Cake
Currently on tour to promote their 6th studio album Showroom of Compassion, alternative rock band Cake from Sacramento, California made a stop at the Sound Academy in Toronto on May 21st.
Opening with “Sad Song and Waltzes” from their 1996 album Fashion Nugget, fans sang along with lead singer John McCrea’s melodic vocals and moved their bodies to the soothing trumpet solos from Vince DiFiore.
After taking to the stage with a late start, audience members were thrilled when McCrea announced that the evening would be divided into two sets. It was met by a cheerful response from the crowd and he continued saying, “we are here to serve you.”
The evening with Cake started off with a set filled with fan favourites, such as “Opera Singer” and “Satan Is My Motor,” and was followed by a focus on songs from their newest album including “Long Time,” “Mustache Man (Wasted),” and “Federal Funding.” The first set ended with “Sick of You” where McCrea invited audience members to join in on the chorus.
The second set featured songs such as “Love You Madly” and “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” which featured McCrea’s half-spoken energetic vocal style for which he is so famously known.
The evening took a semi-serious turn when the band took a break for their performance to talk about an environmental project they have been working on. The project has the band giving out trees on every stop on their tour to an audience member who promises to plant and take care of the tree, making the young gentleman who promised to plant the tree in his aunt’s backyard one lucky man.
An evening filled with singing, dancing, cheering, and laughing came to a sombre end as the band played their encore songs “Never There” and wrapping up with “The Distance” the second single from their 2nd album Fashion Nugget which was truly the icing on the cake.
