WHITE RABBITS & BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARS REVIEW

96. 5 THE BUZZ HALLOWEENIE ROAST

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Beaumont Club, KCMO

It’s a windy Wednesday night at the Beaumont Club, in Kansas City and I’m standing in front of 96.5 The Buzz’s outdoor stage for the annual “Halloweenie Roast”. I have yet to see any uh, “weenies”, but I’ll let that one slide. TicketMaster’s service charge turned my $9.95 ticket into a $16.95 one, but I’ll have to let that one slide as well. I’m holding a $6 bottle of Boulevard Pale Ale, while wishing I would’ve worn more than a tee-shirt. For the most part, however, I’m pretty content. I’m here to catch the openers of the night, who are White Rabbits and Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears. I don’t know if everyone else is holding out for the headliners, The Ravonettes, and Jet, but I’m thrilled the crowd is scant, so I easily find a spot at the front of the stage. The bouncer in front of me yawns while people around me are busily texting or talking about last night’s drunken ventures. It’s almost Halloween, so a few suckers walk around in the ubiquitous fairy-wings. A girl behind me is dressed as Lara Croft and is leaning against her boyfriend.  Meanwhile, I’m watching fellow Midwesterner’s, White Rabbits set up. The boys originally hail from Columbia, MO, where they met at MU. But like a lot of up and coming indie bands, they have relocated to Brooklyn.

The band is a rosy-cheeked mass of flannel, cigarettes and beanies. There is an upright piano on stage and two full drum kits (the Rabbits utilize two drummers simultaneously which accounts for their uniquely robust and full-bodied sound). Soon, after some sound checks, White Rabbits take the stage and it all begins. The bands sound is buoyant but aggressive, melodic and jarring all at once. Stephen Patterson’s fingers slam the keyboard while he sings words that are part snarl turned shout. The other members often leave their post during the set to play one another’s instruments with a casual yet skilled deftness as if to say: “Why wouldn’t I play a bass drum with a tambourine?” The dueling drums are so rich, rhythmic, and full that they often border on a near tribal sound. Then, the stark chords of the piano bring you back to Earth. A lone audience member insists on shrieking out “Columbia! Columbia!” in an attempt to get their attention.  The band doesn’t have much to say to the crowd, save for “It’s good to be back in Kansas City.”  Forget the lack of spoken word, it is not needed; the music makes up for it. The ubiquitous fairy is now jumping up and down and dancing and I think Lara Croft has even escaped her boyfriend’s grasp.  The Rabbits end their short yet vibrant set with the song“Percussion Gun” off of their latest album, “It’s Frightening,” which was produced by Spoon front-man, Britt Daniel. White Rabbits, clearly, are good at what they do. They have managed to make a name and sound for themselves, perfected their skill and turned it into a refreshing form of soulful, rhythmic indie rock.

After White Rabbits end their set and huddle at the side of the stage for a cigarette, I pick up an overpriced $5 can of Miller Light from the back. The crowd is getting bigger, but I still manage to keep my spot up front. Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears are next. This, I’m excited for. White Rabbits were great, no doubt, but Black Joe has been on my hit list ever since I first caught wind of him one day back in San Diego when my roommate was blasting a delightfully, raucous sound from her room. This dirty blues was too good! Who are these guys? What era are they from? And what rascally wordsmith crafts the line “I bought you a box of chicken, but I ate it on the way home” into a song?

I’ll tell you who: Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, who hit the scene running and hail from a little town called Austin, Texas.  Black Joe, is unassuming and dons the stage wearing a sweatshirt and a KC Royals hat with the tag still on it. He reveals to the crowd later, that he used to live in Kansas City, near Swope Park. The Honeybears are white and dapper with just a touch of nerdiness, but a whole lotta’ soul. The band gets fired up, and combusts into a rousing, sharp, electric and brassy brand of blues. It’s an old-school sound with a contemporary twist. Black Joe beings to wail while The Honeybears maintain a tight hold on their brass, and are now perfectly synched, swaying to and fro. The crowd is rewarded with songs such as Sugarfoot, which opens with undeniable James Brown-like declarations and horns. People start waking up and moving, and I’m wishing I had someone to dance with. Sugarfoot is followed up with Big Booty Woman, an irresistible and entertaining anthem that has The Honeybears and the whole crowd, echoing Black Joe, in the sing along: “It’s all right, man she’s so fine. Big Booty Baby. Booty so big, I can see it around the block, she’s coming my way….justa let me touch it..all night long.”

And if it couldn’t get any better, the band tops of the set with “Get Your Sh*t”, complete with the whole introductory dialogue, which Joe initially, is charmingly reluctant to express. Eventually, with some encouragement from his Honeybears, he becomes convinced to adlib.

It’s still windy, but I have warmed up now. I have gotten my sixteen dollars and ninety-five cents worth and I did what I came here to do. I feel satisfied. I’ll cath  The Ravonettes another time…I still want the sound of Black Joe Lewis in my ears, and a slice of pizza from d’Bronx. Happy Halloweenie!!