Moxy Fruvous Treats Crowded Finney Chapel

Canadian Band Delights with Stand-Up Routine

At last count, the number of dedicated Fruheads in this country was listed at 2,465. Judging by the concert they performed last Saturday night, one would assume all of them attended Oberlin.

Finney Chapel was packed and rolling Saturday as Moxy Fruvous, the upstart Canadian band of the undefinable genre, dedicated a highly energized set that left a young and excited crowd satisfied. Dave Matheson with a sweat-soaked shirt, Murry Foster lovable, Michael Ford with hands over his eyes and Jian Ghomeshi, more than garrolous, electrified the rollicking Finney crowd.

If you had never heard of this band, and you arrived in the middle of the concert, the raucous scene may have come as a shock. Moxy Fruvous has built a strong and thriving following based largely on their interactive and highly original style. The group incorporated numerous genres in their 120+ minute set, including a comedy routine remarkable for its masterful use of silence, flowing masterfully into their classic rap-version of Green Eggs and Ham.

Following their set they responded to the unrelenting cheers of the crowd by giving the first of the plurality of encores, performing to the persistent r claps of the crowd. Throughout the concert, the group had its audience in the happy-go-lucky, 30-and-40-something palm of its hand, and gave the campus a good warm handshake.

Their music is undeniably inspired by the Beatles. Not only do they mention the Beatles in their music, interviews and articles, they refer consistently to the Fab Four in their concerts. In the midst of a remarkable stand-up routine which provided a well-earned rest for the foursome, Jian Ghomeshi, the coffee-loving energetic lead singer and stand-up drum-set player, referred to the crowd as the "sons and daughters of Beatles fans."

Their eclectic style has continued to defy classification by critics, who find it adequate to label them eclectic. The band¹s resemblance to Barenaked Ladies, for their optimism, and They Might Be Giants, for their lyrical-comedic emphasis, is duly noted. However, the Œquasi-a cappella¹ genre is one they have created for themselves.

The Canadian quartet formed in the late 1980s at Thoralea Secondary School, and after several false starts under such names as "Tall New Buildings," the group settled on ŒMoxy Früvous,¹ a term derived either from the Maine-based root beer-like soft drink or the Yiddish word for guts or Chutzpah.

After several years of performing almost exclusively a-cappella, the band found overnight success on August 29, 1992, when they received the call to open for Bob Dylan. Their albums tend to be eclectic more in contrast to each other, keeping a similar character within themselves. 1993¹s Bargainville found relative success to the less humorous Wood of 1995, and each of the following albums prove totally unique.

Of their sound, Ghomeshi said, "We were all tired of what we heard on commercial radio, so our agenda from the beginning was to do something totally different." Their originality was warmly appreciated by this group of adoring fans, and their optimistic, eclectic style could hardly have been more appropriate for the attending audience, the time of year, or the whims of the student body.