approach.

Sticking to an up-tempo repertoire of rock-radio classics, gritty, but less-famous songs from “Exile on Main Street” and tunes covered by the Stones (“Route 66” and several Chuck Berry numbers), Some Boys came up with engaging, if occasionally creaky, garage rock in which even the sloppier numbers had their moments of glory.

Drummer Shawn Edwards was a key player, driving the band with swing and surge (the show flagged noticeably when a stand-in took over for Edwards during “Brown Sugar” and “Honky Tonk Woman”). Matt Rosney, the proprietor of the Beggar’s Banquet shop, and D.A. Valdez, moonlighting on bass from his usual job as drummer for the Pontiac Brothers, rounded out a solid rhythm section.

Mark Walsdorf, a member of the Joneses, was the star of the show, tossing out taut, raunchy-but-tasty lead guitar licks at every turn. The best vocal moment was a boozy rendition of “Let It Bleed” by Scott Drake (Jeff’s brother) and Rik Homan, who perform together in the Suicide Kings. The two sets, totaling 80 minutes, could have used an occasional slow song to change the pace--a “Tell Me,” perhaps, or an “Out of Time.”

With things going well early in the second set, Jeff Drake mused that “maybe we’ll do this every year on July 12.” Not a bad idea. The right spirit was there, and the material wasn’t too shabby, either.