Mardi Gras at the Bishop began with a performance by The Black Guys, named so in tribute to all of the great blues musicians before them. They opened the show with a few soulful numbers that featured the lead singer, Buck Black's deep, gravelly sound. He performed alongside Rextacy Stiffman, the bassist, Crunchy White, the drummer, and Whisky and Grits, the silent band member. Their songs felt like they could be found in any guy's playlist titled "Songs to Listen to while Drinking Brewskis with the Broskis."
The group performed all original music in honor of their muse, Ol' Paddle Boat Watkins, and his journey from Mississippi to Louisiana floating downstream on a paddleboat made from two acoustic guitars. The band had lots of enthralling folklore to accompany their old school, rock 'n roll quality, which only added to the incredibly loud rocksplosion that was the performance. The Black Guys frequent local venues, so if you're a regular on the Bloomington music scene- you're bound to find them.
Next came the headlining act, Jump the Shark, a rock group based out of Indianapolis, IN, and that consisted of three guys who are fairly new to playing with each other. Andy Hake, the drummer, and Brad Pendleton, the bassists, had been playing together for a few years, going through numerous bassists until they finally found man a few months ago. T.J. Mobley who, appeared before the crowd belting out cunning lyrics, with his strong, melodic cry. The band draws their name from the great Fonzerelli from Happy Days and the show's identically named episode; it's a pop culture term that refers to the peak of a television show's popularity, before its steady decline into irrelevance.
Jump the Shark's performance was a dreamy mix of synthetic, ghostly vocals and popular culture references. With all original songs titled, such as that of "Winning" written in honor of Hollywood's ever-popular, hot mess Charlie Sheen gracing the set list, the band created a noticeable energy throughout the room. The best part of the performance was the band's ability to express emotion so clearly through song. It was as if each track had a specific goal to make the audience feel- ranging from the quintessential movie montage feel good jam, to the cinematic "driving down the highway, as the camera pans out and the credits begin to roll" moment.
The band commuted to our lovely campus, because much like everyone else present, they were looking for something to do on a Tuesday night. The band plans on moving to Austin, TX later this year, so if you see them heading at a local venue, be sure to jump on over.
Post by Megan Walschlager
