Line-up

Headliner
Cake Last time in Cologne: 14 years ago

Venue

Schanzenstr. 6 - 20, Gebäude 3.12, 51063, Cologne, Germany

Cake biography

An alternative rock band formed in Sacramento, California, USA. Cake have been going strong since 1991 with lead singer and band creator John Mcrea.

Cake has had many members in the past, but the current members consist of the three original members: John Mcrea - lead singer, Vince DiFiore - trumpeter and returning bassist Gabe Nelson - who left before the release of their first album 'Motorcade of Generosity' and returned when bassisst at the time; Victor Damiani left. The fourth member of the band is Paulo Baldi who joined after 2009 after previously working with the band on their fifth studio album.

Their debut album Motorcade of generosity was self recorded and self released. Copies of this album were being sold from the back of the bands van in order for them to pay for the costs of their tour. The album was well received and was even named one of the best indie releases by 'Pulse!' The success of this album led to Cake being signed by Capricorn records in 1995.

The musical influences of Cake span far and wide as they range from Iranian folk music, to the likes of hip hop, mariachi, rock, funk and country.

The second album of Cake entitled 'Fashion Nugget' was extremely successful and managed to go platinum. The third album 'Prolonging The Magic' followed suit and also went platinum. It was named as the second best album of 1998 by The Columbian.

Cake's fourth album 'Comfort Eagle', saw their prior success catch up with them as they signed a deal with Columbia Records. The success of the album allowed the band to tour across America, Canada and even Europe.

On august 14 2007 Cake formed their own label which allowed them to release their own albums. In 2011 Cake released Showroom of Compassion which they recorded and produced by themselves and managed to open as number 1 on the Billboard top 200 Albums.

Live reviews

Who doesn't love CAKE?! They are definitely one of those bands who never ceases to amaze me. I've been listening to them since I was a kid because they are a band the whole family can enjoy. Their lyrics are relatable but still so very unique (and for the most part, kid friendly!). How many bands successfully use a vibraslab? So few that I had no clue what it was called and had to Google "Instrument CAKE uses."
Their latest album, Showroom of Compassion, proved that after 17 years, they've matured as a band but have still stuck to their roots, sticking to monotone (in the best way) vocals, more amazing trumpet solos, and fun, repetitive choruses that last just the right amount of time. They're albums are diverse but still seem to all work cohesively. Their " B-Sides and Rarities" album proves that they can take a song as iconic and heavy as Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and still inject their own fantastic feel.
I've seen them live three times now and each is better than the last. From singer John McCrea's dry humor and Vince DiFiore's killer trumpet solos, to even giving away avocado trees to fans, I found myself singing (or yelling) along to almost every song, my favorite being Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle. They love to get the crowd involved and are absolutely a band I would pay to see again and again, as it is always a new, but extremely memorable experience. As a band, they continuously go the distance.

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