Review by Aaron Weber
Photos by Matt Bechtold (coming soon)

Talk about build up. Those of us familiar with the UFB camp had been anxiously awaiting this CD Release Party for nigh on two months now. While "This Will Be Laughing Week" has been available for about three weeks (and in my CD player for most of it), and the Bottleneck was the site of the first CD release party two weeks ago, everyone that has ever played Aggieville knows that "Manhappening" is where the fun is at. Bill, Nick, and Eric have been hinting at the treats in store for us at this rock show spectacle for some time now, and anticipation was high.

In the tradition of arena-rock spectaculars, the boys in Fakebook called on two other heavy-hitters to set the mood. Little Rock, Arkansas' Ashtray Babyhead and Kansas City's Frogpond (whose second Columbia release "Safe Ride Home" is fast approaching) rounded out the bill o' rock. I've been preaching the merits of Ashtray Babyhead to anyone who would listen since my first encounter with them in late '97. This power punk/pop quartet from the land of Clinton produced one of my all-time favorite independent releases "O-Rama" (on the now defunct Valomar Records) which served as my alarm clock for nearly six months. However, my copy of "O-Rama" was lost and Thursday provided me the opportunity to stock up, much to the chagrin of all my friends and loved ones, who will now have to listen to it incessantly.

AB's set was a good mix of old and new material, if nothing else heightening my desire for a new album. At the beginning of the set, it was apparent that not many in the audience was familiar with Ashtray, but by the end of the set they'd won over the crowd for good. Scott Cook's energetic stage presence and searing vocals tore through their set of girls, guitars, beer, and cars with a rock solid core provided by drummer Ryan Scott, bassist Jason Tedford, and guitarist Jeff Mantika. Unfortunately for me, they didn't play the majority of tracks off their album, but they did run through the title-track "O-Rama", "Crush", and "Vilonia". At one point Scott stepped up and did a solo rendition of "DreamGirl" at the very insistent prompting of Nick Colby. All in all it was a good rock set, which no doubt created a whole crop of new fans.

Between sets, the soothing sounds of KISS's Greatest Hits played across the PA system, only adding to the excitement. After Ashtray Babyhead cleared out, the still growing crowd surged forward toward the stage. Having been to many a Frogpond show in the past, I knew that up front wasn't always the safest place to be, so I retreated to the balcony. Frogpond started the show with a rousing run of "Red Spider" off their first major-label effort "Count to Ten" and sure enough, the pit started up. Quite frankly, I've never understood this. Yah, Frogpond does the heavy guitar bit from time to time, but I'd never considered it, ya know, moshing music. It's always struck me as the quietly bob your head/tap your feet stuff. Weird.

Notable news in the Frogpond set was the apparently permanent addition of El Fontaine's Marty Robertson on guitar. With nearly two years gone since Kristie Stremel left Frogpond to form Exit 159, it's nice to know that Frogpond's line-up is finally complete. They had a different guitarist at their Bottleneck show on March 5, so Marty can't have been playing with them long. This was further proved by some hesitancy on his soloing on various songs, but he did well considering it being his first live performance with the band. His style seemed a bit off by Frogpond standards, but that's to be expected this early into the game. Only time will tell if Marty's guitar sound will truly fit with this band, but here's hoping for the best. Frogpond hasn't played a lot of live shows in the last year and it does tend to show in their presence. They've never been a very engaging band to see live, but they lost a lot of personality when Stremel and drummer Megan Hamilton left. A recent stint with the Goo Goo Dolls this winter (with another coming up) brought back a lot of confidence, but there still seems to be a lot of ground to catch up on. Luckily, they have a true force of will in drummer Billy Johnson (late of Rocket Fuel is the Key), and his maniac grin and full rock drummer moves provide a lot of entertainment.

Their set was a nice balance of material off of "Count to Ten" and the forthcoming "Safe Ride Home", but it'd be nice to hear some of the older songs like "Emotional Slut" and "Notion". They really haven't altered anything with the older material, but some of the new songs like "How Would You Know" and "I Did" certainly brighten up the mix with more upbeat guitar and vocals. Heidi Phillips was as solid as ever with her vocals and guitar, but bassist Justine Volpe's back-up vocals seemed to falter on occasion, and with the sound system that was used it came through LOUD. Songs like "22" and "Whatever" show a much heavier side to Frogpond than previously displayed, and I wonder if that's necessarily a good thing, but before things would get too heavy, they'd swing back with songs like "Waiting for a Friend" and "Trust" that brought them to our attention in the first place. "Trust" proved a treat as UFBer Eric Melin took over the drums, allowing Billy the chance to take a break and get a little stage-diving in. Not so odd, but when you factor in that his MOM dove after him it was quite the hoot.

All in all it was good to see Frogpond back on the stage in Manhattan after a nearly three year absence, and as the moshing crowd certainly seemed to appreciate it. With their own album coming out, we'll have to see if Frogpond can maintain their spot as one of the most crowd-appreciated bands in the area...

Hmm....I don't really know how to set up UFB's set. There were a lot of rumors about the show, and everyone was anxious to see what was true and what was not. The Ashtray Babyhead boys keep saying over and over "These guys are my favorite band around", a thought that was echoed by many in attendance. The floor was packed tight and all eyes were on the closed curtains of the stage. After "They Call Me Dr. Love" finished on the PA, everything went quiet as the amps heated up. Soon enough, the strains of Bill Mcshaine's guitar were heard as he started off the set the set with "Real Drums". The curtains slowly opened to a dark stage, where only the outline of Bill in his big shag coat against the guitar were visible. Halfway through the song, drummer Eric Melin and bassist Nick Colby joined in and the lights came up. With a vengeance. Decked out in full glam gear, they were surrounded by hundreds of Christmas lights strung around the amps and drums. Behind them in true ROCK fashion were 7 foot tall letters spelling out "UFB" in even more lights. Needless to say, the crowd went wild. They followed this up with the beautiful pop gem "Tell Me What You Want (I'll Be Anything)", but the sound dropped off at the end, and wasn't fixed until they were well into "She Don't Even Know My Name".

The first set consisted of the bulk of "This Will Be Laughing Week" with two new songs ("Catch the Beat" and "Popscotch Party Rock") thrown in. The original UFB drummer, Mot Waldmann, came up and sang on the high-school rock anthem "Brokyn Needle" which set a bit of a standard for the rest of the night. They ended the first set with the wonderful "Soaked in Cinnamon" and retreated off the stage to re-coup their energy while the MC's Gemini (of Lab M83) and Brianne (of Lushbox) got up on stage to let us know that the night of rock was far from over. After a slightly confused gift-certificate giveaway, the stage opened up once again to reveal the WHEEL o' ROCK (TM). Think Wheel of Fortune for the rock-inclined. This 8-foot disc was covered with song titles and things like "You Pick", "You Sing", and "You Dance". Gemini and Brianne would bring some lucky concertgoer up to the stage and let them spin the Wheel, while the Fakebook kids threw out rubber guitars and other goodies.

Not only did the wheel provide opportunity for us to hear songs like "Liferaft Halo" and "All The New Poison" (with Billy from Frogpond lending his vocals", but UFB played some long-forgotten gems like "Valentine/Leap Year" and "You Won't See us" as well as a rousing cover of the Replacements' ode to Big Star, "Alex Chilton". Members of Podstar and Ruskabank got up and sang on many a song, and there was much stage dancing/diving from all corners. 'Round midnight they finished up with another oldie "Fruity" and cleared out, while the crowd chanted "UFB ROCKS" and stomped their feet. In the end, they came back out, sans drummer and Ryan Scott from Ashtray Babyhead filled in with Mot doing the vocal honors on the Motley Crue classic, "Shout at the Devil". Under other circumstances, it's safe to say that this show would have continued indefinitely, but alas there was a midnight curtain for the show. But it's a sure bet that no one walked away disappointed.

Fakebook's music has always been the unsung testament to high-school crushes, rock star aspirations, and general teen malaise set to unforgettable guitar hooks and bouncy choruses that stay in your head for days. Much like Ashtray Babyhead, they set their beat to the true spirit of pop rock, without the sly irony and highbrow allusions of our current radio crop of popsters. It's been said that right now, pop rock n' roll is the true alternative, and in this landscape of angst, noise, and goofy rock, it's proving to be the case. Some people have argued that the scene is too heavy with Pop-Rock bands like UFB, the Creature Comforts, and Exit 159, but if you look closely, you'll see that the heavier bands outnumber them nearly 5 to one. But what remains is that the pop bands always bring in crowds. Regardless of what style is currently in vogue, pop rock bands bring in the crowds because they tap into a part of us that is somehow attuned to rock n' roll. Much like the teeny-bop sounds of the 50's or the Brit.-pop of the 60's, pop speaks to us in a way we can all relate to. Everyone knows the power of a high-school crush, and it's a safe bet that we've all harbored our own rock n' roll fantasies from time to time. In the end, Pop is eternal. And bands like Ultimate Fakebook not only know this, but also show us why that is, again and again.

Over all, this show was indicative of what a ROCK show should be. Loud spectacle, horseplay, audience participation, and much rockin'. It's no wonder that these Manhattanites are the pre-imminent ambassadors of rock in this region. And if you need further proof of this, just pick up their disc "This Will Be Laughing Week" (Noisome Records), or barring that, check them out next time they play in your area. You won't be disappointed.