Concerts. Aside from Public Transportation, the only place Americans will stand that close together.

Cake came to town and Matt and I went to see them for our Christmas Present. We both like Cake and were both excited. It was a great concert in a great venue.

I got there first, because Matt had a class. While I was waiting for him to arrive, I got to look at the Crystal Ballroom, which is fabulous. It has murals and chandeliers and is famous for its “floating” dance floor. This was restored when McMenamins bought the building and it must be walked on to be believed. Swing Dancing isn’t as popular as it once was, but this would be a great place for that. It’s also an all-ages venue, which I completely support. I remember the days before I was 21 and the shows I didn’t get to see.

I liked the opening act, though I didn’t get their name. Only the fact that they are playing at the Doug Fir on December 20th. They had a nice sound, and seemed to be fond of old style megaphones (like cheerleaders in the 20’s used) and banging on flat silver things. During their set, I mostly watched people come in while I looked for Matt. Most people would walk in, realize the floor was bouncy, smile and start hopping up and down. It was great people watching.

Matt arrived at the end of the opening act’s set and we moved forward. We did a good job with moving forward and ended up about 10 people from the stage. Then there was a very long wait while the roadies set everything up. It took forever. Matt and I amused ourselves by signing back and forth. We can only fingerspell, but it turned out to be an fun way to pass the time. Two people in front of us, a shaggy haired guy crouched down, took a hit off his bong and stood up. He shuffled off to the right a few minutes later and we moved forward.

The band came on stage and I had a good view of the lead singer and the trumpet player. I was particularly excited about being able to see the trumpet player because my friend told me he is the hardest working man in showbiz. And he is. He plays trumpet. He sings backing vocals. He plays the maracas. He plays keyboard. He plays that little thing with ridges that looks like a fish. And he does all this while looking like a junior high school math teacher. He was great.

Cake was great in general. The lead singer seemed both appreciative and amused at the who-hoos and applause from the audience. He was very much not a rock star, but in a good way. He sort of looked like a produce clerk at Whole Foods. Midway through the concert he asked people to guess what percentage of the earth’s population has running water. The guy with the right answer (35%) got an apple tree to plant. He only had a balcony, but he promised to plant it at his parents' house. The lead singer asked him to take a picture every year and send it to their web site.

They don't play from a set list, so I was told. But their mix of songs was great. There were some obvious hits, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," "Opera Singer," "Comfort Eagle," and that race car driver one which they played for an encore so "all the jocks and frat boys won't beat us up as we are loading the van." They also played some stuff I didn't know, but really liked. At one point the lead singer (I should know his name, I know) lamented that one of the saddest losses of the 20th century was the 3/4 time signature, and then they played a nice waltz tempo song that I really liked. They also played, "Stick Shifts and Safety Belts" which is a personal favorites as they reference a Malibu, a car my brother used to own.

It was very much a sing-along audience, which I always appreciate. There is nothing worse than a concert full of people who don't sing, dance, smile or otherwise participate. The high school kid next to me was one of those people and he kept text messaging all though the concert. What was he even doing there? The audience got three chances to do backing vocals. The third time, the lead singer even had the drinking section go up against the non-drinking section. He said we both had our strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, it was a fun concert. I would see them again the next time they come though town and I will be buying a CD or too, which is, of course the point of touring for people who don't like to tour. I even bought a t-shirt.