Cake’s leisurely work rate is such that they have only just released the follow up to 2004’s ‘Pressure Chief’ album and now find themselves touring the UK for the first time in six years. Though the band could be accused of neglecting their fanbase, their hiatus certainly hasn’t harmed them commercially. The self-released ‘Showroom Of Compassion’ reached the number one spot on America’s Billboard chart, while their current tour finds them playing to a partisan audience in even bigger venues than before.
An unlikely success story, the tenacious five piece now perform with an almost regal air. The tone of the evening may be one of self-deprecation – the band make their way on stage to the theme from Rocky IV complete with intentional audio malfunctions and liken their audience to partners in a doomed, long distance relationship- but from the opening riff of ‘Opera Singer’, it’s clear that they’re as tight and well-oiled as anyone could reasonably expect. Frontman John McCrea, a curiously dapper dirtbag, is our sardonic host for the evening, gesticulating theatrically as he half-sings over his colleagues’ forceful grooves.
At its best, Cake’s sound is made up of several easily identifiable layers, all of which fuse awkwardly into a streamlined whole. They occupy a genre of their own and plunder from sources as disparate as Mariachi music and The Velvet Underground. In fact, incorporating the ‘Sweet Jane’ riff into advertising favourite ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket’ was one of their most inspired moves and when the song is played tonight, its detached cool is almost overwhelming.
Cake have been criticised for their lack of development in the past and the new tracks aired throughout the first half of tonight’s show indicate some signs of change. The likes of ‘Sick Of You’ and the synth-driven ‘It’s Been A Long Time’ reflect a successful move into purer pop territories. These tracks make a nice change but as the band reel out ‘Frank Sinatra’, ‘Wheels’ and close with ‘90s radio hit ‘The Distance’, it’s clear that the crowd gathered here tonight are perfectly happy to find them playing to their strengths.
Lewis Porteous
