Concert Review: CAKE, 12/31/2009, Seattle, WA
CAKE. New Year’s Eve. The Moore Theatre. Seattle. Full moon. Blue moon. Lunar eclipse. What more could you want!?
CAKE put on an awesome show, playing brand new material and of course revisiting classics like Sheep Go To Heaven, Italian Leather Sofa, and Jolene. CAKE doesn’t use setlists for their concerts – they “wing it” the show, making up the set as they go along. I was personally hoping to hear my favorite CAKE song, Stickshifts & Safetybelts, but that didn’t happen… Next time.
As it got closer to midnight and 2010, screens on either side of the stage showed the countdown. CAKE finished their set and left the stage shortly before 12:00am and returned as the countdown hit 00:00:00 and began playing Auld Lang Syne to usher in the New Year.
All in all, it was the perfect end to 2009 and the perfect start to 2010. I had been wanting to see CAKE play live for a long time and this was a great introduction to their live shows. I look forward to catching them again sometime. If they’re in your area, check them out!
Obligatory bad cell phone photos:
 Lobby of the Moore Theatre pre-show. |
 CAKE! |
hey it was a great show, thanks for the review.
does anyone know where there is a CAKE fan forum, to discuss the band etc.?
Also, here’s the setlist from this show (understood as above they didn’t use a true setlist):
Comfort Eagle
Arco Arena
Wheels
Mexico
Long Time (new song)
Guitar
Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
Frank Sinatra
Italian Leather Sofa
Love You Madly
Away (new song)
Sheep Go to Heaven
Federal Funding (new song)
So Sick of You (new song)
Never There
encore
War Pigs
Pentagram
Jolene
I felt so disrespected during that show. Of course, they’re a sing-along band and that’s ok – I didn’t exactly expect them to mix it up. But they left the stage about 7 minutes before midnight and only part of the band with the opening act came back to play auld lang . . .
Why would any artist who gave a damn about their audience on New Year’s Eve – stop and bail right before the big moment? My guess is that they went outside to watch the SpaceNeedle fireworks that the rest of us missed . . . because we were just standing around waiting for the band to show up as the clock struck midnight.
We travel to NYE shows every year (different bands) and we always get a band so psyched out to ring in the new year that they can hardly be dragged off stage. I spent $80 and traveled a long, long way to christen my new year with good vibes and great tunes. Instead, we got to welcome 2010 in by standing around for the first 10 minutes watching some guy videotape the crowd from the stage.
I have now read other reviews and see that this is common for Cake NYE shows. It appears that they have not ever performed a great celebration show. Why do they even bother doing them – besides making money? They don’t seem to want to be there – they certainly don’t understand the responsibilities of showmanship.
I left the show – kicked out onto the street shortly after midnight (but not soon enough to catch the stroke of midnight at a better celebration) – deflated and disappointed. A few months have passed. I still like the band’s lyrics and tunes. I will NEVER see them again – why waste money and set myself up for disappointment. Good luck Cake – you should hire a better publicist/program director.
This show was the worst Cake show I’ve ever attended. I flew from Boston to see it and I was nothing short of being beaten down by Seattle’s finest white trash concert go’ers. I had one woman accuse me of ‘grinding’ her in front of her husband and shoved out of my spot in front of the stage by some ignorant drunk; even John commented on it by singing “I want to shove you”. F Seattle and your ignorance.Buffalo NY is the place to travel to for cool folks and enjoy Cake.