Monday, November 15, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 5
Marcy Playground offers more than Sex and Candy
Kansan sports columnist
By Seth Jones
The question Marcy Playground needs to ask itself is, outside of sex and candy, what else could fans want?
Marcy Playground, whose single Sex and Candy helped the group sell 1.5 million copies of its first, self-titled album, played at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Saturday night. With its second album, Shapeshifter, only a month old, the group is hoping to follow up with the same success.
Combining solid guitars with smooth vocals, Marcy Playground played an enjoyable and unique show. These guys didn't jump around the stage like maniacs with a strobe light going crazy. Instead, the lead singer did a weak imitation of a robot dance and let the music do all the talking.
Front man John Wozniak opened the show by himself with the slow Opium from the group's first album. Building to a crescendo as the rest of the band walked onto the stage, Wozniak switched to Poppies, another old song, before getting into new material.
It's Saturday, the first release from the new album,
was the first new song the band played. The group
Commentary
mixed up the set, playing eight songs from Shapeshifter and seven from the first album. The group also played two unreleased songs.
Most of the band's music was brooding but clear. Someone obviously must have picked on the band members too much in junior high. Throughout the set, Wozniak's painful lyrics dominated the instruments. Much of his singing comes through in an almost conversational tone, with occasional moments of crooning.
Adding to the mellow mood, an interesting light show was available courtesy of California-based Brotherhood of Light. Using a common overhead projector, just like the projectors found in most campus classrooms, a man known simply as Liquid Pete flashed colored waves of bubbles on a screen behind the band. He also had a video projector, which flashed images of everything from old ships to Japanese animation with the bubbles.
"I use clock faces with mineral oil, then add food coloring, oil dye and other things to make it colorful."
he said. "I've been doing this for The Allman Brothers since 1984. It was actually four college guys doing too many drugs who figured out you could use a projector like this and make a pretty cool light show."
With the light show rolling and the band in a groove, Wozniak asked for more crowd participation.
"You have freedom about the cabin," he said. "The seat belt light has been turned off, people."
Two songs later, the band bid Lawrence farewell with five more shows scheduled for the month.
After playing for an hour, the band took a brief rest. Wozniak once again walked back out without his four-man band, and played the hit Sex and Candy by himself.
Bands like Marcy Playground unfortunately get identified with just one song. *Sex and Candy* will be the song with which fans always identify the group. What people should realize is that Marcy Playground shouldn't be a one-hit wonder. With the proven ability to put together enjoyable CDs and perform entertaining live shows, Marcy Playground is a band that should be known not just for *Sex and Candy* but as a band not afraid to break the mold. Grade: A-
Edited by Kellv Clasen
Bassist Dylan Keefe, left, and lead singer John Wozniak of Marcy Playground perform at the Bottleneck Saturday night. The band was promoting their new one-month-old album, Shapeshifter. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
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