Concert review: Mount Righteous CD release party at Rubber Gloves (June 7)

by Catherine Cuellar

DENTON — No doubt Grapevine's Mount Righteous will remind some of The Polyphonic Spree. With the band's 11 members on stage and performances filled with hand claps and sing-along lyrics, every audience member feels part of their show. But works in Mount Righteous' debut songbook When the Music Starts (produced by John Congleton and released Friday night - technically early Saturday a.m. - at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios) are all-acoustic and comparable to other true originals.

Imagine a marching band, choir members, and church campers performing on sousaphone, bass drum, accordion, xylophone, melodica, and acoustic guitars - among other instruments. The resulting sound recalls Sufjan Stevens, They Might Be Giants, and Avenue Q. With all member musicians in their early to mid-20s, it seems doubtful any are old enough to even realize that the lollipops and "cupcakes in the sky" which they sing about in "Licorice Night" sound a bit like "Puff the Magic Dragon."

Guitarist/vocalist Derek Terry got a nosebleed on stage, but continued to rock in the tradition of Ben Kweller at the 2006 Austin City Limits festival despite looking startlingly similar to the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne in performance. Though there were no costume changes or special light shows, opening act Fishboy became a human bubble machine for encores (including a riff on Ray Parker, Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" theme), while audience members kept dozens of balloons aloft, and a fake mustache occasionally disguised various band members.