By: Maren Amdal
The Saint Paul smoking ban went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday March 31, and, being a person who values my lungs, I drove across the river to vote with my dollars in support of the new ban. O’Gara’s Garage was completely empty when I arrived at 8:45 to hear Autobody Experience, but by the time their set started at 9:00 p.m. sharp, as promised, the room was full. It was an interesting mix of people; working class folks and college-aged kids, as well as a handful of white-haired couples showed up to see a band they all seemed more than just familiar with.
The show started with a quick sound check and a short, upbeat song, “The Autobody Experience,” which simultaneously introduced the band and gave every one of the seven members an opportunity to double check their mikes. Sax player Max Wendt, who joined the band in 1994, had driven out from his new home in Wisconsin to play his last gig with Autobody Experience. After the first song, band leader Scott Yoho took advantage of an opportunity to create a few comedic moments. Max was presented with a band parting gift – an official Cheese-Head – and Scott read an email from Max’s mother in-law reminding Max that he now lives only two hours from his in-laws. The easy banter created a connection with the audience, and showed how comfortable the band is together.
Two catchy songs later, including an apparent audience favorite “Cave beneath my Cube,” the band realized that none of Kent Peterson’s (percussion and vocals) mikes were working, but remedied the problem quickly and smoothly moved onto the next song. The performance seemed to fly by – the songs were well-arranged, well-paced and interspersed with rippin’ solos.
Seamless transitions between musical styles within and between songs created interest and kept the audience listening to lyrics like, “Science has shown that the whole world revolves around you,” from the edgy-bluesy song “Copernicus Was Wrong.” One song that everyone seemed happy to hear was “Tom Fixed His Spit Valve Spring,” a funny spoken word tune about an experience trumpet player Tom Twiss (trumpet, flugelhorn and vocals) had in 2001 when his trumpet spit valve had broken on the way to a gig and he repaired it with duct tape.
Witty lyrics, tasteful reverb and well-arranged back up vocals added color and flavor to a performance already driven with two percussionists and a rockin’ keyboard player (Trey ZehrGrimm, keyboards and vocals). During one song, the lyrics referred to “a taste of honey,” and the horns cleverly slid in a melodic line from the well-known jazz song. A dash of swing in this horn-driven rock band was not surprising, but was so well done I was reminded of Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
I was also reminded several times during the show of the Bare Naked Ladies, both because of fairly serious and intelligent lyrics set in comedic songs like “Holes,” and the band’s tight vocal sound. With a hint of Zappa, a bit of the Beatles, and a lead voice reminiscent of Weird Al, this group of stellar musicians is as humble as they come. Their easy rapport evidenced their tremendous respect for one another and created an environment where everyone, on stage and off, could just enjoy the music.
The house beer was not the best; the Cork Brown Ale tasted too much like Sassy Sandy’s Belgium Wheat and that wasn’t a good thing. My friend described it this way: “It tastes like the Canterbury tales would smell.” The sound system was slightly louder than deafening, but that is just this gal’s opinion. And I was slightly less impressed with The Root City Band, who was up after Autobody Experience. It was a bit of a let down to go from the intensity and energy of a long established seven piece band with horns to the younger, less-experienced, smooth-vocal, bluesy four-chord-song-style of Root City Band. Alex Rossi, who fronts Root City Band, has a great voice, and a good style. I liked the Root City Band well enough – I just had a hard time transitioning from such a great “Autobody Experience.”
For just an hour-long set, the brilliant orchestration and flexible professional musicians made this band an easy pleasure to listen to. It was my first Autobody Experience; I’m hooked.
Photo by Mark Walentiny.
Location Info:
O'Gara's
Artist Info: Autobody Experience
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