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Trashcan Sinatras at Amsterdam Bar Poster Trashcan Sinatras Setlist
Tour Dates
06/19/2018 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
06/20/2018 Seattle, WA Fremont Abbey Arts Center 06/21/2018 Portland, OR Alberta Rose Theatre 06/22/2018 Sacramento, CA Harlow's Night Club 06/24/2018 Mill Valley, CA Sweetwater Music Hall 06/27/2018 Los Angeles, CA The Regent Theater 06/28/2018 Pioneertown, CA Pappy And Harriet's Read More
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“It’s time to mount the time machine”-
After many years away, Irvine, Scotland indie-pop/rock band The Trashcan Sinatras returned to the Amsterdam Bar and Hall in downtown St. Paul, for what’s almost become an annual visit; this time playing not one, but two albums in their entirety, along with a handful of other songs.
The evening’s format would be two sets in an almost all-acoustic seated setting, with the band’s core trio of John Douglas, Paul Livingston and Frank Reader, also relating a few stories along the way.
The band formed in 1987 in a small western Scottish coastal town, releasing their first album, Cake, in the summer of 1990 with second album, I’ve Seen Everything (produced by Gentle Giant’s Ray Shulman) following in 1993. Latest album, 2016’s Wild Pendulum was funded via a pre-order campaign with PledgeMusic and the band’s very loyal fan base remains strong, with those who paid additional for the VIP experience, filling the first two reserved rows of seats at the Amsterdam.
Before playing the seminal albums, the trio warmed up the crowd with four songs to begin the first set, beginning with 2004’s ‘Got Carried Away’ and ‘All the Dark Horses’. Douglas told a story of a small nearby island where teens would go to hang out as a sort of rite of passage that would inspire ‘Freetime’ and mentioned before 1996’s ‘How Can I Apply…?’ that they were hoping the older albums would be reissued soon (to loud applause) once they “could manage to get somebody to answer the phone at Universal”.
Vocalist Reader made the time machine quip, tuning his guitar as the band prepared to play their debut-full-length in running order, with guitarist Livingston mostly head-down, concentrating on playing the only electric guitar on stage, plugged into a small speaker sitting on the chair across from him.
The unplugged format let the lyrics and wordplay of the songs stand out more, with melodies and occasional vocal harmonies seemingly effortless and often cloud-like in their weightlessness. After Cake’s opener, ‘Obscurity Knocks’, Reader mentioned the scientific fact that everyone’s cells completely re-generate every seven years…making these songs (from 1990) a full four generations ago, to crowd laughter along to the funny analogy.
‘Maybe I Should Drive’ was one of the earliest songs the band worked on and ‘Circling the Circumstance’ (which begins Side Two of the record) is a song the band only started playing live again last year.
“Glad so many of you turned up in period costume” Douglas cheekily mentioned, looking out at the crowd, composed of mostly those who would have been in late high school or in college when the original albums were released, though there were a few older and younger in the audience as well.
After a set break, the trio re-convened to play I’ve Seen Everything, starting with the jangly ‘Easy Read’ followed by the album’s biggest single, ‘Hayfever’ (which even appeared on MTV’s Beavis and Butthead), inspired by “one of the more unsavory” characters they met along the way.
‘Bloodrush’ was borne from the band having their own studio, and being “able to make a right royal racket” without being disturbed and before ‘The Perfect Reminder’, Douglas explained that “at this point on the record, Paul decides to be a front man again” as the guitarist lifted his head to take over lead vocals on the brief track.
‘Orange Fell’ is set during a summer’s late sunset and before ‘Send for Henny’, Douglas acknowledged the notable musical contributions of their former bassist Davy Hughes, to the album and band’s still-evolving sound.
Douglas took the lead for ‘Iceberg’ and the soaring ‘I’ve Seen Everything’ which lyrically chronicled the band’s extensive touring experiences and the friendships left behind, as a result. Before the album’s closing track, ‘Earlies’, Reader spoke about how these albums changed their lives completely and for the better, and what a joy it was for the band to play these songs again live, seeing these songs still having meaning to the fans that have dutifully followed their entire career.
Instead of exiting and returning for the encore, the trio remained on stage to play ‘All Night’ from the most recent album before returning to 2004 for the evening’s ending ‘Weightlifting’ with Reader also remembering their various previous gigs in the metro (starting with the 7th St Entry) and mentioning this was the warmest weather they’d ever experienced, to date here.
Though the local weather may have been the warmest, the crowd reception was even warmer as the band left to a standing ovation and extended applause.
The Trashcan Sinatras, now entering their fourth decade, still remain a vibrant musical force, able to create worthwhile new music as well as successfully re-imagine their earlier work in more basic form. With this night’s performance, the time machine turned out to be a very enjoyable ride, and we hope the band continues to make a regular stop here.
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
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