Orangutang

Farewell Show at The Rat
by Ammo

It is truly a sad thing to see a band that you know and love decide to call it quits. Like Strip Mind before them, Orangutang was a band that we all watched grow through the ranks, develop and mature, and when they got their deal with Imago, we all rejoiced with them. Dead Sailor Acid Blues was an album packed full of alterna-pop gems, particularly the world-worthy single “Shiny Like Gold,” and all their Boston fans believed the album, and the band, would be a huge success.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of harsh realities in the music industry: Under-promoted releases, label non-support, life in a squashed van, driving hundreds of miles from one possibly hostile or indifferent venue to the next, sustaining on hot dogs and Twinkies… Talent has little to do with it, and the results are rarely in the band’s hands at any time. Luck, “schmoozing,” and the right friends have as much to do with success on a national level as they do on a local one. Believe it.

Orangutang, however, went out with a scream, not a whimper. This was an eventful night at the Rat, and everyone in attendance felt it, as the band belted through a roster of songs, spanning their history from beginning to end. They pulled out all the stops – tossing in some of their rarest 7″ single tunes with statements like the acidic version of the melancholy ballad “Shiny Like Gold,” to create a collage of triumph and heartache. Even as the clock wound down to the inevitable club closing, the crowd hung on singer Chris Dyas’ every word, as he asked the legendary soundman, “Granny, do we have time for one more?”

A sad farewell for us; hopefully just a turning point for these four talented artists.