100 Monkeys at The Detroit Bar- A review by Holly

Big Thanks to the wonderful Holly for sharing her account of the 100 Monkeys show at The Detroit Bar.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you an accurate review of the entire night, seeing as I arrived very late, around 11pm.

When I arrived, the band before the boys had just finished. I stood to the left of the stage, just in front of the main microphone and Uncle’s bongos.

The bar was a nice, roomy setting, with booth like seats along the back walls with candles lit all around. The “lounge” was near the back of the bar, almost a separate room. The stage was quite low, about knee high, very small and lined with red curtains along the wall. The boys came on stage and the girls swarmed. What was once a roomy, comfortable place to stand, ended up being a sardine can as girls shoved forward to get a closer look at the band. I can’t remember exactly, you’ll want to ask Katie or Aileen the set list, Jerad gave them both a copy. I believe they started the night with Orson Brawl.

The boys played with full enthusiasim and dedication. The show was as energetic as ever, as the boys sang… a few girls surrounding the stage sang along and it became a crowd wide sing along. The first Improv they sang was titled “Tator Tots”… it was hard to decipher, but from what I heard of the lyrics, Jackson worked his magic, yet again. Ben G told his jokes, Jerad made fun of him, Jackson made girls swoon and Ben Johnson kicked ass on his drums!

The guys ended their set and ran back to their hide out backstage and most of the crowd disbursed.

Sad to say for the people who left, the boys returned to jam out a jazz session. During this set, they played their slower, more bluesy songs and it was much more laid back. At one time during the show, Jerad exclaimed, “I’ve got an ailen in my pocket!” and pulled out a tiny plastic Toy Story alien that he placed on the keyboard. It was a cute addition to the band!

While they tuned their instruments, we asked Jerad to make up a song, we suggested “Fruitcake”, given the season… and he agreed.

Sad to say, he had a lot of trouble with it… but Ben G helped him out. It was a priceless moment, seeing Jerad laughing so hard he couldn’t come up with lyrics. At one point, Uncle came up and sang, it was quite a sight. If I’m not mistaken, I believe he sang Champagne and Reefer… but I could be wrong. It was hard to understand him over the bass. No matter, I love watching him get lost in the music.

We all started screaming out for a Spencer Bell song and Ben Johnson came through for us Ben Johnson ended the night with Spencer Bell’s “Violin”. Unfortunately, I can’t report much on the song, I kind of got lost in the music

What a way to end the night! The boys didn’t come back out after the show, although girls waited around.

The show was a fairly good turn out, nothing as crazy as the Grape Viper Room release party, but I’d say a good 40 people showed up for the show. There was arm room, but still crazy screaming… my kind of monkey show

Overall, I felt it was a good beginning to a crazy tour. I wish them the best of luck and can’t wait to see them home in L.A. again!