Buffalo Loves It Some ‘Cake’, Concert Review

The ArtPark summer concert series kicked off Friday night with a performance by California rock group 'Cake'. Their tour to promote their 6th studio album,  Showroom of compassion, landed the band at the indoor concert arena at ArtPark. The small enclosed arena seemed like the perfect venue for the band as they played new and old songs to a rousing crowd. The guitar riffs penetrated the the crowd and the drums kept the crowd jumping up and down with the beat. Lead singer John McCrea's vocals filled the venue and excited the crowd.

'Cake' was the only act to perform Friday so they divided their set into two. The first set mainly focused on songs from their new album including a lively rendition of their new hit " Long Time". The crowd really responded to the band during another one of their news songs "Sick of You" with a call for the crowd to lend their voices during the chorus.

The band opened their second set with one of their most popular songs "The Distance" from the 1996 album Fashion Nugget. The rest of this set was peppered with classic hits from the band that the crowd sang along with.

In the middle of the second set, McCrea talked about a project the band was working on. The band tours all over the world and at every spot they preform they make a conscious effort to promote saving the environment. They have a website that shows the places they have been and at each spot they give an apple tree to a fan in the crowd and make them promise to plant it and keep it healthy. The woman pulled on stage Friday night was a school teacher that promised to keep the plant healthy and fulfill the band's requests.

Other songs followed that included hits from all of the band's previous album. 'Cake' concluded the night with " Short Skit/Long Jacket" that left the crowd more than satisfied with the performance they had paid for. If you weren't there or have never seen 'Cake' live, I would put the band on your concert bucket list.

Video Footage by Drew Kraus