Hey kiddos, how the hell is everyone doing? We here at ORANGE central have been working hard at Reel Time Audio in Denton laying down the most delightful sounding album this city has seen released since Flickerstick dropped Welcoming Home the Astronauts in 2000! I'm serious, this record is going to be sheer gold. Wait and see, you're going to love it. We've also played a few gigs here and there lately. More home town gigs than normal for us so lets recap. Double-wide was a pretty damn excellent show, especially when the lights went out and the crowd sang the chorus of Cityscape to us three times before it all kicked back on. That show was the most fun I've had in years. Lots of close friends, cheap drinks and one hell of a loud time. Then of course there was the acoustic one we did at Trees. What an intimate little scene we had that night. For an acoustic show I must say there we're well over a hundred people there. Buddy Neighbors, our new friend with the voodoo blues chops filled in on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Mr. Moneymaker to make the two tunes just scream. Cody sang lead on two Peace of Mind and All Going Down. Then we talked Chicago Dan into playing a rain stick and my sister Melissa to hop on the clarinet for Into Me. What a fantastic night. After that show we headlined the big room at The Door in
Thanks and have a great holiday season,
See you at The Granada December 15!
Here is a great review from the Trees gig from our buddy Jordan at The Music Enthusiast
After they finished, I ducked out and headed to another venue one street over. Nothing against the other bands that were playing, but I wanted to see this other band more and if you want to know more about that show, I’ll have a review of it up soon.
I got back right when David Cote was finishing his set, which meant The Orange was up next, and they were the band I was most intrigued to see. If you don’t know The Orange, they aren’t really an acoustic band. They’re high-energy Rock with even a Psychedelic flare to it, so they were definitely going to be out of their element this night.
The Orange began with only three of their members on stage, singer and guitarist, Scott Tucker, guitarist, Kirk Livesay, and drummer, Cody Waits. However, Cody wasn’t doing anything with percussion, instead, he too had an acoustic guitar. They were also joined by the skilled harmonica player and their go-to guy of sorts, Chicago Dan. It sure looked like it was going to be different, and it was, as Scott announced their first song was called, “We’re All Going Down”, and Cody sang it. It was a bit weird to see Scott relegated to being a backing vocalist, but on the flipside, Cody has a really great voice. I was kind of surprised, since it’s easy to think of him as just being a drummer, since that is his typical instrument, but this made it clear his talent goes well beyond that. Their next tune I believe was titled, “Peace of Mind”. Cody again acted as the main singer on it, though it was more co-sung between him and Scott, with the two voices mixing perfectly. I think it was after that song Cody took over his normal role of adding some beats, while they welcomed a guest musician to the stage. His name was Buddy Neighbors, and according to Scott, he’s a legendary Blues guitarist. Scott also said something along the lines of he was the best musician he knew, then added, “…Right after Chicago Dan.” “This is an old Orange song…” he went on to say, telling everyone it was “Kiss, Kiss. Bang, Bang”. For the record, that is one of my all-time favorite Orange songs, like, top three, and it had been years since I last heard it. I never forget about, though, and hoped it would sometime find its way back into the set, as some of the songs off their EP had done after the band got back together. Anyway, the song was every bit as good as I remembered, even done acoustically, and like so many of the bands other songs, it is insanely catchy. At this point, Jason Jessup made his way down the stairs from the green room and to the stage, to add the sounds of his bass to the bands new single, “Mr. Moneymaker”. It was (obviously) toned down, and did lack the high-strung performance that usually accompanies it, but that didn’t mean it was any less good. Upon finishing it, Buddy left the band, while Kirk switched out his guitar for a cello, and Chicago Dan also helped turn the show on its head, by using a rain stick instead of his harmonica. Scott’s sister, Melissa Tucker, also joined them, and she brought a clarinet into the mix. Not that they didn’t have it before, but all of that made sure they had my undivided attention. I missed the name of this last song of their 27-minute long set, but it was truly gorgeous. It didn’t sound like your standard Orange song, but that’s okay, because every band needs to do the occasional song that breaks the mold they cast themselves into, and this one accomplished just that. It was just outstanding, and a most excellent way to cap things off.
I mentioned they were going to be out of their element this night, and while they were, they didn’t at all seem it. Instead, they appeared completely comfortable performing the songs in this setting, like it was something they had done dozens (or even hundreds) of times before. And to be totally honest, I did have some reservations about how this was going to go, but quickly realized I had no reason to have those thoughts. Actually, I’d like to see these acoustic shows become more of a semi regular thing, because in some ways, this was one of the best shows I’ve seen them do.
As of right now, their next show on the books is going to be a FREE one at Sundown at Granada in Dallas on Saturday, December 15th. They are also currently in the studio working on their debut full-length album, so why not go pick up a copy of their first EP, “A Sonic Collection of Stories from La La Land”. That way not only will you have something to whet your appetite for their full-length, you can also help get a little money in their pockets to help with the cost of making a record.
Scott
(p.s. No Special Edword songs...unless you beg)
