There are moments when some people can perform beyond any previous bounds of their abilities. When you think of great athletes, for example, these are the people who, already playing at their peak, somehow transcend all limitations when the title is on the line (Remember what Curt Schilling did for the Red Sox in the 2004 American League Championship?). What sets them apart, what makes them so compelling, is their ability to become better than themselves every time the stakes are raised.
It happens in music too. On Saturday night Jukebox the Ghost- who could scarcely get any tighter or more engaging as a live act- found themselves facing an unexpected sellout crowd for their CD release show on the Black Cat’s mainstage, and responded with the most explosive, triumphant set I’ve seen from anyone in quite a long while. After the encore, they left the stage a different band, a milestone behind them and a new standard set for themselves.
I knew there was an increasing level of interest in the band, which has had a pretty loyal following for a little while now, but it wasn’t clear just how much attention they’d drawn until ticket sales were halted at the door. They’d had plenty of blog coverage, and perhaps most significant was the spotlight shone on them by WOXY. They got quite a bit of airplay, and the EP they’d released- just as a teaser for the album- found its way onto the station’s best-of list for ‘07, alongside usual suspects Andrew Bird, Ted Leo et al.
However it happened, Jukebox took the stage, stared out at the crowd stretching back to the door, and dropped their jaws.
Here’s that moment- the stakes are raised, suddenly the performance takes on a new level of importance.
Jukebox took the opportunity for all it was worth, and from the first note their set was a special one. They absolutely roared with energy, and the crowd roared back. Great performances come down to intangibles. Jukebox is practiced and competent enough that their playing is pretty much always perfect (regardless of what a shitty soundboard may render through the PA.) What changes in a set like Saturday night’s is harder to put one’s fingers on. It’s simply an enthusiasm and a rare level of focus that comes through.
Back in my adolescent crappy-band days, my friends from other bands and I would often talk about the moments when the Rock Gods (or the Rock Demons, I can’t remember which on account of Mickey’s Malt Liquor) came down on your band, when an adrenaline-fueled trancelike state unites band members and focuses everyone in such a way that nothing exists outside of each note and each song. Bands are at their absolute best at that point. It’s impossible to mess up, your performance will be effortlessly passionate, and you can do whatever you want and it will sound great. It very nearly feels like an out-of-body experience; you give up control to the song.
I think the Rock Gods/Rock Demons had a hold of Jukebox.
Specifically, it was the Beatles. Toward the end of the set, Aaron Leeder from Exit Clov and Pash’s Meredith Munoz joined Jukebox for a Beatles medley concluding with the closing sequence of Abbey Road. Brilliant.
The encore was a frenzied rendition of “Good Day,” which is as far as I’m concerned a perfect song. Along with the irresistible “Hold It In,” it’s also Jukebox’s biggest crowd-pleaser, and proved a perfect way to end a set that had over 700 people enraptured.
So, they also released their first full-length. The record, Let Live and Let Ghosts, sounds fantastic, is wonderfully sequenced, and does a great job of capturing a very complex, schizophrenic sound with clarity.
It’s just two vocals plus three instruments- well really four with Ben’s multiple keyboards- but the band’s sound is far more than the sum of its parts. Tommy Siegel’s guitar changes from a clean twang to a lightly distorted Beatles jangle to fuzzed-out rock all in a manner of seconds, and his lighthearted vocal style is a counterpoint to some fantastically dark lyrics. Ben’s piano playing often seems too fast for the human brain to comprehend- and then you realize he’s playing a second keyboard at the same time. His singing is operatic in range and expression, and can be breathtaking. And holding it down is what people don’t mention enough- an absolutely brilliant style of drumming by Jesse Kristin, who can thunder heroically, finesse the band through a brief quiet interlude, and then pick up a tambourine while playing, also all in a manner of seconds.
The result is a band that moves from Queen to They Might Be Giants to Ben Folds Five to Vaudeville, often in the span of one song. It’s quirky and fun, but there’s a lot of work going into compositions and arrangements as complex as theirs.
They do wear their influences on their sleeves to some extent, as many have said, but they’ve also carved out an unmistakable sound within that. And I think it’s important to note that these hugely talented guys are youngsters- they just graduated from college last year (which explains the hordes of sorority girls who, while certainly appreciated for their energy and loyalty, can often become quite a distraction with their incessant chattering and self-portraiting with flash cameras). I think they can only get better as they continue to explore and define their own style.
After Saturday night’s show, things look really good for Jukebox, and I’m excited to see them begin to find a broader audience. They’re ready for their close-up.
