"A Shot at the Cabo Wabo" is sponsored by The Hard Rock Café in an effort to promote local bands and to give one lucky winner an opening gig for Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas in Cabo San Lucas in October. Sacramento’s offering, Bad Influence, continued on their ongoing crusade for promotion on Thursday, June 17th. Twenty bands have emerged from the initial tidal wave of 250, so their efforts have been notably admirable. However, it is now up to the general public and their sizable fan base to vote them into the final round.
The opening band, Nothing Like Negative, started loading their gear in fairly early but then went through a lengthy spiel of mic checks and excessive technical scrutiny. An hour lapsed before the band finally seized the night and the attention of the sleepy Thursday night crowd with a familiar, mainstream groove.
Their explosive energy sparked into an ample set. "Walking Backwards" exposed the vocal talents of Mike Shively as he unwaveringly sustained while the guitar/bass team of Nicolaus Pletcher and Brian Quinn threaded some knotty riffs that complemented Jeff Hertzigs’ tribal drums. The penetrating guitar morphed from a metallic, crunchy grind into a smoother, rhythmic agility as they progressed.
The band obviously felt a lack of audience enthusiasm, so Mike moved into the crowd and took a commanding stance on a chair as he continued to urge fan feedback. Unfortunately, most of the feedback was coming from the mic that echoed throughout the bar, which was furthest point away from the stage.
They tried on a couple of new songs for size, including "Face Forward" and their finale, which was as yet untitled, but it involved some whistling and a palatable melody. Nothing Like Negative grasped the fundamentals necessary to make a show "work," despite the lack of audience interaction. There was sufficient intensity to keep the band in the hard rock vein, but just barely.
Bad Influence |
Bad Influence is the epitome of what one would deem a true veteran bar band. All of the elements were present to make ol’ Sammy proud. They were not hindered by the scanty turnout and played as if they were entertaining an arena. After a theatrical introduction, their heavy, thrusting, no-holds-barred antics betrayed a good time party band with a deft profusion of skill and experience.
Vocalist/guitarist Gage Courtois had a true lust for life and flirted with the audience with a plethora compliments. Positive energy absolutely seared through his rock ‘n roll fingers into his guitar and radiated from his person. He was the boy-next-door that one might encounter rehearsing in his garage on a Saturday afternoon.
Bassist Mike Mandy can be likened to Van Halen’s Michael Anthony with a tailored bass line that harmonized just as commendably as his vocals, while guitarist Marc Petak took a more serious, concentrated approach but again, harmonized impressively into the third realm with his vocals and guitar.
Drummer Dean Kaler appeared that he could have performed the set in his sleep. He was comfortable and dexterous and much too accomplished to toss out any ridiculous antics to garnish attention on himself or to camouflage any lack of talent. Collectively, they could probably replicate Van Halen’s 1984 album without a hitch or a practice run.
"Perception" was the first representation of veridical team players coming together in perfect harmony: three voices, two guitars and a rich bass line connected in a linear sense and nothing deviated from the fluid current of sound. "Wasted Days" was lyrically a time warp back into the eighties with mention of "high heels, tight dresses and lipstick" (again, the quintessential bar band), while "Alone" resembled a Black Sabbath, 70’s anthem with a thorny, brooding chorus that stood out predominantly.
Along with synchronized sound, there was synchronized movement, along with synchronized head-banging and simple dance moves. At one point, Gage even did the splits in midair… though a David Lee Roth maneuver, the execution was on the rudimentary side. His effort was meritorious.
Gage pulled out his prized Les Paul near the end of the set for "Tell Me," "Go Down" and "To the Edge," which continued the trend of 80’s arena rock with an edgy adjuration that overshadowed the routine. The pushed the boundaries of the night to the extreme, playing song after song with renewed verve.
Bad Influence has definite appeal, along with the maturity and enterprise to fill the first-place shoes. There are only a few more months to wait. You can improve their chances at: http://www.hardrock.com/promo/cabowabo2004
