Cake Concert: In Review
Wednesday night Jen and I went to the Cake concert. Jen had bought me tickets as part of my Christmas present and even presented them to me in a really cool way (she and Anna faked an album cover to say "Cake: Live at the Fillmore" and then put it in a CD jewel case with the tickets inside). So yes, the show was at the Fillmore Auditorium, which was standing room only for the night. I wanted to have the best view I could, so Jen and I showed up around 6 and the first band wasn't due to start playing until 7. We popped a squat on the floor, in the middle and pretty close to the front. We each had a beer and people-watched until things started to get going. While setup was completed on stage they had a comedian come out who was pretty funny, but mostly seemed amused with his ability to make home videos of himself. Probably the funniest thing he talked about was how he's thrilled that his credit card lets him set up his own security question for when he calls their 800 number. He said, "So they are required to ask me, 'What are you wearing?' and I have to answer back with, 'I don't think that's very appropriate.'" Teehee.
Ok. So the first band up was Gogol Bordello. You think the name says enough? I don't think so. So I'm going to give you pictorial examples and further description. I heard them described as 'gypsy punk' or 'polka punk' and they really pretty much rang true. I read later that they are heavily influenced by gypsy wedding music and it makes sense that several of the band members are Ukrainian and Russian (with a few New Yorkers tossed in the mix. Note: the normal looking drummer). The lead singer was a spectacle himself:
Yeah, that's Eugene. Of course you could barely understand a word that came out of his mouth, but it was fun to watch him with his little Shakira-belly-dancer belt that was down around his knees for the whole set. Gotta love the handlebar mustache too. Dead. Sexy.
Hey look. He's almost doing the Stavi wave! So that's the lead singer and he at least amusing to watch. What I didn't get was what he said at the end of their set, which was, "We are not in France and so we say goodnight!" I realized then that I could take this a variety of ways. FACT: At the time it was not night in France. It was morning. FACT: If he were in France it would be more appropriate to say "bon nuit!" rather than goodnight. FACT: This band has gooood drugs on their bus.
Here's another picture with everyone in the band.
One of their songs seemed pretty catchy to me and so I downloaded it Thursday morning. The song is called "Start Wearing Purple" and during said song was the only point in the entire night where underwear was thrown on stage. Purple underwear of course. Eugene caught them mid-air, rubbed them on his crotch, and then proceeded to stretch them over the mike stand. Grody. I think the song encompasses the uniqueness of their sound, though. Gypsy. Punk.
Next up were Tegan and Sara who are twins from Canada who I heard described as "the Indigo Girls plugged in." I know you're starting to wonder now what kind of cynical friends I have giving me tips about random bands. No worries though. At least these friends were accurate. Tegan and Sara had maybe 4 fans at this concert. The audience was weird to begin with and I'll have to mention more about them later, but there was some major standing and staring when the girls were up there playing. They would swap who played acoustic and who played electric guitar. Their rhythm section consisted of three guys who had a highly suspicious look about them that reminded me much of how the percussion section in high school band always looked guilty of doing something off-task. At one point an audience member shouted, "Play some ska!" and the rest of us around him were all exchanging looks that, in effect, said, "what concert does he think he's at?" The girls each broke a guitar string, even though Mr. Gypsy Punk should have broken 12 at the rate he was going. I guess Tegan and Sara need to trim their nails. With matching haircuts, you'd think they'd manage to make it to the manicurist together too. Any-who, here's a pic of them:
Well, let's talk for a moment about the audience. There seemed to be a large group to our left who were there to see Gogol Bordello and to mosh-pit (sp?) the hell out of one another. Once again, I have no idea why these folks were at a Cake concert. To our right was just a constant flux of 16 year old girls who must have thought it would be great to seek shelter beneath me. One short little girl was tucked up so tight underneath me that I was worried she was really frightened. Either that or she liked my 16-hour old deodorant WAYYY too much. Other than that, we had the people yelling for Ska and for Tegan and Sara to "play something harder". During the Cake set there were dozens of people begging the band to play "Stickshifts and Safety Belts," which is a great song, but Lawd. They wrote a set list for a reason folks. And that song was from 4 albums ago. Don't get your hopes up. Then, of course, you have the one gratuitous lady who is way too old to be there and she's by herself because she loves the band and starts freaking out every time she realizes she's standing 15 feet away from them. God, I love America.
On to Cake. They were pretty damn good live. I'm always so skeptical when I've never seen one of my favorite bands live before. My only concern was that the lead singer was either A: getting off beat purposefully to be artistically cool (because we don't go to concerts to hear songs just like they sound on studio albums) or B: something was up with his ability to hear the rest of the band because he would get almost a whole beat off and the band would have to slow up for him. They really got into audience participation, having us sing along women against men or one half of the room Vs. the other. It was fun and of course the band loves hearing people sing their songs.
What thrilled me the most was seeing the little percussion gizmo that they use in practically all of their songs. I knew I would be hearing it featured live, but I suppose I assumed it just be on the drummer's set and played when necessary. No way, dude. The thing had it's own stool up front next to the lead singer. He loved it (a little too much according to Jenny). He would hit it randomly and put it up to the microphone, put it back down on the stool, look at it lovingly, etc. It was just great. Good show, lots of good songs (including my favorite), a nice encore with 3 more songs. Wonderful Christmas gift. Thanks again to my sister, who knows me best and braved that crowd with me, despite an encroaching cold.
I'll post the albums and songs they played from each one here:
Motorcade of Generosity
-Comanche
Fashion Nugget
-Frank Sinatra
-The Distance
-Daria
-Italian Leather Sofa
Prolonging The Magic
-Mexico
-Never There
-Sheep Go To Heaven
Comfort Eagle
-Shadow Stabbing
-Short Skirt/Long Jacket
-Love You Madly (my fav!)
Pressure Chief
-Wheels
-No Phone
-The Guitar Man
Ok. So the first band up was Gogol Bordello. You think the name says enough? I don't think so. So I'm going to give you pictorial examples and further description. I heard them described as 'gypsy punk' or 'polka punk' and they really pretty much rang true. I read later that they are heavily influenced by gypsy wedding music and it makes sense that several of the band members are Ukrainian and Russian (with a few New Yorkers tossed in the mix. Note: the normal looking drummer). The lead singer was a spectacle himself:
Yeah, that's Eugene. Of course you could barely understand a word that came out of his mouth, but it was fun to watch him with his little Shakira-belly-dancer belt that was down around his knees for the whole set. Gotta love the handlebar mustache too. Dead. Sexy.
Hey look. He's almost doing the Stavi wave! So that's the lead singer and he at least amusing to watch. What I didn't get was what he said at the end of their set, which was, "We are not in France and so we say goodnight!" I realized then that I could take this a variety of ways. FACT: At the time it was not night in France. It was morning. FACT: If he were in France it would be more appropriate to say "bon nuit!" rather than goodnight. FACT: This band has gooood drugs on their bus.
Here's another picture with everyone in the band.
One of their songs seemed pretty catchy to me and so I downloaded it Thursday morning. The song is called "Start Wearing Purple" and during said song was the only point in the entire night where underwear was thrown on stage. Purple underwear of course. Eugene caught them mid-air, rubbed them on his crotch, and then proceeded to stretch them over the mike stand. Grody. I think the song encompasses the uniqueness of their sound, though. Gypsy. Punk.
Next up were Tegan and Sara who are twins from Canada who I heard described as "the Indigo Girls plugged in." I know you're starting to wonder now what kind of cynical friends I have giving me tips about random bands. No worries though. At least these friends were accurate. Tegan and Sara had maybe 4 fans at this concert. The audience was weird to begin with and I'll have to mention more about them later, but there was some major standing and staring when the girls were up there playing. They would swap who played acoustic and who played electric guitar. Their rhythm section consisted of three guys who had a highly suspicious look about them that reminded me much of how the percussion section in high school band always looked guilty of doing something off-task. At one point an audience member shouted, "Play some ska!" and the rest of us around him were all exchanging looks that, in effect, said, "what concert does he think he's at?" The girls each broke a guitar string, even though Mr. Gypsy Punk should have broken 12 at the rate he was going. I guess Tegan and Sara need to trim their nails. With matching haircuts, you'd think they'd manage to make it to the manicurist together too. Any-who, here's a pic of them:
Well, let's talk for a moment about the audience. There seemed to be a large group to our left who were there to see Gogol Bordello and to mosh-pit (sp?) the hell out of one another. Once again, I have no idea why these folks were at a Cake concert. To our right was just a constant flux of 16 year old girls who must have thought it would be great to seek shelter beneath me. One short little girl was tucked up so tight underneath me that I was worried she was really frightened. Either that or she liked my 16-hour old deodorant WAYYY too much. Other than that, we had the people yelling for Ska and for Tegan and Sara to "play something harder". During the Cake set there were dozens of people begging the band to play "Stickshifts and Safety Belts," which is a great song, but Lawd. They wrote a set list for a reason folks. And that song was from 4 albums ago. Don't get your hopes up. Then, of course, you have the one gratuitous lady who is way too old to be there and she's by herself because she loves the band and starts freaking out every time she realizes she's standing 15 feet away from them. God, I love America.
On to Cake. They were pretty damn good live. I'm always so skeptical when I've never seen one of my favorite bands live before. My only concern was that the lead singer was either A: getting off beat purposefully to be artistically cool (because we don't go to concerts to hear songs just like they sound on studio albums) or B: something was up with his ability to hear the rest of the band because he would get almost a whole beat off and the band would have to slow up for him. They really got into audience participation, having us sing along women against men or one half of the room Vs. the other. It was fun and of course the band loves hearing people sing their songs.
What thrilled me the most was seeing the little percussion gizmo that they use in practically all of their songs. I knew I would be hearing it featured live, but I suppose I assumed it just be on the drummer's set and played when necessary. No way, dude. The thing had it's own stool up front next to the lead singer. He loved it (a little too much according to Jenny). He would hit it randomly and put it up to the microphone, put it back down on the stool, look at it lovingly, etc. It was just great. Good show, lots of good songs (including my favorite), a nice encore with 3 more songs. Wonderful Christmas gift. Thanks again to my sister, who knows me best and braved that crowd with me, despite an encroaching cold.
I'll post the albums and songs they played from each one here:
Motorcade of Generosity
-Comanche
Fashion Nugget
-Frank Sinatra
-The Distance
-Daria
-Italian Leather Sofa
Prolonging The Magic
-Mexico
-Never There
-Sheep Go To Heaven
Comfort Eagle
-Shadow Stabbing
-Short Skirt/Long Jacket
-Love You Madly (my fav!)
Pressure Chief
-Wheels
-No Phone
-The Guitar Man