Friday, May 22, 1998
Everclear sparkles as highlight of alternative concert
MUSIC: Marcy Playground proves a disappointing warm-up for
headliner
By Michelle Zubiate
Daily Bruin Contributor
Every kid remembers those which-way books. If you choose one
path, you could fall down the bottomless pit, but if you choose the
alternate route you’ll be led to safety.
Wednesday’s concert at the Hollywood Palladium pretty much read
the same way. Everclear, Fastball and Marcy Playground came
together to deliver the night’s combo of stellar energy, promising
beginnings and major let-downs. It just depends on which band you
choose to tell you whether the night remained memorable for the
good, the bad or the in-between.
Fastball opened the night’s line-up with a set of promising
insight. Not too flashy or extraordinarily amazing, the band stuck
to the strength of their album to win the crowd’s respect. The
three-man band from Austin, Texas, continues to bask in the success
of its modern rock single "The Way" which has its lesser-known
label, Hollywood Records, reeling in jubilation.
However, its new album, "All the Pain Money Can Buy," contains a
great number of other noteworthy songs that created an equally
pleasing response in the band’s performance. For instance, "Nowhere
Road" was an immediate hit as the crowd warmed up to Fastball’s
pure modern rock style, having little association with the punk or
alternative genre of the night’s other two bands.
One highlight of the set included the beautifully simple "Which
Way to the Top?" Singer Poe joined the band to perform the duet
that marks one of the album’s strengths. Unfortunately, the volume
of the background music drowned the talented vocals of Poe, Tony
Scalzo and Miles Zuniga throughout the song and the entire set.
Zuniga maintained an endearing stage presence thanks to his
honest and simple enthusiasm. By enjoying his music and revealing
that through his performance, the audience felt a closer connection
to both him and the rest of the band. Sometimes a little humility
can go a long way. The exciting upbeat melody of their last song
"Sooner or Later" sparked a unanimous desire that Fastball’s set
end later rather than sooner. Although some technicalities need
some work, they have both the heart and the talent of a great rock
band.
The night’s New York band, Marcy Playground, failed to meet up
to the crowd’s expectations. By now anyone who has ever turned on
KROQ-FM (106.7) knows of "Sex and Candy." Catchy and simple, it
makes the band worthy of the "one-hit wonder" title almost more
than any other band on the radio these days. Staying on the top
singles charts for weeks on end, it marks as the only accomplished
song the band has created.
The band’s performance remained, in a word, uneventful. The lead
singer, John Wozniak, rarely ventured away from the microphone and
gave little in terms of performance style. Although the painfully
long set (or so it felt) went through smoothly and cleanly, the
audience remained lifeless until the inevitable "Sex and Candy"
finale. You know a band’s heading nowhere fast when an audience
gets as overly excited as it did for a single that’s been on the
radio for weeks on end.
Everclear’s performance, however, far outshined the others. Not
only did they give all their effort to creating dazzling energy,
the crowd loved every song and every second that the band had to
offer them.
The crowd clapped, cheered and begged for an entrance even
before the lights went out. Madness ensued the moment lead singer
Art Alexakis appeared in his suited glory. The room filled with
bass overload and intriguing keyboards as Alexakis crooned some
teasing lyrics solo before that climactic moment when "So Much for
the Afterglow" broke out and bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg
Eklund joined him on-stage.
The audience cheered at the opening notes of every song,
including "You Make Me Feel Like A Whore," a song that does not
work as well on their last CD, "Sparkle and Fade," as it does live.
Whether jumping around the stage, throwing out punching guitar
hooks or belting out talented vocals, Everclear proved that they
truly embody all the makings of the tight live band. The band’s
popularity with the crowd also remained obvious as they sang along
with every pick from "Father of Mine" to "Strawberry."
During the "Sparkle and Fade" portion of the set, the audience
received a feel for the Everclear punk style before they became
more pop-oriented with "So Much for the Afterglow." The crowd went
wild with the electric overhaul and the rowdiness of the rhythms,
but the loyal fans knew that this was just the side of Everclear
they love and hardly see these days.
After three radio hits back-to-back (including KROQ staples "I
Will Buy You A New Life" and "Everything To Everyone") Everclear
ended the set but not without first delivering a satisfying encore.
They invited audience members to dance with them on stage as they
belted their "Romeo and Juliet" soundtrack hit "Local God."
After dedicating their final song to Frank Sinatra, the night
ended with the remembrance of great musicians of both the past and
the present.
MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin
Art Alexakis of Everclear delivers hard rock at the Hollywood
Palladium.