Music, Style & Culture
| Print : Web : Radio : Mobile

The Rock Bottom Remainders, Nokia Theatre, New Jersey

Live Reviews

Clever, talented, and most of all, lovable.

23rd April 2010, Nokia Theatre, New York / By Casey Acierno
The Rock Bottom Remainders, Nokia Theatre, New Jersey Imagine that English major you always ran into in the library in college, age him about 20 years, and put him on stage in front of an audience of adoring fans, and you’d be near to the Rock Bottom Remainders experience. Twelve bestselling authors capably handling a range of band responsibilities, from conventional guitar, bass, and drums, to tambourines, backup vocals, and dancing, are the raison d’etre of the Rock Bottom Remainders, which on this night at the Nokia Theatre included Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club; humorist Dave Barry; and Tuesdays with Morrie author Mitch Albom.

The night, as one of four in the Wordstock Tour, was sponsored by the Pearson Foundation, with every ticket sold benefiting Haitian relief, local communities, and new books for local public schools. The philanthropy set the tone for what would be a sweetly earnest, positive night. Following the Pearson Foundation announcement, the band was introduced via hype that only this band could claim as their own: “They’ve sold more books than the Beatles and Elvis!” the announcer intoned. The band took the stage to a surprisingly loud roar from a crowd made up in almost equal numbers of tote-bag-carrying girls in vintage dresses and glasses with their equally hip boyfriends, and white-haired grandparents.

The Rock Bottom Remainders traffic in covers of classic rock hits, adding their own theatrical twists on songs that every audience member over the age of 40 (read: many audience members) recognized. Their commitment to performing these songs, and to making sure that the audience is having a good time, earns them the title of the most endearingly nerdy (and overqualified) bar band to ever hit the stage.

Amy Tan was the breakaway star of the night, first taking the stage in a kinky black minidress, a Lady GaGa-inspired blonde wig, and Kanye-style shutter shades. Her dominatrix-inspired performance of 'These Boots Were Made For Walking' climaxed with gently whipping the behinds of the male members of the band; she also channeled her inner Debbie Harry on a later cover of 'One Way or Another.' A performance of 'Leader of the Pack' saw her serenading her real-life husband, Louis DeMattei, as well as the band trying and failing – but still, trying – to make appropriate motorcycle-crash noises.

At other times, the band embraced their literary genesis, covering famous songs about books or writers. 'You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover' and 'Paperback Writer' both made winking additions to the setlist; to add to the insideriness, Dave Barry performed an original song about falling in love with a proofreader who would never be so crass as to say “between you and I,” and Greg Iles brought what could only be described as a “diss track” to the proceedings with a bluesy number that called out fellow bestselling authors like James Patterson and Tom Clancy.

On the whole, the Remainders fulfilled everything their audience asked them to be; clever, talented, and most of all, lovable. Though they came back on stage for an encore of “Gloria,” the last song they played as part of their set perhaps best defines the Remainders; a raucous rendition of “Wild Thing” featured a full-cast, 12-kazoo breakdown. Silly, perhaps, but also wonderfully un-self-aware, just like the Remainders themselves. Rating: 8/10
Click like to get the latest music news, hottest tracks and more via Facebook.

Comments