THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
FOR ONCE we got a President of the United States, actually three of 'em, who made good on a promise.
After brief stints by the Young Fresh Fellows and Super Deluxe, the Presidents of the United States of America opened its anticipated set with ``Kick Out the Jams,'' gleaned from its highly popular self-titled album.
For a little over an hour on a sultry Sunday evening, the group did exactly what the song's title suggested. Stripped down to just shorts, lead singer/bassist Chris Ballew and guitarist Dave Dederer jumped and postured, pulling out every Peter Townshend guitar-attack pose in the book. Versatile drummer Jason Finn kept up the percolation, adding deft touches when needed and heavy, thundering drums when required.
Although the group hails from fertile Seattle, home of grunge and angst, the Prez tap into a different vein of music than their city cousins.
The trio presented a happy, downright goofy, persona onstage, sort of a cross between Cheap Trick and the Monkees. Between songs, Ballew offered sarcastic, silly comments to the crowd while constantly switching hats with his bandmates.
And the sweaty crowd loved it. The group's debut album has done well on the charts, spawning two Top 10 hits in ``Lump'' and ``Peaches.''
The trio presented all of its popular songs, along with the new ``Mach 5,'' ``Tiki God,'' ``Lunatic to Love'' and ``Bug City.'' Dealing with such subjects as insects, fruit, kitty-cats, dune buggys and chickens, the band's style is power pop with equal doses of Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Buzzcocks. They even quoted the Beatles with a quick rendition of ``Baby, You're a Rich Man.''
If the band's weird pop ditties weren't enough, Ballew played a two-string basitar while his partner banged out power chords and rock riffs on what is known as a three-stringed guitbass. Nevertheless, the sound was jumpy, tight and had the packed Boathouse hopping like kangaroos.
Ending its encore with the self-deprecating ``We Are Not Going to Make It,'' Ballew and Dederer pointed to the sky and sang ``. . . we're gonna make it after all,'' from the ``Mary Tyler Moore Show.''
Although many found it brief, The Presidents nonetheless presented a fine state of the rock union. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by KAREN MASON
The Presidents rocked the Boathouse last Sunday.
by CNB