I DON'T like tribute acts and I adore George Michael. This is perhaps not the best starting point to write a review of a George Michael tribute show.How can this end well? I guess I gotta have faith...

The show started tentatively with the first song in darkness. Deliberate but strange! The man on stage has said "Tonight Matthew I'm going to be George Michael" twice before and looked nervous. This was a big crowd – two thirds full – for someone with stars in their eyes .

Wayne Dilks made it clear he wasn't trying to be George Michael but dressed up as him. I squirmed a little, still gutted by the untimely death of one of our greatest singer-songwriters 13 months previous.

Is it too soon to cash in? It felt uncomfortable, but to be fair Dilks has done this for the past 16 years so hasn't cynically had a career move to follow the hearse. Nevertheless, it felt like a "Can we translate this show into a bigger venue?" concert, more often to be found at a holiday park.

This wasn't your usual Barbican crowd. People hadn't come to see a usual Barbican show. Their expectations were different. As Tenacious D once pointed out, this is a tribute. The bar was busy throughout the performance as groups of friends weaved in and out of the rows during the show carrying drinks as normal gig etiquette was checked in at the door. This was a different animal.

Wayne Dilks does sound like George Michael, is a talented man, has incandescently white teeth and I think he genuinely loves George as he spoke fondly of him throughout the show. He looked swamped by the stage but worked hard to cover it as he sang all the favourites you would expect.

Perhaps I have missed the point of these shows. These nights aren't about who or what is on the stage: people who sound a bit like somebody and dive into a dressing up box. Instead, these nights are about the audience being part of the show, singing the songs just as they do when house-cleaning at home or waiting at the traffic lights.

This wasn't a polished production with slick sound – the sound was harsh, with more effects than Celine Dion and Kenny G – and it was even strangely entertaining to see a roadie sweating as he tried to mend the big telly at the back of the stage when half of it went on standby.

For many, this was a goodbye or memorial to George to sing their hearts out and have a drink with friends, keeping their teenage heart throb's songs alive, one couple lost in their own world, slow dancing together in the aisles – a beautiful connection.

However, I still don't like tribute acts and still love George Michael but this evening wasn't for me. I saw Wham! in 1982 and 1984 and adored his 25 tour but there can be no bad thing in celebrating his musical legacy; it just needs to be packaged in a way worthy of the name on the poster.