The guy in front of us started hopping sporadically like an epileptic eel. That’s when his girlfriend grabbed his hand. I assumed she was going to assist him to get in step with the beat…I was mistaken. The definition of dancing is to move rhythmically to music. Therefore, whatever the couple was doing wasn’t technically dancing. But they were having a great time. And that’s what Bob Schneider’s performances always provide.  Click here to read my review of his 2017 show.

Bob Schneider

The Bluebird Theater was packed with Schneider’s devoted fans. They were there to witness his ever-expanding catalog of Americana, Funk, Caribbean, and Hip-Hop originals. Schneider started the sold out show with 40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet) – “Well you’re the color of a burning book/ You’re the color of a sideways look from an undercover cop in a comic book/You’re the color of a storm in June/You’re the color of the moon/You’re the color of the night/ That’s right the color of a fight/You move me/ You’re the color of the colored part of the Wizard of Oz movie.” FYI – 40 Dogs is Schneider’s code for 40 Ounces of beer.

Bob Schneider

As the spectacle of the ungraceful couple in front of us continued, Schneider played Lord of the Flies. The song is a part political, part romantic, and entirely silly tale about being a member of Donald Trump’s Space Force – “I’m in the Space Force now/I work out all the time/I got my butt to poke out/And my teeth to shine/And I’m at the point/Where I don’t give a f*ck/I’m in the Space Force now/So you better duck.”

Afterwards, Schneider started to introduce another song by going into details about his sexual encounters with an ex-girlfriend. But the drunken crowd’s disrupted behavior made him cut out all the juicy details. Bob Schneider told the crowd, “It seems like you need to talk.” It silenced the chatter, so he could continue the music.

The night ended with the audience participation songs Pants and Tarantula. Everybody in the crowd laughed and sang along. I was dancing like the old guy at the show, but at least to the beat.

Halleway

When the local opening band Halleway walked on stage, the audience did a collective shrug. The musicians seemed too young to be opening for a national act. However, the crowd went silent the moment lead vocalist Patrick Armounld sang. His soulful voice bounced off the walls of the Bluebird demanding attention. Bassist Alex Jackson was having the time of his life. Unlike the couple in front of us, Jackson kept the rythym with a smile plastered on his face while his blonde locks swayed back and forth. Their most impactful songs started slowly and quickly built into anthems. The track Found could easily be mistaken for a Head and the Heart song (not surprising one of Halleway’s biggest influences). Armould ended the show by saying, “We will be in the back not selling the merch we forgot to bring.”

See you at the next show. I’ll be dancing in perfect time in the back with the band that forgot to bring their merchandise.