For my inaugural post of noise picker I'm not going to be writing about an album, or band, or show, but rather a play. Some of you may or may not have heard of the Baltimore music/arts collective Wham City. The name has gained notoriety in the past few years thanks to the great music and even better live shows of Dan Deacon (surely another post on Mr. Deacon will find its way on this blog eventually). Going to school at Goucher has allowed me to acquaint myself with the various escapades of Wham City. One of their more well known endeavors among the Goucher community was their theatrical Performance of Jurassic Park aka "They Should All Be Destroyed."
The show premiered last spring and unfortunately I did not make the first round of shows. Fortunately enough for me, a couple of opportunistic Goucher students (props to Mirm Dawg and Daisy Buchanon) brought the show to Goucher. After hearing rave reviews from my fellow students I was not going to miss my chance to see this show especially since it was advertised as the last performance ever. So, a couple Sundays ago, the 16th of November, I made my way over to Goucher's own Pearlston Atrium and got myself ready for some over the top theatrics, and Wham City did not disappoint.
The show opened with Dennis (Wayne Knight’s character) gorging himself on a whole raw chicken and raw eggs (I lost count of how many he ate after the third). From there the play continued, more or less, along the plotline of the Critchton book/Spielburg Film with continuous bursts of hilarity throughout. The show was progressing splendidly until the fire alarm erupted and we needed to exit the atrium. This unexpected intermission could have completely thrown off the flow of the show, fortunately the Wham City crew got right back into it, not missing a beat.
From a hilarious Goldblum impression to Ed Schrader (a Wham City bred charater comedian) playing the Jurassic Park visionary John Hammond, to a white guy (not Samuel L.) screaming “HOLD ONTO YOUR BUTTS!” Wham City’s presentation of Jurassic park delivered. This being touted as the last performance ever, it doesn’t seem likely that there will be a live presentation of JP anytime soon, so until then enjoy this clip of Muldoon fighting a raptor.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Dogs in the Medical Profession?
The other night I went to Philadelphia to see a show with a friend of mine. We watched the opening band from seats along the wall, waiting anxiously for the headliner, a band by the name Dr. Dog. Now I was under the impression that I had paid for a show involving a dog and some sort of bypass surgery, but unfortunately that was not the case. However, what Dr. Dog lacks in medical prowess they more than make up for in ass kicking rock and roll.
After the opening band-Floating Action-left the stage, the Dr. Dog stage hands began to bring out fake plants, covering the stage and essentially bringing a forest to us. Once the band took the stage there was no time for talk as they ran through a solid chunk of their catalog. Now I must admit that prior to this show I was pretty unfamiliar with Dr. Dog, so my knowledge of what songs they played is beyond me. I can say with certainty though that they played nearly twenty songs, which included a majority of their new album Fate.
Once the music started it never slowed. One song would end and the next would start mere seconds afterward, allowing for the large set list in the short hour and a half set. The live show that Dr. Dog puts on is quite different from their album work, from what I can tell. Their newest album is mellow and harmonic, but their live show was unexpectedly raucous. From the first song it was clear that they were here to fuck some shit up and indeed they did. The confluence of instruments blaring out of the speakers was chaotic but maintained the melody underneath. Each song came with its own instrumental breakdown adding some serious kick to slower songs and making the more upbeat ones that much more incredible. In fact one of my favorite parts was during the song "Fat Dog." The band played this beautiful riff that just had me. They kept it going for a bit (i could have listened to it all night), and finally broke back in to the rocking out that they do so well.
The sheer energy that the band put into their live show was obvious. The lead singers were jumping around every chance they got and the bass player wasn't singing in his inside voice, but rather a scream that made the songs much more exciting, and left my ears ringing just a bit longer.
If you are a fan of Dr. Dog or just someone who likes music, do yourself a favor and see them live.
I still can't hear right.
After the opening band-Floating Action-left the stage, the Dr. Dog stage hands began to bring out fake plants, covering the stage and essentially bringing a forest to us. Once the band took the stage there was no time for talk as they ran through a solid chunk of their catalog. Now I must admit that prior to this show I was pretty unfamiliar with Dr. Dog, so my knowledge of what songs they played is beyond me. I can say with certainty though that they played nearly twenty songs, which included a majority of their new album Fate.
Once the music started it never slowed. One song would end and the next would start mere seconds afterward, allowing for the large set list in the short hour and a half set. The live show that Dr. Dog puts on is quite different from their album work, from what I can tell. Their newest album is mellow and harmonic, but their live show was unexpectedly raucous. From the first song it was clear that they were here to fuck some shit up and indeed they did. The confluence of instruments blaring out of the speakers was chaotic but maintained the melody underneath. Each song came with its own instrumental breakdown adding some serious kick to slower songs and making the more upbeat ones that much more incredible. In fact one of my favorite parts was during the song "Fat Dog." The band played this beautiful riff that just had me. They kept it going for a bit (i could have listened to it all night), and finally broke back in to the rocking out that they do so well.
The sheer energy that the band put into their live show was obvious. The lead singers were jumping around every chance they got and the bass player wasn't singing in his inside voice, but rather a scream that made the songs much more exciting, and left my ears ringing just a bit longer.
If you are a fan of Dr. Dog or just someone who likes music, do yourself a favor and see them live.
I still can't hear right.
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