The Age of Electric – ‘How’s Everything Taste?’
written by Mike Zimmer
Lets start by saying I might have to rethink my ‘I don’t really care about going early to see opening bands’ policy. When I arrived at the Commodore on Saturday night (Apr 30/16) Gay Nineties had just got into their last song. I think I may have missed something really cool, I will never know. Super energetic and flashy, they even had a mic stand that lit up with LEDs. I might have to steal that idea for my band’s next show.
The Age of Electric had not played Vancouver in 18 years. I was 17; I just started driving and really didn’t know how the world really worked. That year was roughly around the first and only time I had seen AoE. It wasn’t long after that tension within the band forced them to go their separate ways. Wow, I don’t remember that being so long ago.
Naturally there was some excitement going into Saturday night. I was surprised that the Commodore was not sold out. I thought The Age of Electric would be more of a draw, also seeing that it was practically a hometown show for them. The crowd was as expected, middle aged people, doing middle aged things, just excited they were able to find a baby sitter so that they could get out on the town like the olden days. Also, things like politely giving enough you enough space at the front of the stage so as to not infringe on your personal bubble, or you on theirs. You know, middle age stuff.
What can I say about the performance put on by The Age of Electric? Equal parts rock show, house cover band, and stand-up comedy. The boys from Saskatchewan were musically tight, but I could see the screw-ups just by watching drummer Kurt Dahle’s (aka Will Ferrell) reactions. None of that mattered though, because it was fun. I can’t remember a time when I’ve seen a band so happy to be playing together. It was like a bunch of brothers who were left home alone for the first time (maybe?). The fun they were having jumped off the stage and infected the entire room. It was something pretty special. Also, the interactions between Kurt and singer Todd Kerns were priceless.
Todd: ‘we got another song from our new album, titled?’
Kurt: (in a lispy woman’s voice) ‘how’s everything taste?’
Other notable mentions were the spontaneous covers of Harlequin, The Beatles (that birthday song they do), and something else that I can’t remember (please hit me up with what it was @zimzimy5000 on Twitter). If you weren’t a fan going into that night (then why were you there?) I find it hard to believe you didn’t walk out converted.
It was a stripped down rock show, nothing fancy. What The Age of Electric showed live that night is what most bands are lacking; charisma and showmanship.
Oh, and I apologize to those in attendance, I may have forgotten to put deodorant on when I left the house. Sorry. But thank you to the lady in the front row who allowed me to include her nice new Samsung phone in my photo/shot.
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Mike Zimmer
@zimzimy5000 on Twitter
@zimzimy on Instagram
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