You Can Never Sit Far Enough Away to Feel Left Out at B.A. OR An Exercise in Sweatiness

A: "Oh B.A. ..."
Q: What was the phrase most uttered at Irene's Pub and Restaurant on Good Friday?

Its difficult to adequately describe the ridiculous excellentness (and the excellent ridiculousness) of a B.A. Johnson show.  I have tried on many occasions and done a reasonable job, but there is nothing like seeing it for yourself. This is gonna be an exceptionally photo-heavy post for just that reason- also because my friend Josh just got a new camera phone. (And not like Jemaine's either, one that takes honest to goodness photos...) Shall we begin?

We started off the evening with the musical stylings of the energetic and the ever-sweaty Phil Castiglione, aka Robots!EVERYWHERE!! As always, the hometown crowd sang and heckled with great enthusiasm as Phil sped through such gems as "Zombie Smooth" and "Red Hair Blond Hair" all the while battling with the magical exploding guitar (tenuously taped together for a super fast encore of 'Drunk at Work').

Robots!EVERYWHERE!! this time with magical exploding guitar!

I've seen Robots!EVERYWHERE!! three times in as many months and am consistently impressed by Phil's ability to get a crowd going. His speedy and clever punk tunes combined with his opposite-of-serious attitude are a sure-fire hit every time, and tonight was no exception.

Next up was Remi Royale, the king of awkwardly-shirtless kareoke. Energetic and entertaining, Remi never even graced the stage, instead spending the entire performance roaming the crowd, serenading unsuspecting audience members and gettin' us going with covers of everything from 'Sweet Caroline' to 'Don't Stop Believing.' Remi's set may have more in common with Vegas-inspired performance art than the acts one normals sees at a 'pub and restaurant'  but it fit perfectly at Irene's.

Remi Royale (courtesy of J. Pruner)

Time for B.A.!

For serious, B.A. is one of the most entertaining, funniest, and most inexplicably charismatic performers you will ever see. His songs are catchy and hilarious, he sweats up a storm, and he doesn't take himself seriously in the slightest. As always he was accompanied by a selection of Casio keyboards and an 'JPEG player' (aka discman) as well as the enthusiastic singing/shouting along of the excited crowd.  He started numerous songs by dancing on his chair, swinging the mic by the cord, then doing jump-splits onto the stage. At one point- while dancing around, just after playing the keyboard with his nose- B.A. shouted to a non-participatory guy in the front row (who was trying his darnedest to not make eye contact) "You can't ignore me! I'm right fucking here in a dolphin tank top."

Oh B.A. ...

It is about the music (it's always at least partially about the music!) but a B.A. Johnson show is also about the show: In addition to his standard captain's hat and neck kerchief, we were also treated to a seemingly endless parade of printed sweatshirts (I believe there were three, followed by one with the sleeves cut of, before hitting the tank top and t shirt) which B.A. stripped off as they (all) got too sweaty. That guy really knows how to get the ladies hearts pumping...!

B.A up close and personal (courtesy of J. Pruner)

But forget the ladies, it's the dudes who reeeeally love B.A... You can easily pick out the hard-core fans (including Phil- in the words of my sister "Watching B.A. is super entertaining, but watching Phil watch B.A. is almost even better!") not only from the enthusiasm of their reactions, but from the way B.A. so sweetly picks on them throughout the show... regardless, by the end of every song practically every person is singing along. With choruses like "I always knew that Jesus was from Hamilton" (appropriately appropriate for Easter weekend...) and "I hate squirrels, I hate you squirrels, everybody, go kick a squirrel, man I hate squirrels" its practically impossible to not join in.

B.A. does gymnastics (courtesy of J. Pruner)

Like Remi Royale, B.A. also spent a good chunk of his set roaming (or should I say running) around the audience, sitting in chairs, standing on tables and jumping off benches. At one point he even had someone hold his mic while he did an elaborate air-traffic-controller style cheer-leading routine while beltin' it out... Just a small pinch of the commitment and zeal he pours into every second of every show.

The traditional bathroom encore (courtesy of L. Carson)

Last, but certainly not least, we were all treated to the traditional encore-in-the-bathroom this time with three songs, capped off with the ever-entertaining 'Have Fun on Warped Tour.' B.A. perched on the toilet while the rest of us crammed in the [oddly smelly] girls' bathroom. It was a great view from the counter, and looking out over the cramped but enthusiastically singing crowd I couldn't help but think to myself "Who else could get twenty people to cram into a smelly bathroom and listen to a sweaty guy standing on a toilet, playing a guitar?"

Oh B.A. ...

Robots!Everywhere!! Everywhere.

I've always been interested in the impact a venue/an audience/a setting has on a performance. The Kee To Bala is one of my all time favourite venues, though the Black Sheep in Wakefield is quickly catching up, and Ottawa's Raw Sugar makes every show feel like its in someone's living room... I could literally go on for pages and pages about the highs and lows of various concert-houses across the country, but today I have for you an interesting story, a case study if you will of one band, two venues. Robots!EVERYWHERE!!, everywhere.

On Family Day, instead of visiting with my actual family, I headed over to Ottawa's Gem of a pub, The Manx, to see Phil perform an acoustic set with Larissa on Glockenspiel, and my good friend Tall Josh Pruner on guitar. Phil's usual gig involves a lot of drum machine, wonderfully messy guitar, and homage to B.A. Johnson- there was of course the presence of B.A.'s ghost in the form of a brilliant cover of 'My Heart is a Blinking Nintendo' but overall in the cozy basement pub, was more of a low key affair. It was great to hear Phil's always-entertaining lyrics, and watch the three friends just have fun Playing Songs.  I have always been a fan of loud punk music, but as I've gotten older I've also developed a taste for checking out the acoustic versions of the songs, taking a moment to really hear the lyrics in their entirely before hearing their quicker and messier cousins. I'm a lyrics gal, and understanding the words the singer is singing always makes me like the song more. With such gems as "I like talking to strippers like I'm a hockey player" Robots!EVERYWHERE!! is certainly no exception.

Last night, however, I caught Robots!EVERYWHERE!! in his natural habitat, as it were: Maverick's. You may remember me mentioning Maverick's as the worst venue in Ottawa (an exaggeration, I'm sure, but not a very far stretch) but I will admit that some bands just belong there. Not belong in that they are horrible, and so belong in a horrible venue- rather the opposite! They seem to fit there in a way that makes the venue itself better, that they make Maverick's somehow make sense. Cuff the Duke does that in a way that baffles and amazes me every time, and Robots!EVERYWHERE!! did a fantastic job of the same type.

I enjoyed the acoustic show, but this is clearly where you should experience Robots!EVERYWHERE!! In his full B.A. Johnson-style glory Phil sped through song after hilarious song (accompanied by enthusiastic audience sing-a-longs), performed numerous costume changes (continuously egged on by the self-same audience to "take it off!!!"), and played several super-speed encores.

Sometimes when you see a band do an acoustic set its like a while different group, it sounds nothing like them and you come away either disappointed, or wishing they always played acoustic. Other times you just wonder who the hell this is, and how they are even remotely related to their normal incarnation. With Robots!EVERYWHERE!! it was neither of these- Phil fit the music to the venue and to the audience without sacrificing anything of the Robots!EVERYWHERE!! experience.


Excellent job Sir, keep up the fine work.


-----


If you are a fan of entertainingly hilarious pop-indie-punk you should definitely check out Robots!EVERYWHERE!! for free!

Oh Nintendo, You Really Do Love Deep Frying Squirrels

I'm not sure that I can ever properly explain why I would be so excited to see songs about Nintendo, pirates, Jesus' love for the Hamilton Tigercats, hot-dog-cart neighbors, hating squirrels, and loving deep fryers- but I am gonna give it a shot anyways...

A few years ago... Many years ago... Six years ago when I had first moved to Halifax, this 'singer' named B.A. Johnson got stranded out east and had to play several shows a week in order to make enough money to get home. I happened to see him open for Cuff the Duke and was really really REALLY taken by surprise. In his own words B.A. is a 'thirty year old boy,' who follows the golden rule of 'write what you know.' Only all B.A. knows is working at a fast food restaurant, playing video games, and living in his mom's basement. Surprisingly it makes for some of the funniest and most entertaining songs you'll ever hear, and perhaps consequently un-suprprisingly, I used to go see him play on almost a weekly basis. Eventually he made enough money to go back to Hamilton/Peterborough and I never saw him again. Until...

Fast forward to this past summer: I get a tantalising update of B.A. when, while at the hillside festival, I see a gentleman wearing a brand new B.A. Johnson T-shirt! He saw him perform in Peterborough only last week! B.A. has a new CD! We both love the 'I hate squirrels' song! I am sad he is not coming to Ottawa...

Fast forward about three weeks: My friend Josh is telling me about his weekend and mentioned that he saw "This guy B.A. Johnson play..." and I kind of flip out about it. I love B.A.! You love B.A.? You know who B.A. IS? I am excited josh knows who B.A. is! Josh is excited I know who B.A. is! We agree to go see him together next time he's in town...

Fast forward again to last night. B.A. at Irene's. We showed up part way through the opener and the bar was full (Full!?!?! but no! we have to see B.A.!!!). Waited for about half an hour and finally got in (with some gentlemanly 'No Ladies, you go ahead first.' -thanks Phil and Josh!) with a few songs to spare. then B.A. took the stage. Maybe stormed the stage would be more appropriate? Engulfed the stage?

B.A. Johnson is someone you really have to see live in order to fully appreciate him. He is one of the most skid people you will ever meet. He's got a damn respectable beer gut and some killer chops (yes, the facial hair kind), and I don't think I have ever seen him without a trucker hat (usually accompanied by a plaid shirt if wearing one at all). And he is funny. I mean really funny. He doesn't take himself seriously at all, plays the guitar and keyboard just well enough, and remembers all people who come to see him every time he's in town. He gave me a free CD when I told him that my ex took my copy when we broke up. I mean c'mon now, how can you not love this guy?

The night did not disappoint- it was funny, ridiculous, entertaining, and just a little bit gross. We drank beers, sang our hearts out, squeezed in to the women's bathroom for the smallest stage encore I have ever seen (B.A. standing on a sink is a sight not to be missed, in fact it need not be missed, as that up there is a video of the very event to which i just alluded...!). It was great.

Also it ended with me and two of my friends trying to prove we could kick the ceiling. Appropriate, no?