Live fan show review by "Miss Eva" - found in the digital archive. [-AArtVark]
January 04, 1997 - Hollywood Mogul, Hollywood, CA
Viva La Monkey!!!
The chaos of a
new year seems to leave us with only one certain thing, that everything will be
changing. Babyland is no exception to this; the new year has brought us a
rejuvenated Dan and Smith. 1997's first Babyland show was arguably their most
energetic and enthralling in quite some time. This was a markedly different
event not only because of it's place in line with shows to come, but also
because, save for the songs "A Slow News Day", "Dimissal"
and "Begin Again", the set was comprised of songs not released on the
band's three CDs.
After about
twenty minutes of set-up time, Dan and Smith opened with "Omaha", a
fast-paced song that's quickly becoming a staple to the set. From the beginning
of the night, interaction between the band and the audience was high; we
alternated between being enmeshed in a hurried, slamming frenzy to bouncing and
waving our arms in disco-like fashion. In keeping with the spirit of the new
year, Babyland offered us a peek at unreleased songs; "Five Fingers",
a song about intimate aliens, "Test Pilot", a wonderfully chaotic
aggressive piece, and "It Never Ends" were among the new selections,
which were greeted just as warmly as the constant crowd-favourite
"Dismissal", with its offering of burnt metal and showers of sparks.
It would seem
that Babyland was just as anxious to play as the audience was to see them play.
The general tone of the evening was a jovial one: a highlight of the evening
was Smith, dressed to the nines in a fitted pea green jacket and garish neon
green work shirt (sans sleeves for all you Smith admirers), calling to
attention the fact that Babyland has deemed 1997 "Viva La Monkey".
Also to be noted was his lulling (or attempting to lull) the audience into
peaceful slumber with coos of "go to sleep... you are sleepy". It
didn't work, but was certainly adorable. Dan stayed within tradition and worked
himself into a sweat quickly enough to merit his t-shirt being removed by the
second song. His vocals were incredibly sharp and, even moreso than usual, he
involved the crowd in performing, from jumping offstage (and being lost amidst
head-rubbing moshers) to singing at us to having us sing with him.
Save the
Hollywood Mogul cutting off Dan's vocals half way through the last song of the
night, "Begin Again", it was a glitch free evening, appreciated by
old fans and new visitors alike, and left us 110% BABYLAND SATISFIED.
