Cake @grinders/crossroads station
I think I should start this blog off by telling you about my history/knowledge of CAKE. This will allow you to stop reading now, call me biased in the comments section and move on. 
I love me some CAKE (band). I got into CAKE early in my high school career when the Lazer (105.9) would play “Rock & Roll Lifestyle,” along with tunes like “The Distance” and “Frank Sinatra.” Shortly there after, I picked up both the “Motorcade of Generosity” and “Fashion Nugget” albums. My reaction to CAKE was that it sounded kind-of crazy, but I liked hearing this new music that just sounded so different from every other band. As a matter of fact, John (lead singer), had mentioned between songs that the mid-90s music turned sour because “nobody would play 3/4 time any longer…they were scared.”
So to go on with the rest of the story – I know pretty much everything CAKE has released front-to-back including lyrics, all the trumpet lines, guitar lines, drum lines…you name it. If you wanted to pick a band that I knew the most about, CAKE IS THAT BAND. Ok..here we go…fear my rambling…uh, it’s already started…
It was a brisk evening with cloud cover and a pretty stout wind from the east. My plan was always to take my place as nearest to the stage as possible so I was able to stay fairly warm thanks to all of my wind-blocking new friends. Drink alcohol you say? Yes, but that requires me leaving my spot and fighting people to get my spot back…I hate that.
The night started when I parked my car a few blocks south and came around the corner. Holy crap! This line is a million miles long already and we haven’t even let people in yet! Literally…the line when from the north-side of the block to the south-side of the block, then to the west-side of the block and made it’s way back north. Lucky for me the line had just started moving north at the time and was able to beat half of the crowd. The line went fairly quick though for being so long as it was..though the stage guy announced there was still a line outside an hour plus later, a few minutes before Cake took the stage.
Stage prior to show time
Cake comes out, doesn’t say a word, John cues the trumpet to come in, picks up the Vibraslap and the bass comes in with that well know intro to Short Skirt/Long Jacket. The crowd erupts. From that point on, you knew it was going to be a CAKE fans dream come true.
Some of the highlights were the massive sing-a-longs for most songs, the tree give-a-way, hearing the crowd sing all the lyrics to each song from near the stage and the quirky wit provided by John between songs.
Things of note: CAKE doesn’t use a set list so they spent a few seconds making democratic decisions on what song to play next between tunes.
The Grinders/Crossroads Station place is pretty great. It almost feels like you are watching a concert at Ren-Fest though. LOL There are wood chips all over the ground and little shacks on the side that sell beers/food w/ Johnny on the Spots lined on the side the rest of the way.
John /w redbud tree
I should also give a big “thank you” for the provided (free!) parking SE of the location. It is huge…but they didn’t have it labeled as such so I parked on the street with a million other people. I will keep this in mind for the next show though!
The mix was perfect from what I can tell…I have been to plenty of shows and almost all of them are off which distracts from the music. This was not the case. Mix was spot on so props to the sound guys.
The vibe was also cool at the end because it was such a nice day and everyone was having a good time that you could just stand around and drink for another few hours after the concert. They didn’t seem to be stopping the beer sales from what I could recall so you could just end up drinking there the rest of the night. However, if you are going to stand for another three hours then you must have better shoes than I…my feet start to hurt after an hour of standing.
CAKE – Setlist for Kansas City, MO – 5/2/09 – as close as I remember – feel free to add comments about corrections.
- Short Skirt/Long Jacket
- Comfort Eagle
- Frank Sinatra
- Stickshifts & Safetybelts
- Wheels
- Shadow Stabbing
- Love You Madly
- <new song on their possible upcoming album>
- Satan is My Motor
- Jolene
- <10 minute intermission>
- Arco Arena <awesome instrumental only song>
- <can’t remember the song>
- Italian Leather Sofa
- Mexico
- Opera Singer
- Rock & Roll Lifestyle
- <tree give-a-way> Trisha was the lucky winner.
- Daria
- Guitar
- Never There
Encore:
- War Pigs
- Fly Away (?)
- The Distance
Total play time was around two hours. The intermission was probably ten minutes long and the break before encore was less than five. My only complaint about the whole thing was that they didn’t play the rest of their catalogue.