The Evangenitals at Wingwalker Brewery, 12-12-21 Concert Review

Last month The Evangenitals put on an excellent show outside of Wingwalker Brewery in Monrovia. I remember it getting a little chilly during the second set once the sun went down. Yesterday they returned to the venue for another wonderful Sunday afternoon performance, moving the start time up a couple of hours, so that the sun would still be out when they finished.  And it was quite a bit warmer than anyone was expecting, including the band, who commented on it early in the first set. This venue has a relaxed vibe, perfect for a Sunday afternoon, and the band was fooling around during the soundcheck, at one point getting into a fun little jam, and at another point giving us part of Phish’s “Catapult.”

Then at 2:22 p.m., they began the show with “Hello,” a fitting opening number, its first lines being “Hello, my friend/It’s good to see you again.” It’s always good to see this band, and now that venues have opened up again, I’m hoping to see them more often. Joey then kicked off “Give Me Nothing” on bass. This is a fun, light tune, and it featured some wonderful work on pedal steel. Afterward, Juli joked that the song was her holiday shopping song. She then picked up her megaphone for “Turbulent Flow,” a song from their Moby Dick album (which they released on vinyl). The band mostly plays original material, but during this set did two covers. The first was Tom Waits’ “Fish & Bird,” a song from his 2002 album Alice. That was followed by “Free Love,” in which the band created a dreamy atmosphere. Juli and Andrea then brought out the kazoos for “Sergio,” still one of my favorites, yesterday’s version featuring some nice work on harmonica. That was followed by the second of the two covers, Ween’s “Alone,” with Juli saying, “This is another cover by one of my favorite bands.” The first set then concluded with “Margaretha,” a powerful, captivating song that really demonstrates Juli’s vocal talent. It was one of the highlights of the show. The first set ended at 3:03 p.m.

At 3:28 p.m., Juli announced, “Round two.” And, in similar fashion to their November show at this venue, the second set was funkier, the band opening with “Fall Away,” which has a touch of disco to it. That was followed by “Thumb War,” a song written by Danny Graziani, who played fiddle along with Andrea, and provided vocals with Juli. As they finished the song, Andrea joked, “Danny won the thumb war.” They followed that with “Hippie Song,” which led straight into “Just Stay Away From Me.” As they began that one, Juli said, “I wrote this song about relationships that are better on the internet than they are in real life.” In this one she sings, “Let’s not spoil our love by your being here.” After that song, Juli mentioned having a lot of odd jobs in her life, and added that the next song, “#Werk,” was about that. It was some funky fun, with the audience singing “Hey girl.” And speaking of funk, they followed that one with “I Want To Funk,” with Juli again on the megaphone. They then changed gears with “We Just Get Along.” “No one’s in heaven here/But no one’s in hell/We just get along.” Fairly depressing lyrics, but a fantastic song. They wrapped up the second set with “No Faces,” which began with a delicious punk energy and pace and became a wonderful, kind of dreamy pop song, with Joey totally delivering on the bass. Toward the end of the song, Juli introduced the band. The encore was “Where A Man Belongs,” which was another highlight of the show. Someone in the audience requested “Gasoline,” and Juli said that this song was in that same vein. And indeed, it had that kind of energy and vibe, and is a song that I hope remains in heavy rotation at their shows. The concert ended at 4:18 p.m.

Set List

Set I

1. Hello
2. Give Me Nothing
3. Turbulent Flow
4. Fish & Bird
5. Free Love
6. Sergio
7. Alone
8. Margaretha

Set II

1. Fall Away
2. Thumb War
3. Hippie Song
4. Just Stay Away From Me
5. #Werk
6. I Want To Funk
7. We Just Get Along
8. No Faces

Encore

1. Where A Man Belongs

Here are some photos from the show:

"Hello"

"Hello"

 

"Give Me Nothing"

"Give Me Nothing"

"Give Me Nothing"

"Fish & Bird"

"Hippie Song"

"Hippie Song"

"Just Stay Away From Me"

"I Want To Funk"

"No Faces"

Wingwalker Brewery is located at 235 W. Maple Ave., in Monrovia, California.