Viva le Vox
With the Royal Tinfoil and Everymen
Respectable Street, West Palm Beach
Saturday, June 19, 2010
When a Viva le Vox show flyer mentions little more than a free CD and
cupcakes, it's hard to know what to expect. The band went all out
for their CD Release Party at Respectable St. Cafe, by creating an
intimately creepy carnival-like atmosphere filled with odds and ends to
keep everyone entertained. Upon entering attendees were greeted by
girls wearing faux mustaches (apparently the first 100 guests received
the furry stick-on upper lip atrocity), a tarot card reader, and a
kissing booth. The carnival-inspired theme was readily available in
large doses throughout the entire bar. You could barely take a step
without having streamers stuck to the bottom of your shoe. I was just
glad it wasn't toilet paper.
Due to unfortunate circumstances (poor planning and not adhering to
Paultergeist's threat of "You better not be late"), I was unable to
catch the opening act, Everymen. The members of Viva le Vox said the
Lake Worth band's performance was amazing so we will take their word
for it.
Next up was the Royal Tinfoil. As the South Carolina bluesy folk duo
heralded out songs about bottles of wine, razor blades, and speed, Viva
le Vox's Antoine Dukes tapped his heels and cane on the streamer-lined
wooden dance floor and Tony Bones eerily leaned against the bar while
smoking one of many cigarettes that were to be had that night. The
biggest crowd pleaser was "Stalker vs Stalker," sung so lovingly by the
Reverend Lamont Boles and Sabbath Lily Hawks that it wasn't even
disturbing to hear lyrics that included "I collect your toenails in a
jar because
I respect you." The set ended with a song about the history of the
band, which was read in a melodramatic tone from a book that might have
been the Yellow Pages. The song concluded with bouncing tambourine
beats that made everyone in the crowd twist, spin, and flail around
like elastic.
Keeping
the "carnival" theme prevalent throughout the night, Viva le Vox's
Paultergeist and right-hand-man-of-the-band, Jarrett, judged a one song
dance contest. I'm not sure about the talents of any of the contestants
but, not surprisingly, the win went to the "woman in the white shirt
with the cleavage."
The floor below the stage quickly became
crowded as fans gathered round to welcome Viva le Vox's newest CD,
Wayward Ones, into the world. Some of us had bets on how long it would
take Jim Bob 'Scarecrow' Jenkins to lose his boudoir-style feathered
robe. It happened during the sound check. The band started off with the
seemingly appropriate "Wayward Ones," dedicating the song to the Royal
Tinfoil for making it all the way down to South Florida for the
occasion. The crowd was oohed and awed with new songs and old
favorites, such as "Desperation Alley" and "Shake Your Bones," where we
were commanded to obey. Throughout the set the band displayed their
usual antics of hawking phlegm and licking each others' sweat-soaked
heads. At the end of the show the band expressed their gratitude for
the high numbers in attendance and needless to say, this was not just a
celebration for a CD, but for a band that has grown from playing in
laundromats to packing a well-known and respected South Florida
hotspot.
-- Ashley Pearson
