Oregon Music News

Fruit Bats put on an energy intense, crowd pleasing performance Saturday night at the WOW Hall in Eugene.

As lead singer Eric Johnson, began strumming the opening chords to “Primitive Man,” the lead track from the band’s most recent album, people began flocking in through the door, filling the space in front of the band and then assembling further away in an umbrella pattern around the stage. Johnson lazily continued strumming as more people got up from the benches on the side or threw down their cigarettes and rushed in.

Johnson kept strumming before turning to his band to ask if they were ready, but the backing track wouldn’t stop playing. When he received confirmation from his band, he turned to the mic and said in a kind of playfully aggressive tone, “Turn that music off, we’re gonna play now!” The crowd roared and nobody looked back.

The band began their set leaning on The Ruminant Band, their latest release, but dipped into their back catalog a few times to play some crowd favorites. At one point they crushed a version of Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues” sounding more like Young than he himself can these days.

The band was unmistakably ecstatic to be there, a sentiment Johnson echoed in-between numerous songs. They drew the crowd in quickly and by the second song the audience was yelping, stomping, clapping and singing along. People began dancing, took their air guitars out of their cases, and forgot about whatever was on their mind. There was not a soul in the building who wasn’t having a great time.

The most striking thing about Fruit Bat’s was the way they were able to command an audience–almost as if it would be your loss for not giving them your full attention. Eric Johnson and Co. had a stage presence rarely exhibited in modern rock, and the energy they were unmistakably emanating was gobbled up by the crowd and used to sing, dance and enjoy the music on an entirely different level.

Fruit Bat’s rarely took their foot off the accelerator, but when they did it was at the perfect moment. The ballads felt tender (a few lighters came out), the riffs felt heavy, and it all felt fun, personal and relaxed. Eric Johnson thanked his “newly adopted home state” and Fruit Bats escaped into the night.

Their brand of folk/roots/rock has something that everyone can enjoy and the energy they brought to the stage could pull the most determined wallflower to the dance floor.

Check out Fruit Bat’s covering Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues” in Scotland late last year.