The Polyphonic Spree

Tonight the Polyphonic Spree played at Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH. Attendance was light, maybe 400 people. There was plenty of room on the main floor.

However, those that attended received a gift, from the standpoint of great showmanship:

+To start the show, the Spree played their most catchy tune from their newest disc, (the one they are touring on) titled "Running Away". To kick things off, they blew confetti throughout the small crowd. Confetti & tickertape fired from canons throughout the set. It's a gimmick, but confetti at a rock show just makes the crowd happy.

+The band included: a harp, a kettle drum, a chorus, a violin, a baritone, a trombone, a trumpet, a coronet, a flute, a clarinet, a piccolo, two drum kits, keyboards, an upright bass, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and a lead singer who must have read up on David Koresh and the Texas methodology for "getting em to join".

+After the first set, the band changed costumes, and surprisingly circulated throughout the crowd. Cliftonite "high fived" the majority of the band members.

+During the second set, Polyphonic Spree covered Nivana's "Lithium". This defied words.

+The entire spirit of the show was upbeat. The message was, "leave here happy". Contrast that feeling with the recent Interpol show (also attended) in which the band members kept the crowd waiting for around 90 minutes before starting and then "went through the motions".

Cliftonite did not want the Spree show to end, and leaving the stage with your fans wanting more is probably in the "Concerts 101" handbook.

The leader of this cult made a strong point at the end. That if you enjoyed the show, you should buy. Cliftonite believes in this new model: namely, that the studio work is made available in unencrypted MP3 format, that the band tours on the studio work, and that the RIAA mucky mucks in Manhatten have no entitlement to profits.

Therefore, the tightwad that is your blogger, coughed up all kinds of dough at the end of the show.

But the Spree wasn't done, they appeared on the main floor to sign totems for whomever asked.

Long live the Polyphonic Spree.

GRADE: A