Wakey! Wakey! with The Spring Standards and Chris CubetaDC9
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
In the interest of full disclosure:
So, I missed the opening band. I hate doing so, and from what I’ve heard of their music and this particular performance, Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club, fronted by Cubeta, long time friend and producer of Wakey!Wakey!, this especially was not a show to miss. Roommate bonding trips to Ikea take far longer than one might expect, especially when one of said roommates leaves the brilliant blue stoneware set—the one that matches the kitchen perfectly—on a bench outside the shore. So that took a while. Mea culpa.
The Spring Standards’ setup and soundcheck took a bit longer, I think, than any of the 50-75some crowd expected. Heather Robb, the Standards’ ebullient leading lady—adorning the bluest of dresses and even brighter, bluer leggings—arranged with exacting care no less than seven instruments in front and around herself, carving a mini-niche at the center of the DC9 stage. James Cleare, with shaggy hair and the coolest of Batman tshirts, strummed and riffed anxiously on two or three of the five guitars lined on the edge of the stage. James Smith bounced on and off the stage, checking mics and his own cache of instruments, arranging a snare, tom, guitar, bass, mic and two cymbals in front of his stage left corner.
A listener new to the Spring Standards wouldn’t quite know what to expect. The glockenspiel, tom, synth, organ, keys, computer and electric feel emanating from Heather’s spot would presuppose the bouncy, edgy spunk of a Ra Ra Rasputin show; indeed Ken Quam of Ra Ra was in the audience. But as the Spring Standards launched into their opening few songs, especially Skyline, scenic with clanging cymbals, suspended vocals and patient dynamics, the Standards established their unique sound—as if She & Him and the Swell Season invited the cautiously obliging White Stripes to afternoon tea.
A listener new to the Spring Standards wouldn’t quite know what to expect. The glockenspiel, tom, synth, organ, keys, computer and electric feel emanating from Heather’s spot would presuppose the bouncy, edgy spunk of a Ra Ra Rasputin show; indeed Ken Quam of Ra Ra was in the audience. But as the Spring Standards launched into their opening few songs, especially Skyline, scenic with clanging cymbals, suspended vocals and patient dynamics, the Standards established their unique sound—as if She & Him and the Swell Season invited the cautiously obliging White Stripes to afternoon tea.
