Live Review - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum @ the Orpheum.

 

On a rainy Wednesday night venturing across the bridge to north Tampa, was only accomplished with the motivation of one of my favorite bands who is also one of the best bands to rock a stage. I saw them back in  2007 and was blown away, so their return to the studio and the crowded funded tour they are currently on could not be missed. Nils folk band Faun Fables had already taken the stage when we got there. They have made it a family act as Nil's two daughters were dressed like they were part of a hippie cult as they sang in unison with synchronized dance routines in motion. They were followed by two bands from Orlando, one was clearly a Primus tribute band that was trying to write their own songs, and The other was a riff machine band that executed well, but the moving pieces of their sound were less than original and there was not where for them to go. Not sure why a band would want to open for Sleepytime as they are always going to blow the other bands away. 

Sleepytime took the stage and after a false start due to some technical issues hit the audience with a stunning version of "Freedom Club".While they have not toured in over a decade, they do not have much in the way of rust to brush off and fall back into what they do with fluid grace. Odd time signatures that King Crimson is surely jealous of flowed. They have an intense charm onstage. Playing five songs from the new album, went overall and is a testament to how well it stands up against their body of work. "Burn into Light" showed their more melodic side. To say Nils stays in character for the entirety of the set makes the lines blurry as to who he really is as his persona in Sleepytime feels authentic to who he is.

 I think the five new songs that took the dominant role in their set, showed how in the making of the new album the rest of the band has played a more active hand in contributing. Micheal Mellender seemed to play more guitar this time and also sang more than I remembered seeing him do when I saw them previously. He also pulled out a trumpet at one point,. Carla's violin came across as a more crucial bringer of the song's melodic currents, and her vocals were really stellar on this evening. Nils also proved capable of getting up into his falsetto, though on the version of "Hymn to the Morning Star"  reworked here he sang a more bluesy version of the song over the intro to "Sleep is Wrong" which was the encore. 

Another highlight for me was getting to hold Dan's microphone stand for him for the duration of "Old Grey Heron" b because it was not strong enough to hold up the recorder he tried hanging from it. He was not pleased with the overall sound of the night. At the start of the set Nil's explained that they met due to the fact Dan was the maintenance man for the co-op they lived in. So as the man who keeps their live show bolted together, it is understandable that he likes everything fully operational. His vocals were also more noticeable for this show and playing flawlessly as ever despite his qualms with the sound. They had a long drive to New Orleans ahead of them so I did not stick around to chat afterward, but if you have never seen them live you must find yourself at one of their shows the next chance you get as they continue to be one of the most compelling live bands ever. 

pst151

Live Review : Cold Cave @ the Orpheum in Tampa

 My first time in the relocated Tampa venue that moved from Ybor City to the north suburbs. It falls at just under a 1000 in capacity. An out side bar to cater to smokers/ vapers  with a food truck in the back. This was the band's 6th stop on the first leg of this tour. Los Angeles based singer Riki opened , who performed her set with enthusiasm. She handled both cuing up her beats as well as providing a oddly choreographed performance, that she sold with her deliberate movements and the charisma in which they were delivered with, that compensated for her breathy singing that was somewhat pitchy, as the translation of her style that was weathered from the first week on the road. Sounds great in the studio, but translating to projecting it into a club PA is more demanding , which is why more belted rock singing works better in this environment. She was entertaining regardless. 

Cold Cave has come off high profile tours opening for the Cult, and Depeche Mode. They have had to prove themselves to much larger audiences than what was gathered this Wednesday night at the Orpheum, to crowds not familiar work their work, while this evening seemed to be largely fans who knew the words. They have not been the most ardent road warriors over the years, so this helped further refine their live show, so they took the stage with a professional attitude that still upheld the band's mystique. They opened with "Prayer From Nowhere" from their most recent 2021 album. They followed this up with the title track from their debut album. This showed the kind of balanced set list, more bands could learn from. The dished out their legacy in equal portions. In researching their set lists over this leg of the tour is is some variation but staples like "Glory" are pretty consistent, which kept the crowd dancing. 

The more obscure "People are Poison" did not diminish the energy, as Wesley's wife Amy Lee churned the song's bass play line.. They followed this up with " A Little Death to Laugh' to keep the cold wave vibes authentic and the mood bleak. The pulse of "Nothing is True But You" was crowd pleasing. Their older material like "Youth and Lust" holds up very well, and he sung it with compelling attitude. I have always felt that "Cherish the Light Years" is their best album, and a song like "Confetti" in the live environment  certainly supported this claim. It was also one of his best vocal performances of the evening. The live version of "Underworld USA" reminded me what a good song it is. 

I would have expected "the Great Pan is Dead' as the set's opener but it came late in the second half. It still worked in terms of delivery the intensity the song carries. They followed it up with another song from 'Cherish the Light Years" with "Villains of the Moon".   He was every ounce as emotive in his delivery live as on the album. "Promise Land" from their last EP worked well to close out their set, as it delivered the goth club vibes.  They left the stage briefly to play "Catacombs" that found the jangle of guitar cutting through more live. This was followed by the angular synths of "Life Magazine" found Amy taking over on vocals . The last song of the encore was the driving dance floor slapper "Icons of Summer".  If you have not yet seen Cold Cave live and like dark music of any variety, I strongly suggest catching them when they come your way.