This past Friday I went to a great show at Ram’s Head Live here in Baltimore. Peeping Tom, one of Mike Patton’s bands (it seems like he’s in 300 bands sometimes) was the headliner. Miho Hatori (formerly of Cibo Matto and one of the voices of Noodles from the Gorillaz) was one of the openers.
Ram’s Head is a nice place that books great bands. It’s hard to have a bad seat in the house. I’m only 5’5″, so at a lot of shows that are crowded, it’s harder for me to see. But the way Ram’s Head is set up, it’s a lot easier on the main floor because of how it’s set up. Also, there’s a second floor overlooking the whole thing, which is great. I don’t like how they have bathroom attendants there. I have no problem tipping a waiter or food deliverer, but I’m not paying someone to hand me a paper towel. What also sucks is that it’s near the Power Plant, so you pretty much have to spend the $13 to park in the garage. There is hardly any parking and even if you find a spot far away, it’s on 24/7 meters that you have to fill up every hour or two. So you’d be missing the show to re-fill the meter. That’s if you can even get that spot in the first place. At least the garage is right next to Ram’s Head with the elevator taking you there. That’s convenient, especially if you’re going there on a cold night.
Miho Hatori’s songs sounded similar to Cibo Matto but less funky. It was a mellower version. I do like Cibo Matto better, but I still enjoyed her set and was excited to catch her. It was the first of only four dates that she’s playing with Peeping Tom on this tour and so I feel lucky. Back when Cibo Matto was around, the only one or two times they came to Baltimore after I moved here was either on a school night or an 18+ place and I was still in high school at the time, so I couldn’t go. Back then, less clubs were all ages. Anyway, the crowd was surprisingly enthusiastic, maybe even too enthusiastic. It was funny. During her first song, she and her band had to start over because the sound in the monitors was all messed up. I can relate. That sucks when that happens. When she said she had to start the song over, the audience cheered! But that’s better than someone audiences, who boo because they don’t realize if you can’t hear yourself or the other instruments, it’s pretty difficult to perform well. Later in the set, she walked over toward her guitar to play some songs with guitar in it, and everyone cheered loudly just for that. I don’t know if it was mocking or sincere because later people complained about her. After she played and before Peeping Tom, I walked around to socialize with people and said did pretty much what people did when I saw Mr. Bungle (one of Mike Patton’s bands) back in 2000. Mr. Bungle was an opener and the majority of the crowd hated them. Not just disliked, but hated them. Then, after they were done and they heard “that’s the singer from Faith No More”, they suddenly changed their minds and said how great thet set was. People did that with Miho Hatori. “She does the ‘get cool shoe shine song’ in the Gorillaz? Oh my g-d, I like her now”. Losers.
Then came Peeping Tom. My friends and I were wondering how Patton would pull this off live. The album has a lot of guest stars on it (some of whom, such as Nora Jones and Kool Keith, he has yet to meet face-to-face). The only one of those guest stars performing live with him was Dan the Automator. How was he going to perform without Rahzel? Well, he and his band did a great job! There was a total of eight members on the stage. Three of them were in a band the Dub Trio. There was an awesome female beatboxer, one of the best I’ve heard. The keyboardist had at least three keyboards if I remember correctly. Great energy and each of the member’s performances were spot on. The songs sound like a hip-hoppish and somewhat poppish version of Mr. Bungle. Patton says that this is record is his pop album. Not necessarily pop that’s on the radio, but his version of it. Mike Patton (along with Kathleen Hanna) is one of the few people that can really pull of being in bands of different genres. The music still “sounds like Matt Patton” but doesn’t sound the same as each other. It’s original and fresh and it’s not like “Oh g-d, not another Patton project”. I’m not one of these obsessive Matt Patton fans though like some of the weirdos who were at the show. But I like and respect the guy. Wish there were more signed artists like him in rock right now. Rock is in such a weird state right now, but that’s a whole other topic.
Patton also wore a stocking cap on his head. He was able to pull that off with his personality. 😉