Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Twin Rivers - Lincoln, RI - June 29, 2007
Posted by Jesse Coy on 07.17.2007
Zoot suit craziness smag-nab in the middle of casino land!
I almost couldn’t find the sheet of paper I used to jot down the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ set list. So many things around me and in my life are a scattered mess. Welcome to the human condition, perhaps. And I actually wasn’t going to write this review yet. But hell, why not roll with it? So we’re talking about last Friday, which was June 29th. What did I do on that Thursday between the Rush and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies shows? I believe I was abducted by aliens. Okay, so Friday, I woke whenever, and not too long after, I was getting a rental car, ready to go. I wish they gave me the same one that I’d had for the Rush show. Instead, they gave me the same one that I had for the Film Flange weekend. Damn (and I probably didn’t mention it, but for Rush, I made use of that car beeper, or unlock button, following the noise, because I’d forgotten when I’d parked).
Actually, I nearly didn’t get a car. A gal was bringing that one back. Yee-haw. I only wanted it for a day, but the rental agency’s Saturday hours were 9 to 12? That sucks. To pay or not to pay an extra $20 to have a car for the entire weekend, that was the question. I’d have to decide the next day. Anyway, the advance releases for Bad Brains and S.O.D. reached me. I didn’t even ask for S.O.D., but I would’ve. And what do I see on the press release? It contains a live concert… at the Fenix. Hell, Shirleen and I were there. What a hoot! So I’d listen to those two CD’s on the drive down, and I started with… wait, I actually listened to Cement first. That took me down to Boston, and I took the interstate that went around the city this time around. A little bit before that was when I switched to S.O.D. a little bit before crossing into Rhode Island, switch-a-roo… time for the Bad Brains.
As for direction, ain’t technology great? That questing map site told me exactly how to get to this casino. That’s right, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies were playing a free show… two, actually (Friday and Saturday) at a casino. So that’s why I was in Lincoln, Rhode Island on a Friday night. I’d actually considered spending the night in Rhode Island and not renting a car. I’d have to take the train to Boston, a bus to Providence, and a local bus to Lincoln. But first, there were no cheap accommodations, and second, the earliest Lincoln pickup bus was at 10am. No good. The casino closed at 2, too. If it didn’t, and if there were a 7am bus, I would’ve stayed awake all night, or even napped outdoors. Hell, there’s a state park there. Only, if I packed a backpack, where would I stow it, besides the fact that I’d have to start the whole voyage off at noon on Friday, because there’s a huge gap in Haverhill’s train schedule. So forget that plan. Anyway, I got there with plenty of time to spare.
Had a bottle of white wine that I brought to drink. The only problem was, I kind of had to piss. Ever feel like you have to piss, but then figure, if I don’t think about it, maybe I won’t have to piss? As I listened to the Bad Brains, jotting down notes on that and the S.O.D. CD, that was the case. I almost wandered in the outer regions off this additional parking area. The main parking area was full, a surprise to me. Yet please… this additional parking area has shuttle bus service when all you need to do is cross the street and go through the other parking lot (so many lazy people). I finished my bottle of wine in the parking lot and had a good, old time. Then it was time to enter the casino.
At that point, I needed a restroom badly, and happily found one. Being as buzzed as I was, I needed to eat. Bought a tasty, thick sandwich. And where was the venue? Basically, in the middle of the whole casino. That’s right. It had a kind of bar at the top, and was like a concert pit seven or eight steps below casino level. The whole concept to me was immensely bizarre (surreal, even). So the deal was, you were supposed to get in line an hour before the show, or you could, because seating was first come, first serve. There was a huge, fake lighthouse down there, too. Anyway, I asked one of the employees when you needed to start standing in line. This person said, “probably a half hour before.”
Okay, fine. I got my sandwich to go. In line behind me appeared a couple who loved to swing dance. They were in their sixties. They asked me questions about the band, and I answered as best I could, wondering what kind of set list they’d play in a place like this (in the middle of a casino). There was supposed to be no preferential seating, but apparently that wasn’t the case. I’d been eating my sandwich in line as I waited. They were supposed to start at 9, but it wasn’t until about 9:20. The staff didn’t seat people in line until about the third song, the band beginning with “Brown Derby Jump” and “Here Comes the Snake,” and maybe it was during “No Mercy” when we were seated. My revelation of covering the show got me no leverage.
Well, it was a free show, so I knew even then I couldn’t complain, besides the fact that you didn’t even need to be in the seated area to have a perfect view of the band. Since I was there solo, if that swing couple, along with another couple they were with of the same age, hadn’t incorporated me into their group, I might not have had a seat at a table. As soon as we sat down, just a little before the band went into “Drunk Daddy,” gals came around with free sample shots of iced vodka, and not only did I have mine, but my table mates, two of whom didn’t drink, passed their shots to me. During “Drunk Daddy,” too, these older swing couples all went up to do their thing.
Did I already say that it was surreal? Yeah. Anyway, stepping back from the circumstances and focusing on the band, it was actually a great show. Singer Steve Perry appeared quite happy and charged to be playing the tunes. The band, as some may remember, had been poised to break even bigger, beyond “Zoot Suit Riot,” but then either a fickle and short attention span of the audience lost interest in swing, or the labels gave up supporting these bands. That’s the story that I heard with the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies fifth and last release, 2000’s Soul Caddy. If all you have is their pseudo best of release, Zoot Suit Riot (kind of like an EP, because there were four unreleased tracks on that one), then you might not know that the band had and has a lot more to them than just swing. On those first three albums, there’s some great punchy punk, a few snappy ska tracks (“Don Quixote” being a favorite of mine), and even elements of metal in several tracks.
Anyway, they did perform a lot of tracks from Zoot Suit Riot at this show, including the title track, which they played toward the end. Without a swing partner, I danced with my padded binder. I couldn’t help myself. Let’s see… I mentioned the first four songs they did already. There was also “Change Your Mind,” “Dr. Bones,” “Master and Servant” (one of my favorites), “Ding-Dong Daddy,” and as an encore, “Pink Elephant” and “Cherry Poppin’ Daddy Strut.” Off their barely promoted last album, they did “Diamond Light Boogie,” “Swinging with Tiger Woods” (another favorite), “Soul Cadillac,” and “Uncle Ray.”
Hey… I’m listening to Kids on the Street now, and I recognize this one. I wrote it down as “Cosmic Nose Ride,” which I was sure at the time couldn’t have been its name. No… it was “Cosa Nostra” that they played.
There were a few tunes that I didn’t recognize, like “Fortune Teller” and “Poor White Trash.” If you think about some of the band’s lyrics, even though some of it is set to swing style, it’s kind of a risqu? band for a casino… or maybe not. Anyway, in the middle of their set, they did three songs that I think are new… “Under the Sun” (a reggae track, actually, which gets points for mentioning the Susquehanna River in its lyrics), “Shoe Factory Song,” and a rumba tune, “A Good Time.” Well, thank you, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. I had a good time, even more amused than normal due to the surreal location of this show. And me? I didn’t gamble afterwards. Anyway, I went onto their MySpace site, and see that they’re doing a few other shows in the coming months. I’d definitely recommend them. No rust on those guys from their hiatus. Hopefully, they’ll officially record some new tracks.
The 411: They're playing odd venues, and that might factor into the fun. If you like swing music, and these zoot suit dudes swing through your neighborhood, you won't regret checking them out. They're as sharp as ever, and were having a great time doing their thing when I saw them. Plus, with the new material they played, they seem to be further expanding their base sound.
