Bands, apple beer, and a great musical time

The evening of Saturday, Aug. 27, I made the long journey to Providence, to hear one of my favorite local bands play at Pier 49 Pizza. Earlier that day I moved back up to Logan, driving my parents’ Toyota that doesn’t have air conditioning, so I was eager to get into an air-conditioned room, hear some music and sip some apple beer.

 

The band, Racecar Racecar! – which is a palindrome, by the way – was formed a few years ago by guitarist/vocalist Jett Fesler and drummer Alex Haslam. Haslam left the band to serve an LDS mission and, while he was gone, Brandon Lee joined to play keys and provide vocals. Fesler and Lee have played numerous shows over the past two years, including a particularly memorable benefit concert last spring. This summer bassist Brandon Casper joined the band and Haslam returned from his hiatus, filling out the band nicely.

 

The band was set up in a tiny space between some tables and booths in the restaurant, but they made the space work. Luckily they didn’t have to worry about crowding patrons. Their crowd, though, was unfortunately sparse.

 

They began by playing a cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun,” immediately showing off Lee and Fesler’s ability to sing in harmony. They continued to do so throughout the night, covering everyone from Tom Petty to Simon and Garfunkle. It is no wonder that they can sing in harmony so well, as Fesler is a guitar performance major and Lee is pursuing a master’s degree in piano performance. Their vocal abilities showed throughout the night, but not as much as their instrumental abilities.

 

Lee often showcased his great skill on the piano, improvising at will and doing so wonderfully. I found that often the piano kind of stole the show, drawing the attention away from Fesler’s vocals. Admittedly, this is not necessarily Lee’s fault, as there were some times that Fesler could have taken more control of the performance. They were not always unbalanced; the interplay between the two was quite wonderful on certain songs, showing that they had definitely rehearsed some songs more than others.

 

Their cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin'” showed some incredibly tasteful piano licks between lines of the song and some great vocals from Fesler at the end of the song. They did change the melody of the chorus just slightly, and though I’m not quite sure that I liked their changes, I wholeheartedly approve of them changing things and not doing everything exactly like the original.

 

One of my favorite parts of their performance was some improvisation done at the end of the cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” After some great guitar and piano solos and some cool bass riffs, there was a bit of melodic imitation between the piano and guitar that was incredibly entertaining. I heard them play that song last spring, and although this time they didn’t have Lee with a crazy vocal solo at the end, this dialogue between the piano and guitar almost made up for it.

 

One thing that bothered me with the performance was that while Lee and Fesler were doing a wonderful job musically, Casper and Haslam seemed to be lagging behind. Casper did just fine with his bass lines but there wasn’t much exciting stuff coming from him. Haslam seemed to be putting out the same simple beat the whole night. Granted he did just get back from two years on a mission without drums, but that doesn’t change the fact that it got boring to hear the same beat for every song.

 

Overall I truly enjoyed the show even though it seemed that the only people who came out to see them were me, my buddy Steve and a couple of older women. Unfortunately, that’s how local shows turn out all too often. But don’t worry, folks. Racecar Racecar! will be playing another concert with other local bands at Rock Against Diabetes on Sept. 10 in the Chase Fine Arts Center courtyard, with a minimum donation of $5. Racecar Racecar will open at 11 a.m. and bands will play until 10 p.m.

 

I would definitely go see this band again.

 

– Rex Colin Mitchell is a junior, majoring in cello performance from Vernon, Utah. If you want him to review your band’s concert, email him at rex.colin.mitchell@aggiemail.usu.edu