Humping the dolphin

Being in a band can be frustrating. Take the experience of Daze of Green (www.4amp.net/daze), a band that was third on a bill last weekend at the Owl Club. The group weathered an ever-changing performance order (second, then third and then last), was asked to set up and then tear down its equipment before performing and finally left in frustration and disgust—all of this after an hour-and-a-half set by a solo New Age guitarist from Oregon who, during one memorable moment, literally humped his guitar onstage.

It’s no wonder that Daze of Green stormed out of Roseville, angrily noting that they’d never play the Owl Club again. After all, there’s only so much a band can take just to play to 25 people in the Sacramento suburbs.

It’s a shame that the evening went the way it did, because the elements of a good night of music all were in place. Opening act Jack Rocks performed a convincing set of radio-ready roots-infused songs à la Train and Matchbox 20. Then came Scott Huckabay, and everything went a little strange.

The difficult part of the equation is that Huckabay is a brilliant performer, even if his New Age solo guitar-playing shtick is corny. Nonetheless, Huckabay knows his instrument well (perhaps too well, as you’ll see), and his techniques—heavy echo, looping rhythm tracks, ecstatic Sufi-like dancing, switching between bow and EBow (an electronic “bow” favored by electric-guitar players)—worked well for a time.

The moment where Huckabay jumped the proverbial shark was when he seemed to ponder the question that should never be asked: Does a guitar have a clitoris? To answer this question, Huckabay did his damnedest to find it: stroking, kissing and fingering his dolphin-painted instrument in a way that would have given the evening an R rating in itself, before he finally mounted his guitar and humped it (fully clothed, but the intent was obvious).

It wasn’t the weirdness of the activity that was a problem—I’m all for weirdness, even if the audience was mostly confused by it. The more immediate problem was that Huckabay was cresting an hour and was only second on a four-band bill. Why the management of the Owl Club didn’t pull the plug on the set is beyond me, but the end result was the evening’s headliners, Vegitation, asking to go third and Daze of Green being bumped to last, meaning that it would need to tear down its gear (it had been set up before Huckabay started his set). Also, most of the audience had grown tired of Huckabay’s set and had wandered outside. If that’s not a hint to management, I don’t know what is. To the Owl Club: Better set control next time.

In the news: Raigambre’s search for a new lead singer to replace the departed Sam Miranda has ended. Joining the group, and presumably changing the more macho vibe of the Miranda-fronted group, is Celia Hernandez-Lopez. The new female-fronted Raigambre will appear at the band’s “Come-Back Party” on June 4 at the Blue Lamp. More information at www.raigambre.com.

The Liani Moore Band has changed its name to Fancy Pants and has a new Web site at www.fancypantsband.com. Fans can check the band out on May 12 at Old Ironsides, where it’ll be debuting a new member: guitarist Laura Morris.