Live Music Review // Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals, at the Meriden Green, Meriden CT, August 15th 2024
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This was not the first time that the Twilight Concert Series had music on the Meriden Green, but it was the first time that we were able to go so we did. As a Meriden resident, I must admit that I haven't been to the Green as much as I could, but rather mostly just drive by it when I want to go from the east side to the west side and not take 691. The way that the seating around the shell stadium area plays out is tapered like steps, so it isn't all just one lawn at the same level and I enjoy that you can be staggered and have great seating still.
If you're not from Connecticut (or Meriden) the weather we've been having lately has been to either the extreme of heat or the extreme of rain. Luckily, this week has been all right and as we set out for this show in t-shirts and shorts it was comfortable, though it was in the 70s and some people who were also at this show were in pants and sweaters. So it would depend on your level of cold, but at least it wasn't blistering hot.
Meriden is just a whole vibe and if you don't believe me you have to come out to an event like this. There was one person who skated by on rollerblades several times, moving with the music, before stopping to take off the skates and join the dancers in front of the stage. Meriden has many colorful characters and this show put some of them on display, all the way from right up near the stage (a small child spent a lot of the show dancing as well) to those in the apartments across the street who could be seen watching from their windows. And there were a lot of people here-- Meriden really showed up and it was a diverse crowd as well.
Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals put on a show that I don't think anyone who experienced it will soon forget. The rock n roll style is highlighted by a bit of the blues (think Little Richard but without the piano) but it also did go into one country song and at one point even got funky. Between original songs such as "Animals", "The End" and "Give Me a Second", Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals offered up an array of cover songs which they made their own.
One thing that stood out to me was that Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals covered two songs which might be best known for their covers. They did a seething version of "All Along the Watchtower", which many might know as a Jimi Hendrix song and not Bob Dylan. They also did a kind of funky version of "I Will Survive", which felt more like Cake than it did Gloria Gaynor. Part of this was because they also had special guest trombone player Sophia Griswold up on stage with them at the time and she just did an amazing job.
From The Beatles to The Strokes, Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals even covered Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" to perfection. They had a mix of those sort of modern classics but also classic-classics, as they played the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth" as well. In a shocking move I didn't think I'd ever see in my lifetime, Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals also made it tolerable to listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers with their cover of "Dani California". That is no easy task!
This was just such a fun experience and I was glad it happened in Meriden. Jake Kulak and the Modern Vandals are this jukebox of all of your favorite songs and sometimes you might not know the original artist or title of the song, but you know the words and can sing along. Playing a little over two hours as well just goes to show what type of artist- what type of band- this is and the stamina it takes. Jake Kulak is such an incredible, once in a lifetime talent you should go out of your way to see him with this band or just to a concert on the Green in general.
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