There are
several memorable images from the concert. I will try and do them all justice,
but I want to start with one of two opposites, with the guitars.
Let's start
with the general configuration. Front and center was James Dewees, lead vocals,
keyboards, and the essence of Reggie and the Full Effect. The collaborations
are important, but still, it all centers around him.
Behind him
on drums was Billy Johnson. He was pretty constantly obscured by James, as well
as his own cymbals. When I got my best look at him he was dressed in such a
manner that you had to just assume it was him. (Believe me, we will get to
that.) Stage left, blond and on 6 string guitar, was Cory White. Stage right,
Zach Phillips, dark-haired and on bass.
I really
only noticed the hair color difference because their playing styles were so
different. Cory played with energy pulsing through him. It almost felt spastic,
but there was too much control. He frequently played facing Billy.
In contract,
Zach played facing the audience, but with eyes closed, dreamily. I thought
"Zen", but I had thought that about Frank on the album, and I never
really thought that about him before. Is this the kind of bass player James
attracts, or something in the influence he exerts? The point is, they radiated
very different energies, and yet, there was no conflict. It all gelled together
and it worked.
To be fair,
everyone here has a lot of experience, and a lot of talent, which helps. With
all of that you can still have nasty personality clashes, but these aren't the
types. It was a great configuration.
Branx was
indeed difficult to find. Street numbers did not appear to be what they should,
and I wandered in an open door and found James himself. This was a nice
beginning to the evening of course, but I could not really enjoy it because at
that point I was seeing "Staff Only" signs, and I did not want to get
kicked out before the music even started. Based on later interactions the staff
were all pretty nice, but rules are rules, and I get nervous.
Sadly, I
did not have another close encounter with Dewees, meaning that I did not get to
ask my Guido question, and even more tragically that I did not get to redeem my
coupon for a free hug or candy. For those going to upcoming shows, if you buy
one of the special covers, check inside. There may be valuable offers.
It was a
really good show. There were some shortcomings. The band, having traveled
through various climates in close quarters, had been passing around a virus.
Thinking of that, I am astounded that any musician ever smokes, given the toll
it takes on the lungs and throat, when you are already putting other stress on
them. I still think everyone performed well.
In
addition, the crowd was lacking. The issue wasn't enthusiasm, because everyone
there was into it, but there just weren't that many people. Having the Seahawks
in the Super Bowl for only their second time (and first win) apparently took a
toll. So, I have seen pictures posted of these packed, enthusiastic crowds, and
that wasn't us, and I feel bad about that. Personally, I just tried to sing
along more. I don't think there were any hard feelings. After all, we had one
person in a chicken suit, and Dewees let one girl borrow his Dad's cowboy hat.
I've been
going over the discography again, and I know in the previous review I focused a
lot on how it is just constantly amazing what he does, but even thinking that
with the material that goes back 16 years, he is a lot better now. No
Country for Old Musicians still covers a wide range of sounds, but it is
the most cohesive album. The quality is really outstanding, and it's not really
that there is less fooling around but there is better fooling around. They pull
from the same source material, but "Fowlin' Around" is superior to
"My Dad - Happy Chickens".
To be fair,
I have changed too. I appreciate Last Stop: Crappy Town more now than I
did the last time around. Still, I think Dewees just keeps getting better at
this. With the Kickstarter he may have had better resources and autonomy this
time, but still, there's definite growth.
The set list
pulled in songs from all over. We did get some additional background on some of
the songs, which was nice. There were two things that were interesting to me.
One is that you really got to see the peril of overly complicated song titles,
as James was never able to completely say "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served
at Park Chan-Wook's House." Also, he introduced "Get Well Soon"
as a song about the Loch Ness Monster getting divorced, and
"Congratulations Smack + Katy" as a song about peanut butter and
jelly. That's what the videos were about, and but I hadn't taken them too
literally. Maybe I was wrong.
Both
Pentimento and Dads had announced when they had two songs left, and Reggie and
the Full Effect did that too, except that their announcement was that there
were two Reggie songs left, and then there would be two Fluxuation songs and
two Common Denominator songs. Here's how it worked.
After the
last Reggie song, the rest of the band exited. James stayed on stage and
removed his shirt and pants, stripping down to a tank top and shorts, and
getting his hat back. Now he was Fluxuation, and spoke that way and sang that
way for those two numbers, "Gloves" and "Love Reality". I
was disappointed to not hear "Sundae, Booty Sundae", but having
worked on a set list now, I understand the challenges better.
Then
Fluxuation exited, and most of the Common Denominator came on, dressed in nun
robes with white masks (so, yeah, I assume that was Billy and everyone, but
there was no way of knowing). They played a dark metal processional until they
were joined by their leader Klaus (Dewees again) in monk's robes and a bloody
face. And while they very much in the spirit of a Finnish metal band, and you
would expect, they were better. Because without any interruption of the show,
before Klaus placed his bloody hand upon the face of one devoted fan, clearly
marking him as the anointed one, I believe he both signaled somehow that the
guy removed his glasses, and then whispered cleaning tips to him before they
exited. This sort of consideration is important.
Common
Denominator played "Dwarf Invasion" and "DMV".
This is
probably not the most organized review ever. Some of that is because I have
already written a lot, and so I am building on that. I'd like to say I was done
now, but there are a few videos that will come up during the music video
segment. Links to previous posts are down below.
Otherwise,
it rambles because there was a lot going on. You get a lot of show from this
band. Maybe more than anyone else. I'm trying to think of anyone else that
would compare, and there's not. There may be silliness in the background, but
there is still ultimately sincerity behind it, and the execution is not a joke.
I could use sui generis here, and it would be appropriate, and that
phrase is used all the time when it is not accurate at all, but I'm wasting the
opportunity because it's too pretentious.
Other
Reggie-related posts:
Posts
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