Manitoba Music
Waking of the Weezer
I had the pleasure of seeing The Waking Eyes show Thursday night at the Albert and it has to be said...I’m proud to call these boys something of a Local. These four talented individuals impressed the pants off of me with their crazy-mad-much-cool kinda performance. The crew seemed very in tune with each other and no joke...I swear sometimes I can hear the Beatles in them (not sure how people feel about that but I’m just gonna let that speak for itself)?
As for the rhythm section drummer Steve Senkiw made me want to learn them drums. He does much more then simply bang on things. This guy is so freaking good...plus he sings (oh yeah that’s right I heard you singing back up vocals don’t try and hide I can see you). During the second set of the night Senkiw put on his Buddy Holly glasses and I full on respect that to the max! But we’ll get to the Weezer stuff a little later. (I feel like inserting a smiley face here... : ) there we go...and if that smiley face could talk it’d say, "thanks for playing the drums so well Senkiw")! Bassist Joey Penner plays with such an original style giving his instrument it’s own personality (it’s true). Penner is well let’s face it....he’s sick! (I mean that in a good way. My Urban Dictionary tells me that’s what the kids are saying these days...Ya know like "that bassist is sick yo"). Penner also sang back up plus, he was sporting both a harmonica and a rad lookin’ tie...Nice! (I just said rad and I feel really ace about that...the word rad is gonna make a come back I can feel it...but I’m not sure about the word ace)? Anyway I just want to say this to the rhythm section...Ok listen...Can you hear it? Right now...I’m clapping for you right now...well done my friends...well done!
Rusty Matyas and Matt Peters I say God damn! The two would switch spots between guitar and keyboards and both are equally wicked at doing just that (so adaptively versatile). Booyah! Now vocals. Both can rock the mic! Each can stand alone as lead but together they ring of classic! Matt Peters is one of those dudes who sings with a natural ease and can hit all notes right on target. He can belt it out but can also have a quieter, calming soothing sort of tone...lucky bastard eh!? Amazing quality of sound here. As for Mr. Matyas...Rusty...oh holy vocal cords! If there’s one thing I love in a set of lungs it’s a raw, gritty, blow me away, pretty-power-pipes ability. In the words of Inspector Gadget... "Wowzers"! This guys got it. A screamingly strong n’ raspy tone makes me think him a man of soul. I think maybe James Brown is living inside his voice box? J. Brown is just like sitting around drinking tea until it’s time for Matyas to sing and then he falls to the ground in his half split kinda way and evokes a voice in Rusty so real-time-old-soul-angry it makes me wanna shout Hellz yeah! Lucky bastard eh!? Again I have to stress that these two voices in unison mesh so well...So well that I think it’s two things that should never be separated...Like peanut butter and jelly, ebony and ivory, Turner and Hooch, Malibu Rum and pineapple (MMMMMMMMM). Okay I think you get it. Peters and Matyas, Matyas and Peters (in no particular order here) they should both sing together "Till death do us part".
The Waking Eyes new tunes are all rockin’ with a twist of fresh sound. Still very head boppin’, leg stompin’, garagey, arty, brit-popy, dancey, sometimes electronicy and always catchy (with a splash of anthem-rocky). Are you "picking up what I’m puttin’ down"? The new CD release (Holding On To Whatever It Is) is one I eagerly await. If it sounds anything like their live performance I think it’ll be one of those CD’s that you can listen to front-ta-back no skippage. (It’ll be like finding a ruby...that’s right like a "Ruby Find". Gold even). These guys either practice like mofo’s or they’re just really good at picking up where they left off? Either way the first set of the evening was in my opinion very tight! They show cased a variety of songs including, Wolves at the Door and All Empires Fall (I’m sure many of you have seen the videos for these songs already). Overall, set numero uno was...well I liked it...I liked it a lot!
Set numba two. I heard Weezer on stage at The Albert! As soon as the drummer put on his thick black frames the entire band transformed into Weezer! The Waking Eyes played the Blue album and seriously it was so BANG ON! Unreal almost. From one song to the next..."My name is Jonas," "Undone- the Sweater song,"
"Say it ain’t so." Over and over again this crew tricked my ears into believing it was the real deal. For reals! Crazy I tells ya...Nutso even. At one point one of TWE’s mentioned something along the lines of, "the Blue album defining our adolescence". By golly I think I’d have to agree. Oh the Nostalgia, the awkward geekdom and rocking-out-ness of this album really does make me remember. Yep...I was there, in this time, on this earth, with this Weezer CD and it was fun! The crowd of onlookers couldn’t help but sing-it-on-along with the group in the toasty warm venue. (Actually at one point I thought "this is what Hot Yoga must fell like")? Smiles all around for The Waking Eyes-Weezer- Highlighting. Wanting each song so bad and so hard, the audience was nothin’ but luvs-and-hugs cheering in appreciation. Two thumbs up for Thursday nights gig. Twas one great show. Kudos!
*In confession I’ve heard the new album and it is a front-ta-backer. You can listen to it too.
As for the rhythm section drummer Steve Senkiw made me want to learn them drums. He does much more then simply bang on things. This guy is so freaking good...plus he sings (oh yeah that’s right I heard you singing back up vocals don’t try and hide I can see you). During the second set of the night Senkiw put on his Buddy Holly glasses and I full on respect that to the max! But we’ll get to the Weezer stuff a little later. (I feel like inserting a smiley face here... : ) there we go...and if that smiley face could talk it’d say, "thanks for playing the drums so well Senkiw")! Bassist Joey Penner plays with such an original style giving his instrument it’s own personality (it’s true). Penner is well let’s face it....he’s sick! (I mean that in a good way. My Urban Dictionary tells me that’s what the kids are saying these days...Ya know like "that bassist is sick yo"). Penner also sang back up plus, he was sporting both a harmonica and a rad lookin’ tie...Nice! (I just said rad and I feel really ace about that...the word rad is gonna make a come back I can feel it...but I’m not sure about the word ace)? Anyway I just want to say this to the rhythm section...Ok listen...Can you hear it? Right now...I’m clapping for you right now...well done my friends...well done!
Rusty Matyas and Matt Peters I say God damn! The two would switch spots between guitar and keyboards and both are equally wicked at doing just that (so adaptively versatile). Booyah! Now vocals. Both can rock the mic! Each can stand alone as lead but together they ring of classic! Matt Peters is one of those dudes who sings with a natural ease and can hit all notes right on target. He can belt it out but can also have a quieter, calming soothing sort of tone...lucky bastard eh!? Amazing quality of sound here. As for Mr. Matyas...Rusty...oh holy vocal cords! If there’s one thing I love in a set of lungs it’s a raw, gritty, blow me away, pretty-power-pipes ability. In the words of Inspector Gadget... "Wowzers"! This guys got it. A screamingly strong n’ raspy tone makes me think him a man of soul. I think maybe James Brown is living inside his voice box? J. Brown is just like sitting around drinking tea until it’s time for Matyas to sing and then he falls to the ground in his half split kinda way and evokes a voice in Rusty so real-time-old-soul-angry it makes me wanna shout Hellz yeah! Lucky bastard eh!? Again I have to stress that these two voices in unison mesh so well...So well that I think it’s two things that should never be separated...Like peanut butter and jelly, ebony and ivory, Turner and Hooch, Malibu Rum and pineapple (MMMMMMMMM). Okay I think you get it. Peters and Matyas, Matyas and Peters (in no particular order here) they should both sing together "Till death do us part".
The Waking Eyes new tunes are all rockin’ with a twist of fresh sound. Still very head boppin’, leg stompin’, garagey, arty, brit-popy, dancey, sometimes electronicy and always catchy (with a splash of anthem-rocky). Are you "picking up what I’m puttin’ down"? The new CD release (Holding On To Whatever It Is) is one I eagerly await. If it sounds anything like their live performance I think it’ll be one of those CD’s that you can listen to front-ta-back no skippage. (It’ll be like finding a ruby...that’s right like a "Ruby Find". Gold even). These guys either practice like mofo’s or they’re just really good at picking up where they left off? Either way the first set of the evening was in my opinion very tight! They show cased a variety of songs including, Wolves at the Door and All Empires Fall (I’m sure many of you have seen the videos for these songs already). Overall, set numero uno was...well I liked it...I liked it a lot!
Set numba two. I heard Weezer on stage at The Albert! As soon as the drummer put on his thick black frames the entire band transformed into Weezer! The Waking Eyes played the Blue album and seriously it was so BANG ON! Unreal almost. From one song to the next..."My name is Jonas," "Undone- the Sweater song,"
"Say it ain’t so." Over and over again this crew tricked my ears into believing it was the real deal. For reals! Crazy I tells ya...Nutso even. At one point one of TWE’s mentioned something along the lines of, "the Blue album defining our adolescence". By golly I think I’d have to agree. Oh the Nostalgia, the awkward geekdom and rocking-out-ness of this album really does make me remember. Yep...I was there, in this time, on this earth, with this Weezer CD and it was fun! The crowd of onlookers couldn’t help but sing-it-on-along with the group in the toasty warm venue. (Actually at one point I thought "this is what Hot Yoga must fell like")? Smiles all around for The Waking Eyes-Weezer- Highlighting. Wanting each song so bad and so hard, the audience was nothin’ but luvs-and-hugs cheering in appreciation. Two thumbs up for Thursday nights gig. Twas one great show. Kudos!
*In confession I’ve heard the new album and it is a front-ta-backer. You can listen to it too.