That’s right. The disco banana went all the way to the Majestic Theatre in Madison, WI on Saturday, January 25th. Your favorite indie-pop-psychedelic-art-alt-dance group, Rubblebucket, brought Year of the Banana to the fine folks of Wisconsin. Whether you already know, that is the title of their newest hit album. YOTB is a monumental record for the masterminds behind Rubblebucket. Alex and Kal put the best of their brains together on this one. They’ve been producing catchy hits since the early 2000s but something about this album feels different. They really pushed the boundaries of their sound and songwriting with the latest release. Stemming from a book of poems Kal wrote a decade ago, Year of the Banana is a masterpiece and must be in your queue if it isn’t already.
In my opinion, the new album starts with one of the greatest songs that Rubblebucket has ever made. “Stella the Begonia” is a poppy, feel-good track that gets things rolling along greatly, which is why it also makes a perfect opening song for a set. Everybody at the Majestic that night was beyond happy this was the beginning of their night. The fact that they were even in the building was a miracle. Kal told us quickly that they almost didn’t make it to Madison because of a van failure back in Indiana! We were all truly blessed to be in their presence on Saturday.
They played pretty much the entire Year of the Banana throughout the show. Alex made sure we all knew the lyrics to the song “Boomerang” before we helped him sing along. You better believe everyone in attendance went all the way during “Go All the Way With Me”. We also received many fan favorites from past albums such as “Lemonade” and “Sweet Spot”. The moment that summed up the entire night for me, though, was when they played “Geometry”. There’s a reason this is one of their most popular songs and I was brought to tears whilst singing along to the beautiful chorus.
When you're far out to sea in your personal hill
Draw a line to me
And I'll draw a line to you
Let's make geometry
Let's make geometry
The show was filled with fun gimmicks and theatrics. There were multiple props involved including, but not limited to, their own instruments. Every moment of Rubblebucket’s performance is filled with something fun to look at or be involved in. Lots of dancing and movement occurred on stage and that made for some great shots. The band brought their own stage display that showcased their best climbing abilities, along with heaps of surprises coming straight out of the massive piece. I can’t even find adequate words to describe what was going on. You’ll have to let my photos do some of the talking. One of the best props they had was their massive disco banana. The shimmering work of art was proudly displayed during the whole encore.
The concert ended with a parade through the crowd straight to the merch booth. All members of the band stopped along the way and Alex even got up on a stool to play his trumpet above everybody. It made for an extremely memorable moment and I know that everybody there left with a huge smile on their face.
Rubblebucket is only getting better and that is something to be happy about. I cannot wait until the next time I get to see them and if you haven’t already, make sure you put these guys on your radar as I promise you there is something here for everybody. It’s an easy 10/10 for me and I truly cannot recommend them enough. Check out Year of the Banana streaming everywhere you can listen to music.
Check out more PHOTOS from the show!
