I love San Francisco. I love the weather, I love the variety and I love that sometimes you can just go hang out with friends at a bar and see a really good show. Not that I stumbled upon this show, I planned on going to see a friend perform, but I was very surprised with the overall quality of the performance. And I love the idea that I could have just happened to walk into this bar and ended up sweating the night away watching the amazing dance party that is the band Planet Booty.
The show opened with Brad C. Barton who was billed as a “Reality Thief Magician and Mind Bender.” I don’t know if “mind bender” is supposed to refer to what he does on stage or what he does to the people watching, but either way it was entertaining stuff. In his best bit he had three volunteers on stage and had them write down on cards, while he didn’t watch, their dream job and the age they would like to be when they achieved it. Now, the way the trick unfolded was what was really beautiful and creative to me. At first I was paying close attention because I really wanted to know what these people wrote on their cards. Does it say something generic like fireman or rockstar, or did they get more interesting and say Latin translator or emu farmer? I don’t want to ruin the trick for you, but I would like to say it involved blatant lying, magic squares and mind reading. The set ended with a dollar bill inside a lemon (maybe I shouldn’t give that away? Sorry). I have no idea how you sneak a dollar into a lemon, so it was quite impressive. If you can enjoy some cheesy magician jokes I recommend checking him out.
Next up was “future techno pop” band Sweet Snacks. There are three band members who came out on stage in red jumpsuits, giant visors and nylons over their heads. It definitely got my attention. All three members were on vocals and switched off leads. The music was all pre-recorded, which would have been okay if it was particularly interesting, or if the dance moves were great, but neither was true. At one point my friend turned to me and said “I really want to like this, but I don’t,” which was the perfect sentiment. The idea was fun, but the music just wasn’t good enough to back it up. After two songs it was enough to figure out that there were no catchy melodies coming and this was nothing more than a bar band: they bring in enough friends to increase bar sales and drunk people can find them mildly amusing for two songs.
Theoretically Planet Booty could be no better, but after the first song it is apparent that they have the musical chops to back up the silliness. They are dressed all in white and the theatrics start right away, with keyboardist Nathan Germick eating a bowl of “Magic Booty Snacks” while frontman Dylan Germick struts in. Soon after the dance party begins. The driving bass line, booty heavy lyrics and catchy melodies just beg you to dance, and dance and dance. The audience obliged and by the end of the show both band and audience were dripping in sweat.
That’s not to say all Planet Booty has to offer is a dance party. If you want to stand in the back and watch you will not be disappointed either. Dylan Germick is a true performer and every moment on stage he is there to entertain. His vocals and dance moves are equally wonderful. And if that wasn’t enough the band members’ almost constant trade off of instruments is fun to watch as well. The bass player plays drums, the guitarist plays bass, the keyboardist does backing vocals and drums, and the percussionist Josh Cantero plays Marimba, cowbell, trombone, synths and vocals. Josh’s vocals were particularly excellent. When he came up front to sing and dance with Dylan that was when the party really got started; by the dual-action booty shaking.
If you want to have a couple drinks with friends and sweat the night away to a fun band I highly recommend Planet Booty. It’s much more fun in person than my words can express since I have to adhere to the rules of grammar and spelling but, while watching Planet Booty, you can just dance and laugh and forget any cares you may have had when you got there.
I like the term “booty heavy lyrics”.
i like dual-action booty shaking! And I also like dancy Marie!