Convincing friends of mine to go see Panther last Friday night proved to be a much more difficult task than I thought it would. I figured that, like me, they would take one look at this video and immediately be convinced that the show could not be missed. But, alas, this was not the case. Just as I was starting to think that maybe it was time for some new friends, two brave souls committed to coming with me (perhaps motivated more by the fact the Attendee A went to high school with a member of Pickwick, and Attendee B is married to Attendee A and thus obligated to attend despite his expressed distaste for all things Panther).
Pickwick was great. They had this nice folky/atmospheric and almost ambient sound (I'm going to go with Sigur Ros covering Tom Waits). They also had a guitarist who seemed determined to use every guitar accessory/toy he could possibly think of. When he pulled out the bow for the last two songs, we knew he had accomplished his goal. It should be said, though, that he managed to pull it all off tastefully, which is a feat in and of itself (although the final song was a bit over the top).
The Botticellis were good, although not totally my cup of tea. I found them more remarkable for their tiny amplifiers and tiny drums. They looked like giants playing through these little box amps. The drummer towered over his tiny set, and appeared to be using a floor tom as his bass drum, which is sweet. The Botticellis also pulled off something that I've never seen before. You see, the Boticellis have another band (apparently consisting of the same members) called "Cotillion." For their last song, the band announced that they would be playing a "Cotillion song," and that Cotillion would be playing at Cafe du Nord this week. They then proceeded to play a song that sounded exactly like the Botticellis songs, only one of the guitarists played keyboards. Was that a "cover?" How does that work? Apparently the whole Hannah Montana/Myley Cyrus thing is trickling down into the indie world. We're going to start changing our name every song. To keep things fresh.
As Panther set up, it became apparent that the majority of the crowd had come to see the Botticellis (strange line up, pairing these bands together, by the way), as many streamed toward the exits. A healthy crowd stuck around, but it cleared up enough that we were able to stand front and center. This enabled us to witness a hilarious pre-show conversation between the lead singer and drummer. A very drunk and swaying drummer steadied himself on a pole while the singer asked him repeatedly if he could go and if he was going to be ok. The drummer (who looked enough like Randy Quaid's cousin Eddie from the National Lampoon movies to provide much entertainment) assured him that he was fine, spilled about half of his whiskey on the stage, and headed back to the kit.
Panther started their set, and the mild mannered, Obama pontificating lead singer that we had seen outside earlier quickly transformed into a flailing wailing psuedo psychopath. He was all over the stage (a floor around the stage), showing off all sorts of sick dance moves and delay assisted screams. Needless to say, I was sucked in from the very beginning. My personal favorite was his seemingly signature "frog bounce while fencing with the microphone." After the first song, the drummer announced that the crowd was "making them REALLY uncomfortable." Way to flip the script on them, Randy!
Panther's music seemed to alternate between genuinely enjoyable and genuinely annoying. They have a few good songs, and plenty of not so good ones. The draw here was certainly the stage show, and not as much the music (at least for me). I really loved some of the delayed vocal stuff he was doing, and definitely dug the completely random guitar solos, which were very obviously just random bad note, but were played with such fervor (including behind the head!) that they moved the audience just as any perfectly orchestrated and executed EVH opus. A well thought out guitar solo would have no place at a Panther show (although his strumming the opening of Pinball Wizard multiple times between songs was much appreciated).
Panther's between song banter was as entertaining as their songs. As the show went on, Randy appeared closer and closer to keeling over on the spot. Before each song, there had to be the requisite check to make sure the drummer was not about to vomit or die. They also made a point to thank the Botticellis many times, adding that "they fucking hate us!" I sort of hope that's true, because it's funny. Randy also insisted that the crowd play a game of "guess how old we are." After a number of shouts from the audience, the answer was revealed: "Fuck you."
I must say that I found Panther to be more enjoyable as a kind of performance art rather than a music concert, although the lines are constantly getting blurrier. No matter what you want to call it, it was a highly entertaining show. I was extremely disappointed when it ended, although the short set length may have had something to do with Randy's well being (I kid, Randy. He's a damn fine drummer, especially considering his inebriation).
In conclusion, my acquaintances that opted out of this show are damn fools. And since friends and family are quite possibly the only ones who read this site (and certainly the only ones who would have read this far!), this post is just to make you feel dumb for missing out. Hope you enjoyed Ghost Whisperer on Friday night!
