JORDAN BUDD
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Last Call Entertainment, a local concert promotion company, created and run by SUNY Fredonia students and alumni teamed up with one of the town’s bars, BJ’s.
The flyer featured a stacked lineup. The indie cowboys of Buffalo, Johnny & the Man Kids, the yellow rock and roll of the Burkharts, and the Fredonia-based hometown heroes Beach Tower were all scheduled to play at the first Last Call Entertainment BJ’s collaboration since March of 2020. Prior to the pandemic, these shows ran on a bi-weekly basis, employing a large cast of the local and broader Western, New York scene.
Everything was going according to plan until the unfortunate news that headlining act, Johnny & The Man Kids had to cancel their performance due to some immediate medical issues. Their lead singer, Johnny Marciniak, needed an unprecedented visit to the emergency room prior to their scheduled musical contributions. The band took to Twitter within the following days to announce that the vocalist’s surgery was a success, and he is now resting.
Last Call Entertainment head, Dan Doyle, a senior music industry major, booked an impromptu performance from the ever-present force within the local music scene, Jacob King, a junior English major. King, always-ready guitarist and member of many bands, put together yet another stirring acoustic mix of covers and originals.
King’s opener “Mother Mouse,” which he recently wrote over winter break, appropriately kicked off the tunes in BJ’s.
An unreleased love song about organic tea has become a staple of King’s repeated acoustic setlists within Fredonia. His diction was as articulate as ever while his lyrics never fail to bewilder in the most gratifying ways.
King’s Pink Floyd cover of “Jugband Blues” was a tastefully selected choice from the band’s early catalog. This strain led to King getting lost in the moment amidst a dynamic and extensive guitar solo. Following an uptick of applause from the BJ’s goers, the ever-so-humble musician let out a quiet “shhh” while smiling, which was met with chuckles from the audience. His eclectic, hoedown-ish version of the psychedelic folk song was nothing short of entertaining despite King’s lack of a full band; he proves time and time again the power of one man and a guitar.
King followed this up with yet another unreleased song that focuses on the name of a tea, specifically “Lady Grey.” It features a must-have chorus that is certainly one of his best.
King’s final song was a live premier of a brand-new unreleased gem that he’s titled “The Hider (Hi Ho).”
King hopes to record and release many of these songs soon. His hopeful fanbase awaits as these tunes have quickly become Fredtown favorites for more than a few melophiles.
As the following act, Beach Tower, took the stage the excitement was clearly building for an electric performance. The band consists of Cascio Fonseca (vocals), Johnny Zareski (rhythm guitar), Evan Donnelly (bass guitar), Ryan Terry (lead guitar) and Joey Porth (drums). Friends of the band rallied behind their fellow students.
Lucas Cottet, close companion of the band and lead singer for The Science Behind It, took the stage with trumpet in hand alongside the indie rockers. His appearance works in tandem with the group’s recent release of their debut album, If We Make It to May, as he has several trumpet performances on the project.
Their show started with a tasteful callback to an important thematic moment, “Last Rose of Summer,” from their debut. Porth’s dramatic drum rolls paired with Terry’s melodic playing worked as the perfect soundtrack to the opening scenes of their performance.
This musical title screen blended into “December” the introductory track from their latest work which showcases vocalist, Fonseca.
Their follow-up, “Down by the Ocean,” was a groovy cooldown from the more dramatic moments on “December.” The sunglasses wearing Cottet’s added trumpet parts complimented the track as he remained on stage.
Fonseca announced that the audience might know this one, before the band launched into their most recognizable song, “In My Bed.” Their performance featured newfound guitar pedal antics, gang vocals and a breakdown while still maintaining its dreamy indie pop rock atmosphere. Terry’s guitar rang out the iconic melody one last time as the song came to a vivid slow motion conclusion.
As the band’s intensity was beginning to turn up a notch, they fittingly followed up their most popular song with the rifftastic, “Burning Bridges,” their heaviest bit yet. Cottet’s trumpet growls and flourishes sprang up throughout the sprawling six-minute ripper, while guitarist Terry’s use of a violin bow created a grating and raspy soundscape.
Rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist, Zareski, joined Fonseca on the final chorus before Cottet exited stage right and the band descended into the galvanic mayhem of their first title track, “If We Make It to May.” Porth’s cannon of a kick drum and Donnelly’s blustering bass lines pushed the nightmarish number along.
The following two songs, their cover of “Burning Down the House” by the Talking Heads and their original “Summer Nights” got the fun-loving BJ’s crowd moving. “Summer Nights” included an amusing reference to the iconic chord mess-up of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of your life).” The band made the smooth transition to their closely related song “Love Poem” which directly follows “Summer Nights” on their latest track list.
Their simply chill-inducing closer, “I’ll Stay,” featured a huge trumpet solo from the returning Cottet, a poignant performance from the band, a powerful display of emotion from Fonseca and a shimmering ending. The band poured everything into this moment and left the audience star-struck.
The following and final act, The Burkharts, opened their performance with a cover of the surf rock classic, “Miserlou” by Dick Dale and his Del-Tones. It acts as the perfect cinematic opener to the ‘60s recollection and comical shenanigans that define this six-piece act. The group consists of Trevor Hodge (vocals/guitar), Gavon Hodge (drums/vocals), Austin Knorr (bass guitar), James Wrobel (keyboard/vocals), Luke Sampson (guitar) and SUNY Fredonia student Cameron Bunch (guitar).
Burkharts second song was their well-known affectionate tune, “To Be Your Lover.” The mid-tempo love devotional has racked up almost half a million streams on Spotify alone. Hodge’s enamored spirit was further characterized with each chorus as he sang with an expressive fervor. His animated yells act as transitional moments within the song’s compositions and have become representative of their performances.
Their follow-up original “In My Worried Mind” brought on a rush of dancing in the audience as the sticky chorus warmed up their listeners. Hodge muses on living in a “never ending summer” while the band’s harmonics built up to a climax and then broke down into one last chorus.
The group mixed in a cover of the Beach Boys, “I’m Waiting for the Day,” effortlessly.
Another song from their 2021 EP, Who are the Burkharts, “Our Rockaway” continues to build on their modern jangle pop and ‘60s nostalgia fusion. The sunbathed track’s evocative riff and reminiscent vocal melodies are a dead ringer for their Beach Boys’ influences while Hodge’s punkish screamed yelps contrast this idea, making a blend that is all their own.
Following this song, the well-dressed band premiered a brand-new song that they had yet to play in the familiar BJ’s venue. Their recent creation got the floors and wooden structure shaking in the nearly 100-year-old bar.
The group returned to a well-known favorite which has been performed many times in Fredonia, “Lazy Dazing,” from their 2019 EP of the same name. Back-in-style flair pants swished amongst the crowd while the present day band, The Burkharts, continued to build on what once was while emitting a lustrous indie vibe that sparkled within the audience.
Another unreleased track was played before they rolled into a dream pop-esque song from the Lazy Dazing EP, appropriately titled “Oh Dreamer.”
The show featured the typical antics of The Burkharts, who’ve become known for being archetypal jokesters. This horseplay was present throughout the night and led to bassist Knorr mounting guitarist Sampson, and several impressive gymnastics from guitarist Bunch.
The Surf Curse cover, “Disco,” preceded their penultimate song, “Flower City Nights.” This indie original became a kooky mashup that randomly thrust into “Before I Knew It” by yodeling kid himself, Mason Ramsey and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. It was, indeed, a stimulating mix.
Their final song was a cover of The Beatles opener to their White Album, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” It was a high energy screamer that was well received by their audience. The strategic cover song played on the group’s matching outfits, which could be compared to the many times The Beatles chose a uniform look.
Afterwards, the bar inhabitants and concert lovers alike cleared out into the quiet Fredonia streets, and crisp night air as the snowstorm began to brew. The lot went home to get some rest for the following weekday in a celebratory mood due to the return of live music and drinks on a Wednesday night.