Spookey Ruben @ CMW 2006

El Mocambo

Toronto, ON

on Mar 2 2006

Phil Villeneuve (CHARTattack)

03/03/2006 3:30pm

Hometown: Toronto, ON

Background/Composition: Catchy early '90s synth rock with a dark streak.

Grade: 69

Comment: Spookey Ruben has a following. This quickly became obvious after each song when someone in the crowd yelled, "Yeah Spookey!" What isn't so obvious is why there's a following. Spookey and his boys all seem to be mired in 1994 — music, dress and humour included. They play tightly executed Weezer-pop, but it's dated.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations
80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.

Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really

Oral And Visual Communication
Eye Contact: E
Pronounciation: E
Stage Presence: G
Stage Banter: G
Image: N
Appearance: S
Use Of Stage: E
Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep:  The entire band looked as though they didn't know what to do with the audience in front of them. They played their sort-of-funny songs on top of '90s keyboards loudly and quickly. If you weren't already a fan, it was pretty hard to get lured into this sketchy mess.

Musical Analysis
Level Of Participation: G
Problem Solving: G
Teamwork: E
Work Habits: E
Organization:G
Audience Participation: S
Sound: S
Composition: G
Songs: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep:  This is funk/pop rock that almost comes off as a novelty act. Spookey bounced around the stage most of the time while the band just stared at him.

Other Skills And Areas Of Interest
Charisma: G
Problem Solving: S
Teamwork: S
Sexiness: N
Haircut: N
Indie Rock Footwear: N
Nods To DisposibleFashion: N
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: E
Actual Ability: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep:  Spookey played a double-neck electric guitar for the first bit of the show and for a man of his height (see: short), that was pretty amazing. He also had an entire phone conversation on the stage that was heard clearly through the speakers. The conversation revealed how drunk the singer was quickly becoming. Most of band wore tracksuits. You couldn't help but think that you'd seen heard it all before when you watched this band flawlessly play their time-warp rock.