Unlimited Sunshine

My first time seeing CAKE live, after listening to them for 15 years. And they are the real deal. Very tight show, excellent musicianship, and FUN! Highly recommended show, and one of the best I've seen this year. California Honeydrops...well...not my thing, let's just say. The real surprise of the night was Tinariwen. When they took the stage in their full-on Islam uniform, complete with gowns, turbans and facial covering, we wondered if it was a halloween costume. But I'll tell you - they rocked. I don't know what their politics are all about, but their ecclectic mix of funk, rock, trance and middle-eastern traditional sounds spoke to the audience in a way only music can, and clearly transcended the boundaries of religion and ethnicity. What a treat.

CAKE really knows how to put on a show! I saw them last month at UC Davis and was afraid they were going to sing the exact same set but HOLY MOSES! They changed it up and it was ROCKIN'!!!! They sound so awesome! They sound just like the first time I saw them back in 1990 at UC Davis. Heck! They sound even better. Great voices. Great instruments. Great vibes. I love them!

Initially my gut told me to abstain from a venue featuring the legendary Tinariwen sandwiched between a couple of bands but in the end I decided to go. Their performance at Bimbos in July was nothing short of terrific and I was eager to see them again hot off their release of the brilliant Tassilli. So I dragged my husband and two friends. I'm not much into the other two bands and felt cheated after Tinariwen left the stage after 7 or 8 songs and weren't granted an encore for those of us who would have loved one. Would it have been too hard to put together an African music show instead of having them open for Cake? The Fox is a beautifully revitalized venue but the security measures are ridiculous, including sending one of my friends to an office and charging $2 for having her camera (she took NOT ONE PHOTO and only had it out to see if she damaged it after dropping it). It should be no surprise that I'm not too eager to see another show at the Fox in the future.

I love Cake and would have enjoyed hearing so much from the new album, but sadly the sound was so bad I couldn't appreciate the concert; new songs. or old. Cake has so much lovely subtlety, but it was all lost in a muddy over amplified sound at the FOX. Very sad.

The Fox Theater in Oakland is restored to absolutely gorgeous perfection, and the balcony's loge seating is extremely comfortable, with chairs arranged in pairs and little cocktail tables separating the pairs. Beats the heck out of the Warfield! However, the sound was very muddy and not well mixed. The bass was boomy, and the vocals were largely drowned out - a big problem for a band whose appeal rests largely on the sardonic funny lyrics. Not sure if the muddy sound was the fault of the venue's acoustics or the band's sound engineers. Also, the band seemed to race through the numbers, with each song's tempo about 20% faster than the album recordings. Cake sounded MUCH better back in February at the Fillmore. Finally, the cedar tree contest (evidently an every-night routine these days) isn't funny or fun - they should drop it.

I love Cake and have seen them at least 8 times over the years. But this show was disappointing because they didn't play long enough-barely an hour - and their attitude seemed like they didn't give a crap. The concert started at 7pm after all - and was over by 10:15 with 3 bands. And a good 10 minutes of that time Cake played was spent by John McCrea talking about a tree. I realize that irony and aloofness are part of their schtick, but they seemed like they could care less about being there and were just putting in their time. Tinariwen was fantastic and wore their full dessert clothes - can't say enough good about them. Didn't see the first band - because it started so early. We came with festive moods celebrating a birthday in full halloween costume - but unfortunately I have to say that the Cake part of the concert was probably the low point of the evening. I never thought I'd ever say that.

It was a fantastic and fitting venue for a group of musicians who are not afraid to go independent with their record label. I would see them at every opportunity no matter what the set list. They played songs from Sad Songs and Waltzes to Going the Distance. It was deeply inspiring:)).

Getting there at 9p, we missed the first 2 bands and the first Cake song. It would have been a better show if they used the 20 minute lecture on the care and raising of a cedar sapling to play actual songs. Their fans are annoying lemmings, too. $54 was a rip.

Cake's music is fun. They play it well live. But they also interact with the audience, divide us into groups and have us sing along, and pull people up on stage. They're the only band I know that puts on a show like this, and the crowd always seems to be decent as well. I have seen them several times now, and I always have a smile on my face through the whole show.

I've seen them a number of times over the years, but this is by far the most bitter and resentful I've seen them act towards their audience. At one point during the show, they tried to give away a tree. Great idea, right? Not. It ended up being a huge diversion from the show, and the band got angry that they were having such a hard time giving away the tree to a noisy and rowdy audience. What do you expect? People came to see a show and have a good time, not to have quiet time. Lame.

Cake sounded great and put on a decent show. However, they only played for 90 minutes and did NOT make very good use of their time. They had a five minute intro recording, spent ten minutes giving away a tree, and about half the set was songs off their new album. It was an okay show, but I didn't feel like I got their best performance.

cake put on a great show...as always. california honeydrops was an interesting local addition i'm happy to have seen in person. i will start following their albums now. tinariwen was a freakin' waste of time...two area bands and then these guys from the sahara. could've been neat, but totally missed the mark.