Until June 26, 2009, my 23-year old best friend had never seen a live show.
I know.
Prior
to last night, I would take a few minutes out of my day, every week, to
check Live Aid and Ticketmaster in hopes of finding a band coming to
Boston that I could take my best friend to see. But it never worked
out; either she didn't care for the bands playing, or tickets were just
too expensive. I was still determined, however, to be the one to take
her to see her very first live show.
Then, one day, I received a
Facebook message from the lead vocalist of one of my favorite bands, a
band whose EP album I'd reviewed a while back, who told me that they
were coming to Boston and would love to see me there. It was perfect.
Little did I know that it was the CNC Indie Music Marathon, which meant
my best friend would be exposed to several bands instead of just the
one. It was something I was grateful for. I wanted her to have
different sounds to compare, to see different set changes and the
multitude of different instruments used. But it made me wonder just who
she would be raving about by the night's end.
Unsurprisingly, it was Tristan Clopet & the Juice.
I'm
not saying that because I am somewhat biased where this band is
concerned, but rather because their sound was superior to the other
bands playing. They definitely had competition from New York-based
band, The Gypsy West, but still came out on top – as far as my best
friend was concerned.
I'm inclined to agree. I spoke with
Tristan after the performance and he bemoaned how it had sounded; after
all, his admittedly large band had to contend with the little All Asia
bar and their less-than-ideal acoustics. However, sometimes it's less
about the actual sound and more about stage presence and the rapport a
band has with its audience. Tristan Clopet & the Juice was the best
of the evening not only because their music was more innovative than
any of the other acts', but also because they were down on our level.
The
band plays in such a way that it feels almost as if they are playing
solely for you. They make eye contact; they smile at you, with you,
almost as if you are sharing a joke that only you know. Their dialog
with the audience was limited due to time constraints, but it was
cheeky and fun, especially during the band member introductions. They
were relaxed, comfortable in their skins like they had come out of the
womb with their instruments, which made everyone in the bar that night
as contented as they. Their songs slid seamless into one another,
making it so the air was always filled with some type of music, whether
it be the skipping roll of the guitar or an impressive drum solo
performed by the entire band.
In addition to having my great
expectations met, there were also two surprises for me last night. The
first would be the actual band, itself. I had no idea their band and
set-up was so large. Two drum sets, complete with bongos, two
guitarists, a bassist, and one keyboardist amid a dozen different
instruments (although the many drum sets would aid them in their last
song, where they went out with a bang). Although their set-up was big,
it wasn't a hindrance. All instruments were used, and not one of the
band members had a hard time navigating through them. I've seen bands
with large set-ups that have the performers practically swimming
through them aimlessly; Tristan & the Juice were well-rehearsed and
perfectly synchronized. Would they benefit more from playing bigger
venues? Definitely, but they didn't let the size of All Asia to hamper
them in any way.
The second surprise would be that the band has a new keyboardist, Alejandro Elizondo, who was incredibly
impressive. I'm looking at the notes I took last night at the show and
the first thing I wrote was "new keyboardist is made of win". It's
true. Alejandro isn't just limited to his stellar keyboarding: he also
plays guitar and drums – a little one-man band all on his own. It was
definitely a good move for an already great band to have added him.
After
my best friend got EPs from the other bands playing, as well as a
t-shirt, we left All Asia at about 1:30am to make the drive home. Her
first words upon entering our car were, "Tristan's band was the best
out of anyone we saw, hands down." When I asked her why, she looked at
me like I was brain damaged and said, "Because they were playing for us, not at us."
Who can argue with that?
Performance: *****
Music: *****
Presence: *****
Overall: *****
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