Celebrating with CAKE

The 101.9 KINK FM’s Jingle Bell Jam to celebrate the station’s 50th year was sold out this Friday at Portland’s Roseland Theater with CAKE as the headliner. I landed from Berkeley, dropped my bags at home, and raced to catch the Sacramento band. With the backdrop showing Lassen Peak, I didn’t feel like I was straying too far from California.

The Roseland was packed, and although I felt generally out of place in a crowd with an average age of fifty or so, there was a nice sense of familiarity of being at a concert back at home. This comforting sensation was only supported by the music’s sound. The ‘90s band was looking a bit aged, but you otherwise wouldn’t have known that any time had passed. John McCrea’s voice has not changed since he and the group started putting out music about twenty years ago. The consistent quality of his voice was genuinely a surprise, yet a welcome one because it helped the band live up to all expectations.

Throughout the show, McCrea would interact with the crowd, generating many laughs. The band is based upon this – listen to any song’s lyrics and you’re guaranteed to crack a smile; the sarcastic lyrics and jokester ambiance of the band is very similar to Weezer. While introducing “Sick of You,” McCrea announced that it was a free psychiatrist visit for any angry person. He then designated half of the crowd to singing “I want to fly away” – the happy crowd – while the other half sang angrily “I’m so sick of you / so sick of me / I don’t want to be with you.” This created a split in the crowd that he continued to use throughout the set, characterizing the audience  as freebirds versus the angry reality. It was evident the band was comfortable with their set, as McCrea’s script would lead the crowd from one song perfectly into the next.

As part of the Jingle Bell Jam, CAKE only had a bit over an hour to play, and many of their hits were unfortunately left untouched. However, they began the encore with their hit “Short Skirt Long Jacket.” When trumpeter Vince DiFiore was standing on an elevated part of the stage, and let out the signature long trumpet to announce the beginning of the song, with the crowd responding eagerly. The Roseland has an upper balcony, and from down below you could look up and see everyone standing, jumping around, waving their arms with the music. In the midst of conducting the crowd to sing the vocals of the song, McCrea stating that there are winners and losers in life, people who have other people do things for them and those that actually work. His humor was greatly taken.

Thanks to CAKE, my winter break is off to a wonderful start. The band proved their music can be timeless, as even if twenty years have gone by since the release of a song, the sounds are identical. McCrea has succeeded in keeping his voice in tune, and the classic sounds of the trumpet and castanets in CAKE’s songs were ever so present. Even the crowd’s continuous laughter illustrated how aging will not affect the band’s significant respect and following in music.

Article by Claire Winthrop