Cake "Wheels" from Pressure Chief Live at Orpheum Theatre Madison, WI Apr 27, 2005

Pushing along, workmanlike, out of the 90's, I never expected Cake to be a live show powerhouse. They're at the point where they really should be finding themselves in smaller venues again, maybe trying to get one of those old-timer's contracts with Sanctuary. And yet, there they were, packing a theatre with relatively young fans and remaking the art of the sing-along pop blast. They commanded the stage like nobody else I saw this year, with the possible exception of Mike Doughty, and like I don't think I've seen generally since Bob Pollard ruled Summerfest a few years ago.

And after the show, Emily got to shake John McCrea's hand, which was pretty awesome.