Del Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 OK, let me start off by saying that my expectations were pretty low for this one... I saw them six times last year, and all of those shows fell well below my expectations. I used to love Wassabi, they made me dance like no other band ever has... But last year was heavily laced with reggae, and the dance beats didn't seem as driving as they once were... I'm always willing to give them another chance, because I have seen what they're capable of... So I get to Cafe Dekcuf last night somewhere near the end of the first set. The music playing as I entered the bar was fairly standard stuff from last year. Reggae-tinged down-tempo songs with Melissa singing. I went out for a smoke, came back in to see them packing up their gear and heading downstairs to Maverick's for the second set. Here's where I started to regain a little (well a lot) of faith in this band. The second set started off slowly, and quickly built to a feverish dance pitch that had the entire bar moving. They were really on fire last night, easily the best show I've seen since September 2003. They only played one reggae tune during the second set, and it had one of the best dance jams I've heard this version of Wassabi play ever during the middle of it. Wassabi is back, still not as good as the four piece, in my opinion, but definitely worth checking out. I'd love to do a two or three night run with them (in the proper state of mind of course...). I really look forward to seeing them again, and I think that everyone who likes to dance at shows should try to make it out as well... Highlights for me included: -Guisto walking by outside and calling me "Hater #1"... It was warranted, but still funny as hell... -meeting and talking to Hula Girl -Guisto mentioning me before playing the reggae tune -as always, talking to Melissa, seeing/hearing her play... -Melissa showing me where she wrote "I Love Del" on a certain part of her body... -finally hearing Wassabi playing up to their potential It's nice to have another good Canadian band to look forward to seeing again... Cheers Wassabi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterShake Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Wassabi was great...until they got Frontier Town shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted April 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Wassabi was great...until they got Frontier Town shut down. While they might have been the nail in the coffin for Ghost Town, from what I've heard it was already in the works before Wassabi had played one note in May 2003. Saying they were good until that happened is pretty ridiculous, especially since they still had mirimbas at that point. And while the mirimbas were great, they were at their best as a four piece... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted April 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Oh, and apparently Dekcuf has lost their liquor license... I didn't get all of the details, but it was a dry show last night... That's apparently why the band moved downstairs for the second set... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterShake Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 The fact that did the musical equivalent of "cockblocking" to the band that was playing in the Saloon is what turned me off about Wasabi. They already had their time on the stage that night. To do what they did is disrespectful and rude. but hey, the marimbas were neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted April 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 I disagree... Friends Of Hefner was playing in the saloon that night, and if you were inside the saloon you couldn't hear Wassabi at all. Same thing if you were outside, you couldn't hear FofH... If people chose to see a little more Wassabi (which also included grabbing a drum and joining them, if you so chose to) then you can't blame the band for that. I went back and forth between the two shows, which both seemed to have decent turnouts. Hey, do what you want, but I've never let a band's actions get in the way of me enjoying good music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterShake Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 It wasn't a matter of hearing one band or the other(I was there too),it was Wassabi showing disrespect to Friends of Hefner by "not gettin off the stage" as it were. Wassabi already had a slot to play that night. Let another band play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaggerLee Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Anyone care to share this Frontier Town story for those who weren't there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinka Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 although i am unaware of the "musical cockblocking" scandal that ya'll are talking of... i thought the show was wonderful. there was a fantastic crowd putting out a great vibe complimented with wasabi's music taking me to that lovely level. all in all some killer dancing material and dancing is my favorite yoga. :: [color:"yellow"] [color:"black"] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisley Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 holy beating a dead horse :: :: thoroughly enjoyed both Wassabi by the campfire and also Friends of Hefner in the Saloon that night at CTMF (3 years ago)... it was truly fine having some rhythym to keep dancing to when you needed a breath of air from the saloon CTMF stopped being held at the Frontier Town location because the festival had swelled to having over 1000 people per event which is illegal in Durham without obtaining expensive licensing, insurance and permits... it was no longer financially feasible at that location the old drummer, who was central to the drum circle growing to the size it did, is no longer in Wassabi and hasn't been for 2 years... in any case he meant no harm by drumming by the fire and didn't realize it would upset anyone... people drummed by the fire every festival I attended at ghost town... a lot of people joined in drumming and dancing because it was really fun, so it got kind of loud (though certainly no louder than the cranked gangsta rap home stereo hooked up to a P.A. system and a generator in the campground) it was a beautiful night to be outside... beautiful fire... beautiful dancers... beautiful rhythms... beautiful sky... and beautiful in the saloon one of the finest and most memorable nights of my life, a perfect utopian image of what I loved about the Durham festivals (AND... really glad you enjoyed the show Del ... was thinking you'd be into it... a 3 day run would be good fun, maybe come summertime... have your people call my people) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark tonin Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Well said, paisley ... your explanation matches what I remember about the situation ... that was a magical weekend at Frontier Town! Peace, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display_Name Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 holy beating a dead horse thoroughly enjoyed both Wassabi by the campfire and also Friends of Hefner in the Saloon that night at CTMF (3 years ago)... it was truly fine having some rhythym to keep dancing to when you needed a breath of air from the saloon DING DING DING! Great response. Do we have to discuss this everytime Wassabi's name is mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 holding grudges about bands for no really good reason...like the drum circle at frontiertown - is silly. silly. it was an awesome time outside - FofH didn't draw me into the saloon. if they would have then that'd be great but they didn't...so the issue of 'letting another band play' since the stages/areas were seperate should really no longer be an issue. it's nice to follow rules of etiquette but there's time to draw the line, the time should have been 3 years ago, and the place should be realism. i thought it was an awesome drum jam. the kit kept things in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 Oh, and apparently Dekcuf has lost their liquor license... I didn't get all of the details, but it was a dry show last night... That's apparently why the band moved downstairs for the second set...Does anybody have any details on this? With the Stephen Franke show this Saturday, and with Mavericks also having a show booked for that night, I'm a little worried.Aloha,Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomFoolery Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 I only caught the downstairs set on Saturday night. Absolutely RAGING!What a fantastic time.I'm in for the next show without a doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhishyK Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 (edited) Wassabi rocks! And Stephen is my best friend... all he wants is to feel the joy of the music in his heart. All the talk is just that, talk. That felt good Edited April 11, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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