July 1, 2024

24-05-12 | Red Gate | Infidelity. Reverend Ape, Felisha & The Jazz Rejects

An invitation brings the herald to Red Gate this Sunday evening, though there is no other place the herald would rather be on a Sunday night. Three offerings have been promised to close out another weekend, and the herald is well-rested and prepared for what’s to come.

Arriving a couple songs in, the crowd’s energy was high as the opening offering ripped through a banger. Slipping his way to the front, the herald took up a spot in the large open area and began his sacred duties to Him.

INFIDELITY

First up was a repeat offering from this guitar and keys duo, who also used a pad that gave us drums, saxophone, and other pretty/random noises. Hard dancy pop was the flavor, and it was delicious.

There were a number of driving bangers that gave off a real techno vibe. The distorted guitar getting all noisy and dirty was delicious for the earholes and had me flailing wildly.

In amongst the noise, they had a straight-up ballad. It was chill and beautiful, with a delicate and eerie quality. It gave a great contrast to the rest of the set, with a wide range throughout, showing creativity in their sound.

They both inexplicably wore the warmest of all winter hats -the fur trader with flaps- that they mostly kept on the whole set, clearly feeling the immense heat, but fuck me if they didn’t dedicate themselves to the look.

There was a great-sized crowd for the opener. While the first few songs saw them fifteen feet back, giving me ample room to move, after an invitation from the stage, they moved closer, and more folks joined in on the flailing.

REVEREND APE

Another repeat offering on the night, probably their eighth or ninth, making their first-ever appearance at Red Gate, which confuses me. They brought all their usual energy to this one and had the place amped up.

They were tight and crisp, each bringing their A-game as they burned through their hard rock/stoner/metal set full of huge songs. The sibling duo on bass and drums were particularly on point, laying down the always impressive foundation.

Someone dressed in a full ape suit flailing practically the entire set—an impressive feat and one I am sure involved buckets of sweat—was mixing it right up with the crowd, and at one point, they even crowd-surfed, so I can now say I’ve seen an ape crowd-surf.

They played mostly originals, but that one little KYUSS song they bust out occasionally appeared, and it was glorious. It had me singing along while I spun and flailed with glee.

With some of the best crowd interactions in the city, they never fail to bring the crowd into the show with them; this was their crowd, and we were eating it up. The crowd cheered for the sudoku game they played during the rhythm solo section and hooted like apes whenever given a chance.

The crowd was pumped up, bouncing, smashing, crashing, and even creating a circular conga line partway through a song. This was a great crowd to jump and flail with.

FELISHA AND THE JAZZ REJECTS

Finally, this quartet closed the night with their fourth offering in four months, building on the energy from the last offering as they celebrated the release of their new single, ‘Hymm II,’ a great little banger.

As is always the case, without exception, the jazz rejects were on fire as they ripped through their very familiar set. Despite so many offerings in recent months, I still find myself impressed with how tight and connected they are.

The lead singer brought it tonight, hitting the high notes beautifully and pumping up with their familiar and infectious energy. They had such a great stage presence and endearing crowd engagement, which included a visit to the crowd that had the crowd jumping up and down.

As it was Mother’s Day, the lead singer brought their mom up on stage and proceeded to sing their mom’s favorite song in Spanish, with mom even joining in, hitting the mark and displaying a beautiful voice of their own.

The crowd was bouncing and having a blast, so to get some space for myself, I mostly ended up at the back, spinning and flailing to this great final offering.

He was pleased with tonight’s offerings.

Infect the others