I headed down to Off Broadway on Friday night to join folks
primed and ready for a true potpourri of local music: One-man spazz show
Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, retro-pop power trio
Blind Eyes, the
bartender-meets-Brit-prep of the
Hibernauts and the shiny, neon synth-punk
theatrics of the
Makeshift Gentlemen.
The turnout was impressive, considering the cross-town
competition of
Pomegranates, Ocean Rivals and the
Mhurs at the Bluebird. (How'd
it go?)
(SYYR)
Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship's set had already started by the time I
arrived, and an excited perimeter of friends and fans already encircled the
dance floor in front of the stage.
SYYR's Corey Goodman never fails to entertain. Life-size
cutouts of Stephen Colbert and pro-wrestler Triple-X flanked him onstage, and
he paused between songs to take a swig of "rocket fuel" from a small gas can. His
banter and exchanges with audience members were almost as entertaining as his
hyper-quirky songs and playfully invasive venue-roaming. (NOTE: There is no
such thing as "personal space" at a SYYR show. Prepare to be smelled, rubbed
and sweated on.)
The front row of the audience turned over as the onstage
setup followed suit.
The Blind Eyes plugged in, switched on and jumped into a
set of throwback guitar tone and rolling bass lines with stair-step turns --
the kind of
American Bandstand
melodies that seemed to want
so badly
to be accompanied by some "That Thing You Do" handclaps. In fact, if there was
ever a band in town that had a reason to wear matching suits, it's
Blind Eyes.
(Sorry Jon Hardy & The Public, but you guys look good, too.)
All retro ends there, however, with the band's vocals
serving as how the trio carves out its unique identity. While bassist Kevin
Schneider's vocals still have the sassy punch of attitude that recalls the UK
of the 80's -- and the band borrows a bit of the mod/garage leanings of its
former incarnation, the Gentleman Callers -- guitarist Seth Porter's vocals are
the true difference-maker. Projecting the occasional soulful grit that brings
to mind Catfish Haven's George Hunter, but never losing melodic nimbleness,
Porter's voice stands out. With some charismatic facial expressions bearing a
resemblance to the always-charming Glen Hansard (of The Frames/Swell Season/
Once fame), he delivered the
evening's most earnest lyric: "Thanks to all of you who stuck around. Thanks to
everyone who held the fort down."
(The Hibernauts)
The Hibernauts opened its set with a batch of new songs --
including the punchy start-stop drumbreak strut and bookish come-ons of "Intramurals"
-- but familiarity soon flooded into the room, as the first few rows of the
crowd sang along with guitarist Jack Stevens on the first verse of
After a couple more new songs ("Wake Up, Stay Up", with its
Who-esque intro, and the dueling guitar arpeggios of "Brakelights") the band
launched into "Throwing Rice," which resulted in so much dancing that Stevens
had to cool everyone down with a good ol' fashioned beer shake 'n spray. The
set drew to a close with "Walking Spanish," which opens with soft keys and solo
vocals but gives way to a dark and lurching verse. Though the Hibernauts have
its share of cheeky lyrics, don't be fooled into thinking the band is incapable
of sincerity or sentiment. Stevens stubbornly pleads, "I don't want to talk
about it. I don't want to talk about that day," but admits his own callousness:
"I think it's all ice in my veins."
(The Makeshift Gentlemen)
The Makeshift Gentlemen are apparently headed off to the
geriatric beaches of Florida - or
as they clarified on a number of occasions, "We're moving to Disney World." [
Ed. note: No, really, 3/4 of the band is -- college internships, you see.] Subsequently, this show served as the band's
farewell to St. Louis -- and you
couldn't help but get the impression that they were moving on to bigger and
better things. Fitting, I suppose, because as the young band (clad in their
matching black suit-vests and coordinated shirt-shoe combos) began their set of
goth-pop nü-wave rock (rearrange those terms as you see fit), it became
increasingly apparent that the band
desperately
wants to be bigger than the venue - bigger than the city.
With their multicolor LED panel lights pumping out
seizure-bait from either side of the stage, and the moving rope lights wrapped
around the drumset, the Makeshift Gentlemen are determined to put on a show.
It's the kind of small-scale production that I imagine could have been found at
early Panic At The Disco shows (and indeed, with a little seasoning, the band
would most certainly thrive in an PATD opening slot at the Pageant). It's
perfected the theatrical over-expressions and vocal affectations that sell out
stadiums, and seem to be primed and ready to follow in Ludo's footsteps - out
of the corner bar and into the coliseum.
The band's aspirations are not devoid of innovation, though,
as they do bring a uniqueness to the fold. Lead singer Joe Swigunski's voice carries
a softly operatic tone, which adds to the occasionally Vaudevillian sound of
the band. Arpeggiated synths and drum machines borrowed from the Faint's back-catalog,
along with a trickle-down of Interpol's dourness, further contribute to the
macabre edge of the band's otherwise hormone-fueled panache.
It's no secret that this brand of post-Fall Out Boy rock
appeals decisively to a certain age-group -- and every time I leaned in closer
to try and "connect" with it all, I nearly plummeted into the bottomless
ten-year gap between 16 and 26 that leaves me feeling older and older every
year.
But the good news for these Gentlemen is that they are making music that's
exactly what kids want to hear, judging by the crowd dancing up front, eating
up every "Lemme hear ya, St. Louis," "Come on! Come on! Yeah!" "Dance, St.
Louis!" and reaching out in the hopes of getting a
gratuitous handshake from a band member.
So, are the Makeshift Gentlemen ready
for Florida?Well, if Florida
is full of arenas with thousands of kids waiting to watch a Panic At The Disco
concert, then I would say yes, they are ready.
-- Words and photos by Steve Kozel