CONCERT REVIEW: Pee Shy / Evelyn Forever / Space Gel
- Al Muzer
Living up to each and every word of their considerable advance press, New York by way of Tampa four-piece Pee Shy were the perfect headliner for a bill that featured two local bands clearly on their way to bigger and better.
With their irresistible hit "Mr. Whisper" and its tinkling toy piano a staple on the local airwaves and their 11-song Blue Gorilla/Mercury Records debut, Don't Get Too Comfortable edging its way up the charts, Pee Shy drew an early crowd that kept The Saint (Asbury Park, N.J.) partying and packed until closing time.
An artsy, quirky, granola-fed, punk-informed Roches update with a minor Esquivel jones and a working knowledge of Portishead, Ivy, Mary's Danish, St. Etienne and Julianna Hatfield; bassist/vocalist Mary Guidera, drummer/vocalist Billy Orrico, guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist/clarinetist/vocalist Jenny Juristo and guitarist/accordionist/vocalist Cindy Wheeler did more than just duplicate their extraordinary sophomore release on stage - they also managed to charm a typically tough Asbury Park audience into thinking that they not only knew, but loved, every song in the group's two album arsenal.
Alternately recalling Sparks, Siouxsie, the Pistols, Wendy O. Williams, the Nymphs, Nina Hagen, the Dead Boys and CBGB's circa-1978, North Jersey's Space Gel opened the evening with a 40-minute energy assault that included jet engine-loud blasts of glam-, punk-, pop-, techno-, goth-, grunge-, lounge- and metal-based insanity made even more entertaining thanks to the visually-freaked stage persona of lead vocalist Andrea Montagna and a couple of guitarists not at all afraid to solo.
Currently being courted by more than a few major labels, Evelyn Forever's pop-centric 45-minute closing set had the crowd (which included the visibly delighted members of Pee Shy) bouncing along to spirited versions of songs such as "Rock 'N' Roll Girl," "What I Need," "Teenage Love Murder Suicide," "17," "Double Dip" and "Sultry" while it proved (once and for all) that the hoopla, hope, hype and handshakes surrounding this talented New Brunswick four-piece are based on the real goods.
