Concert Review: The Can I Tour? with Wheatus and MC Lars

Amityville Music Hall, Long Island, NY – 22 May 2022

Nerds and Dirtbags in Long Island

I didn’t quite know what to expect here, but I found the prospect intriguing enough to take the ride to Long Island to check out what happens when nerdcore poet laureate MC Lars shares the stage with power-pop “Teenage Dirtbags” Wheatus.  The Can I Tour stop at The Amityville Music Hall started off pretty terribly, thanks to “this is bad, even for the George Washington Bridge” traffic.  The 90 minute (normally) drive wound up 15 minutes short of 3 hours long, but it took seconds inside the venue for things to turn around.

Even before I put my hand on the black door to enter, I could hear something heavy and something intriguing blasting through the walls. The time wasted idling on the GWB and Northern State Parkway cost me the opportunity to catch the majority of opening act Waiver‘s set.  I caught the last two songs only, but as any fans of HBO’s The Wire know, it only takes a taste to get you hooked.  The young quintet brought a gigantic sound and performed a quite fantastic, impressively polished brand of melodic hardcore.  They are definitely on the shortlist of acts I’m excited to see more from in the coming months.

After a brief intermission to set up his laptop, MC Lars was ready to show why he is the best in lit-hop. I have to admit, I was a little uncertain.  The last time I saw Lars, I believe, was 2006 at Bamboozle with The Matches backing him up.  Not only was he alone on the stage with just his laptop this go-round, but the world has changed quite a bit.  Now instead of “Cowboy Genghis Khan”  orchestrating wars in Iraq, we’ve got the Q-tang Klan organizing a war on the democratic fibers of the country, while your neighborhood wrestling coach is loudly and proudly prattling on about his expertise in a medical field he never looked into.  That darkness enveloping the earth has shone through in many of the lyrics in Lars’ new LP and I wasn’t sure if Lars could balance his obvious disgust at all this nonsense with his literary genius and witty humor.  Those concerns were calmed immediately when he earned geek cred by explaining how he had just finished taking a 3 hour Statistics test in the Starbucks across the street from the venue.  Donning his signature Oakland A’s hat, Roger Rabbit emblazoned denim jacket and the comically large, faux gold chain with a copy of the NES Legend of Zelda gold cartridge, Lars jumped headfirst into his hour long set with passion and wit.  Starting with the title track off his new LP, Fear of the Blockchain which ends directly calling out anti-vaxxers, and following up with Heaven’s Gate banger  “$5.75,” probably the most lighthearted track dealing with a suicide cult since Dicky Barrett wrote his anti-community, pro-communicable disease anthem for RFK Jr’s rallies.

MC Lars’ comprehensive set list included deeper cuts and classics from his oeuvre, including “Hurricane Fresh,” “Lars Attacks,” “Space Game” “Signing Emo,” “Download This Song” and “iGeneration,” but the stage banter is what made his set so fantastic.  At one point, while discussing wit h audience members some of the acts that had previously played at the AMH, Lars was informed about a local band, Figure Eight, and how a member became a producer by the name of Yungspoiler.  Most artists do some crowd work as a means of getting to the next song, but not Lars.  He took a moment, found a Yungspoiler beat online, and then freestyle a few bars over the independent beats. Then he did it again after finishing “Ahab”, this time all about F Scott Fitzgerald, and the Long Island opus, The Great Gatsby.  I’d always known Lars was an intelligent writer, but his ability to spray improved verses over an unknown beat really put Lars on a higher pedestal.  MC Lars continued the classic lit themes by closing the night with the high energy “Mr Raven,” including a single chorus re-working of the track over, you guessed it, Yungspoiler’s beat.

Next up was the hometown headliners, Wheatus.  Wheatus is easy to write off as a one-hit wonder, hell, I would have if not for their sharing of Lars’ stage.  “Teenage Dirtbag” is one of the greatest power-pop singles in my lifetime; it’s catchy, fun and technical, but I don’t recall any follow ups.  It didn’t matter.  Turns out, the six-piece are technically brilliant on stage and appear to have more fun than anyone on stage.

Opening with “Break It Don’t Buy It” before breaking into “Mope” and “Temporary Song, which morphed into a cover of AC/DC‘s “Rock and Roll Damnation.” Throughout the set, Wheatus performed a mesmerizing feat by taking full control of a crowd that was mostly there for one song.  After a pitch perfect “Satan’s Orders,” Brendan Brown randomly managed to reference 90’s alt-rockers Buffalo Tom and underrated novelist Joyce Maynard.  Nothing about the performance seemed run of the mill for the sextet, and that freshness added so much to the audience’s experience.

The band busted out the well known cover of Erasure‘s “A Little Respect,” and then noodled their way through Rush‘s “Time Stands Still,” before Brendan explaining the origin of “Hey Mr. Brown,” being the song written when he thought he should be in Quicksand.  After a few quick interactions with some locals, Brendan requested his sister Elizabeth join the stage to help harmonize, and poked fun at the common misconception they assuredly face with a quick line “I should probably tune up here, since this might be the only one you’ll know it’s supposed to sound… maybe.”  

So the band dove straight in and performed a 6:49 minute version of “Teenage Dirtbag.”  Yes, I know it was 6:49 because, as proof of my moniker of poor parentage, I wouldn’t let my 13 year old daughter come to the show with me because it was a school night, so we compromised and I promised to record the song live for her.  Mid-song, Brendan told tales of food poisoning, while the crowd seemed to double as a sudden rush to stage occurred.  If more people saw Wheatus live, I can’t imagine anyone thinking they were only good for one-song.  I was blown away by their musical prowess and ability to build relationships with people a few steps off the stage.  

The night commenced with a beautiful scene that I was only lucky enough to witness because i milled around the bathroom and merch tables.  I watched most of Wheatus humbly break down their own set, load off to their van, and stop to spend as much time with the fans as the fans were willing to ask for, all while bassist Matt Milligan was introducing his parents and two brothers to MC Lars.  Of all the wonderful performances I’ve attended, I’ve never once seen such different acts who seem to truly love each other.  How many times do you see one artist ask another for their record, and then ask for autographs? How many times do you get to watch one artist hand his discography off to another’s mom as a thank you “for raising such great sons,” only once in my experience.  It was a scene strong enough to restore faith in humanity.  It was a scene of community that reminded me of why I fell in love with the music.  And, most importantly, it was a scene I will go out of my way to experience any time I see an opportunity.