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Sugar Ray keeps
its World Cafe set
short and sweet

By Wayne Akiyama
Special to the Star-Bulletin

DESPITE overcast skies and on-again-off-again rain, Sugar Ray delivered a concert that shined.

Nothing too heavy, and nothing too light. Just 12 songs, running a little over an hour, that entertained and kept your head -- not your bon-bon -- bobbing with the beat, at the very least.

For the most part, the band's live performance of their hits wasn't much of a departure from their performances on disc, which isn't a bad thing considering the catchiness of their lyrics and guitar licks.

The band, once dismissed as a one-hit-wonder, performed all four of their hits to date. "Falls Apart," "Fly," "Someday" and the evening's finale of "Every Morning" were more like singalongs for an enthusiastic audience, thanks to encouragement from frontman Mark McGrath. During those songs, it seemed like the whole audience sang, which seemed to please the telegenic singer.

"Fly," their first and probably best-known hit, incorporated a grittier guitar solo and an addition of the lyrics from "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles. It wasn't bad, but in a perfect world, Super Cat (who performed on the album track) would have been on stage as well.

"Falls Apart" also stood out . The depth of the song was well served by the intensity of live performance.

Surprisingly, the band's mellow demeanor and laid-back lyrics still inspired a few bodysurfers during the evening. But for the most part, the band's music inspired most to dance. World Cafe provided the perfect venue for Sugar Ray's vibe.

The least familiar songs didn't inspire much movement from the audience, but the band's approachable and down-to-earth attitude helped to fill in the gaps between hits.

As usual, entertainment came not only from the band, but from other sources as well.

Before entering the cafe, concert-goers also had to run a gauntlet of sticker-wielding zealots from Star 101.9 and KPOI 97.5, leaving most with the adhesive advertisements plastered all over their bodies.

And, shortly before the concert began, women began streaming into the men's restroom because of the long line to the women's restroom.

Midway through the concert, McGrath expanded on his audience participation by bringing up two concert-goers and staging an impromptu freestyle hip-hop challenge.

The two members of the audience went home, at last report, with no record contract. McGrath has yet to find the next Ice Cube in his audience.

Overall, the sold-out concert was enjoyable, and a welcome distraction for anyone "Bon-Bon'd" out.

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