It’s my hope that HowWasTheShow’s reviews remind you of what you can miss on when the part of your brain arguing for a good night’s sleep wins out over the part telling you to go to a show.This was definitely the case Saturday when I went to Big V’s to complete my Dance Band photo duties which had been cut short by an accident at their Entry show Friday.Seeing the band’s full set Saturday was a healing experience for me.Friday night’s events, as reported by Pat O’Brien, were unsettling to say the least – I was standing fewer than 10 feet away from the man who fell, and our sudden transformations from revelers to concerned citizens put me and much of the audience into shock.Even if I’m not squeamish about blood, I don’t like to see it pouring onto the floor at rock shows.And yes, I stopped taking pictures.Applaud me or chastise me for that, I stopped.
Saturday, we arrived at Big V’s at midnight, still early enough that Scream Club from Olympia, Washington had yet to take the stage.Scream Club is a two woman outfit that lays down clever girl-power raps over pre-recorded beats.Nothing groundbreaking, but their success is in their enthusiasm, apt wardrobe, and healthy sense of humor.Audience participation was practically required as the band taught us hand jives to perform during a video shoot.for “Life of a Heartbreaker.” Singing along was inevitable as Cindy Wonderful and Sarah Adorable sang “Do…Do ya like me….well then you can…you can take me home.” Ms. Wonderful, looking like a cross between a stand up comedian and 19th Century golfer, successfully crowd surfed, but only after she made sure there were plenty of strong arms by the front of the stage to catch her. She and Ms. Adorable add up to kitschy, dance-ready perfection, and the crowd just ate it up. My concert partner smiled through the entire set and vehemently thanked me for encouraging her to go out.
Dance band crowd at Big V's - de Young
Dance Band didn’t even start until about 1:15 a.m., but the energetic crowd showed no sign they were ready to retire for the night. The energy level continued to build as this mysterious group of musicians took the stage.I say mysterious partly because the band’s MySpace page, their only web presence, gives only hints as to what the band members might actually call themselves.If you can decipher the poem in the “members” field, and click around on various photos and videos, you start to get the idea that the sole female in the band might be called Mama (or Double) D, that the keyboard player might be named Lazer, that DoJon might play guitar, and the low notes might be held down by people named The Engine or The Philanderer.But you can’t be sure. In other words, you’re no closer to figuring it out than when you started.
Dance Band seems to come from both another time and another planet, but a planet where disco and funk are things citizens are required to do before breakfast each morning.Almost immediately, they became one of my new favorite live bands in the Twin Cities. They are the kind of band you will love to tell your friends about because your friends will inevitably show extreme appreciation in return.Going to a Dance Band show may just make your week.
Saturday night they opened with “Is It Moving Yet,” a song that reminds you that if Dance Band asks you to dance, they aren’t kidding, and they’re not going to ask twice.Next was “Stagger Slide,” the song that had ended their short set the night before. (The song ironically contains the lyric “This is how you dance when you die.”The set continued with “Pedal Power,” as yet the only studio track the band has recorded, but what they lack in quantity of studio material is made up for in quality. (Preview it on their MySpace page.)The band kept the audience dancing right up until 2 a.m., before leaving the stage making sure to thank openers Best Friends Forever, with whom they said they hoped to join together in holy matrimony one day, as bands, of course.
Dance Band has been confirmed to kick off the third Voltage: Fashion Amplified at First Avenue on April 11th, 2007.Their next show is Thursday at the Nomad World Pub.
