Sunday service this week came in the form of Marc Rebillet’s chaotic Places I’ve Never Played and Will Never Play Again Tour. The title was a bit misleading, as Rebillet himself closed the show acknowledging that he has certainly played Arizona before and will absolutely be returning in the future, but it was the fans’ energy that undoubtedly helped with that decision. Tempe’s Marquee Theatre was packed, with fans pressing against the barricade to release their inhibitions throughout the night.
Texas electronica trio CAPYAC emerged into a stage strategically strewn with items like a medieval bust, instruments finagled into a tower of sound and singer/instrumentalist Eric Paena rustling a tangled knot of corded phones from a battered duffel bag. What followed was- in the band’s own words- a collective musical hallucination combining European electronic elements with jazz, funk and everything in between. The resulting set was pure cinema, with vocalist Obie Puckett throwing shapes while keyboardist Delwin Campbell pulled sounds from thin air in tandem with Paena on the other side of the stage. Anyone in the audience unfamiliar with the group began the set in utter confusion and ended with applause and a newfound love for the eccentric threesome.
From livestreaming in his bedroom to touring around the world, Marc Rebillet still hasn’t lost the sense of bedlam and whimsy that continue to make his sets so special. Bounding onstage in nothing but a tight pair of briefs, Rebillet immediately had the room in the palm of his hand and he moved them to the beats that were being created on the spot. As is tradition, most of Rebillet’s performance was sheet improvisation- a testament to his talent at both reading the room and controlling its energy. The rail shook with the force of the fans headbanging against it while the back of the theatre danced with abandon.
After jumping onto the barricade to confirm with the fans that it was indeed getting sticky at the Marquee, Rebillet remixed that audio and showered the room in confetti for the middle part of the set. The entire performance was conducted on top of a huge inflatable setup while the lights flashed in hues of pink, green and blue in time with Rebillet’s beats and improvised lyrics. As the first portion of the set wound down, Rebillet introduced tracks that were well known to the crowd and they responded with enthusiasm to close out the night.
Rebillet’s final message was one of sincerity- take care of each other and make the world a better place. These departing words were accompanied by his last mixes of the night, sending a very sweaty crowd back into the real world, thrilled at their chosen Sunday night entertainment.
