Jam Session: Local Cover Band Rocks Out

"I know what you're thinking," said "Brother" Sal Maffetone, while unpacking various gear from his truck. "Why do a Pearl Jam tribute, right?"

He's partly correct. The 30-something musician has long been a staple on the local music scene, having not only grown up around The Caldwells, but having rocked it for the better part of 20 years. His rock 'n' roll pedigree certainly reaches further back than 1991.

He hands me a speaker, and reveals, "the money's good! I'd perhaps rather do something like the P-Funk tribute, but with this, the time is right."

He's correct again. It's a brutally cold late January night, but inside Ringside Pub there's a sizable crowd to see Sal's latest musical endeavor, Black Ledbetter, a tribute to the early '90s grunge heroes, Pearl Jam. Together for only a while, it's already the act's second trip to the venue, as headliners and on a Saturday night to boot. Sal plays guitar; the group's name is a play on two of the original group's songs.

Ringside is not only a long-standing fixture on the local bar scene, but in The Caldwells, stands as the the sole true live concert venue. (There's the County Line, but it's in Pine Brook, and Rockn' Joe is more of an acoustic venue.) 

Ringside's a good one, too; there's a nice-sized elevated stage, complete with some lights. It's bigger than a Greenwich Village hole-in-the-wall, but small enough so a local act can really pack it in. On this night, it's somewhere between, but no less impressive, and more Seattle.

While they set up, Sal brings over singer Mychal Kelly. He, too, is a Caldwell local and music scene staple who reveals the idea to do a Pearl Jam tribute was his. At first, he wasn't sure of the reaction that such a thing would get, but came up with a plan: "We do the best of the best—a lot of the earlier songs that everyone knows, the singles, the videos."

The band is rounded out by Kevin (also on guitar), Jen on bass and Teddy on the drums.

After tuning up and a quick confab, the band starts playing at 10:30 sharp.

True to the singer's word, the song selections stay close to the more known numbers and radio hits. In the first set, Black Ledbetter keeps the hits coming: "Daughter," "Evenflow," "Alive" and more. One song featured a segue into the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for The Devil" that itself turned into a (pearl) jam.

Visually, portraying Pearl Jam isn't that difficult; unlike bands who have worked much harder to offer something on the visual front (Kiss, Poison), there's not much to do. Pearl Jam at their most stylish look like landscapers, with some flannel shirts occasionally being the extent of stage wear. 

The more '70s looking (and cooler) Black Ledbetter doesn't appear as if  they can identify certain shrubs or install paver driveways, but they sound pretty much like the real thing.

The most uniquely identifiable part of Pearl Jam's sound would be Eddie Vedder's vocals, and Kelly does a good approximation of his famously distinctive baritone and even offers up some of his somewhat Celtic whoops that had some audience members smiling (and band members, too). The other players are no slouches, either, and faithfully play the songs the way everyone knows them.

During the first-set closer, "Jeremy," the whole audience stopped to watch and listen to the band—drinks stopped getting drunk and pool sticks went vertical with the band getting a solid round of applause at the end.

If one was an 19-year-old skateboarder in 1991, they'd be in grunge heaven now at 39. If one is not, it's still a cool night of live music.

With the early '90s being 20 years ago (a little scary, right?), and having vintage Pearl Jam down pat, Black Ledbetter is assured a nice run on the tribute band circuit.

For more information on Black Ledbetter, visit their MySpace page and for more information on upcoming acts at Ringside Pub, visit its Web site.