"It's an honor to stand in front of these people and sweat and bleed," said Tony Ladesich the front-man for Pendergast. While no blood was shed during the performance on March 2, there was plenty of sweat. My guess is that the sweat dripping from Ladesich's brow held a higher alcohol content than most of the bottles behind the bar.
During Pendergast's performance at Davey's Uptown on Friday, fans and admirers of the band made their way through the audience and up to the stage. It seemed that everyone in the joint was trying to buy these guys a drink to congratulate them on the completion of their second album.
Between nearly every song an audience member, or several of them, would supply the members of Pendergast with a plastic cup containing a potent concoction. The shot-taking became so ridiculous that Ladesich feigned anger whenever he saw a hand reaching towards him with a beverage.
Once, an audience member handed him a shot-glass filled with what looked and smelled like tequila, and Lidesich's aversion to the drink became apparent. "That's not tequila is it? I'll f---in' punch you in the throat… I'm serious… you're smaller than me. I'll beat you within an inch of your life!" he said.
Although the statement sounded threatening, it was all in good fun. But I still wasn't going to be the one to hand him a shot of tequila, just in case.
As the show progressed, I got the feeling that most of their performances probably turned out this way, with the band and their faithful following getting absolutely wasted and enjoying every minute of it.
To get an idea of what their music sounded like, imagine the storytelling and balladry of Johnny Cash mixed with the electric, guitar-driven rock of Neil Young. At times there was a rockabilly feel, but overall the music sounded a lot like what is being played on modern country music stations today.
Musically speaking, there weren't any surprises or frills, just straightforward rock 'n' roll with a heavy country twang. Pendergast is not an innovative, cutting-edge type of rock band. Rather, they carry on a tradition of electric, blues- and folk-based rock 'n' roll that fits perfectly within the realm of a smoky honky-tonk venue.
Pendergast's originality arises mostly from the lyrical content rather than the music. They are concerned, first and foremost, with storytelling.
Most of Ladesich's lyrics reflected the strife of the blue-collar man or woman - punching time-clocks, dealing with layoffs, and then turning to the bottle as another week is sacrificed to the nine-to-five.
The other common lyrical theme was the sorrow that accompanies love that has gone sour - long sleepless nights, a mind bombarded with regrets, and late night phone calls that should've never happened.
Relationships with women and the daily struggles of the working class lifestyle laid the groundwork for most of the stories which revolved around broken hearts, empty bottles, and barstools.
One of the highlights of Friday's show was when local singer/songwriter Kasey Rausch made a guest appearance to perform a duet with Ladesich during a song entitled "KOA." Ladesich and Rausch traded melodies during the verses, each telling their side of a joint love affair.
During the choruses of "KOA" they sang in unison: "We took off down that highway, hand in hand/ leaving both our lives behind us/ for what we don't know yet."
Ladesich, who became an ordained minister via the internet, was once a fundamentalist Christian. Judging from the lyrics and our brief conversation, it seems that religion and spirituality have always had a large influence on Ladesich's life.
 Ladesich in performance |
One evening, he was entering the Lied Center in Lawrence, Kansas, to see Johnny Cash perform. Outside of the Lied Center there was a group of people holding signs. It looked like some sort of protest, and Ladesich soon discovered that the group was affiliated with Fred Phelps.
"I saw them out front with signs that read 'God Hates Fags,' and I said to myself 'if my religious beliefs put me even within a stone's throw of these assholes, I don't want to be a part of it,'" Ladesich said.
After that, he decided to spend a little less time studying the scriptures and a little more time communicating with people through rock 'n' roll music. However, spirituality, and dealing with the inner turmoil that can arise when questions pertaining to God are considered, remain an obvious component in Ladesich's lyrics.
Friday's show was also special for the members of Pendergast because it marked the official release of their second album Between the Bottle and the Pulpit. The concept of the album was partially founded on the ideas propounded by Sinclair Lewis in his 1927 novel, Elmer Gantry.
In Lewis's novel, Gantry is a reverend, but he is also a womanizer and a fraud. This sort of contradiction appealed to Lidesich and the other band members as they were writing songs for Between the Bottle and the Pulpit.
"The ideas on this album focus on the dichotomy between Saturday night and Sunday morning," Lidesich said. He explained that the key themes in Elmer Gantry have influenced him as a songwriter, a filmmaker, and a person.
  |
Dead Girls Ruin Everything (http://www.myspace.com/deadgirlsruineverything), from Lawrence, Kansas, opened up the show with a high-energy, power-pop set. After DGRE performed, they remained near the stage and acted as the main perpetrators in ensuring that Pendergast did not finish their set with motor skills intact.
Pendergast will be performing again in Kansas City on April 24 at Knuckleheads. To learn more about the band, visit http://www.pendergastkc.com/.
Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College