Live Review: Baby Ray CD Release Party at the Paradise
Northeast Performer, November 1999
Live Reviews: Alan Levesque
If there's one thing that can be said about Baby Ray, it's probably that they are one unpretentious group of guys. Even though the band is signed to New York indie Thirsty Ear, and can boast being label-mates with the Church, this band manages to stay level-headed and reserved. And this night was no different. Sporting a freshly shaved head, a sleeveless t-shirt, and sweat pants, singer/guitarist Erich Groat popped on stage looking more like a soundman than a rock star celebrating the release of his second CD. The rest of the band followed Groat's lead, and hit the stage with unassuming ease.
Baby Ray shot out of the gate playing through the first three tracks off of their '98 release Monkey Puzzle in exact order, with no pauses for introductions in between songs. Guitarist and sometime vocalist Ken Lafler pogoed and windmilled about the stage as the band got their foothold with the now comfortably crowded room. Lafler and Groat traded lead vocals and lead guitar lines effortlessly as they swept into some of the newer material. Especially "Wisdom of the Boondocks," where the two pitch counterpunctal harmonies back and forth with the smoothest of deliveries. "Gossamer Riddle," also off of their latest CD Do I Love America, seemed to be on the lips of a good portion of the audience as the Babies Ray kept the energy level high, the arrangements tight and got called back for an encore. Reluctantly, the band appeased the audience's request with one more song. But on this night, one more just wasn't enough.