By: David de Young
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Faux Jean in their final performance with Faux Wayne and Jean Angel at The Onopa Brewing Company in Milwaukee (photo by David de Young - click for full size)
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Milwaukee isn't exactly on the way to Minneapolis from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but it was a detour well worth taking on my way home from visiting my sister after the Thanksgiving holiday. Faux Jean's Matty Schindler had planted the initial seed to actually go to this show from the First Avenue Stage last Friday when he announced that Faux Wayne and Jean Angel would be leaving the band---he conceded at the time that although the Hang Ups CD Release show was Faux Jean's last local performance, the true finale with the current line-up would be in Milwaukee---if we wanted to make that 350 mile trek.
The Onopa Brewing Company is an artsy, Turf Club kind of place, but wider, cleaner and with more neon. I was delighted to find it just around the corner from my old apartment in Milwaukee's River West neighborhood, and just up the street from my old haunt, Quarters Bar.
As I walked through the door of the Onopa around 9 p.m. Saturday night I was surprised to see a smiling Craig Grossman (of Vamp Music Source and publicist for many Minneapolis bands, including the Hang Ups) heading my way to shake my hand. "David, I'm so glad you're here," he said in his genuinely welcoming way. No, Grossman didn't quit the music business to become the new greeter for the this Milwaukee bar; he was on hand to fill in for Hang Ups drummer Chadwick Nelson who had come down with the flu after the band's performance the night before in Rochester. Grossman had graciously and boldly agreed to fill in just that morning.
Before the show began I had the chance to pop my head in at my old haunt Quarters, site of my infamous 22nd birthday bash, and a bar where I had not set foot for 15 years. The new barmaid, the longtime owner's daughter, would have been in grade school back then. The bar had been redone—its new key design feature being absolutely no windows. And the stage had been moved to the far wall.
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The Hang Ups perform in at the Onopa Brewign Company in Milwaukee. Yes, that's Craig Grossman filling in on drums.
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At Quarters I witnessed a scene that made me glad I'd brought my digital camera. Connecticut resident Gregory Blash was performing what he called a circus sideshow act dubbed "Flag Grigory's Five Limb Offering Plus Automaton Consort." That sounds ridiculous enough, but the act itself has to be seen to be believed. The story is too much of an aside to be included in this review and it's also not for the weak of heart so click here to see the pictures and brief text. (Faux Jean drummer Sean Hoffman whom I bribed with a beer to watch a bit of the show with me was neither impressed nor amused.)
But back to the Onopa. It would have been understandable if The Hang Ups had just cancelled their show due to their drummer's illness. But it's to their credit that they went through with it anyway with their publicist on drums even though he had never played with them before. There were definitely some rough points, but the songs are the heart of this band, and the songs still rang out loud and clear. There was no doubt the band enjoyed playing to this supportive Milwaukee crowd that included lead singer Brian Tighe's parents. (You may note that in "Greyhound Bus" from 1996's "So We Go" Tighe references the fact that he is originally from Whitefish Bay, a pleasant suburb not far from the east side of Milwaukee)
Middle band, Milwaukee's own Trolley reminded me of a cross between the Knack and the Who with a little Feargal Sharkey (The Undertones) mixed in. Paul Wall (vocals/guitar), Terry Hackbarth (vocals/bass) and Mike Perotto (vocals/guitar/keyboards) share songwriting duties in the band, and though Wall is the apparent front man due to his position center stage, Hackbarth provides the lead vocal on about half the songs.
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Milwaukee's Trolley filled up the middle spot with a spot-on, varied and tight set
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The first few seconds of Trolley's poppy 2003 release on Easter Records "Last Chance Dance" is infused with the sprit of Keith Moon's in the Who's Pinball Wizard era. This is a band with strong song-writing skills and polished performance abilities, and I remember thinking I could only enjoy them more if I was more familiar with their songs. They are also a band unashamed of wearing their early 80's new wave influences on their sleeves.
It was Paul Wall's birthday, and that just added to festivities as he was presented with a cake and played the final song, a cover of the Exciters "I Know Something About Love" with frosting in his hair and on his face.
Then came Faux Jean, an historic final performance—at least in their current incarnation—by a band who earned their position as one of the best bands in the Twin Cities the old fashioned way, by playing great shows. Emotions were clearly riding high throughout the set and the last two songs of the set "G-A-Go-GO" and "I'll Waste Away" were some of the most charged performances of these songs I've ever heard. Not surprisingly the band played as if they'd never do it again. I can only imagine what it must have felt like up there on stage, something like sex with an ex but in front of a bar full of people.
So what's the official word on the future of Faux Jean? Here's the scoop. Faux Jean founder Matty Schindler will be auditioning singers and bassists in January and working on new material. "Faux Jean began as my solo project, morphed into a sextet known for their hair and suits, and will now morph into something new and, if I have my way, better," Schindler told me after the bands return to Minneapolis. And as far as the bittersweet aura that surrounded the final show with the two departing members, Schindler added "Yes, I am saddened by the loss of my friends Jean Angel and Faux Wayne." You can see the first "morph" of the new Faux Jean Monday night December 8th when Matty will be playing solo at the 400 Bar with Katastrophe Wife and Ouija Radio.
Not long after Faux Jean finished their set, the Melismatics arrived from across town where they'd been playing at Points East. (The Mels had just played the Onopa the previous Wednesday.) See my blog entry from 12/1 for a picture I took of the unlikely rock and roll reunion outside the bar after the show. I challenge local music fans to see if you can identify everyone in the picture. (Hint: the girl is a fan from Milwaukee and not in any of the bands.)
Location Info:
Onopa Brewing Company
Artist Info: Faux Jean, The Hang Ups, Trolley
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