SomerVaudeville, featuring The Pluto Tapes
Just after he finishes playing the first verse of Paula Abdul’s seminal 1988 hit “Straight Up,” Pluto Tapes guitarist Andy Hicks pauses and asks the audience at Johnny D’s in Somerville, Massachusetts, “Really?” The crowd responds with boisterous cheer, and Hicks obliges them with an absolutely fantastic cover. It’s both amusing (how could a Paula Abdul song on guitar not be?) and surprisingly compelling. Stripped of synths and slick 80s production, “Straight Up” is the perfect capper for Hicks’s set of suburban alt-rock/powerpop. It’s the sort of song that you can imagine the disaffected narrator of Hicks’s songs identifying with, much to his surprise, on some drunken post-breakup evening. “You tell him, Paula,” says the narrator in my imagined scenario, a bottle of Sam Adams in hand. “A buh-buh-buh-bye, buh-buh-buh-bye!”
******
Under the moniker of The Pluto Tapes, my friend Andy Hicks (along with his guitar and his iPod) closed out the first act of last night’s inaugural SomerVaudeville show, put on by Theatre@First, a Davis Square-based drama troupe. His three-song set (plus the “Straight Up” encore) was the highlight of the evening for me, but the rest of the show was amazing as well. From banjo-playing Uncle Shoe to storyteller Justin Werfel to the sheer awesomeness of Can-Can Revolution, I was entertained all night long, and the memories of last night are sure to be what will power me through my tiredness today (I got home at quarter past midnight and left the house again at 5:25 a.m.).
Oh, and I may or may not have had my Flip Video camera on me, and I may or may not have filmed portions of the show, and I may or may not be posting the resulting video at some point in the next week.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to listen to and you don’t already own it, buy a copy of Dead Planets Tell No Tales, the first album by The Pluto Tapes, on iTunes.
Comments On This Article
Fifi la Rouge says:
We’re all so glad you liked the show! We’re looking forward to your videos and follow up.
Stay tuned for more Can Can craziness.
XOXO
Lulu L'Amour says:
I agree, Andy is the world’s warmest, fuzziest rockstar and I lurve him!
Now to get him to play that Bangles cover you told me about...hopefully there will be another Pluto Tapes gig soon where we can rock out to a full set!
CanCan Revolution is all over the MySpazz (http://www.myspace.com/cancanrevolution)
Thanks for coming out and supporting us!
Andy says:
Thanks so much for coming and for this write-up!
On a (completely un)related note: you’re probably watching Lost right now. I myself am watching last weeks episode. Here’s a question: why would a plane flying from Sydney to LA go anywhere near the west end of Indonesia? (Also, it turns out Membata is Indonesian for “Doubt.” Spoooky.)
ChrisClark says:
I’m going to try and put the vids up over the weekend, or by Monday at the latest. I recorded snippets of almost every act, and all of Andy’s set. Andy, do you want to see the footage before I put it up anywhere? My camerawork is off in a place or two, but the fun and awesomeness and energy of the performance come through just fine. I think that, if that clip of “Straight Up” were online somewhere it could go viral pretty fast and maybe we could help you sell some copies of Dead Planets.
Oh, and I just linked up Can-Can’s MySpace page in the main article. w00t!
Oh, and I almost forgot to answer your question Andy: I’m not sure how/why a plane ends up way over there, but as for why the reporters didn’t ask about that, I’ve read a theory which I think is a good one: the questions about why the plane crashed where it did were all asked while the world thought the Oceanic Six were all still dead.
Beth the Bassist says:
Ahhh, world still getting smaller! (My friend Shelley is a Theater @ Firster and went to the show as well--actually, friend Erika is one too). Of course, I know you know Andy and I know he is, but still. Small world. AHHHH.
ChrisClark says:
@Beth the Bassist: Oh, weird! I should have thought to invite you along, although I’m sure your other friends mentioned it too. Would’ve been good to see you.
I, for one, am really enjoying that my world is getting smaller again. It’s starting to remind me of my college days in that way, and I really miss that social everything’s connected aspect of those days.
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