The Presidents of the United States of America

Although I hadn't intially planned to blog on this band (in fact, was not even aware they were on the lineup until the last minute this evening) I'm glad we made the decision to stick around for their set.

Like most concertgoers at the Jam, we have our "Definite Must-See's" (the bands we KNOW we won't miss) but then most of the rest of the time is spent, well, deciding where and how we will fill the rest of the time. Sometimes this ends up being a little sampling here and there of everyone who's playing. Then again, we may end up so pleasantly surpised at a stage that we end up deciding to stick around for awhile. Such was the case with The Presidents of the United States of America (which, for brevity's sake, will be hereafter referred to as PUSA).

Not that I was totally unaware of this band. I remembered "Lump" and "Peaches" from the mid-90's, and "Peaches" was one of those favorite songs that instantly made me reach for the volume knob on the car radio. It's just one of those happy songs that you can't resist.

But the thing is, I hadn't really given much thought to PUSA in over ten years. To be quite honest, I wasn't even sure they were still around and kicking. And having heard only the two songs, I wasn't sure if their material could sustain interest for me to hold me for an entire set.
But based on the strength of "Peaches," I was willing to give it a shot.

The gamble paid off. Not only was this band an absolute delight from start to finish, but they were easily among the best we've heard all weekend so far.

I would consider PUSA among the same mid-90's wave that brought bands like Green Day, Cake and Blink-182 to the forefront. In contrast to the grunge and heavy-handed post-grunge of the era, these bands featured poppy melodies and a sort of self-deprecating humor, usually managing to do so while clocking in at just under four minutes.

I didn't necessarily know every single song, but as the set progressed, I realized some I had heard many times, on the various alternative radio stations I used to listen to in the days when I was a grad student and traveling frequently between Huntsville and Starkville, Mississippi, a route that usually took me through both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. I enjoyed hearing these tracks again, as well as the new songs. Even though "Peaches" and "Lump" were the two biggies I was waiting to hear, I can honestly say I enjoyed every single number. The band has a joyous contagiousness that just draws you in. If you can resist PUSA, then you must be dead.

So this turned out to be a most interesting evening, as I rediscovered an old favorite band that quickly became my new favorite. I definitely came away with a renewed respect for these guys...and a compulsion to go to Amazon.com and buy all of their CD's.

I may be just slightly behind in jumping this bandwagon, but I'm going to be doing some fast catching up.

Raven Woods