The Dan Band

Album: ‘The Dan Band Live’          
Year: 2005

There’s something to be said for gender equality in the music business. Shifting of paradigms and whatnot to make a point. Sometimes it lands, sometimes it doesn’t, but it always leaves an impression. Some do it for laughs, some do it for art, but it always makes a statement.

In 1996, CAKE turned the gender paradigm on its ear when it released a deadpan-male version of Gloria Gaynor’s iconic disco hit “I Will Survive” on their ‘Fashion Nugget’ album. To hear it for the first time you may laugh, but what CAKE did was drill down past the glitz and glamour of the song to its artistic core. That’s why the track stands up, musically, well with its 70 predecessor.

Dan Finnerty and his Dan Band do not drill down to the artistic core the way CAKE did, but they do contribute their own artistic take on the songs they cover. The songs they cover, all of which happen to be originally recorded by female artists, are done in a lounge band tone and mostly as a medley of some sort. On the album, the live audience seems to be going wild for this band who is doing unashamed covers of such songs as Christina Aguilera’s  “Genie in a Bottle,” ABBA’s “Mama Mia,” and Kelis’ “Milkshake” (a song I ordinarily loathe). Dan does not play the pronoun game with the lyrics, keeping them as in-tact as will fit their tone and style as a band.

The band, which gained much of their popularity after appearing in movies such as ‘Old School’ and ‘The Hangover,’ does a great, albeit brief, job of turning in a great live experience and translating it over to an album format. The brevity comes from limited crowd interaction, no ego-indulging diatribes between songs about whatever issue is trendy these days, and their overall amped-up style of music. But there’s a want to call them a comedy act when, in fact, they are just a cover band with a peculiar choice of song selection. Are they making a statement with their music? Probably not, but they do leave a lasting impression on every listener.

Track of Distinction: “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I do have to state that, along with the live version of the song there is a studio offering at the end of the disc. The live version is so much better as it seems to capture more of the spirit of the song.