By: Mike Minehart
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Heatbox - Photo by Mike Minehart
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Friday presented me a rare opportunity to pull off a doubleheader of epic proportions. Not only was there Ari Herstand's CD release at The Varsity with Holiday and Heatbox early on in the evening, but The Alarmists were also playing a late show over at the Triple Rock with The Melismatics and Friends Like These.
Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity and I rolled over to The Varsity for only the sixth time so far this year (slow year there, no?) for the early show. The night began with Heatbox, a member of Root City Band and City Collective with some serious beatboxing skills. His talents on the mic blew me away, and he was looping something like a dozen tracks of vocals into an all-out array of pseudo-instrumental goodness. He had a huge range and could completely shred as well, if you would define hyperspeed beatboxing by such a term. And his smooth lyrics flowed through the music like a swan through the river—even if he did cuss just a little bit. Like on "Bitches from the Milky Way," which was pretty tight.
Next up was Holiday, and they returned to The Varsity for what I believe was their first show there since the On-Campus Booking showcase back in December. Unlike that show, they played nothing but originals, which was perfect for the intimate crowd of Ari Herstand and Holiday fans that night. A lot of Holiday's songs are very poppy and good for sing-a-longs, and after listening to the recordings, I suddenly realized that lead singer Nick Emmel sounds a lot like Ben Folds, but with just a hint of a British accent. Overall, Holiday put on a quality set, preparing the crowd for what was sure to be a fun headlining performance from Herstand.
Herstand’s new live album One Take saw its debut to the masses on this night, and he performed a number of songs which appear on it, most of which were recorded at a show Herstand played at The Varsity back in September. The best thing about One Take versus his studio album, Baby Eyes (released in December of 2005), is that all of the songs on the live album feature the sweet looping stuff that Herstand does in concert, but are absent from Baby Eyes. Suffice it to say, the fans really wanted to hear Herstand’s looping talents on an album, and he delivered with this new release.
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Ari Herstand - Photo by Mike Minehart
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As for the show, he brought it all out on this night with a very energetic performance and stage presence. Jason Parvey from Roster McCabe made a guest appearance and joined him on saxophone for "Center of a Kiss." Some of Herstand’s fans even took an opportunity to enjoy the show from a couch sitting on the edge of the stage, one of those being Drew Preiner also of Roster McCabe. The best seat in the house for sure.
All was going quite well until late in the set when Herstand’s guitar and loop station stopped working. He quickly sorted out the situation as the members of his band jammed on some funky grooves to keep the crowd moving. Herstand wound up having to switch to Emmel's acoustic guitar and ditching the loop station, but that was only for the final one or two songs. By that point, everyone was just totally having a good time and rolling with whatever the situation dictated, as Herstand even took a moment to rock out with his friends and fans over on the couch.
The band left the stage after the final song, but the crowd demanded one more song as shouts of "Lose Yourself" rang out from some of Herstand’s most devoted fans and friends, better known as the Street Stand. Herstand came back on and said he had planned on playing "Poster Boy Celebrity" solo, but without the loop that just wouldn't be possible. So instead, Herstand brought the band back up and gave the crowd a lively performance of his most infamous cover song—Eminem's "Lose Yourself," complete with wearing his hoodie up and showing off some of his best rap moves. Always such a character. He put on a hell of a show for the crowd at his home venue once again, showing that even in the face of adversity he could still pull it off.
Yet that was only the first show of the night for me... There was still some big stuff going down at the Triple Rock, which demanded my attention as well...
Location Info:
The Varsity Theater
Artist Info: Ari Herstand, Heatbox, Holiday
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