The Everything Show @ Rileys (3/27/10)
If you never roll the dice, never risk something, then you’ll never reap the reward of having first learned and second expanded your opportunities to grow. 
Oregon’s First – The Everything Show set out with an ambitious goal to host a night that would offer “something for everyone.” Without catering to any specific crowd or scene, The Everything Show’s promoter Danny Morgan, Jr. (aka Suganuts), assembled a diverse blend of Oregon’s finest local talent for a night of musical variety. There was no doubt that most of the bands that came understood the vision for bringing such an ecclectic group together and responded themselves by giving 110% in their performances. Meeting several of these unique artists, who came from all over Oregon and were in various stages of their evolution as performers, it was inspiring to discuss the common pursuit of chasing their dreams through the expression afforded via their music.
Being the first act, has a certain dichotomy, where an artist bears the honor and burden of opening a show to set the tone for the night. While Pynt Syze brings a unique touch and high energy, between technical difficulties and a youth crowd confined to the distant balcony the response wasn’t up to par with what the young performer might have hoped for. KTR has a great sound with a meld of classic and modern rock, their compositions seamlessly rotate to brandish the talent of each musician. The play between percussion, acoustic and electric guitars provides KTR with a full bodied sound and the dual vocals gives a smooth dynamic that keeps things interesting in the melodies. 
If you don’t like ska, be careful stating such around Eugene’s Wetsock as their drummer dangerously resembles karate’s most notorious iconoclast, Chuck Norris. Wetsock brought high energy from the start that didn’t let up for a moment, with a spectacular blend of ska, punk, surf, reggae and swing. Treu aka Tha Hustla is the consummate professional, knowing that if the crowd isn’t warm sometimes you have to manually ignite them. Diversity was definitely on display when you consider that by this point in the show we’ve gone from 14 year old hip-hop local prodigy, classic rock, ska/punk and gangster style hip-hop.
Greenlander has a polished sound and look but don’t let the ties fool you, these gentlemen are ready to get down, with heavy riffs, pace changes and a crisp rock tone. October Rising has carved a local presence with their acoustic indie rock which elegantly plays with instrumental and vocal harmonies. Where time constraints and technical difficulties had prevented Will Woodruff from firing up his microphone for a full scale comedic assault, when intermission made an opening for The People’s Comedian to deliver, the crowd responded. Cracking jokes about his troubles with women and the societal disparities in perceptions of men driving mini-vans. Will is very personable, his comedy and beat-boxing skills played well with an Albany crowd. 
It’s wild to observe that the band that traveled the farthest, whom has the most momentum going for them currently and perhaps has played on the biggest stages of any of the acts, also delivered the deepest onslaught of musical mayhem for the night. It’s clear why Medford’s hardest working hardcore band, Tallboy, has been able to make such waves, as these young men put on a clinic of passion and professionalism, going all out as well as ALL over the place. DJ Unofficial was totally into the night, spinning and working with artists to add spice to a show that always brought something new.
The great thing about a live experience is that even when you aren’t used to a particular style of music, it is hard not to appreciate the work that goes into writing, composing and performing a song live. There is an energy to live performances that doesn’t always translate through recordings, so whether you are seeing your favorite band live or getting to experience something new, the opportunity to see such talented local artists on display is a blessing that shouldn’t be taken for granted. 
While there weren’t as many people on the dance floor as some would have liked, the crowd was always responsive, interacting with the bands and even cheering heartily throughout their sets. The biggest response of the night came for the shows organizer, seasoned local hip-hop artist Suganuts (aka Danny Morgan Jr.) who demo’d several of the rough cuts for his upcoming album ‘Natural’, which likely will be releasing later this year. Flo closed the night with her beautiful voice and classy R&B sound. On a night which envisioned a little of “something for everyone” the reception was creatively encapsulated by the t-shirt designs from The Sign Express which displayed a crunked out Charlie Brown and turn table spinning Linus. Oregon’s First – The Everything Show perhaps planted a seed, a vision/tone for what can happen when fans, promoters and artists are willing to color outside of the lines.
What more could be said, props to Suganuts for his vision and the amazing local performers who poured themselves out for this one of a kind show. Huge thanks to the sponsors for The Everything Show: Riley’s Bar & Grill is a spacious and beautiful venue with so much potential; KC Productions & Entertainment for stretching and laboring to make everything work; The Sign Express for designing and sponsoring the awesome Everything Show T-shirts; J Photography for getting into the action and capturing so many of the memories;
Downtown Tattoo & Piercing for always being good to Albany music; Hightides Pipe & Tobacco for their generous support; Jack & Jill’s Barber Shop for your support and great hair cuts; Go Figure for all you do for Albany women and your willingness to get right into the mix; Nancy of The Entertainer for helping spread the word on all things local; Noah of The Alchemist for sharing your platform and working hard to help local art thrive; Paradox Production for pushing quality local hip-hop; Magnolia Audio & Music; Movies & Magic; Ciddici’s Pizza; AND EVERYONE WHO PASSED OUT FLIERS, TOLD SOMEONE AND CAME TO THE SHOW!
ALL photos for this article courtesy of J Photography – check/book them HERE
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