Magic Beans at The Fox Theatre [Review]
Funk sprouts when Beans are planted
By Stephanie Esposito
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Portland sent some of their local favorites to open up for the Magic Beans on Saturday, March 18th, as part of the Fox Theatre's 25th Anniversary series of shows. While the venue holds a lot of special milestones for hometown boys The Beans (first show, 300th show, etc.), I like to see how it's continuing to make special memories for other bands too. While the venue really only filled up when the headliner started, the people who came in time to see Yak Attack open probably realized it wasn’t going to be their last time partying with the West Coast trio.
Bassist Rowan Cobb donned a Marvin the Martian helmet and light-up shoes onstage, and I loved thinking those might be completely appropriate accessories depending on where we ended up. The music was very driving; solid bass keeping us grounded, drums and intermittent vocals coming from the middle and the keyboard player kind of taking over where a lead guitar would be. It didn’t seem like anything was missing. I was fully stretched from the earth to the sky, but had everything in the right place somehow. I couldn’t tell really where we were going but I knew it was somewhere good.
One song reminded me of rolling down a tinkly mountain stream, all clear and rushing. The next song I thought, “Maybe I’m in a taxi cab. Maybe I had bellbottoms on!” A little 70's vibe was bubbling up from underground. The floor was mostly empty early on but the few people that were in the very front dancing had slim to none “ducks” to give.
Then they played a track called "Pump 'n Dump" that was a classic funk composition. The bridge took a bird's eye view of our psychedelic jam party and then landed. I looked around and thought, “Oh, there's everybody!”, and it was a funny feeling to see that more people had come down to dance and see the band in the time I had just been having a sonic tea party and wasn’t paying attention. The last song seemed to be everything turned up a notch or two, they came to do what needed to be done, thanked the Beans for their hospitality and turned the stage over.
I think the Magic Beans are probably always ready to play. I have met several of the members separately across the Colorado Scene, and they have all been extremely welcoming, encouraging, energetic and ready to jam. Whether at Be on Key's Psychedelic Ripple, the open jam at Local 46 on Tuesdays, or one of the many other shindigs, you have probably met a Bean or two yourself. It was very inspiring to see the crowd supporting them.
During the set all the classic comparisons were made - a guy standing next to me said the singer sounded like Moe. There was a song or two I thought I recognized, then realized I didn’t. There were several times where the jam crash-landed or where I felt like it had further to go. Another patron at the Fox said they were mainly a really good rhythm section, and with Cody Wales on drums and Will Trask bringing his energy to hand drums and the tambourine, I can see how that might be the stand-out section of the band. There were no special guests or horns which probably could have been arranged, although there were a few covers - "Dirty Wook” by Steely Dan and "Nothing from Nothing" by Billy Preston. When I thought I had got the gist of the show, I hung around due to my journalistic responsibility, and still had a great time.
The Fox might be one of the better places to catch a show. I really liked the long sections on the sides where there is a small counter to lean and set your beer on. There's free water in the back near another counter for music nerds to write notes on. There is no overhead balcony blocking the sound that you have to get out in front of. Reasonable to no security, a nice space in the back allows bands to sell merch and to meet fans.
Cheers to the upcoming Beanstalk Festival, June 22-25th. See you there babies!!