This was a band I was looking forward to like no other. I don’t remember getting this excited about NIN, Tool, or U2 (though when Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day came on stage to sing “The Saints are Coming” in Aloha Stadium was pretty close). It seems weird, but PUSA was one of those bands that really hit a personal high-school cord with me. They were guys that were trying to sound tough or be cool, they just seemed like they were having a lot of fun writing and playing about anything, were from Seattle just like me and my friends, and we were all pretty sure that “Peaches” meant something dirty. As you can guess, I’m heavily biased in their favor for the rest of this review.
So, here’s where my day job in radio really pays off. We have an in-studio venue/lounge for bands to play that’s called simply The Hall and the Presidents were scheduled to perform there for a crowd of maybe 40 people before their show. The Hall performances are usually acoustic and these guys pulled it off by adopting a kind of rock/bluegrass sound that translated very well. The best part of this is that you can call bullshit on me by seeing the performance for yourself and making your own call by going to www.thehall.tv and looking through their past performances.
Now a lot of people might scoff at this band so associated with the 90’s making an attempt at a comeback, but I hope that nostalgia will be enough to give their new Album “These are the Good Times, People” a chance. It’s a lot like their first album, but with a natural progression that doesn’t make it sound dated. “Mixed Up S.O.B.” and “Bad Times” are the stand outs for me. As an added bonus, check out their video for “Mixed Up S.O.B.” It’s pretty awesome and directed by “Weird Al” Yankovic.
The actual concert at Pipeline Cafe had fewer people there than a fan like me was hoping for, but those that showed were die-hard-sing-along types that the band took full advantage of. Here’s where PUSA really shines: they know how to work a crowd and they find ways of sounding even better live than on some of their studio-produced tracks. Quickly, here’s the setlist:
Tiki God
Feather Pluckin’
Kitty
Rot in the Sun
Dune Buggy
Ladybug
Volcano
Back Porch
Lump
Sharpen Up Those Fangs
Bo Weevil
Mixed Up S.O.B.
Froggy (w/their Obama “Moving In” mixed in)
I Will Survive
Happy Birthday (to one of their superfans)
Video Killed the Radio Star
Peaches
Kick Out the James (w/”Shout” interlude)
-End of Set-
-Encore-
Love Everybody
We’re Not Going to Make It (extended outro to introduce the band members)
Ace of Spades (Motorhead cover)
I’d like to say that’s complete, but I think “Deleter” and one other was in the mix as well, just not sure of the timing.
Probably the best part of the show came with their cover of the classic “Shout” in the middle of “Kick Out the Jams.” During the “little bit softer now” part, people were of course singing along and as Chris Ballew got on his knees to sing, he asked the audience to do the same. EVERYONE did. Several hundred people on their knees in Pipeline Cafe singing along with PUSA’s cover of “Shout.” It was the first time I’d seen that level of interaction (aside from an arena show with everyone screaming) and it just fit the mood perfectly.
So the band lived up to my perception of being a lot of fun and please please don’t sell this band short as being “just another 90’s” band. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when they improve.
Matthew