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BANDS: Punk & Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
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From Bubblegum to Sky at Larimer Lounge in Denver, CO - 3/22/04
Dude, Where's the Chick? It's not hard to listen to "Me and Amy and the Two French Boys" and think to yourself, Man, this girl has a totally rad voice; I'll bet she's way hotter than the chick from Denali. If you give a good listen to the entire record, you MIGHT figure out that the chick with the maple syrup voice is really a dude with the maple syrup voice. Or you might not be as bright and then you'd fall into my camp. Not having done any research on From Bubblegum to Sky prior to the show, I was definitely surprised when meeting the band members before they took the stage for their set. Sitting down, I watched them tune their instruments while thinking to myself that the "singer" would no doubt come on after her rhythm section plays its first few notes. Without a word to the thinly populated club audience of about 35, the guitarist strums the opening notes to "Clean Tiger," a song from the forthcoming release Nothing Sadder than the Lonely Queen; and it's at this moment that my greatest fear is actualized. There is nothing XX-chromosome about this band. Apparently, after listening to the album hundreds of times, you still might not know jack shit about the band you are listening to. "Clean Tiger" flows into "Catherine Was My June," another track from Nothing Sadder than the Lonely Queen. Then at the close of "Catherine," Mario Hernandez gently says, "We're Bubblegum To Sky; thanks for coming," and then looks at the drummer and bassist to make sure they're ready to jump into the next song, "Some Kind of Fantastic" yet another track from the sophomore effort. A more accurate statement would have been, "Hi, I'm Bubblegum to Sky" but onstage, Hernandez remains modest. He writes all the songs and even though he makes it known that he doesn't accept input from the people he plays with, he is nothing short of respectful to them. This is the true sign of a musician who insists on strict professionalism but doesn't run his enterprise like a slave driver. Through this mentality and his casual onstage demeanor, he can share a mutual admiration with fellow musicians. He even praised his drummer to the audience for nailing all the parts to "Another Pill," a song Hernandez had written with his previous band, Ciao Bella. The fact that Hernandez didn't expect much made From Bubblegum to Sky's performance seem even sweeter. Though he insists that this band is a solo project, you can't help but feel that he is genuinely attached to the people he plays with. This is made clear when he briefly mentions his former bandmate in Ciao Bella, Jaimie MacCormick. He refers to him as a "terrible drunkard" after having played "Another Pill," but he doesn't look back for a second as everyone on stage unanimously started to play "You of Summer," another song with a trace of inspiration drawn from MacCormick. However, you get the impression it could be anybody who you once considered a friend that lets you down time and time again. This particular song captures the essence of From Bubblegum to Sky because it features the kind of music that is impossible not to dance to, but while you're swaying your hips and shoulders, you know you are doing this at the expense of Hernandez's tortured lyrics. While this was not a crowd that could even flirt with the club's capacity, Hernandez was gracious to his audience and repeatedly thanked them for coming to see his show. It would have been a crime had he not played "Hello Hello Hi," the opening track to Me and Amy and the Two French Boys. Thankfully he did so, smiling and laughing all the way through it. Hernandez's singing voice remarkably remained gorgeously high throughout the entire set, and I must not be the only one who is left scratching his head wondering how he does it. One would even think that he might be using a touch of that falsetto magic while singing, but when he talked in between songs, you knew he was for real. At the end of the night, none of that mattered because everyone left the club smiling, even though it was an ephemeral experience. In total, nine songs were played, mostly songs from the newest album, but that didn't stop the audience from drowning in a sugary sea of pop. Before closing the set, Hernandez slowly approached the microphone and said, "Thanks for coming and we don't have anything to sell because our album isn't out yet, but thanks anyway." Between the bubblegum and the sky, there is certainly more than a breath of fresh air.
Releases from From Bubblegum to Sky can be purchased at Amazon, Insound, CD Universe From Bubblegum to Sky Official Website About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
