St. Christopher & the Sleeping Doormen 4.06.06, R & R
by Charlotte Deaver
Chris Gordon really knows how to throw a party. Sure, it's a cash bar, there's no food, and you have to supply your own recreational drugs. But you are guaranteed to meet some interesting people, laugh your ass off, get rocked and hip-hopped, and leave the party dancing.
This is the third time I've seen St. Christopher and the Sleeping Doormen, and whether or not it was the very best yet, I certainly had as much fun at this show as a girl should reasonably have. The more performances of his I've been to, the more familiar I've become with his audience, his wonderfully crazy friends and fans, who are, in a way, an extension of the band. They're certainly part of the act, the whole Chris-Gordon-hilarity-party-scene, and one of the reasons his gigs are such a pleasure.
The music punks a little, hip-hops a little, and rocks sometimes jaggedly, sometimes fiercely. All the while, Chris entertains, sings, raps (go hear him rhyme with his other group, 86 Noodles), tells stories about his cats, and dedicates songs to people he loves. He'll use different voices and accents tailored for different songs and remarks, which is part of his humor. He'll repeat a line over and over until it shatters. He'll never let you stay still. And you'll never be sure how far off the path you might be taken.
Each band member, too, is distinctive in his own way. Dan Lubell is just sweet on keys and backing vocals. He opts to round out the band's otherwise spare sound with melodic riffs, rather than using the keyboard as filler. The guitarist, Nick Zarin-Ackerman, is adorable (very Jake Gyllenhaal, which now has many meanings, I know, but the adorable part is all I mean). I think Nick plays well too (but I wasn't listening), and drums and bass were solid. I have lots of pictures of all the band members laughing as they're playing. Like I said, adorable (or did I say distinctive?).
Read my last post on St. Christopher & the Sleeping Doormen and see lots more pictures of the band here.
posted by Charlotte Deaver at 4/07/2006 11:03:00 AM
7 Comments:
Some Frank Zappa's smell in the air?
hey, that's good! hadn't thought of him to compare. come to think of it, haven't thought of zappa in ages. chris is punkier and funkier I think, and his music is less angular and freaky than zappas ("going to montana soon. gonna be a dental floss tycoon." well, maybe you're right! I can actually hear chris saying that!).
Well, Frank was one of a kind. I really miss the guy. But from my point of view, and of course I'm not so familiar with St. Christopher & the Sleeping Doormen as with Frank, there's something familiar, because even when the humor it's not exactly the same, there's another type of humor but with a clear respect for the music.
And what about St. Christopher & the Sleeping Doormen playing "Call Any Vegetable"?
okay. I listened to "calling all vegetables" and I get where you're coming from. It's not just that Zappa did something different with humor and sounds, but that the time he emerged from allowed for it, in a way I doubt would be as possible now. xo
Yes, Frank was a "kid from the sixties", growing fast in the seventies. But specially in the sixties the space for experiments was really big. Even then, I can't quit my search for people trying to do, perhaps not something "absolutely different", it's hard to make that possible, but at least some "fighters" for the creative spirit of the good artits from the past.
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