Let’s Go Bowling/Showoff/Annie On My Mind
Having a song dedicated to you from the stage at a rock show can be either a painful experience, like being serenaded with “Happy Birthday” for an eternity in front of a hostile, heckling crowd, or an invigorating thrill. Opening band Annie On My Mind set aside a little ditty for one Ryan Brown on Monday night, and he seemed pleased, swaying back and forth in the cavernous El Torreon Ballroom. Of course, given this evening’s attendance, this power-punk trio could have fit multiple dedications to each of its listeners into its brief set. I was the only person not affiliated with the band in the room when they began, and by the middle of the first song, the crowd had grown to a whopping 12 members strong. Annie On My Mind joked about this before shrugging it off and playing a spunky set, but by the end of the night, the 30 or so people in the large hall seemed out of place. The bands did their best, trying to ignore the sparse, lifeless huddle of humanity, but it must have been hard to get motivated.
The next outfit to take the stage was a fresh-faced five-piece named Showoff, a pop-punk group that is signed to Madonna’s Maverick label. To paraphrase one of its labelmates, a band called Showoff on Madonna’s label — Isn’t it ironic? Don’tcha think?. Everyone present seemed to marvel at the band’s mass of equipment, which included a wall of guitars, wireless microphones and amplifiers, and a whole mess of top-notch, state-of-the-art stuff, all procured because Showoff suckled Satan’s teat and signed on the dotted line.
The band played an energetic-as-fuck set, filled with members literally bouncing off walls — wireless bass player runs amok, footage at 11 — but Showoff let its guard down between songs and periodically revealed its disdain for its plight. How can you live La Vida Loca when you’re playing punk shows for a baker’s dozen or so? The crash heard through the strangely echoing confines was the sound of major-label dreams of instant success crashing down around the band’s pogoing feet. Nonetheless, Showoff put on an entertaining set, and was, for the most part, professional about its lot in life. There is nothing worse than a whiny punk band, and Showoff, realizing this, kept its grumbling to a minimum.
Let’s Go Bowling was Showoff’s polar opposite. If Showoff’s members were Madonna’s loco corporate lackeys, then the members of Let’s Go Bowling were the champions of independent, do-it-yourself showmanship, as evidenced by a sticker on the band’s bass drum that read “Getting Signed Is For Pussies.” This seven-piece ska ensemble took the stage at about 10 p.m., and carried the small throng on an engaging journey. These musicians might have been as old as their fans’ parents, but they sounded young-at-heart as they shuffled artfully through songs such as “Pin Stripe Suit” and “Crying.” LGB was limber, spry, and tight as any band has a right to be. Its music explored the groove inherent in ska, as the band treated the slight herd to a masterful set. The group took requests, joked with a fellow wearing a shirt bearing the words “My Balls,” and even changed lyrics to reflect that simple message, all while smiling, having legitimate fun on stage, and satisfying its appreciative following.
