Bero Bero and friends become No Doubt and Dead Hot Chili Peppers for Halloween

One of Savannah’s most enduring Halloween traditions is the tribute band show. Each year, local acts come together to cosplay and perform as some of their favorite and most influential artists. The former Jinx used to lead the pack for Halloween tribute shows, but this year sees a number of tribute concerts taking place over the spooky weekend.

A great place to start is at Service Brewing Company, which is hosting a costume contest, and a performance by synth-pop duo Bero Bero as No Doubt and the Dead Hot Chili Peppers.

Bero Bero did a great No Doubt tribute at Victory North two years ago and have been looking for a reason to do it again ever since.

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“[Victory North] did a limited capacity thing, but everybody had a really great time, and the No Doubt thing was fun to do,” said Bero Bero’s Veronica Garcia-Melendez. “We always had it in the back of our minds that we should do it again sometime. When Service hit me up about playing a show on the 29th I was like, “Why don’t we make it a Halloween thing, and bring that back?’.”

Bero Bero will be joined by Bryce McNally and Matt Price of the Al Gore Rhythms, as well as Phillip Price on keys, to recreate No Doubt’s skanky 90s alternative sound.

Garcia-Melendez was originally inspired to do a No Doubt tribute because of the dearth of female fronted tribute bands at Halloween shows she previously performed at.

“I wanted to do a female fronted band because the previous year at Jinxoween I was the only woman musician on stage that whole night,” recalled Garcia-Melendez. “There were five tribute acts. It got me thinking about women in music throughout time and these tribute bands, so the next year I wanted to do a female fronted band. And I wanted to do something 90s because a lot of Bero Bero’s stuff is 80s influenced. I wanted to change up what we were drawing from.”

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Because it’s Halloween, expect Bero Bero and their cohorts to dress up as closely to No Doubt as possible. Even the raven-haired Garcia-Melendez goes blond for Gwen Stephani.

“Well, it wasn’t a wig,” said Garcia-Melendez. “I sprayed my hair platinum blonde which took like two cans of spray. For the No Doubt thing we all dress up like the guys in the band, the original 90s version.”

However, the costume fidelity doesn’t carry over to their portrayal of the Dead Hot Chili Peppers.

“That’s why we’re the DEAD Hot Chili Peppers, because it’s not so much an impression,” explained Garcia-Melendez. “I’m not going to try to be exactly like Anthony Keidis because that would involve me having to go shirtless. That wouldn’t really be the act anymore (laughs). We’re trying to figure out how to do a spin off it instead of dressing up like the Chili Peppers, since the vibe is so similar to No Doubt, as far as the look. And I don’t think Bryce could really look like Flea.”

As far as Garcia-Melendez’s favorite Chili Pepper songs, she enjoys singing them all.

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“It’s been fun trying to pin down Keidis’ crazy lyrics,” said Garcia-Melendez. “I feel like everyone knows some of them, then there’s certain sections where you’re like, ‘What the hell is he saying?’.”

The No Doubt Tribute and Dead Hot Chili Peppers goes from 7 until 9:30 p.m. Make sure to wear your most creative Halloween costumes for a chance to win prizes. After this and an upcoming show in November, Bero Bero will be taking a break from live performance to focus on recording new material, so this may your last chance to catch them this year.

“It’s an early show, so you can start your night with us and go on from there,” said Garcia-Melendez of the Halloween show. “You can get a few beers at Service, catch us, and go on to the next place.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA concerts: No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute show