Our first stop Friday Evening was at The Cedar Cultural Center for the first part of a double header between Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles and Dance Band. We couldn’t stay for Dance Band, but I can tell you they were celebrating the release of a new 5 song EP, Geekadelic. With track names like “Feet On Fire” and “Bootyriffic,” Geekadelic features more weird, tongue-in-cheek (and totally awesome) dance mania from the band that has been making dancing mandatory (“We’re Dance Band, not Stand Band!) at their shows since 2006. I find it hilarious, but oddly perfect that in my Napster player, the “Other Members Like…” suggestions includes iSweat Fitness Music’s iSweat Fitness Music Vol. 46: Pilates. Remember this video from White Light Riot last year? I’m wondering if it isn’t time for Dance Band to record a full-length fitness video themselves.
Lucy Michelle and her five bandmates (cello, fiddle, drums, stand-up bass and acoustic guitar) had no trouble taking command of the large Cedar Stage. Though the musicians were spread out across the wide stage, communication between Lucy and the rest of the musicians showed signs of the abundance of practice they’ve had over the past few months. They've been playing what seems like several times a week since taking home the coveted City Pages Picked to Click award for 2008 earlier this fall. It’s important with any music, of course, but particularly important with Michelle’s that the band not drift into sloppiness that can sometimes happen when a band is spread out on a stage because her music already has a natural looseness and informality to it. The band’s Cedar performance on the wide stage bodes well for their Main Stage First Avenue performance coming up at Voltage in April.
As this was the Cedar, there were “all-agers” on hand. Early on I Twittered to friends that a dance party had broken out amongst my fellow concert-goers under 3 feet tall. Check out this video I filmed while sitting on the floor up front. [See also, this video for When The World Turned Out Its Lights.]
Lucy Michelle’s set Friday night included many songs from her debut album Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes, plus some new ones she promises will be recorded soon for the next.
HowWasTheShow photographer Jenn Barnett was along for the show and filed a full set of photos that you can view here:
Here are a few photo highlights:
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