Audio By Carbonatix
Cake
Palladium Ballroom
December 30, 2010
Better than (eventually): The insane traffic that was backed up from the venue, all the way down Lamar, down the ramp and onto freaking I-30.
Cake has it figured out.
For the uninitiated: The California-based nerdy rock outfit managed to not only blow up into big time stars some 14 years ago, but they’ve managed to stay revered ever since.
Proof was abundant in the sold-out room of 3,000 fanatics at the Palladium Ballroom last night.
Even without a proper album release since 2004, the vibra-slapping John McRea and crew remains a full-fledged touring band that happens to have a few albums under their belt, and not the other way around. As a result, their one hour and 45 minute set was a tight monkey-fist of sleek professionalism, even with the lead Cakester claiming his voice was a bit ragged at times.
Billed as “An Evening with Cake,” there wasn’t an opener. And, for a
change, it was nice to just walk in and get with it as the night’s main
event hit the stage to the electro-funk instrumental of “Arco Arena.”
Quickly and methodically proceeding into “Frank Sinatra” and the “Rock
‘N Roll Lifestyle,” it was hard to believe McRea when he intimated that
the evening would be a casual affair and that they would spontaneously
play the tunes that just happened to pique their interest. When McRea
then mentioned that the band might “take a break if we need to later,”
he was setting up the crowd for a momentum-killing intermission that
came only 40 minutes into the show.
Before they bolted for the first time, though, another trend revealed itself,
and proved to be a pleasant reminder was that Cake can do country –
and do it respectfully well. The ragged strums of McRea’s beat up
acoustic guitar that accompanied one of their new tunes, “Bound Away,” recalling Willie Nelson’s beloved guitar, Trigger. And when the
very Cake-like trumpet blared with a “Ring of Fire” buoyancy, it was
clear that when the band mentions its country heroes in interviews, it’s
not mere lip service. Such a distinction isn’t shocking to any longtime
Cake fan necessarily, but it’s far more glaring when inspected through
the scope of an 18-song performance.
While other tunes later in the night (namely and obviously, the
Nelson cover “Sad Songs & Waltzes” and “Stickshifts and Safety
Belts”) continued down the country-strong path that had previously been
laid, the band wasn’t about to abandon their trademark, 1970s cop-drama,
whiteboy funk. “Love You Madly,” which opens like Led Zeppelin’s “Good
Times Bad Times” before it careens into trumpet-laden grooviness, and
“Sick of You,” another song from the band’s upcoming album, were tight and
agreeable enough.
And, in displaying a bit of sneaky diversity, Cake’s psychedelic, organ-heavy
take on Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” introduced a menacing darkness that
scowled, whereas much of the other numbers winked and lent a smile.
Yes, Cake refreshingly dabbles in country, and sing-along numbers
like “Friend Is a Four Letter Word” and “Shadow Stabbing” were solid
signs that the band knows how to alt-rock when they need to. But the
aforementioned, geek-funk signature sound where McRea revels in his
half-speaking/half-singing is the vibe of choice amongst most Cake
aficionados.
Songs from the last night’s setlist like “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”
(aka, theme song for the television show Chuck), main set-closer “Never
There,” and encore-closing/biggest hit “The Distance” are all prime
examples of how Cake comes dangerously (or joyously?) close to being a
Nerdcore rap act as much as a straight-up rock act.
Whatever one wants to call it: Cake does the hell out of it.
Here’s the thing, though: It’s easy to point out that pretty much the whole
set was slathered with pouncing electric guitar that sounds roughly the
same from tune to tune, that McRea’s vibraslap is basically the
front-man’s version of a child’s security blanket, and that band might
cease to exist if the trumpet doesn’t pop up from the side of stage in
order to belt out a few notes. But that’s what Cake does. The group is definitely not trying to hide those facts. To point
towards those items of relative redundancy as signs of a weak set would
be to miss the point entirely — especially since they were done well,
regardless.
In fact, it’s really encouraging that a band can form such an
unmistakable identity and carve out a dedicated place in pop culture
without constantly releasing albums, generating copious amounts of blog
buzz or having new songs continuously played on Top 40 radio.
It’s quite remarkable, actually.
Critic’s Notebook
Personal Bias: None. Not a massive fan, not a big hater. I enjoy Cake’s work enough. This was the first time I’ve caught them since the Fashion Nugget
tour in, I think, 1996.
Random Note: Despite McRea blaming it on his failing voice, which
showed very small signs of frailty, many of Cake’s recent shows have
featured an intermission. Opting for a momentum-killing, 20-minute break
is hard to understand, since the entire evening, including intermission
and encore, barely hit the two-hour mark.
By the Way: Speaking of that show from way back, it was at Deep Ellum
Live, at the corner of Canton and Crowdus. I loved that place. I have
no clue as to what it’s being used for these days, but why doesn’t
someone think about resurrecting that old hangout?
