December 14th 2002
Rapscallions, Fairview, Ultimate Fakebook, and Nerf Herder
The Gallery 160 Virginia St. Downtown San Jose $10 7pm
I have never been to The Gallery, but they generally put on some awesome shows so I was excited to see it. It was in a very industrial area of San Jose. Normally I hate driving to San Jose because its a city, and thats just all bad. But it was suprisingly easy to find. The venue was in a large warehouse, which was made a joke during a lot of bands sets. "We`re playing a WAREHOUSE!" was heard a lot. It was 10 fuckin dollars for the show.. LAME! But they had clean bathrooms, a comfy backatage area, a large room, with lots of seating for those lame-o`s who wanted to sit throughout the whole show. But nonetheless there was a decent crowd, not what was expected, but good enough.
The Rapscallions
I always have to smile when I see this band. They are so "out there" and hilarious. They are a rapcore hip hop spoof of a band who wear bright orange jumpsuits and fake "bling bling." I didn`t catch their whole set but the end of it was funny as hell. They give their audience such amazing energy. It is amusing to see a bunch of guys on stage jumping on eachother, around the stage, and just having such an awesome time. I dont really have much to say about them, but if you want to have a good time and laugh your ass off, go see this band. I really like them but I`m going to have to go with 3.5 our of 5 stars.
Fairview
Fairview was a melodic alternative band from Orange County. They had a Weezer/Ozma feel to them which isn`t normally what I listen to but they were awesome. My favorite part of their show is they have a girl on piano. It isn`t often you see a girl in a band, so I was pleased. To make it all even better, she was awesome. Adding keys to their songs makes it so much better, it brings a different sort of melodic feel to the music and was very much pleasing to my ears. I saw a couple in front of me commenting on how much they liked the keys. Their singer provided us with a pleasent voice that loses you in the music. The girl on keys (I wish I remembered her name) also added backup vocals, something I thought was pleasing as well. Their whole set was energy packed with awesome vocals, as well as music. I wish I could remember more of their set, but I wish I had gotten their cd to give you guys a review, but alas, the cost of the show sort of tapped me out. I suggest you download some of their stuff if you have a chance. They were pretty fuckin rad! I would have to say 4 out of 5 stars...
Ultimate Fakebook
I don`t own any of their cd`s and I have never seen them live before, but I have recently heard such amazing things about them that I downloaded some of their music, and I liked it a lot. Again, they have a weezer/ozma melodic alternative punk feel to them that I liked immensely. Like the other bands, their set was energy packed with awesome sounds. The whole time I was watching them I was just in awe of how much they draw your attention to you. I remember, at one point during their set I wanted to go to the bathroom but I couldn`t bring myself to break from their set. So, naturally, I waited until they were done. My only suggestion I would have for them is to maybe talk a bit more inbetween songs, but on the contrary to that when bands talk to much you find youself wanting more music. So I think a healthy balance is in order. I don`t have much to say about them other then check them out if you have a chance, they are worth it! 4 out of 5 stars.
Nerf Herder
Oh sweet jesus... Hilarious is the only word I can think of right now. This band was so fuckin funny. They played a very long set.. More on that later though. They played "Nose Ring Girl" a song that can frequently be heard on Santa Clara radio. I loved how much they got the audeicne involved in the set. Commenting on how Danny`s name is a boys name. (pshh whatever! haha), thrusting the mic`s in our faces to scream, talking about how "oakland is in the house!" They just did a lot of things to get out involvment and bring laughter to the kids who were watching. They played a lot of songs I have heard on underground radio, but it`s hard to remember them all. They brought this guy up on stage and had 3 girls pretty much give them lap dances. Then Gemini, their merch guy, dropped his pants and sat on the guys face. It was pretty much a lot of drunken behavior and hilarious stunts by the bands. Earlier in the show there was a connect 4 game goin on, I don`t think anyone won though. Well, they brought the game on stage during Nerf Herder`s set. FUNNY! There was just a lot of funny things that occured during their set. I think the best part of the set was how they played until they literally had no more instruments to play with. The guys from the Gallery took the mic`s away, then the drum by drum, and so on until there was nothing more to play with. The singer decided he wanted to bring the cloth covering (used as sort of a cieling) down, then someone from the Gallery jumped up on stage and told him not to. Overall, it was non stop laughter for their whole set. Check them out sometime.... As well as every other band. 5 out of 5 stars... well deserved.
xOxO
Jen aka "xMarilyNx"