Fri. April 25

 So, there's a band out there called Slipkid. "Hmmm," you think, "where have I heard that term before? Who put those words together?" That's right! The Who. "Slip Kid" is the kickoff song to their 1975 album "The Who By Numbers," and it's the name (with Slip and kid merged of course) of a Who tribute band fronted by singer Gary Cherone (in photo. left) who also does the duty with the re-formed Extreme (and once sang for Van Halen) and his brother, Markus Cherone (in photo, right.) They're playing the Regent Theatre in Arlington Friday April 25 at 8 p.m.

     Explains Markus: "When Gary and I started kicking around the idea of doing a tribute to The Who, I don't think we realized what we were getting into. It seemed to me like a chance to play with my brother and a nice challenge to learn all this material. It has been more than we bargained for in a good way. The reason we love The Who so much is because their music is not only powerful on the surface, but it is visceral and meaningful. Listening to The Who not only makes you pump your fist in the air, it awakens your spirit. Performing the songs has been just as enlightening. Because The Who were and still are such a great live band, the songs excel on stage. We use live versions as well as studio versions when we are deciding on which arrangement to use for the songs. As far as being in a cover band goes, we all love to perform our own songs, but Slipkid has been such an incredibly edifying experience, that I wouldn't trade it for anything. In fact, it has only raised the bar for me for when I do my original thing again."
Adds Gary: "This project is not a copy, but a tribute, a labor of love for me and my brother. The Who have been such an incredible influence on us and, it's one thing to hear it but, to actually perform it, it's a whole other level. "A review from a December show ….   As BeatleJuice was to the Beatles, so is Slipkid to The Who: A very strong, locally based tribute band led by a somewhat famous singer. Boston’s late Brad Delp fronted the former; Extreme’s Gary Cherone fronts the latter, with his brother Markus on lead guitar. The Cherones had kicked the idea around for a decade, but Slipkid only began in mid-2006, but this December gig at the Hard Rock Café was but their 12th gig ever.
    “After this,” said Gary, post-set, “Extreme will be easy.” He was referencing the complexity of The Who’s material and the Extreme reunion. (The band has nearly finished a CD and plans a spring release and tour.) “To call this slumming would be blasphemy,” he added. “I do this because I love to do it. And who’s going to hear this music in a club?”
     Indeed, Slipkid doesn’t attempt to look like The Who; they simply play the shit out of the The Who’s catalog. Their 90-minute set began chronologically – “Can’t Explain,” “Substitute” “My Generation” (with Gary getting in a “fuck off” where Roger Daltrey sang “fade away”) – and peaked with the more epic songs from “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia.”  “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “The Real Me,”  “Dr. Jimmy” and, particularly, “Love Reign O’er Me,” were perfectly suited to Gary’s versatile, dramatic hard rock voice. Remember, he was a member of Boston Rock Opera and sang both Jesus’ and Judas’ parts in versions of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
     Near the end, Slipkid hit nirvana-times-two with back-to-back “CSI” themes – aka “Who Are You” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Those songs, like the rest of the set, had the tribute spirit, but the life force of a real rock band, not pure copyists. It’s a fine line, certainly, but Slipkid walks it and – and rocks it  - with aplomb. (A version of this review ran in the Boston Phoenix.) Tickets: $27.50-$15.

7 Medford St., Arlington, 781-646-4849 www.regenttheatre.com