Marigold Theater Easthampton, MA Halloween Episode, October 25, 2024 by Jimm O’D
What better measure might there be of a tribute band’s effectiveness than that, days later, I am still digging into the original artist’s catalog, archiving every album (and listening in chronological order of release, of course), unearthing released “bonus” material, side-tracking into side-projects, and finally (I should be embarrassed to admit) watching Stop Making Sense from start to finish while sniffing around YouTube for various and sundry reviews and revelations from across and after the band’s existence. Aside from David Byrne’s own albums, did you know that Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew have been touring their own revitalization version of 80’s-era Talking Heads (with members of Turkuaz-cum- Cool Cool Cool, no less, including a full reproduction of Remain in Light. Whether Angelique Kidjo might be credited with being the first to reproduce an entire Heads’ album with her own 2018 Remain In Light remake might be an idea worth researching (another time, perhaps). Then there’s Everyone’s Getting Involved, the VA tribute album released just a few months ago. There seems to be no end to interest in the music of Talking Heads.
The last time I came to see Slippery People at the Marigold it got to be quite a rager. This Talking Heads tribute is loaded with so much talent from around the Western Mass area that it’s gotta be awfully tough for them to wrangle a date when they can all get to the same place at the same time- and on a weekend night, no less. So between the number of friends and fans these players will pack into a venue, the venue of moment being pretty much the most happening scene in the area these days is the perfect place, and the subject matter being brandished, well… Talking Heads.
This is a Tribute Band- not the same thing as a cover band, and a far cry from one of those groups that recirculates radio songs- these Slippery People do as the ‘tribute’ title suggests. They honor the original material; and this bunch does that to great effect and with awesome aplomb. To honor an artist, or to pay tribute allows license to take liberties. The couple-few hundred audients here tonight already know better than to expect exact versions. Not that the interpretations go flying off in all directions; rather, we get to enjoy the music we recognize, but without it sounding exactly the same. When a four-to-six minute song, fairly conventionally structured, feels like a half-hour jam… that is energy and effect.
One can’t help but notice the not-so-Byrne-ish vocals, but that amplifies the treat in the treatment rather than distracting from it. With two singers right up front, one providing the primary vocal focus and the other adding enough to raise it all up a level while contributing presence that augments without dominating, and others in the band also singing, the total of bodies on stage numbers seven. This allows for a whole lot of sound and action, as wild a spread as the Heads were putting out in the latter half of their run. The ‘group vocal’ dynamic fits right in with this as well.
For those who go for the big sound of the arena days, with its prominent dance vibe and world beat, nothing is lost by having ‘only’ one guitarist. Dan Thomas is a bit of a monster: he supplies the alt-edged intricacies that Byrne or Harrison so often did; and he lets fly with the wild sonics as only Adrian Belew (or Dan Thomas) can. This feller has more projects going on at any given time than… well, d’you know Sam Dechenne in Boston? Lots. Too many to keep track.
Drummer Kade Parkin has gotta be at least as busy as that. When he and Rob Fontana (on keyboards) first arrived on the scene some years back, they immediately fell in with some top-tier younger (at the time) players. Their interests and chops were so diverse that they had to keep two different band names for the same four guys. Meanwhile, the scores of other serious, professional young-uns (again, at the time) were all cycling and circulating in a vast consortium that might or might not have been one or another configuration of the band Llama Lasagna (or any of its many kin) at any given time.
There is a scene here in Western Mass. Always has been; but these kids have real respect for the traditions that they employ. These journey-persons are literally boundless and unlimited in their interests and output. They all have plenty of their own original material too, of course- but the tribute (not covers) thing is fun and popular and there is nothin’ wrong with that. Dan and Kade, besides heading up this and other projects in the funk, jazz, jam and post-punk genres, will also be found playing as humble members of other groups. Likewise with bass-man Matt Postel of Fat Bradley (also involved with IATSE, ‘The Union Behind Entertainment’).
Master percussor Bill McManus embellishes the sound with energy and keeps up the relentless pace- same as the Heads did back when they were younger. With an exception for only the low-key “Heaven,” this sonic epic drives on for a good three hours and then some. . Mister McManus also keeps just as busy as the rest by playing with at least a couple of other bands around the 413.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this assemblage is the dynamic of, or with, or between, the two co-fronters. They are each an equi-‘vocal’ proportion of the overall dynamic, but only inasmuch as each operates independently of each other and the rest. Mackie G fills the bill as the mostly-lead-vocalist and the more animated actor of antics, and Abbie Parrow offsets that effect with a smooth, demure, and magical manner. They are both constantly in some kind of motion, but in very different ways. They compliment by contrast. The music itself might be more or less the same sound, or close to it; but the total effect would not be at all the same.
The impression and the vibe are totally synchronous, but it’s not like they’re all dancing around together. Everyone in the group is in it together; they play off each other (of course), but more like a gestalt than a clique- they’re like kids at a keg party, enjoying the whole thing separately and together- they’re all on the same wavelength without the need to hang in each other’s pockets. With this many players on the bill, you know nobody’s getting rich. It is an economic decision to have a full stage- much like the Heads did at their peak- and such a decision is made with consideration for what works best rather than getting by on ‘adequate.’
Everyone up there is clearly enjoying the show every bit as much as those who happily shelled out a perfectly reasonable number of dollars to come through the doors. Which brings us to the venue itself. The Marigold came into this century-old theater in the middle of Easthampton about two-and-a-half years ago and made it work right from the get-go, in a space that had been just waiting for the right vision. They will fit a couple hundred more people on the floor than the average pub or tavern; the descriptor ‘theater’ is by a no means a misnomer or aggrandizement. The bar here serves the need; but the focus is on the music. This may well be the most professional operation of its sort ever to grace my little town.
It has been a while since a live music experience got me so fired-up that I kept up the listening, the archiving, the research and even some writing into the following week.
And what better way to ring in the Hallowe’en than an outside-normal-bounds thang like Talking Heads music?
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