Damien Gabet drove four hours on a school night to watch a System of a Down tribute band instead of paying £170 for the real thing. He wasn’t disappointed.
The gig that almost wasn’t
Gabet, a longtime fan of the band, had turned down tickets to see System of a Down live after balking at the price. When he spotted a poster for Chop Suey, a tribute act playing the same weekend, he saw an opportunity—though not one he could immediately act on. A prior commitment to see White Lies in London kept him from their hometown show in Margate.
He later found another date: Cheltenham, two weeks later, on a Thursday. The trip required four hours each way, on a work night, to watch a band that wasn’t the real thing. With no dependents and £170 still in his pocket, he got in his car and drove.
His first mistake was not buying a ticket in advance.
He realized this only at a rest stop in Cobham, too far along to turn back. By the time he reached Cheltenham’s The Frog & Fiddle, the venue was sold out. A clipboard-wielding staffer shook his head before Gabet could finish asking. Even when he pleaded—“What if someone doesn’t show?”—the answer was firm: “I can’t see that happening.”
He nursed a Guinness Zero at the bar as the opening act, Slip-Not, rattled the walls. On his third attempt, the staffer relented, tipping his head toward the door. Gabet slipped inside just as Chop Suey took the stage.
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A different kind of energy
What followed was an hour of pure joy. He screamed along to every lyric, including the iconic line from the band’s hit Chop Suey!. After the show, he tracked down the band’s manager.
Gabet once dismissed tribute acts as inferior but now understands their appeal. The room at The Frog & Fiddle felt less like a concert and more like a communal celebration. He described it as a “distorted ceilidh.” The mosh pit was packed with smiling faces. He left with sweaty hugs and no regrets.
For fans priced out of stadium tours, these acts offer something distinct: intimacy, camaraderie, and a shared love of the music without the barriers of cost or corporate production. The original band might still dominate headlines, but for Gabet, the tribute delivered a better experience.
“I’ve always been a bit snooty about tribute acts,” he admitted. “But there’s something special about a room where everyone—musicians included—is just there to celebrate the same thing.”
As digitalisation reshapes entertainment, financial barriers to live events continue to rise, pushing fans toward alternative experiences like tribute bands.
