Scapegoat Wax & Griswald

Making another triumphant return to Chico, hometown hero Scapegoat Wax's Marty James hit up the C.S.U.C. campus last Friday evening to a gracious crowd.
For the opening slot, local up-and-comer Griswald unleashed its groove-funk to a sparse and subdued gathering. Perhaps it was the heat, but for some reason people wouldn't approach the barrier and instead preferred to sit on their cans on the grass of the Rose Garden. Seemingly oblivious to the crowd's participation, Griswald frontman Charlie Schonwasser rocked their asses off, commanding their usual superior live presence. Pumping their album, The Goods, they fired through song after song with a cool stuttering, bouncy feel that complements the Chico party scene. It's just a good vibe that's part funk and part rock and seems to mix nicely with any kind of music on the bill. They also honed their already tight sound. If you're new in town I definitely recommend checking them out sometime.
After a set change Marty and his Scapegoat crew finally began to play. Backed by his band, including a live drummer, Mr. James looked as comfortable as I've ever seen him onstage. In fact, he seems much more confident in the live atmosphere, perhaps due to his recent, nationwide marathon stretch of gigs. He sported his special drum machine / sequencer mounted into a Fender Telecaster guitar body and looked like a million bucks. His maturity as a live musician was evident on songs like "Star 6," where he hammed up a little cell phone intro that worked directly into the lyrics of the song. After giving much love to this hometown crowd, he introduced the track "Almost Fine" by saying, "I remember trying to come up with lyrics to this one while riding my bike down the street over here."
The sound was very polished and as time goes on it translates better and better to the live performance. Turntablist Mr. Dope America complemented Marty on the mic with some sick harmonies while throwing in a well-timed scratch when called for. Classic faves like "Freeway" and the new single "Crawlin'" got the kids in the audience swaying and singing along. One can't forget the big hit, "Aisle 10 (Hello Allison)," which the crowd helped him sing along to, screaming just about every word. Though not really the strongest cut of the set, Marty made it a memorable one by really nailing that part at the end where he yells "HELLO ALLISON!!!"
The show was a blazing success, but not without a few standard blips. For one, they covered Jay Z's "I Just Wanna Love U," which to me seemed just plain wrong. I've heard before that it's considered a sin in some circles to cover a song from a contemporary that is still popular unless you are mocking it. Scapegoat didn't seem to be mocking this one. Marty even invited the audience to help him sing the high parts. I don't want to armchair quarterback his set list, but I found myself scratching my head at the time thinking, "Is he serious?"
Apart from this, however, the whole gig was money, baby. All the newbie Chico State students got a free taste of what is putting Chico on the map musically and Marty got to come back and bask in the love of his fellow Chicoans.
– M. Cameron Newell
– Photo by Jeff Shaner

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