The Limousines
The Limousines were already on stage when I walked in a bit late. The first thought that popped into my head was “this is going to be boring, because the music was very bland.” First impressions though are a dangerous thing because they are often way off the mark. After less than a minute, when the song changed and the beat started resonating with my heart beat, I started swinging my hips a little bit. The crowd was very much loving The Limousines. I can’t say the drunk energy was infections, rather it made me a bit envious that I wasn’t as drunk as everyone else; because maybe I would have enjoyed them more. By the end of their set there was still a little blah quality that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. At one point I thought it was either the singer’s voice or the lyrics. And since I didn’t particularly dislike the singer’s voice, I guess by default that means the lyrics were what I didn’t like. I felt that there wasn’t anything being said in the lyrics of the songs, as if a bunch of random words were strung together; nor was there any obvious difference from one song to the next.
They must have been doing something right because the crowd was thoroughly enjoying their set. Frontman Eric Victorino had a spastic stage presence that helped to whip the crowd into a dancing frenzy. And although the feather decorations were creepy, it was mildly impressive that Eric was playing with a broken right arm. I couldn’t help but think that all his running around and dancing couldn’t be good for a healing bone that probably needs to be kept still. All in all they gave a great performance that everyone loved and I somewhat liked.
Wallpaper.
Beyond celebrities and spies most people don’t get to have public alter-egos, or maybe they do and I just don’t know about it. I have one for work because there are too many people with the same name and initials as me. But mine isn’t nearly as much fun as Eric gets to have being “Ricky Reed.” Ricky Reed is the playboy front man of Wallpaper. As Eric Fredric he is the writer and producer of all of Wallpaper.’s songs.
Being a big fan of their most recent album, Doodoo Face, I had my reservations about how good a predominantly studio project would be live. However, I was reassured by one of my friends that their live performance is very entertaining. These two factors combined to raise the bar of my expectations very high. I had nothing to fear; Wallpaper. met and exceeded all of my expectations. It was an awesome show from the high energy start to the entertaining stage banter between songs.
My favorite point during the show was Ricky Reed’s swoon-worthy hip gyrations during the “duck, duck, goose,” line of the “Frk Scn” song. On the extreme other end of the likability spectrum, the meaning behind the “Chewing Gum” song (which is new) was slightly horrifying to my occasionally prudish mind. Wallpaper. had the ability to entertain me so thoroughly that neither pain, nor exhaustion, nor annoying drunk girls could distract and interfere with my enjoyment of this wonderful show.
I can honestly say that from my middling experience of going to shows that a band like Wallpaper. are a very rare treasure indeed. I could probably name on less than one hand the number of performers that I’ve seen who are this entertaining from the moment they come on stage to the slightly happy-sad moment when the say good night and leave after the encore. Wallpaper. and most especially Ricky Reed are a pleasure to watch and it was a joy to be at their show.
Wallpaper – Setlist
T Rex
I Got Soul, I’m So Wasted
Gettin Drip
Ddd
Frk Scn
Text Me Your Love
Chewing Gum
Indecent
Electric Feel – MGMT Cover
Celebrity
Poision – Bell Biv DeVoe Cover
It’s My Birthday
Everytime We Do It
–Encore–
The Remix
Bootytweet
