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LIVE
IN CONCERT! |
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Radio
104's Big Day Off |
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Featuring |
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Marcy
Playground, Ruth Ruth
Amazing Royal Crowns
Athenaeum, Joy Drop
Fuel, Spring Heeled Jack
Dishwalla, Stabbing Westward
Shawn Mullins, Better Than Ezra
Cracker, Days of the New |
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Reviewed By
Dave Merrill
Photos By
Dave Merrill
The Meadows
Hartford, CT
10/3/98 |
As I traveled to The Meadows in Hartford,
I listened to Radio 104 to hear how the "Big Day Off"
was going. Weather reports were forecasting rain the night before,
which is never good for an outdoor event like this. The DJ mentioned
there were still tickets available, that the sky was clear and
he expected a nice day. There were some clouds overhead, but
nothing that really looked threatening. After a bit of traffic,
I pulled into The Meadows parking lot as the first band, "Sonichrome,"
was nearing the end of their performance. It didn't take long
for me to acquire my tickets and photo pass, and I managed to
catch their last song as I entered the theater grounds, "Pack
Up And Leave." It's OK, but nothing special. "Sonichrome"
is a three piece band, with guitar, bass and drums.
"Marcy Playground" was slated to play next on the main
stage. I was surprised, given their two hits, they were playing
so early. As it turned out, they were also playing somewhere
in New Jersey that same night. I had to miss "Stretch Princess"
on the second stage, as they went on at the same time. I took
my place in the bouncer area in front of the stage, while people
were making their way to their seats. The stadium was about half
full, which was remarkable for that early in the day. Usually
people wait until the later acts to come and sit, but apparently
"Marcy Playground" was a big enough draw to fill the
seats. |
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They opened their set with "Blood"
at about 1:10 p.m. The band is John Wozniak on guitar and vocals,
Dylan Keefe on bass and Dan Reiser on drums. Keefe was interesting
to watch as they jumped into "Poppies" and "Dog
And His Master." He moved around a lot on stage, shaking
his head, intense expressions crossing his face fluidly. Next
was their new single, "Saint Joe On The School Bus."
Then they did "Sodville" and "The Shadow Of Seattle."
Wozniak's vocals were really showcased on "Sherry Fraser,"
as he sang "I saw stars falling all around her head. . ."
Then the song everyone waits for, "Sex and Candy,"
was up. "Hangin' 'round downtown by myself and I had too
much caffeine. . ." They played one more song, finishing
their set to many cheers from the crowd. |
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Many of those seated got up to leave at this
point; time to wander around, eat and be with friends. "Athenaeum"
was on the main stage next, but I hoofed it out to the second
stage to catch part of "Ruth Ruth." The band, Chris
Kennedy (bass), Mike Lustig (guitar), Michael Kotch (guitar)
and Nakata (drums) has a light sound by comparison with "Marcy
Playground." They were pretty good, but I wanted to catch
"Athenaeum's" entrance, so I headed back to the main
stage area. |
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I wasn't familiar with "Athenaeum's"
work, but I kept hearing their name mentioned periodically, so
I wanted to see them. There weren't nearly as many people inside
the theater as before. Their loss. This band is hot! There was
an energy about them, something very positive, and they have
a very clean sound. There's a lot to watch in their show because
Mark Kano, Grey Brewster, Alex McKinney and Nic Brown interact
together as a band on stage. Guitarist, Grey Brewster, bent over
backwards, literally, while playing. I kept expecting him to
fall over, but he didn't. It's like he was daring himself each
time to go a little farther. He and Mark Kano danced together
while playing. Kano's vocals were awesome, and it was obvious
they were having a great time up there themselves. No one acted
as a complete front man, leaving the audience the choice of who
to watch. The result was that they were a fun band to watch.
I'll have to try to see them again when there are fewer bands. |
Since "Rustic Overtones" went on
at the same time as "Amazing Royal Crowns," I had to
miss them. I saw them a year ago at the last "Big Day Off,"
anyway (see AMZ Nov., 1997). As I was waiting for the band to
come out, I watched roadies add amplifiers and mikes to the stage.
There were now six microphones up there. I wondered what they
were for - guest backing vocals? I'd only just received the "Amazing
Royal Crowns" new release the day before, so I wasn't too
familiar with their work either. They do a hybrid rockabilly/
punk. Vocalist Jason "King" Kendall has amazing stage
presence and it was obvious right from the start. He filled the
stage immediately, his greased back hair and sideburns creating
a feeling of timelessness. The image was further skewed by the
retro 70's and 90's rap clothing worn by the kids in the crowd.
There was a veritable pop culture melting pot in this one show,
as four decades merged.
While Kendall stole the show to a great extent, the other band
members, Judd Williams (drums), Johnny "The Colonel"
Maguire (guitar) and Jack "The Swinger" Hanlon (string
bass), didn't melt into the background by any means. Hanlon swung
back and forth, dancing with his bass to the music, sometimes
lifting it to move to a different part of the stage. After their
third song Kendall made a show out of rolling up his sleeves.
He's tattooed entirely up both his arms. The theatrics of the
move were riveting. Then he called out to the crowd, telling
everyone to come forward to be closer to them. Though they're
not well known, Kendall already had the audience in his hands.
People came en masse to the edge of the bouncer area in front
of the stage. Maguire and Kendall often perched on the stage
edge, getting as close to the crowd as they could.
The kids began to crowd surf. . . to rockabilly of all things.
It doesn't matter what it was, the energy for surfing was there
and genuine. By the sixth song Kendall is sweating. He stripped
his shirt off, leaving a white undershirt. Someone from the audience
threw a condom on stage, and Kendall stopped the music mid song.
"OK, who threw the condom on stage?" He looked into
the audience for an answer, but there's not one coming. "OK,
this is where the condom goes!" He turned around, pushing
his butt toward the audience, and with a flourish he slid the
condom into his back pocket.
Toward the end, Kendall introduced the brass section from "Spring
Heeled Jack." That was what all the extra mikes were for.
He plugged their band a few times during the show, urging people
to go out to stage two to see them, then played "Gretschy."
Kendall's intensity was amazing. Someone in the front row tossed
his hat to Kendall, who proceeded to put it on his head. He played
with the hat for a few minutes before throwing it back to the
owner. I felt like I was watching something out of a fifties
movie, but it was live! The Crowns ended their show with "Do
the Devil," with a rockabilly influence, yet also a sixties
beach music overtone to it. It was a great performance, energizing
the audience for what was to come. |
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Joy Drop |
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I left the main stage area at this point to
catch "Joy Drop" on the second stage. Their music was
psychedelic, with great female lead vocals. She had an engaging,
positive attitude toward the audience, backed by guitar, bass
and drums. I'll definitely have try to catch them in a show where
they can play more songs. Much as I liked them, I had to move
on to catch "Fuel" on the main stage. |
Brett Scallions, lead singer of "Fuel,"
brings a lot of anger to his performance. He has the Billy Idol
sneer down to a science, and I found myself wanting to photograph
him because of his intensity on stage. Carl Bell (guitar and
vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), by
comparison fade into the background. Scallions made a habit of
perching on amplifiers while staring the audience down. He's
completely unafraid of them.
The audience stayed down in front of the security area after
"The Amazing Royal Crowns" finished playing, so they
were very close to him. Girls reached up to him, screaming for
him, as he leaned out over the bouncers heads to touch their
groping hands. This only got them more excited, and reminded
me of footage I've seen of "Beatles" performances.
This was on a much smaller scale, but you don't often see this
kind of fervor over a star any more.
I decided to follow Jason Kendall's advice and check out "Spring
Heeled Jack" on the second stage. Unfortunately I arrived
a bit early, so I waited in front of the stage for a while to
take pictures. Three teenage girls were waiting to do the same,
gossiping and giggling. One held a smelly cigarrette, her hand
wrapped around it limply, like a dead spider. There was a fairly
large crowd waiting behind us, larger than I'm used to seeing
at the second stage. |
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I was just getting ready to go back to watch
more of "Fuel" when "Spring Heeled Jack"
took the stage. They're a fairly large band, their brass section
Tyler Jones (trumpet), Pete Wasilewski (saxophone), and Chris
Rhodes (trumpet and vocals), fill out their number to seven.
They, and the rest of the band, Ron Ragona (guitar and vocals),
Dave Karcich (drums), Rick Omonte (bass), and Mike Pellegrinon
(guitar and vocals) bounced around the stage like "2 Skinnee
J's." Their sound was much different though. They reminded
me most of "The Mighty Mighty Bosstones," but with
more energy. I was only able to watch them for a short time,
as "Dishwalla" was about to start their show on the
main stage. |
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"Dishwalla's" J. R. Richards was
every bit as good a performer as "Fuel's" Brett Scallions,
but Richards was much more relaxed. The audience response was
fantastic to their first three songs. The crowd was still up
close to the stage, and by now the bouncers were becoming frustrated,
as an unseated crowd can be dangerous. It didn't help that since
"The Amazing Royal Crowns" got the audience on their
feet, there were nothing but ear catching tunes played, which
sustained the momentum. Richards was an engaging performer, as
he walked around the stage slowly, like he owned it. I kept my
camera pointed at him much of the time.
Their fourth song, "Charlie Brown's Parents," went
over well. "Counting Blue Cars" was up next, as Richards
sang, "Tell me all your thoughts on God. . ." to an
entranced audience. In the middle of the song, Rodney Browning
(guitar) Scot Alexander (bass) and George Pendergast (drums0,
wound things down a bit for Richards to address the crowd. "How
you guys doin'? Why don't ya help us with this song!" The
audience responded by singing the chorus loudly. Almost immediately,
they surprised us all by taking a detour into "AC/DC's"
song "Back in Black," then morphed back into "Counting
Blue Cars."
At this point the bouncers were really trying to get people to
sit down, while "Dishwalla" kept right on going, enjoying
the response they were getting. Richards would stand up on an
amp, then move to another and kneel there singing to the crowd.
As they began "Moisture," I could hear more echo on
Richards' voice. Much to the bouncers dismay, during the song,
Richards leaped over their heads into the crowd. Mike still in
hand, he continued to sing as he crowd surfed from one side of
the stage to the other. Finally, he took a boost back up on stage,
walked back to the drummer's stand, then jumped up on it. He
did this numerous times in the show, mostly when he wasn't singing.
He'd bounce up there for a minute, then jump backward off the
stand. Since Richards gave such an intense performance, I wondered
if the bands that followed could possibly maintain this kind
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"Stabbing Westward" did. Chris Hall,
their lead singer, with his purple hair and shimmering jacket,
did the trick. They had a weird, unearthly sort of sound, pulsing
and loud. It almost hurt to listen to it. Hall moved back and
forth across the stage often, reminding me of Ozzy Osbourne,
but with less intensity and speed. I really wasn't into their
sound, and I couldn't catch any lyrics because of the din they
created. The audience was happy with them though. I, on the other
hand, took it outside to see the end of Shawn Mullins' performance. |
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Shawn Mullins |
I'd been hearing Mullins' song, "Rockabye,"
on the radio a lot, but I really wasn't thrilled with it. His
band consisted of bass and electric guitars, keyboards and drums,
with Mullins' own acoustic lead. The music was a bit folky but
with a hard edge, on the order of the "Dave Matthews Band,"
but less quirky. They played a song called "Level Land,"
and I was surprised at how much I was liking his sound. There's
a lot of energy and conviction in his music. By the time he closed
his show, I decided I had to have his new album.
"2 Skinnee J's" were playing, and I enjoyed them so
much at the Radio 104 Fest (AMZ June 1998), I figured I'd indulge
once again. They opened the show with "You're a Champion,"
following it up with "The Best." The J's were looking
good on stage, wearing loose fitting, pajama-like outfits. The
two lead singers, "Special J" and "J. Guevera,"
took their shirts off during the song, while the rest of the
band quickly followed their lead. Next in the set was their single,
"Riot Nrrrd." When they aren't singing, the two J's
dance around and air guitar to the music. "Spaghetti Western"
style music marked the beginning of "The Good, the Bad and
the Skinnee," and they closed with their song about frustrating
area code changes, "718." |
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"Better than Ezra" was up next on
the main stage, so I stayed around until their set began. I figured
I could make it over to the second stage sometime during their
show to see "God Lives Under Water." Roadies were setting
up equipment as I awaited their arrival on stage. Two huge candelabras
were set up on either side of the stage. Suddenly, the lights
went off, and two robed, masked figures stepped out onto the
stage. The red spotlights gave them a ghostly, unnerving appearance,
as the wraiths proceeded to light each candle. After they left
the stage, the band took their places.. Slowly the lights came
up as the band broke into "Good," their hit off their
last album. They followed it up with "Alison Foley,"
then rocked into "King of New Orleans" and "Rosalia."
After I finished taking my pictures, I realized that "God
Lives Under Water" must be nearly finished with their set,
and rushed over to see them, because I remembered liking their
single from a few months back. Unfortunately, I only arrived
in time for the feedback at the end of their last song. The guitarist
was facing an amp, his guitar flat on top of it. The sound he
achieved was intense, and it looked like they must have put on
a great show, which only disappointed me because I didn't see
it. I'll have to catch them somewhere else.
Back at "Better than Ezra," the band began playing
"This Time of Year." I found out from someone that
I'd missed "Pull" and "Like it Like That"
while I was gone. Things were beginning to hop as lead singer
Kevin Griffin belted out some of their more popular tunes. He
brought four girls out of the audience to dance, saying, "This
is what rock and roll is all about!" as the band ended the
song with some major feedback. Things grew quiet for the keyboard
intro of the new single, "One More Murder." Griffin
put down his guitar to strut slowly across the stage, a blue
spotlight following his path. Another new song was next, "At
the Stars." It sounded a lot different than "One More
Murder," led me to think it must be a good album.
The candles were burning down to stumps as the band started "In
the Blood." The song included an awesome guitar solo, which
alternated with the drums of Travis McNabb. Their biggest hit,
"Desperately Wanting," was a perfect follow up and
finale, bringing the show to a new level as they finished their
set.
I was expecting just to wait for "Cracker" at this
point, but instead they treated us to a mini encore of "Shawn
Mullins." The DJ introduced him, saying he'd been so good
on the second stage, they just had to give him a shot at the
main stage. He played his hit, "Rockabye," as an acoustic
solo. A red spotlight illuminated him during the entire song,
and it was an intense version, beautifully rendered. It sealed
my resolve to get Mullins' album. I was wishing he'd play some
more, but it was "Cracker" time. |
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Lead singer, David Lowery, must have been
miffed about not being the headliner. As soon as he came on stage
he had to make a comment about how many of his songs we'd recognize
vs. those of the other bands there that day. I had to admit this
was true, but it was odd that he felt he had to say it. Up until
this point, this was probably the most balanced radio show I've
ever been to. Each band seemed to feed into the next, causing
a driving momentum that made for incredible entertainment. I
was wishing the show had ended with "Better than Ezra,"
because they were a perfect finale to the day. I could almost
give up "Shawn Mullins" performance for that. As far
as performances go, "Cracker" was probably the least
interesting band I saw all day. They played lots of hits, like
"Euro-Trash Girl" and "Get off This," but
they didn't really do much on stage. Their rendition of "Get
off This" was quite good, though. |
"Days of the New" had excellent
lighting for their show, and their pale outfits made great backdrops
for the colored light to weave patterns on. I recognized the
first song they did, but couldn't place it. Travis Meeks introduced
the next one as "The Mother Fucker Song." Then they
rolled right into their hit, "Touch, Peel and Stand."
I can sort of understand why Lowery was a bit miffed warming
up for these guys. Todd Whitener (guitar), Jesse Vest (bass)
and Matt Tail (drums) really just stand there and look good while
they play. Also, they only have one album out. While it made
a big splash, they really have just a couple of hits. "Shelf
in the Room" was up next, followed by "Where I Stand."
They closed the show with "The Down Town."
This was definitely the best radio show I've been to. The line
up of acts was nearly perfect, except for the lackluster performances
by "Cracker" and "Days of the New." If these
two bands played before "Better than Ezra," because
". . .Ezra" gave such an inspired performance, the
"Big Day Out" would have been perfect! |
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