Show Review: The Bands Are Possessed!

by Brad Roberts

 

Tuesday, October 27, 2009, was the perfect alchemy of events that leads to great Halloween parties. The wind whipped up as dusk approached, around five o'clock, sometimes gusting up to a rumored 70 mph. It was almost as though people and cars were airborne and you had to duck. Just getting home from work was fraught with danger. By nightfall the air had calmed, giving revellers a chance to get to The Echo with their costumes intact.

 

This was the event that atmospherics had turned upside down. I mean, The Monolators playing at 10 o'clock and not midnight (or one?) had patrons confused and disoriented. And four local bands possessed by the spirit of four legendary classic rockers? How could you not be shocked and scared when you walk in and there's Marc Bolan on stage with T-Rex, looking well, for someone dead over 30 years.

 

 

Actually it was Jesse Davis and The Karabal Nightlife doing a scary and accurate resurrection of the popular glam rockers. With an uncanny British accent Jesse tore through some vaguely familiar songs that sounded better than I remembered (from what little I'd ever heard of the T-Rex originals). The audience ate it up and enthusiastically urged the band on. I haven't seen The Karabal Nightlife in a while and I was mighty impressed.

 

The Monolators, possessed of the spirit of ABBA became The Abbalators and performed electrifying versions of "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All" and others, recreating the ABBA sound with amazing faithfulness. For the last song, "Dancing Queen", The Monolators came out of retirement to possess the bodies of the ABBA people on stage and tore the song to shreds in totally Monolator fashion.  Which is to say high energy and onstage hijinx had the crowd roaring it's approval. Today I have the god-damned ABBA songs running through my head. Say what I will against them, they are catchy songs.

 

I've seen The Voyeurs before and enjoyed their sets, but nothing prepared me for the amazing performance they gave as Creedence Clearwater Revival here. Jonathan Hylander's John Fogerty was pretty spot-on, but the whole band played with a committment and attention to detail that made you feel like you could have been witnessing the original band. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain", "Green River" and "Bad Moon Rising" were highlights, and they even got the indie rock audience to dance...yes, dance. Wow! 

 

The Flying Fleetwood Mac Orchestra (The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra) began with "Tusk", which was both bold and brave, for it is not an easy song to perform or sing, even hiring the USC Marching Band (albeit an ersatz, local version - Mary Chartkoff and other local brass players) to march on stage and complete the song, in all it's spectacular glory. Sara Radle sang a wonderful rendition of "Dreams", which showed off her beautiful voice, while the band backed her up with a perfect blend of instrumentals and harmony vocals, as she utilized just the right amount of Stevie sleeve and scarf-waving.

 

They were joined by Brittney Westover of The Damselles as Christine McVie to sing "Say You Love Me" as, over and over, I was blown away at the musicianship of the Orchestra which beautifully aped the Mac and provided a glimpse back to the classic band's heyday.

 

All in all, it was an amazing evening to witness, to see all these bands so enjoying each other's performances and the love and support among the audience. It was a night I won't soon forget.