Last Saturday, March 23rd The Space held its first sold-out show of the year. Taking center stage for the evening were opening acts Maura Weaver, Rodeo Boys, and of course the headliner, The Smoking Popes. To honor a show that had people waiting outside, even way before the doors opened at 7 p.m., The Space offered up three specialty burgers for the bands, playing off singles from each of the artists. To say the burgers were a hit would be an understatement, as each band couldn’t help but mention the aroma of food that they had tried during sound check.
The first act was Maura Weaver with her four-piece band. Weaver took the stage and immediately made sure the crowd was getting up close with her and the band. Lead singer Weaver had a relaxed air to her, joking and bantering with the crowd about how she loved the smell of beef and beef sweat that permeated through the venue as the kitchen continued to crank out food for a hungry audience. However, despite the jokes from this Cincinnati-based artist, the slow melodic punk style was a great way to kick off the show. The threat of being remembered for buying — or not buying — their debut album has led to the vinyl resting cozily in my collection and provided a memorable end to this opening act.
After a short intermission where the kitchen closed — but the bar stayed open — Rodeo Boys entered the venue and took to the stage. A four-piece set out of Lansing, Michigan, the band kicked things off with a quicker set and music that is described as “queer rock ‘n roll that combines southern twang and 90s grudge in a true lonesome and ornery fashion.” Throughout their set, the band had great banter, with the bassist and lead singer discussing whether to lose a coat to stay cool or keep it for the aesthetic. Although the lead singer first refused, a fast-paced song soon had her thinking otherwise. Between covering the Pixies, dancing across the set, and moshing together on stage, the Rodeo Boys soon had the crowd jumping and dancing along with them to close out their opening set.
With the openers finished, a quick intermission took place that had a fun moment where Smoking Popes lead singer Josh Caterer cut the line to the bathroom and left one fan simply saying, “Well, you can’t get mad, that is the pope.” However, it didn’t take long for the group to get together and find their way to the stage. The Smoking Popes came out swinging with a fast tempo and kicking things off with “Simmer Down.” They wasted no time moving through the hits with “Rubella” and refusing to take many breaks between songs. However, as the crowd sang and danced along with them, they finally slowed down to shout out the openers that had been with them throughout their tour before launching into “Madison.” The band continued and played their new song “Golden Moment” and promised fans that a new album was on the horizon.
Much to the delight of this writer, The Smoking Popes sounded close to how they sound in their studio records and were great at feeding off the audience and playing to the small venue. If they hadn’t made it known this was the last leg of their tour, it would have been hard to tell with the enthusiasm and energy they brought to their set. The band wasn’t shy to perform popular covers as well, with “Imagination” — Gene Wilder’s Wonka, not that punk Timmy (Timothy Chalamet) as lead singer Josh wanted the crowd to know — was played and the lead singer from Rodeo Boys came back out to help them cover “Don’t You Want Me.” As always with shows at The Space, both opening acts weren’t shy about getting into the crowd and dancing with the rest of the audience.
Despite its small venue status, The Smoking Popes performed an encore to end the evening. They made a point to invite the guitarist from Rodeo Boys on stage with them where they did a three-piece guitar set to their song “Hairstyle.” The band continued with a few more hits before Josh found his way into the crowd for the closing song “I Know You Love Me,” and gave me the fun moment of getting to sing into the mic with him to close things out. After the show, the bands were all present at their merch booths to chat with fans.
The Smoking Popes also mentioned during their set that they want their next tour to begin and end in Champaign. Whether it’s true or just fanfare, after the show they put on last Saturday I say they’re more than welcome to do just that.
