It’s Saturday morning and I’m still on a high from Thursday night when I ventured to Seattle’s Showbox to witness the glorious, long-awaited return of the Aquabats. Like the Phenomenauts, they infuse elements of ska, punk rock and corny kids’ science fiction into one fun filled show. Celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band, the five Aquabats, hailing from So. Cal, came out wearing matching blue knit space suits with silver helmets (many in the audience wore the same) while various videos played on a large screen behind them.
One of the first songs they played was Cat With Two Heads, about a cat involved in science experiment gone horribly wrong:
Something great for the World
A two headed cat!
You could pet one kitty’s head
Then pet the other kitty’s head
But little did I know the power of Atomic Energy
Would create
A two headed
Man-Eating Monster!
The Cat with 2 Heads. Whoa, the Cat with 2 Heads!
The Aquabats use quirky humor in all of their songs and totally get their audience involved in their show and this packed crowd was more than happy to get involved. There was no barricade separating the stage from the audience and I saw the stage floor heave in rapid succession from those in the front pushing on it while dancing. And speaking of audiences, I haven’t seen an audience come in costumes since I saw T. Rex in 1973. I saw a guy with an eight-inch Mohican, but saw many more wearing Aquabats spacesuits, and even couples with very young children wearing the same Aquabat official space suit. In fact, vocalist MC Bat Commander even stated there were free earplugs for all the kids at their merch table.
Half way through the show someone in a giant chicken suit came on stage while the band sang, do the chicken. Do the KFC. Soon the chicken was attacked by someone coming onstage wearing a giant shrimp costume who attacked the chicken and a mock fight broke out between chicken, shrimp, and band members.
The absolute highlight had to be the end when the band invited all the children on stage. Quickly, small child after small child, some who looked no older than four, were hoisted to the stage. One of the little girls on stage requested they play Pool Party and while the band broke into the opening chords of Pool Party, beach toy inflatables including sharks and beach balls that bounced around the stage and into the audience. For the absolute finale, a little boy about four years old was lifted off the stage and placed on one of the inflatable sharks, where he proceeded to surf the crowd. The look of elation on the child’s face was not something I’ll soon forget.
The Aquabats poke fun of themselves and poke fun of their audience, making them the most entertaining bands of all time. I hope it’s not another eight to ten years before the Auquabats return to Seattle.
The Auquabats, again, like the Phenomenauts, have space age stage names as follows: The MC Bat Commander on vocals, Crash McLarson on bass, Jimmy The Robot on Keyboards and sax, Ricky Fitness on drums, and Eagle “Bones” Falconhawk on guitar. For those of you who stayed at home Thursday night, you missed one hell of a fun show.
