Cinco de Bathrobe with The Field and Jenny Fontaine at Big Vs on 11/26/03

By: Bryan Jacobsen

The cover of Cinco de Bathrobe's CD "Get the Muff"

I sat in a moderately filled bar, the night before Thanksgiving. I was drinking Summit and waiting for a show to start. Three bands, three beers, three bucks.

The first act was Jenny Fontaine. Jenny Fontaine is a Guitar Girl, Drummer Boy, Wit Rock combo that combines the funniness of a bar joke with the strength and distortion of a tube powered amp. I define the Wit Rock genre as meeting three conditions:

1. The songs are played with low-to-moderate precision.
2. The skill levels of the musicians themselves are questionable.
3. The poignant and insightful lyrics must be witty enough rock the house.

Add in a tough sounding amp, and a tougher sounding voice and you have Jenny Fontaine.

With subjects ranging from the Super Bowl, to frugality and shoelessness, Jenny sang, yelled and strummed raw catchy tunes that brought a smile to the faces at Big V's. Her music is best served with
spicy nachos, cheap beer and minimal drumming.

Up next was The Field. The Field is what a bar band would sound like if they grew up on the spaceship of a 1970's sci-fi show. Get rid of the banter, "So how's everybody doin' tonight?" Keep the Bass, drums and guitar--and turn the vocals way down low. This three-piece generated everything from a post-rock beat that fits well behind conversation, to a 1970's era Rush lick that fits with deep, dark stares.

With their timid vocals, rumbling bass, and mathematical rhythms, The Field were a welcome visit from the chess club in the standard bar-rock universe.

The final band of the night was Cinco de Bathrobe. Cinco de Bathrobe is what Spinal Tap would have been had the group contained women, gone to art school, and sounded like the B-52's crashing into your television. While noticing a girl walking around in navy blue chaps over black nylons-I was surprised to see her get on stage and sing adaptations of modern commercial classics such as "Chili's Baby Back Ribs," and the theme song for National American University. I was even more surprised to be enjoying it.

Cinco de Bathrobe consists of two female lead types, one keyboard, a guitarist who hides in the corner (literally), and a drummer who looks suspiciously like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. They are another Wit Rock band whose sassy, bassless sound made me experience disdain, hilarity and sweet rock lust all at once. I found myself laughing uncontrollably at times and noticed the band doing the same thing. It was as if a really good joke came in, and sat on the stage for about an hour while a group of people pushed, pulled and prodded punk rock sounds.

After their set was finished, it was time to go home. I drank a Coke, did the "See ya'laters," and head toward my car. Thinking back upon the show, I realize that even though these bands weren't incredibly
polished they had creativity not always found in bands that are much more developed.

Location Info: Big Vs
Artist Info: Cinco de Bathrobe, Jenny Fontaine, The Field

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