|
The buzz filled the air and the boys were at it, tweaking and primping
their sound. The house was packed with excitement on high for the sold-out
Fattburger Spaghettini debut!
Okay, readers, a little warm up, anyone?
Evan Marks~
"Do I got it? Do I test it? Do I just plug it in?"
Sound Engineer Q~ "Yeah!"
Evan Marks~
"Wrong music or we're going a new direction. Does two notches do anything?"
Sound Engineer Q~
"Okay!"
Anonymous~ "Sugar River, Ninety Degrees?"
Evan Marks~ "Hello, testing?"
Lights went up and they were on.
Evan Marks~
"How's everybody doing tonight? Glad you came out tonight! We're Fattburger
and we're gonna start up with a tune called Sugar."
Fattburger split the place wide open when keyboardist Allan Phillips
came unglued! Everyone in the audience had their eyes and ears on him.
He was nothing short of phenomenal. Energy and vibe were present and
accounted for as guitarist Evan Marks led the band into a foot stompin'
crazy music experience that said, 'com'on, we're goin' for a ride now,
game on'! Drummer Kevin Koch revealed a searing beat with a lightening
pace while bassist Mark Hunter was the coolest of cool cats occupying
a stool side center emitting his thumpin' riff. Percussionist Tommy
Aros' incredible boxing match grabbed hold of the corner front position
with an incredible one-two punch.
Evan Marks~
"Alright, thank you! Thank you very much! From a couple of CDs ago,
we'd like to carry on with a tune called Love is a River."
It was back to resident-energizer-bunny, Allan Phillips, on keys again.
He was wowing the crowd, while boppin' to the beat of his innate energy.
The man's second-to-none. Percussionist Tommy laid into it and sounded
off while Detroit-funky, Mark Hunter nailed it. The band was hot, hot,
hot! Phillip's stellar solo was mind boggling. We were havin' some fun
now!
Evan Marks~
"Give it up, once again, for Mr. Allan Phillips on the keyboard!"
They were far from finished with this tune, when the hand off to bassist
Mark Hunter yielded, a closed-eye solo with a head-swayin' beat. Percussionist
Tommy chimed in with a few toys from his bag of tricks. Allan Phillips
twisted an unexpected reggae beat from this keyboard that blew us straight
into jazz euphoria.
Evan Marks~
"Alright, give it to Mark Hunter on the bass!"
Evan took over, screamin' his rocker-laced adaptation of the tune. Aros
rattled a little cowbell while the band went stir crazy. Their synchronicity
flavored the stage like only seasoned veterans could with a simultaneous
entry into the zone. Keyboardist Phillips bunny hopped while whacking
the keys with mind-blowing precision.
Evan Marks~
"Thank you very much! Once again, how about a big shout out for keyboardist
Allan Phillips? Also, throwin' it down with some low notes on bass,
Mark Hunter. We'd like to congratulate Jaime. She's buyin' everyone
drinks!" he joked. "We'd like to try out a new one. We've got a new
CD coming out in a few days and this one is called Ninety Degrees."
Here we go again! Keyboardist Phillips stole the show, at least for
a short while! Evan Marks and Allan volleyed from keys to guitar without
missing a beat. Drummer Kevin Koch had his own burning inferno going
on the drums when he cut in and revealed his chops.
Evan Marks~
"Alright, on drums, Mr. Kevin Koch! Once again, that was a tune called
Ninety Degrees! This next one is on a CD about three or four back. It's
a beautiful tune. It's one of our favorites and it's called Trail of
Tears."
The pace slowed as Evan's guitar chill enveloped the venue. Everyone
sat back and enjoyed. Suddenly, our resident keyboard ball o' fire had
a magic finger attack! His fast-paced electricity attacked the tune
and threw every ounce of logic out our jazzy windows. Phillips was smokin'!
A triple wow was delivered Allan-style with everyone dancing, the band
playing and house shakin'!
Evan Marks~
"Alright, thank you! Once again, Mr. Allan Phillips on the keyboard!
Alright, we'll take a second to introduce everyone. O-o-o-h, that's
what I'm talkin' about!" He first introduced percussionist Tommy Aros,
commenting, "We haven't unleashed him yet!" After finishing the intros
he added, "Once again, we're Fattburger! Okay, Tommy, this one goes
out to you! It's titled, Don't Think About It."
Tommy started things out with a chirping bird tone resonating from his
rhythmic toy box. He mixed it up with eyes closed and the solid beat
of perfection. The band gave it up and led us to drummer Kevin Koch's
amazing finale. The entire audience was in awe! Allan on keys leaped
into Oye Como Va with no introduction. He, quite literally, led them
with both hands! He was all over this one with his undeniable presence.
Evan screamed his guitar like a rock star springing a crowd of eager
dancers out of their seats. Allan transformed into an electric jumping
bean pounding the keys. Windows shattered and doors busted wide open.
They blew the place up!
Evan Marks~ "Thank you very much to the dancers! We're Fattburger and
we're gonna take a short break. We have CDs for sale."
Second set delivered birthday dedications, Who Put the Meat in My Bed?,
The Doctor, Little Sunflower and more. The percussionist outdid himself
along with each and every band member. A standing ovation prompted the
encore cut, Good News. It may have been nearing eleven p.m., but the
party bug bit everyone with dancing, clapping and fun.
Evan Marks~
"Thank you! And on this note, we'd like to thank you all for comin'
out! Thank you!"
Thanks guys! You made penning this narrative a pleasure with your amazing
debut performance at Spaghettini in Seal Beach. I hope you'll be back
very soon. I need a little more Fattburger and am thinking CD release
party, perhaps?
© June 2010 Lynn M. Olson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
|
