Presidents live at Prospecto 2010 – Day #1 – PUSA review!

taken from http://www.backstageallaccess.com/home/?tag=chris-andrus

taken from Katy Batdorff, The Grand Rapids Press (MLive.com)

Wow. Who knew these guys were back together and still performing? And still performing catchy, goofy-ass songs about random shit? It began with the drummer apparently cutting himself and needing a Band-Aid, so the whole thing started off with an impromptu ditty about needing a Band-Aid. Even though they’ve ditched their suits for primary colored T-shirts, they haven’t lost a bit of their silly Seattle selves over the years.

I never got to see The Presidents back in the day, and despite the fact that some of their biggest hits like ”Lump” and “Peaches” are almost as old as I was when I first heard them, it was a fun time to see them done live. Getting to hear the unedited version of “Kitty” was a silly thrill. What? No “bleep you, kitty”? Sweet!

My favorite part of their show was in the middle of “Back Porch” when basitarist/lead singer Chris Ballew diverged into a story about how a giant, 40-foot baby with a dirty diaper knocked on his door, kept pulling out tiny banjos from his “crap saddle” and challenged him to Dueling Banjo-off (demonstrated with guitabassist Andrew McKeag). The baby won.

Unfortuately, the small crowd stuck out like a sore thumb. At one point, Ballew looked out into the venue and said “The whole city is missing this”. McKeag replied “Bummer for them”. So yeah, the band noticed too. Also, accorting to a recent post on their website, GR does not have any cheese curds. I hope they don’t hate us.

All in all, the turnout wasn’t as good as had been hoped for, but on a positive note, it did seem that everyone who did come had a great time.