Crystal and the Commotion

 
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Saturday night I braved the cold and drove the 3 miles to the Red Zone to see Crystal and the Commotion. The Red Zone is owned by Randy Kuhnert and sits off old 53 in Hallie along the access road. The building used to house various failed Mexican restaurants and the barhas been open for about 4 years. The Red Zone is a party bar and during the summer you find it by following the glitter of chrome bouncing off the Harleys in the parking lot. Randy used to be my mechanic and I remember spotting him at various music events before he opened the bar. He wasn't watching the music, he was watching the audience. Unlike many area bars hosting live music, part of Randy's vision for the bar included bands. There was plenty of leather at The Red Zone on Saturday night, but it also appears to be a destination—or at least a stop-off point—for snowmobilers too.

The band's website describes them this way:

“Crystal and The Commotion is one of the hardest working, high energy groups in the state of Wisconsin. Featuring vocalist Crystal Dolivo. Peter Phippen, former Airkraft bassist and 2010 Grammy Nominated artist. Guitarist Scott Milz and Drummer Michael Hucek. From Street dances to Corporate events and Casinos to Clubs, you can expect great music from the 60's 70's 80's 90's and today.”

An apt description.

They kicked off the night with with a lively version of “Walking On Sunshine.” Peter and Scott stepped out from behind their microphones and walked into the audience with their cordless bass and electric guitar. Crystal's mic is also cordless and she made sure we knew that the whole bar would be her stage. Other songs in the first set included:Pat Benatar's “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Alanis Morrisette's “Hand In My Pocket,” Lambert's “Mama's Broken Heart,” Sugarland's “Stuck Like Glue,” Bob Seger's “Old Time Rock & Roll” Christina Aguilera's “Beautiful,” Cindy Lauper's “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” Nancy Sinatra's “These Boots,” Lorde's “Royals and Poison's “Talk Dirty To Me.” Highlights of the first set were when Crystal totally hammed it up on “I Will Survive” and when she and Peter did a great version of June and Johnny's “Jackson.” But my favorite was when Scott Milz, the guitar player, sang the straightest version of “Sweet Caroline” I've heard in 20 years. No kidding, there wasn't even a whiff of irony and—oddly—it worked.

Crystal is a bundle of energy and demands audience participation. She wanders the bar, microphone in hand, singing directly to people and encourages them to sing refrains with her. Her eye-contact is frequent and direct and she doesn't miss a thing. She sees who's coming in, who's leaving, who's engaged and who isn't and she'll call out greetings between verses without missing a beat. She's a 5-foot, blond, bundle of energy as she dances, poses and postures. During her band mates' solos she wanders around, touching bases with the audience and Saturday night she hoola-hooped with a couple of her friends. She's just 22 years old, but she works the bar like a professional and she's got that 90s “girl band” voice.

Peter Phippen looks like he's having a great time playing rock-&-roll, bass player god. His face is set in a half-smile, half-sneer and he closes his eyes. In the second set he was smile-snarling with eyes closed and his mic got knocked over into the drum set. No one noticed (except me). Crystal was singing and turned to the drummer, Michael Hucek, and saw the mic. Peter was still jamming with his eyes shut. Crystal didn't blink and—still singing—righted it and turned the mic toward Peter, just in time for him to come in with his back up vocals. (You can read more about Peter here.)

Scott Milz is straight-faced and earnest. He's got a good, true voice and is a great guitarist. He watches Crystal closely, like he's not sure what she's going to do next, but he doesn't seem worried. He just wants to be on top of things.

The drummer, Michael “Slant” Hucek, sits behind his kit like a king, orchestrating it all with a satisfied look on his face. If he's irritated with Crystal's antics, he takes it in stride like an indulgent uncle.

Another highlight of Saturday night's show featured Scott and Michael. The band played Black Sabbath's “Paranoid” and the audience liked it so much that Scott and Michael did an impromptu version of “War Pigs.” They were in their element—not playing for the audience, but for themselves-and for a moment we were all transported back to 1970.

This is a working band. They're fast-paced, diving into the next song almost before the last note of the previous song has settled. There's no need to clap because there's no room for applause between numbers. They're about giving the audience and the person who hired them bang for the buck. Slick and professional, they advertise as a high energy band and they deliver.