Aqueous | 4.18.2015 | Buffalo Iron Works

Review by R Loiacano & D Lucken

BUFFALO, NY – Last Saturday, Aqueous played to a sold out crowd at Buffalo Iron Works as part of their spring tour. They’re on the road supporting their newest CD “Cycles”. This special show dubbed ‘Cake-eous’ also featured covers from, you guessed it, the band Cake.

“Underlyer” was a perfect start to excite the crowd. The instrumental “Complex” Part 1 off “Cycles” highlighted each player’s incredible musicianship. We were impressed by the drummer’s comfort with the material, and the eye contact between members, keeping everything in perfect sync. “Marty” (an early fan favorite from their debut CD) was upbeat with catchy guitar hooks, as was “Timmy’s Blades”. The audience got even more enthusiastic when new tracks, “Back To You” and “Kitty Chaser (Explosions)” were performed. “Triangle” closed the set, an excellent choice!

After a short intermission, the guys treated us to their “special” portion of the show, their take on ‘Cake’. Guest keyboardist Harry Graser played the entire second set, kicking off with “Sheep Go To Heaven”, and “Nugget”, combined with the band’s own “Median”.Alot of this set had one song seguing into another, Adding to the fun mood was Dave’s sporting a pair of cake-shaped sunglasses. “Hem of Your Garment” segued nicely into one of our top picks, “Origami”. The medley also contained “Love You Madly “. A perfect mix was “Calling For You” and Cake’s “Wheels”, followed by “Daria” and “Arco Arena”, on which they put their own spin! “End of the Movie” showcased Ryan’s newly-acquired accordion skills (learned only days ago, according to Mike), but it sounded great! The audience begged for an encore and wasn’t disappointed when “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” and “The Distance” (on which Ryan sang lead) closed things out. All in all it was a fantastic show and Aqueous really does entertain, not only as seasoned, sophisticated players, but with the ability to combine it with humor, serving it up into what ended up being “the perfect bite”, and a great time! Thanks to Josh Holtzman for the opportunity to attend and review rare talent such as Aqueous. Look for a lot more from them, and they’ve gotta be seen live for the whole experience! To check out tour dates, please visit their website for information.

Set list 1:
“Underlyer”
“Complex” Part 1
“Marty”
“Timmy’s Blades”
“Back To You”
“Kitty Chaser”
“Triangle”

Set list 2:
“Sheep Go To Heaven” (Cake)
“Median”
“Nugget” (Cake)
“Median”
“Hem Of Your Garment” (Cake)
“Origami”
“Love You Madly” (Cake)
“Origami”
“Commissioning”
“They’re Calling For You”
“Wheels” (Cake)
“They’re Calling For You”
“Daria” (Cake)
“Arco Arena” (Cake)
“Don’t Do It”
“End of the Movie” (Cake)

Encore:
“Short Skirt, Long Jacket” (Cake)
“The Distance” (Cake)

Band: Mike Gantzer – Vocals, Guitar; Dave Loss – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar; Evan McPhaden on Bass and Ryan Nogle on Drums.