Review: Cake

Cake is a preposterous rock band. The vocal range of its lead vocalist is laughably limited. The other members of the quintet lack charisma. Many of the band’s songs are little more than caustic screeds set to irony-laden music. In spite of these impediments, Cake verged on greatness Friday at the Uptown Theater. 

A remarkably devoted audience of about 2,000 witnessed the band’s taut performance. The synchronized chanting and shouting during “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” displayed a rare bond between fans and musicians. The unusually congenial relationship has allowed Cake, a band that still lacks an identifiable image two decades after its inception, to defy the odds by remaining a commercial powerhouse. Showroom of Compassion, the California-based band’s 2011 release, claimed the top spot on Billboard magazine’s album chart.

Like the ensembles led by the late Frank Zappa, Cake combines a sardonic world view with exceptional musicianship. Zappa tended to leaven his rock-based approach with jazz and classical flourishes, but Cake selects a wide range of less imposing genres to embellish its sound. Friday’s one-hour-and-fifty-minute concert- not including a 25-minute intermission- was sonically varied and intellectually assertive. 

“Federal Funding,” a farcical selection that seems to have forecast the recent General Services Administration scandal, evokes ‘70s New Wave. Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre would surely have approved of a bouncy version of "The Distance." "Long Time"’s mocking lilt craftily subverted pop conventions. “Stickshifts and Safetybelts” featured the zest of classic rockabilly. The loose jam-band quality of “Sheep Go To Heaven” offered further contrast. “Mexico”-- perhaps the evening’s only wholly sincere song- was beautifully transporting.. 

A mirror ball complemented the dreamlike qualities of “Mexico” and a handful of other serene selections. The only other stage prop was a redbud tree that was awarded to a fan after an extraordinarily odd exchange. Cake doesn’t need special effects. When he wasn’t offering droll banter, front man John McCrea acted as a frantic band director and vibra-slap fiend. Cake’s prominent use of the percussive instrument is akin to Blue Oyster Cult’s association with the cowbell. The noir-sh textures and funk flavors played by guitarist Xan McCurdy and the fastidious contributions of trumpeter and keyboardist Vince DiFiore are also essential elements of Cake’s distinctive sound.

The three songs that opened the show- Willie Nelson’s "Sad Songs and Waltzes," "Opera Singer" and "Frank Sinatra"- dealt with the vagaries of celebrity. Given Cake’s remarkable ability to sustain its popularity while remaining relatively anonymous, the band’s infatuation with the pitfalls of fame is sublimely ironic.

Setlist: Sad Songs and Waltzes; Opera Singer; Frank Sinatra; Shadow Stabbing; Guitar; Mexico; Moustache Man; Stickshifts and Safetybelts; Federal Funding; Sick of You; -Intermission-; Sheep Go To Heaven; Ruby Sees All; Long Time; Bound Away; Love You Madly; Haze of Love; Never There; War Pigs; Short Skirt/Long Jacket; The Distance.

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Bubba]

Well, I saw CAKE in 2005 open for WEEZER + in 2010 - open for SMASHING PUMPKINS. Both times at Sandstone. Liked them more that 2nd time. Not really my thing. But, I'm glad to know that they drew a crowd of 2,000 at the Uptown.

[gsp]

great show

[Eric Grate]

Similar to the word "epic", the word "greatness" is thrown around way too often on the internet to convey the meaning which they once did.

[student]

The real show last night was at Knucklehead's: David Allan Coe.

[Joe]

Cake is great live! I have seen cake five times and they continue to deliver

[Joe]

I don't remember cake opening for smashing pumpkins. Don't think they did

[Joe]

Civil twilight opened, not cake? Try again.

[JK]

Cake opened for Pumpkins at Buzz Beachball in 2010.

[Joe]

Yep, your right. Sorry. Missed that one

[TrueFan]

Bubba and Others...this show was MUCH better than both of those prior shows (2005 and 2010). They also opened for Mumford and Sons last year (June, 2011). Not sure if it was the indoor setting that made it more intimate, helped the acoustics, stabilized John McCrea's mood, or all three. In any case, awesome show.