THE MAIN SQUEEZE/SAXQUATCH – THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM
By Eric Rauert
The Main Squeeze plays the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio to a totally enthusiastic audience with Saxsquatch for direct support.
When I first put a show on my calendar, I generally track the actual show time for the event, not doors. This helps me keep a consistent schedule and get to the venue when I mean to (usually 15-30 minutes before the opener). This particular Thursday night, I passed a completely desolate Beachland Ballroom with doors closed and not a soul in site. Rechecking my phone, I had in fact showed up an hour and half early for doors, not a half hour early for the show like I had intended.
No matter: I’m a master at milling about. Wandering the neighborhood for a few minutes, I finally sauntered up for my usual personal pizza from Citizen Pie across from the Beachland. To what I can only chalk up to fate, Max Newman, lead guitarist of The Main Squeeze walked out at about the same time I walked in. Being the confident music journalist I am, I only could only squeak out a small greeting before he and his posse made the short stroll to the venue.
Starstruck, I gobbled my pizza then continued milling with my first visit to the venue’s vintage memorabilia shop. This was to be a night of firsts for me, including my first performance watching a grown man play saxophone in an imposing, hairy sasquatch costume.
It was finally show time. In the typical electronic music trope, Saxsquatch started the first song of his set with a prerecorded monologue. As the minute long monologue about the mystery and awe of Sasquatch finished, a LARGE man in a suit crept on stage, picked up a saxophone, and got to jazzin’. A set of mostly sax and electronic remixes of popular songs (like “Every Breath You Take” by The Police and the Cantina Band song from Star Wars), Saxsquatch definitely has some chops on his instruments.
The remixes were fast paced and catchy, with sax keeping along well with the upshifted tempo of the songs. Being a solo act, any live instrumentals were looped so Mr. Squatch could return to layering on his sax while the backing track played. And his saxophone is definitely the most interesting and skillful part of the act.
The remix songs felt a bit typical and contrived but the hairy performer really shines in his original songs. As not the biggest or most current fan of electronica, I need a little something to keep me interested beyond just a beat (of which the bass can be lacking in a small venue like the Beachland). The remix beats were fast but with the layering needed and with his lips constantly engaged, the performances felt a bit hollow and busy.
I really felt the passion on his original songs like “Northern Lights” and “Moondance” however, which were looped expertly and performed passionately. This was a shame, because of the nearly dozen songs played, only a handful were original. Hopefully as Saxsquatch tours more, originals come out and they continue to be performed with confidence. Because as it stands, the remixes and the hairy suit gimmick just aren’t doing it for me. I believe in you Saxsquatch: just make sure you believe in yourself.
After a quick change and ten minutes early to boot, The Main Squeeze took the stage. To start, I just have to say I love lead vocalist Corey Frye’s outfit and vibe, which in a way defines the band. He came out wearing a silk robe/kimono, giving a stylish and considered but laid back feel to the stage presence. Finally getting to see this band up close, they ooze confidence and calm but with an absolutely fun and casual atmosphere.
Right off the bat and several other times over the course of the night, I would find this confidently un-cocky vibe permeating through the whole band. The Main Squeeze smoothed themselves into a quick succession of 3 originals. “Believe” was a funky, soulful start that saw Max Newman warming up on guitar. I only say warming up because this was a bright, lighter beginning to a stellar show.
“Sunday Morning” up next kept the light yet funky vibe, showcasing Frye’s strong lead vocals and a backing vocal and bass performance by Rob Walker (Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals). A quick break led us into “405”, which I was honestly going to write off until I started to notice a familiar musical transition.
The Main Squeeze is not a jam band but its now clear to me after this show they absolutely could be. “405” segued expertly into a cover of Daft Punk’s “Lose Yourself to Dance”, with my jaw on the floor from the absolute groove that they pumped into this song. The transition from “405” would have been nearly imperceptible if I hadn’t listened to Daft Punk religiously since I was 12.
I enjoyed this so much, it might be one of my favorite live pieces of 2023, at the very least one of the best covers. The intimate feel of the venue and being so close helped but this band isn’t selling out yet: you too can get your chance at the magic.
In another moment of honesty here, I continued to get sucked into this show so much my specific timeline notes are a little lacking from here on out. Perhaps this is the best endorsement I can give and I should stop while I’m ahead but there is still so much more to talk about, I’m going to soldier on.
After “Lose Yourself to Dance”, the band took off in terms of live improv/flourish and technical skill. This is a band that absolutely loves what they do and refuses to do anything but have a good time. Having as much fun as they did should be illegal and being so close, I could see the chemistry between the members truly allowed them to deliver on the special moments I’ve highlighted here.
I’ll try not to use the term “jaw dropping” too much but my mouth was open literally several times over the course of the middle of the show. The lead keyboardist, known simply as Smiley, had a chance at a handful of extended jams solo and several with Walker on backup keys. He channeled blues and funk to great effect, gobbling up musical space to give us some stellar funk and even reggae slanted keyboard. And damn if he doesn’t earn his name: I think he was beaming ear to ear when he wasn’t in his pocket.
But when Newman had a chance to go solo with his guitar, it felt like the whole room was transfixed (or maybe just me). I saw him absolutely destroy a sit in at a Beatles cover set, a guest appearance at an Andy Frasco set, his own set, AND an after party set at All In Festival back in September (check out my write up here)! Even with all that, this show was my favorite performance yet.
I’m not yet familiar enough with the Squeeze discography to know what was live and what was from the studio but man can this dude play. Newman has a comparatively static stage presence to others in the scene and but there’s a dangerous amount of soul to his playing. I’ve never seen anyone rip transcendent solos or improv quite as casually but also passionately. When in the zone, Newman closed his eyes and brought his focus entirely to the music, bucking his hips and body along with the highlights. “Trouble” gave us some absolutely incredible breakdowns (from the whole band) and “Shining Armor” was another mid show guitar highlight.
A quick Beatles cover in “My Guitar Gently Weeps” brought us to the final song of the main show. I didn’t like this cover as much as “Lose Yourself to Dance” but I’ll never complain when Newman makes his guitar cry. “Dr. Funk” was the chosen closer and this upbeat, jaunty number was indeed a funky way to end the show. I’m not big on the lyricism of this song (Frye kills on vocals though) but each individual artist got to shine here.
Guitar from Newman would be handed off to Reuben Gingrich on the drums, only for the stage to open for the keys to dominate for awhile. While the highlights we’re executed middle of the show, “Dr. Funk” was a fitting finale before the encore.
Smiley was the first one back on stage, flashing his trademark chompers to lay a simple key backing track for the rest of the band. Each member walked back out and started to jam into “I’ll Take Another”, arguably the Squeeze’s heaviest, longest, and juiciest song of the night. This is what I considered the true ending to the show, as they left the stage with a much louder bang than “Dr. Funk”.
Funk and soul punctuated the slow beginning of this song, which ultimately gave way after a few minutes to rock slanted jams. This was a long, one song encore which the crowd and I were here for: the noise and cheering didn’t stop from the moment they came out to well after the last note.
Do yourself a favor and see this band before they’re playing sold out shows for $100 a ticket. The only logical reason I could come up with for The Main Squeeze not being as popular as they should be is simply because guitar based R&B isn’t as big as it once was. Well that and they’re from Indiana but that never stopped Michael Jackson.
These guys have it all: a talented lineup all the way down, solid original and cover songs with great output, a stage presence that pays the bills but leaves the cockiness, and so much more. Newman is on the short list for best guitarists I’ve seen this year and Frye commands the stage with his powerful and fitting funk vocals. Allow me to indulge in a pun as I leave you with my final thought: this musical juice is worth the squeeze.
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