For as much as I’ve had to say about Menomena this year, you’d think that my memories of their live show would be exclusive to the four-man phenomena (rumor has it, that is how they got their name, Men + Phenomena =Menomena). However, this is not the case. As was evidenced by my Antlers experience, there is almost always a #1 fan, and a majority of the time he or she acts like a real #2.
On this particular occasion there was a plot twist that added to the tension. The “perp” was none other than Quinn Walker, frontman for the opening act, Suckers. (pause)
DISCLAIMER: The Suckers show was f*cking awesome, and their album, Wild Smile, is equally awesome, so don’t discount them at all. Shit happens to the best of us.
(un-pause) Totally skunked when he resurfaced after their set, I can only presume that Dr. Quinn self-prescribed an entire roll of drink tickets for himself or mainlined a magnum bottle of Popov in the 45 minutes between their stage exit and the time Menomena replaced them. Bringing truth to his band’s name, he clowned around in the crowd, eventually pushing his way to the front to make eye contact with what appeared to him to be all 16 members of Menomena.
Wallowing in the initial audience reaction of, “Hey, cool, the lead singer of Suckers is hangin’ out in the crowd,” he began to display true rock star behavior. Midway through the fourth song of the set, he lit up a cigarette and proceeded to distribute free second hand smoke throughout The Casbah, which is about as spacious as an airplane bathroom, but with less ventilation and filthier toilets. The cigarette, like the crowd’s sense of awe, was short-lived and eventually he was forced to stamp out the butt, derided by numerous disgruntled concert goers voicing their opinions on cancer. This wasn’t quite the straw that broke Joe Camel’s back, but it was an ominous foreshadowing of the events to come.
Momentarily humbled he sought to redeem himself in the eyes of the crowd by demonstrating his camaraderie with the members of Menomena. Good move, right? WRONG!!
This is where it got ugly.
Fueled by toxic levels of alcohol, Quinn leveraged his body on-stage between songs and proceeded to “help” Danny (Seim) adjust his microphone. Everyone in the venue knew that the situation was bad, going on worse, and this was the defining moment. Visually unstable (think Weebles Wobble), he tinkered with the mic and then attempted to shuffle step left. His upper body teetered forward and pulled a fast one on his legs. Next thing we know his face was headed for the floor in the worst way.
DOWN GOES FRAZIER!!
Dispelling any notion of Weeble in the family tree he went down h-a-r-d and did not bounce back. Fortunately, he did manage to break his fall….with his face. Briefly he was a human tripod, knees and face working in perfect harmony, balancing a reservoir of booze. After performing the rarely attempted, and never successful no-handed push up, band members and security came to his rescue. They picked him up and dusted him off, handing him a water bottle, and placing him back in the crowd where he stood dazed. Good thing the two bands had been touring together for TWO WHOLE SHOWS prior to this incident. Good luck explaining this one at the Del Taco in Yuma, on your way to a show in Tucson.
The rest of the show went off without further interruption or “unauthorized roadie” assistance. I’d speculate that Mr. Walker did not recall in vivid detail the events of the show come sunrise the next day, but no doubt his bandmates would fill him in after he asked, “How the fuck did I get a rug burn on my forehead?!”
Just goes to show I’m not the only one who’s a sucker for Menomena.
