The Phenomenauts - Portland edition

It's Tuesday night in Maine--... scratch that. It's any day Maine and the only thing to do is dollar night at the "cheap seat" theatre, and really... there is only so many times you can see cheap comedies before it's just not worth it. But every once in a while... every occasional Tuesday there is an event that will blow your mind and light a fire under your ass to drive two hours south on the interstate! Wouldn't you know it, I experienced such a delightful Tuesday not too long ago! It started a week prior when I happened to cruise by the Phenomenauts MySpace and see a list of tour dates that co-incided with where every single staff member lives! First Toronto... then Portland Maine then Richmond Virginia... Being the only one on the staff member who has ever experienced a Phenomenauts show first hand before, I told all of the girls and made sure to express what an AMAZING show it would be and WHY they all had to go. Now... the Toronto crew didn't heed my exclamations and missed out on the show, but our dear Doctah J was psyched and dragged her Husband to the show with her, and WHAT DO YOU KNOW: I was right, wasn't I? A week before Doctah J's show was the Portland show that I, along with a dear friend of Doctah J's and mine, Katie, attended!

We have a new Band of the Month coming up, and what do you know, I've been on a Pnaut kick since the show, and you'll get to read ALL about them on the 1st of the month, so I'll spare the history lesson, but there is one thing you need to know about the Phenomenauts at all times: they are a band of space-men who have come to Earth to teach us Science and Honor via a Rockabilly band. Now I ask you... (TORONTO GIRLS *COUGH*)...WHAT about that doesn't sound appealing? Nothing. There is nothing in that sentence that doesn't sound rad as hell!

The show in Portland was held in the Deering Grange, and if you don't know what a grange-hall is, imagine a slightly large livingroom and you've got an accurate picture of the general size of a Grange. The show started late (as apparently Doctah J's show did as well) and though we showed up at 6:00, the show didn't actually get underway until 7:30, but Katie and I had fun chilling outside and playing tic-tac-toe and hangman in the dust on my car. Once the show started we wandered our way inside to see MAYBE 5 people who weren't in other bands playing that night that had turned out. I was immediately stoked at the small size of the crowd, and the opening bands were all right! As commander =Angel Nova= (Guitar/Vox) pointed out to us, all SEVEN opening bands were local Earth bands, which was pretty rad!

Acoustics in the Grange were terrible, and it took the sound guy five out of seven openers to get the levels right for the place, but by the time the Revolts took the stage (being the seventh band) kinks were worked out and Katie and I walked in at the end of the Revolts set (having to go to the gas station up the street for water) and caught the last two Revolts songs which I LOVED.

After a pause after the Revolts a group of red-shirted men took the stage to set up space-age mic stands, lasers and fog machines and before we knew it they were gone, the entire grange hall was coughing on chemical fog and playing with the lazer beams projected through the haze. "All Go For Launch", a Phenomenauts intro song for the newest album "For All Mankind" started an the red-shirted men returned to the stage in full space-man costume and the five of us there to see the Phenomenauts, and the four or five kids who had played in earlier bands who had hung around lost our shit. For ten of us being there, we made more noise than most mid-size venue shows I've seen. I remember looking at Katie and she was laughing her face off, I knew we were in for the best Phenomenauts show to date.

They played a bitchin set, with fan favourites and audience participation including "Make a Circuit With Me", "Man Alone", "The Year 2000", "Science and Honor", "I Am Robot", "Neptune City" "Welcome Back/Space Girl", "Earth is the Best" "Phenomenator" and others. The entire time, all ten of us sang our lungs out, danced, and stared in awe at Deck Chief =Nick Wayzar= (Double Bass/Vox) as he slapped the shit out of his upright bass. Leftenant =AR-7= (Guitar/Vox) wore the thera-helmet just like his predecessors Corporal =Joebot 1.0= (and =Joebot 2.0=) as well as =F.M. Static= who all donned the skateboard helmet with wireless Theramin attached to the top that creates a robotic sound only out of the brains of the truly obsessed with Science. (Click the Theramin link, I don't have time to explain that gadget to you, but it is in fact freakin' awesome) (ALSO: See the Thera-Helmet on Leftenant =AR-7=)

Ten of us standing and dancing in front of the stage were mummified by the Streamerator 2000, a tricked out leaf blower that blasts everyone with a roll of toilet paper within seconds, and though the Phenomabomber Beta (More space-ship than '83 Dodge Van) has shuffled off this mortal coil we remembered the Phenomenator (the scout ship with rocket fins and reverse thrusters) in song.

All in all, it was the best Phenomenauts show I have ever seen, and though we remember =Joebot= (1.0 and 2.0 respectively), =F.M. Static= and Captain =Chreehos= fondly, the Phenomenauts have hit a goldmine with this lineup: Commander =Angel Nova= (Guitar/Vox), Leftenant =AR-7= (Guitar/Vox), Major =Jimmy Boom= (Drums), Deck Chief =Nick Wayzar= (Double Bass/Backing Vox), and Professor =Greg Arius= (Synth/Moog/Backing Vocals).

So to you, brave Spacemen... All I say to you is: =Science and Honor=!

To the rest of you: get your asses to the MySpace and find a tour date! Remember: within 200 miles is day-trip distance!

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The Phenomenauts - Richmond edition

A week after the Phenomenauts played the Deering Grange show that Caity went to, they were down in Virginia Beach and Richmond, and I was able to catch them with the Revolts at their Richmond date with Dick.

Now, the show was at the Camel, a bar/arts venue just outside of downtown Richmond. Its location directly across from a Lowes had me a bit confused, as it had billed itself online as what I term "hipster casual" - funky, but not uninviting to those who do not fit into their intended clientele. When I entered the venue, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Nice brickwork, old wooden floors and a happy hour special of $3 draft beers that extended beyond Bud Light and Corona! The show was supposedly going to start at 7pm, but the first band did not go on until 8:30 or 9pm, so Dick and I had plenty of time to enjoy $3 local brews.

The first opening band, The Leftovers, took the stage, and I was blown away - literally. The acoustics kinda sucked at the Camel, so my ears rang from that moment until Wednesday morning. From what I did understand from the Leftovers, they were decent - not bad, but not that great. I'm not sure if my indifference towards them comes from their actual music abilities or the fact that their sound mixer kept playing with the levels so I couldn't hear what the lead singer was actually singing. However, the instrumentals were really good.

After the Leftovers...left, there was the quickest band strike and set up that I had ever seen at a show, and the Revolts came on. The Revolts were awsome. I could semi-understand what the lead singer was actually singing because the sound guy left the levels alone, and the band had a great presence on stage. They rocked their hearts out, which meant a lot to me, considering there were like 10 of us for a Monday night show.

The Revolts got the crowd nice and warmed up for the main event - the Phenomenauts, who took a bit longer, because they had to run out to their van for a quick costume change (seriously, I saw them do it - the van was parked right outside the front door.) The now costumed Phenomenauts took the stage to the cheers of the now 15 people at the venue. I have never seen the Phenomenauts before live, or heard much of their music before the show, so I had no idea what to expect, except that Caity told me that they put on an awesome show. And they did deliever on that. They questioned the crowd if any of them were robots, earthlings, and put on a laser light show that would put some Planetariums playing Led Zepplin to shame. One of the Phenomenauts had a toilet paper gun that he shot out into the crowd, and the entire venue got coated in streams of toilet paper. If I knew the names of their songs, I would tell you what the Phenomenauts specifically played, but I do remember that me and the entire crowd rocked out to one song I think called "Science and Honor," and one about being a robot. Overall, it was an awesome show, even if it was on a Monday night.

So, if you're interested in having a good time while having toliet paper shot at you while you scream the chorus of a song about being a robot, seriously check this tour out. It's still going on, and dates are listed on the Phenomenauts' Myspace. It was totally worth my $10 and Monday night, and it would be worth yours, I'm sure.

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Caity and Doctah J answer a few questions about their respective Phenomenauts shows!

What was your favourite moment of the show?
What was your favourite song they played?
Do you wish anything had been different?
Would you go back to see another Phenomenauts show? BACK