Evan Stone & The Translucent Ham Sandwich Band Pt. B, Live @ STEAMERS, AUG, 2010

Review of Translucent ham Sandwich Band at Steamers in Fullerton
On the one hand, mere words are insufficient to describe a performance of Translucent Ham Sandwich Band. On the other hand, it is a chance to describe a unique experience.
When I arrived at Steamers, the stage was set up with a projection screen, two drum kits, a piano, two electronic keyboards and some other miscellany. The projection screen had an image of a ham sandwich and the words "Translucent Ham Sandwich Band - let's go."
The show began with a spoken word piece accompanied by three members of the band. After that, a comedian/mentalist took the stage. He did some jokes, some audience participation card tricks, and a trick in which he spoke to a member of the audience about her pets and finished by guessing correctly the pet's name.
And then came the musical performance which is best summarized with the phrase, "And now for something completely different." The band members were dressed in monk's robes, except for the magician, who was dressed more like the preacher from Poltergeist. Evan Stone gave the signal to start the video, which was really more like a slide show, edited in a sort of rapid-fire MTV style. The band began to play a funky jazz similar to Miles Davis's Live - Evil while Evan spoke into a disconnected analog phone.
It did not take long to realize that a lot was going on in this show. It was a feast for the senses between the music, the magician at the front of the stage, and the woman offstage painting to the music. (The finished painting was a blue background with white chem-trails and the words "One Nation Under Sedation" in white letters.) Meanwhile the mentalist made his way through the audience, doing some more card tricks. But wait, there's more! About midway through the first half of the show, a juggler stood to the side of the stage. He later moved from juggling to balloon art. Also about midway through the first half of the show, a belly dancer made her way through the audience.
The music itself which is completely improvised, ranged from jazz and funk to reggae and Dixieland. It was a tremendous soundtrack for all the art that went on. The whole show was also an excellent example of the Buddhist tenet of impermanence. I will take a moment to politely disagree with Mr. Stone on one point. He said that the video is "a main focal point" of the show. For me, there was so much other stuff going on, I hardly paid any attention to the video. That being said, Translucent Ham Sandwich Band puts on a show unlike any I have ever seen. And to think that I saw it in quiet, conservative, plain Orange County.
Gary Schwind

Category:

Music

Tags:

• ham
• sandwich
• steamers
• evan
• stone
• fullerton
• jazz
• club