Chingus & Pokerface

On Wednesday night, LaSalle’s featured two local acts, the first of which was playing its first gig at a bar.
Rookie band Pokerface drew opening duties and presented a sound that could be heard wafting from a backyard party on any given weekend. The band wasn’t short on variety - Pokerface incorporated a variety of different styles into their songs like punk, ska, reggae and funk. This being their first show on a bar’s stage, the band showed signs of their inexperience - the rhythms seemed to be playing catch-up amidst the myriad of different changes - but Pokerface performed admirably nonetheless. The only thing that was missing from their set of Sublime-influenced rock was a keg of free beer.
Up next was headliner Chingus, who transformed the laid-back college bar atmosphere of LaSalle’s into something more akin to a taping of The Tonight Show.
Chingus proved to be consummate professionals, sounding as if they’d be more at home playing a late night talk show in and out of commercial breaks than at a bar and taking the stage, ready to play, after a short set break between bands. On this night, the four-piece band was joined by a two-piece horn section - the Tu Madre Horn Section featuring Mario Silva on trumpet and Mike Newman on saxophone - and opened with an energetic cover of Average White Band’s “Pick Up the Pieces.” From the onset, Chingus’ mission seemed clear - to entertain and get people shaking it on the dance floor, which was easily accomplished. During their first set, Chingus had a smooth, funky, almost jazz-y feel to their rock ‘n’ roll sound, aided by the brazen resonance of the horns. Tu Madre was absent for most of the second set, but Chingus maintained a big, slick sound that was a bit more straightforward rock.
Drummer Zack Bowden and bassist Marcus Schmidt combined to lay down seriously thick grooves, over which guitarist Mark “Gonzo” Gonzalez and keyboardist Glen Keithley layered appropriate color. When vocals were present, they were pretty solid, with Gonzalez taking the majority of the leads and Schmidt and Keithley providing backup, but Chingus’ musicianship took front and center. Flat out - these guys can play their instruments. Even during extended jams - each song seemed as if it could go on forever - the band didn’t miss a beat and played nicely off of one another.
Chingus was also fun to watch, with an unpretentious, almost jubilant stage presence. They played their parts with flair, especially Gonzalez who flared his nostrils, squinted his eyes and grimaced and winced along with each note of his guitar solos. Chingus commanded a nice-sized, Wednesday night crowd through two enjoyable sets and around two hours worth of music. Even toward the end of their second set, as bar employees were putting chairs on tables and the time went well past 1 AM, the band still had people enthused on the dance floor.
- James Barone
- Photo by Ben Kerney

Bookmark:

Comments down for maintenance.