Creeper Lagoon & The iMPS

It was a night of indie rock, heaven for some listeners, while others just didn't get it. But all the same, local band The iMPS, paired with San Francisco's Creeper Lagoon, was sheer heaven for me. The iMPS tore up the house as usual - even though the music gods were against them with a poor sound system and a cold, they followed through and gave their audience another show to sit back and think, "Wow."
All I can say is Jim Rizzuto is a drummer like they don't normally come. Each beat, half-beat, whatever, was finessed and played like few others do. The band's individual blend of country / rock / pop was powerfully layered and exciting, in the sense that you feel like you are seeing something new with each song. Eric Morton's bass and John McCall's guitar and vox demonstrated their artistry with their signature tight, steady sound, all the while entertaining the audience and teaching those kids at The Blue Room (it's all ages) a thing or two. The closing song, you ask? None other than "Rocket Man," and although I'd heard them play this before, it astounded me. How often do you hear a quality band cover a song (a legendary song) and have it sound better and different each time? They played "Rocket Man" as it was intended to be played, but Elton never knew it.
And then came Creeper…I don't know if it was less pressure to play in Chico, rather than SF or Portland, but this show was different: there was a lot more fooling around on the guitar by Sharkey Laguana; Ian Sefchick danced like a spaz and jammed more; the harmonies were stronger and more frequent; drummer David Kostiner had some Who-esque drum solos; and Dan Carr broke out from behind the bass a few times and sang with Ian. And Sharkey wanted to play the piano, but no one would hook him up.
They opened with "Travelling Band," by Creedence (another San Fran band) and continued through the night with songs from I Become Small and Go, Watering The Ghosts Garden and their newest release on Dreamworks, Take Back The Universe And Give Me Yesterday, and played the upcoming single from the album, "Wrecking Ball." They played all the faves, including "Dear Deadly" and "Empty Ships," and what seemed like the whole upcoming album. It's nice to know even when you are seeing a band that spent the first half of their career on an indie label and now are on a major, that their shows still have the outstanding performance level and they aren't afraid to be goofy when the crowd calls for it.

- Laney Erokan
- Photos by Alyssa Starkey

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