unlimited suck-shine tour

Went to Denver last night to catch the Unlimited Sunshine Tour, featuring Gogol Bordello, Tegan and Sara, Eugene Mirman, and headliner Cake.

We missed Gogol Bordello, but managed to catch about 30 seconds of Eugene Mirman introducing a video clip he made that I’d already seen (the one about drugs and smoking pot off a hooker’s tits). Funny stuff, but come on… where’s the new material?

Then came Tegan and Sara, an indie band from Canada. I was predisposed towards liking them, since I loved their album, but I could see how their sound could get annoying after a while.

I was reminded of the Cranberries, where the main singer records both a melody and a harmony track on their songs. Tegan and Sara was similar, but in real-time. When they harmonized, it was way cool. When they sang the same line, they ran into the same problem that plagues all musicians trying to play both the same tone at the same pitch. When you’re in tune, it sounds great. When you’re out of tune, the harmonic dissonance can be distracting. If you’re going for that effect, cool, but realize that it can be overpowering at times…

Finally, another 15 seconds of Eugene Mirman, and then Cake came on to “play”. Note the strategic use of scare quotes, since I do not consider a 45 minute set with a 10 minute encore to really be considered playing for such a huge audience of devoted fans.

I saw Cake in their hometown of Sacramento in 1999, and vowed never to see them live again. I was reminded of a human jukebox, since all they did was get on stage and play their songs without any improvisation or crowd interaction. I could have gotten the same effect by staying at home and listening to their CDs, except without getting beer spilled on me and watching 16 year old high school kids make out.

During the first 44 minutes, I was thinking to myself, “wow, I was completely wrong. These guys are *awesome* on stage,” as they were totally interacting with the crowd, and having a good time. There were still 16 year old high school kids making out in front of me, but at least the show was better.

Then they bade adieu and walked off the stage. WTF? I just spent $35 for a 45 minute set? Thanks John McCrea.

So I renewed my vows of never seeing Cake live again. Just listen to the CDs. If you truly want to replicate the concert going experience, drive on down to the local high school to watch the 16 year olds doing their thing.