Picture this: Alcohol fueled, nearly naked men; entertaining an equally alcohol fueled audience with 80’s style synth- pop and provocative pelvic focused dancing. Not a single member of the performer’s eclectic group of onlookers seemed to be void of a smile on their face, a drink in their hand, or a pep in their step (Too cheesy? Ok, how about they were all dancing?). This is how I described the scene to my friends after attending Chicago’s “Pride Parade” last June. Coincidentally, this is pretty much exactly how I would describe the February 4th performance of Gil Mantera’s Party Dream at The Empty Bottle.
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Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
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 Entertainment
 Art
The Empty Bottle
Chicago, IL
February 4, 2009
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Fittingly described on the venue’s website as “sincerely ironic, or ironically sincere”, GMPD have been exciting audiences with their flamboyant, no holds barred, live shows and retro, new wave, dance music since their conception nearly 10 years ago. This night was to be no different.
Ok, before I continue, I feel that it would be best to give you a basic crash course in the phenomenon that is a Gil Mantera’s Party Dream show. Here are the cliff notes - The group consists of Gil Mantera (synths, bass, vocoder), Ultimate Donny (Vocals, Guitar) and the most recent addition AE Paterra (drums). They usually wear any one of a variety of ridiculous outfits consisting of, but not limited to, tribal Indian garments, fur coats, white leather boots with tassels, wrestling singlets, medieval regalia, and/or hooded cloaks. However, there is one thing that is consistent with every wardrobe combination they put together- spandex. Their shows are usually filled with improve comedy rants by Donny. Gil shows off his mastery of every dance move displayed in the 1980 film, Fame, with a borage of leg-kicks, back-arches, hip-thrusts, and swan-arms. Finally we come to what just may be the most popular staple to every GMPD show; the inevitability that by shows end, both Gil and Donny will be wearing little more than a banana hammock and perhaps a guitar.
Now onto the show, adorned in full-body, spandex, Spiderman costumes the band hit the stage in support of their new album Dreamscape, to a packed house. Their sense of humor always evident, Mantera and Donny were using matching clear guitars while Paterra opted to use a classic 80’s roto-tom configuration for his drum set.
Pretty much every song that they played was mid-tempo, but this did not create any lack of dynamic. Almost like a good DJ would do at a club, GMPD has mastered being able to build you up and bring you down without ever losing the ability to keep you dancing.
Some of the early highlights of the set were “Dreamscape” and “Dreamlovers”. These songs similarities go well beyond their names. Channeling the likes of Depeche Mode, they are laden with synth-effects, driving drum beats, and choruses that are so instantly memorable that by the time you get through the second verse you can sing along like you wrote them yourself.
It wasn’t until they finished playing the poppy “Waking Vision” that I realized that Gil had decided to shed the upper half of his costume, exposing two huge diving eagle tattoos that preside on each side of his chest. The sight of this just made me laugh, but also caused a frenzy amongst many of the women in the audience; the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Tom Cruise lip-synched “Old Time Rock ‘N Roll” in Risky Business. Anyway, that’s enough references to 80’s movies for one review.
The fan favorite “Buffalo Tears” was definitely a highlight during the second half of the show. It is an anthem, of sorts, that inspired most of the crowd to sing along with their fists high in the air.
Finally she show came to a conclusion with the single from the bands 2006 release Bloodsongs, “Elmo’s Wish”. Combining the robotic sounds of Mantera’s vocoder and yet another hooky chorus, it’s easy to see why they chose to end the show with this tune. It was fun. It was goofy. It was probably the exact song that the Empty Bottle was referencing when they described the types of irony that can be associated with GMPD.
At nights end, I would say that everyone left the venue feeling that the $12 cover was money well spent. There was never a moment where I felt the crowd was having anything less than a great time.
Having had the opportunity to hang out with the band before and after the show only made me like what they do that much more. They are really down to earth guys, who know exactly what they are doing, and how lucky they are go have the opportunity to do it. We talked about things like the fact that the video Gil made for “Dreamlovers” was inspired from watching digital porn, to the demise of the steel industry leading to the fall of their beloved home town of Youngstown, Ohio.
The point is, yes, they are every bit of what you see on stage in real life, but they are much more than that too. This is why I believe that their music continues to grow in popularity and does not just get dismissed as a quirky and fun fad. These are some smart dudes, with their heads on straight and a hell of a live show. This just may sustain the Party Dream for quite some time to come.
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Haha!
Written by Guest on 2009-02-26 13:34:23
This was an awesome show! Great review. |
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