The evening of March 3, 2007, marked the return of Bikeride, who chose local Long Beach venue DiPiazza’s to unleash their latest release The Kiss upon the world. It’s been four long and eventful years, but the time was well spent, making an incredibly wonderful album, all while dealing with unthinkable events that should, in most cases, leave lesser bands in squalor. Not this tight group of friends. They stuck together and made for a momentous record-release show that left family, friends and fans floating into the heavens (pardon the alliteration).
The support came from some old pals, Hell at Night, who also reside in the Southern California. This evening was quite significant for the two-piece, consisting of twin brothers Nart (drums) and Dan Chejoka (guitar/vocals). It was the first live show since adding a third member, former lead singer/guitarist for Lidsville, Greg Johnson, who takes the unfamiliar role as bassist, as well as sharing vocal duties. There seemed to be a new glow to the band, as both Chejoka brothers didn’t have to work as hard as they normally do to fully entertain the crowd. On songs like “Fire and Ice,” Johnson takes the lead and allows Dan to breathe, play his signature Telecaster with ease, and contribute back-ups without looking like he’s gonna pass out from taking on the role of nine members by himself. The energy was most apparent on their Pixies-meets-Satan-in-an-elevator track “Blood Red Wine.” Dan’s seething growl with Johnson’s swooning baritone made for a mixture of sounds unheard by a majority of the earth. The set was short and sweet, leaving everyone wanting more, but they knew it was polite to not take center-stage at someone one else’s party.
After a wonderfully intolerant half-hour or so, Bikeride took the stage, thanked everyone for coming out and began to make some cobwebs vanish into thin air. It’s been a while since the foursome has been on stage, but it sure didn’t sound like it. After warming up with an older song to help suffocate some of those butterflies, lead singer/guitarist Tony Carbone leans into the mic with a grin saying, “This is the first song off our new record,” launching into “There's Something Odd About Elizabeth.” Making their way through a good amount of The Kiss, perhaps the biggest stand-out of the evening was “Hideaways.” It was the fourth song of the set and perhaps that is when the nerves settled and everything became Zen. It was clean and compelling with flawless vocals from both Carbone and keyboardist Sean How. At that moment the crowd began to shift and sway and feel as if they were experiencing something truly unique and realized they should probably accept it and just be.
Halfway through the set, Carbone steps back to tune his guitar, takes a sip of some much-needed water, looks over to his right and says, “Let’s hear it for Sean, this is his song.” The intro to “The Mystery of Magnet Power” jumps off with an immaculately paralleled Elton John-style piano riff, leading into some insanely inimitable vocal melodies and perhaps the hardest-hit snare drum ever. Even Keith Moon would’ve looked at drummer Chris Petrozzi and said, “Damn man, chill out.” Actually he would’ve probably high-fived him and gave him a beer.
The evening ended with the song everyone turned around to each other saying, “I don’t know man, this is still my favorite song,” “Erik and Angie,” from 1999’s Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America. It’s a damn-good song, but they say that because The Kiss was only released a few days before the show. Give it time people.
Now what’s in store for a band literally sitting on a pile of gold? The album is out. The first show under their belts. But, what’s next? Perhaps they can take a short breather and let the album spread like wildfire, burning eardrums and warming souls from Long Beach to Tokyo to Liverpool. Critics from the audiophile’s Bible, MOJO to AllMusic.com are praising a record that probably couldn’t get enough praise. The word will spread and it’s just a matter of time until the world comprehends the fact that musical genius still exists.
The Kiss is out now on Shmamm! Records. Buy it here, seriously.
Visit Hell at Night on MySpace
