On Tuesday night I was treated to one of the funnest, most colorful bands I’ve seen all Spring. Dangerous Ponies, a seven-piece from Philadelphia, came in all their colorful commotion to the Replay.
From what I gathered after watching a series of YouTube videos, Dangerous Ponies was a large band that sometimes sported leotards during their brassy and rowdy performance. So I was curious to see if all seven of them would actually come out to the Replay, and if leotards really were going to be involved. Well, I’m happy to report that the band delivered on both of my inquiries.
First of all, this band travels in style. They’ve got one of the longest tour vans I’ve ever seen, and it’s bright pink and purple in color. The back of the van looks like a carnival dress room, with colorful outfits hung on the windows.
The band was just as flashy onstage. There may have been several of them packed onto that small stage at the Replay, but each member had a purpose during their upbeat and perky-as-hell songs. There’s one guy whose sole purpose is to play the tambourine as flamboyantly as possible. He sings too, but really it’s the tambourine that steals the show for him. There are two women in the band. One rocked a purple leotard of sorts, and the other played…no…she ROCKED the guitar. I’ve said it a million times, there aren’t enough cool chicks with guitars. This one had me eating out of the palm of her hand. Her guitar playing was solid and fast. My buddy commented that it reminded him of The Cars.
The rest of the band was a sea of brazen beards and meticulous moustaches. Everyone donned some sort of bright colored clothing. They constantly hopped up and down and kept the small but willing Replay crowd so upbeat that they even pulled a few in to dance. I was lucky enough to catch this on video (you can see them pulling local musician Katlyn Conroy in to cut a rug):
The band played some songs off their new album before ending with an encore. These folks were a real treat to watch, and my hope is that they find themselves playing at large, glitzy and flashing parties, because that’s the only place where I can see such a glittery and entertaining band.
At the end of their set, my friend and I noticed that their amps were wrapped in some sort of multi-colored wrapping paper. He commented “Just like the music, they’re very colorful.” Baby, you ain’t kidding.