Words by Andrew McNally
Photos by Wendy Schiller
California’s local band Cheekface are capitalizing on some viral fame, and rolled through Boston on the back of their sixth album Podium. The indie trio headlined Brighton Music Hall on September 20th, and the city’s Cheek Freaks turned out in droves. The show was fully sold out, with fans packing the venue even before the starting acts came out. Cheekface is a completely DIY band, handling their own merchandise, comms, distribution and touring. As Allston Pudding prides itself on being fully DIY, we had to be on hand to check out the Cheekface gig.
First out on the night was Sad13, aka Sadie Depuis, aka former Allston legend and lead singer of Speedy Ortiz. Sad13 came out for a short solo set, fully unaccompanied on stage. The indie singer was supporting her experimental new album 1331, which contains no songs over two minutes, while peppering in songs from her previous solo albums Slugger and Haunted Painting. Sad13 discussed her history in Allston, playing at Harper’s Ferry, and her move to Philadelphia. The night prior in Philly was the cursed Ed Sheeran show, so Sad13 used the opportunity for the night’s mission statement: “Free Palestine, fuck ICE, go birds.” The crowd was already full for Sad13, and the older Allstonites appreciated the return of a legend.
Up next on the bill was fellow Pennsylvanians Apes Of The State, who brought a chaotic folk-punk set that counterbalanced Sad13’s more subdued performance. The band is supporting their recently-released fourth album, Nothing Makes Sense Anymore, and the tenth anniversary of their debut This City Isn’t Big Enough. Apes had a big following in the crowd themselves, and they thanked Cheekface for being the only band not cowardly enough to invite them on tour. The band brings an interesting mix of folk-punk, emo and bluegrass, in a mix that sounds like Defiance, Ohio updated for today. April Hartman fronts the band, forming it after a stint in rehab. These experiences permeate the lyrics, an honest and raw mix of blunt antifascist politics and songs about drug abuse. The inclusion of Mollie Swartz on violin separates Apes from some more conventional bands. The band jokingly had their fans try to impress the Cheekface fans by hosting a circle pit. They also concluded by adding the outro from Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” onto one of their songs.
But as popular and engaged as Apes Of The State were, the people were there for Cheekface. There aren’t many bands out there like Cheekface, and their signature sound is easily identifiable. Greg Katz acts as the band’s guitarist and lead singer, opting for a Fred Schneider-like spoken word vocal style, with a heavy emphasis on the lyrics. The music is often simple indie, easy to listen and dance to. The lyrics are the focus, as Katz can switch from songs that are goofy to ones of biting satire. He’s a rare lyricist capable of political nuance, and we got the full spectrum during this set. Katz is almost always smiling, and his positive energy was infectious all night, especially when they were doing goofy things like playing the 57-second long song “Noodles” three times in a row. Katz, bassist Amanda Tennen and drummer Mark Edwards were all having a blast playing their own songs on stage, dancing the night away. A great moment of audience interaction occurred when Katz had portions of the audience mimic the horns used on “The Weather,” in lieu of any actual horn players.
Cheekface were not afraid to get topical, too. New cuts like “Rent Is Down” and “Black Site” are outwardly political, with the band warping leftist politics through satirical lenses. Katz ended the set by going on what felt like an impromptu sermon on community, which was a refreshing thing to hear amidst all the bad news of the world on a daily basis. Elsewhere during the set, the band got to show off some musical prowess. Katz’s stellar guitar playing often goes unnoticed amid his more gimmicky vocals and lyricism, but he gave himself a few moments to shred. Edwards also got an unexpected full drum solo towards the end of the set, after repeatedly “messing up” “Peanut Butter Prawns” which caused the other three musicians to walk off stage.
The band crammed 25 songs into a roughly 90-minute set (well, 23, if you count all “Noodles” as one). They pulled eight songs off Podium, and spent the rest of the set exploring nearly all of their previous albums. They also tossed in a cover of They Might Be Giants’ “Ana Ng,” via fan request earlier in the day. It was a packed and tight set with one of the most engaging audiences the Hall has probably ever seen. The fellow Cheek Freaks crammed the venue full, and all left happy.
Check out all of Wendy’s photos below:
