Sacramento’s finest comes south to L.A.
By GABRIELLE HARRADINE Special to the Daily Press
DOWNTOWN L.A. Cake, the band that sowed its roots and riffs on Sacramento soil, is coming to SoCal for the third installment of their eclectic Unlimited Sunshine Tour.
Armed with their distinctive plaintive delivery and blurts of blossoming trumpet, Cake will fill the Orpheum Theatre with all kinds of funky grooves tonight. This time around they’re playing with a variety of bands old and new, including the Detroit Cobras, Oakley Hall, Agent Ribbons and King City.
Vince DiFiore, Cake’s longtime trumpet and keyboard player, described the goal of the Unlimited Sunshine Tour as a festival that “gives people what they really want to hear.” DiFiore explained that often times bands performing at festivals put too much emphasis on trying to sound big.
“It ends up being inaudible,” said DiFiore. “We put together a show of listen-able music.”
And hence the Unlimited Sunshine Tour was born.
Besides a night of assuredly listenable music, it should also be a night of eclectic listening, enough so you may even forget you’re in rigidly cool L.A. With funky, twangy and soulful sounds the night’s acts will likely represent every musical genre. DiFiore described King City’s music as Latin surf rock, and Agent Ribbons as a great female duo that presents themselves as art. In addition, the Detroit Cobras’ energetic covers will offer up some rock and dance with retro flair.
Cake is fresh off their newest release “B- Sides and Rarties," which dropped in October. The album was put together slowly, with long hours spent digging through shoe boxes full of tapes to find lost recordings that were later mixed and re-mastered. The final product keeps the band’s controversial edge with the lead-in song “War Pigs” — a Black Sabbath remake — which feels poignant and fitting in light of the current situation in Iraq. The album also maintains Cake’s quirky quality by featuring a “scratch and sniff” CD package with five different variations: Fresh cut roses, banana, leather, fresh cut grass and grape.
No matter what scent cover you get, “B- Sides and Rarities” also includes, “Mahna Mahna,” a Muppets cover, featuring a drove of alluring and irresistible sounds including horns, whistles and cowbells. (What is it with Sacramentens and their cowbells?) It’s the kind of fun and playful song that has defined Cake as a band since they formed in 1991.
Aside from the humor that marks most of the group’s work, there is a serious side to these NoCal boys. “Cake News” is a part of the band’s Web site that offers insight and links to current issues including the environment and politics. John McCrea, Cake’s singer and songwriter, contributes most of the postings to the “news.” section. McCrea’s dry and concise wit is as apparent in these postings as it is in his lyrics. Both can provoke you to laugh and think, sometimes in the same sentence.
DiFiore said the band uses the Web site to stay connected to their fans and make things more available to them. The site even has a weekly poll, which allows users to voice their opinions on hot topics. It also includes a discussion blog, which McCrea recently contributed to. McCrea responded to one angry contributor’s opinion — user name Smog — that Cake should stop touring altogether.
Tonight’s show starts at 7 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are $35.50. The tour moves on to The Grove for one night in Anaheim on Sunday, Dec. 2.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.