If you’ve never witnessed the glory that is Capyac IRL, you have no idea the enigmatic out-of-body energy they bring to the stage. Captivating — emphasis on the root word ‘captive’ — is the closest definition one can muster. For these two brilliant house-meets-funk-meets-a-giant-girating-question-mark musical men combine their talents onstage in a way that metaphysically abducts their audience in alien-like fashion. You dance from your autonomic nervous system. The ascension has begun.
The sidewalk was so clogged with people that passersby stopped to ask the occasion. Who would bring such a demanding, dedicated crowd to Winston’s — of all places?!
After partaking in both years of Lake Perris’ Same Same But Different Festival, Capyac is no stranger to the outlandish inhabitants of Ocean Beach, California. Hell, half the people that attend that fest reside in OB! The SSBD crew used this factoid to their advantage when booking Capyac for a one-off show at the intimate venue of Winston’s, located smack dab in the middle of the main bar drag on Newport. Thus, SSBD and Capyac lovers alike lined the outside wall of Winston’s the night of January 25th, waiting to get wacky inside. The sidewalk was so clogged with people that passersby stopped to ask the occasion. Who would bring such a demanding, dedicated crowd to Winston’s — of all places?! Capyac, of course. I tried to explain their essence to a few people wondering what the excitement was all about: “It’s about to get all kinds of weird… just get inside and experience it for yourself.”
Through the doors, opener Mitchum Yacoub (with members of alt band Boostive) got the dance party winding and grinding right away with an instrumental samba set. They even had a special guest — a famous percussionist on the djembe. As they played, more and more eccentric attendees filtered in, wearing anything from 70s attire to Halloween costumes. There were even two punky mohawks! Anything goes at a Capyac show.
At the merch booth, I spied a Capyac vinyl with some hot tracks on it. The girl working the booth happily confirmed she could get the two Capyac boys to sign it as they set up. Not wanting to impose, I politely declined her offer, opting for possibly after the show to not bother them. She insisted that it wasn’t a big deal and hopped onstage, marker in hand. Both Delwyn Campbell and Eric Peana took time to personalize my album cover; Delwyn even leaned down to shake my hand and chat for a moment. What a guy. Clutching my treasure, I karate chopped my way back across the packed venue to where I stashed my coat to ready myself before I embarked on yet another transcendental Capyac journey.
Let’s take a little intermission to learn more about Capyac. Let’s really set the mood. This is what’s listed as their Facebook bio, so you can get a well-rounded idea of this band:
“Potion met P. Sugz at a baked potato competition in Key West, Florida. P. Sugz beat Potion 4-2 in a match that lasted for three days. Potion was devastated, but after P. Sugz had his car stolen, Potion offered to give him a ride back to Texas in his #redhot Subaru and they quickly became friends, if not lovers. Along the way, they picked up various hitchhikers, each of which, in a fairy tale-like fashion, had a specific musical talent and obvious narrative function (#josephcampbell). By the time they had arrived in Texas, the band had three albums of material and they haven’t worked a day since. At a gas station in Mumple, Texas, they hired Samosa Jones, a meatball salesman with an attitude, as their manager. Today, Potion and P. Sugz live in Los Angeles, California, but communicate nonverbally with various insect species around the world. When not selling fish 😉, they are busy studying the origins of human language and non-invasive surgical technology.”
Doesn’t that just paint a perfect picture? Doesn’t that just tickle your fanciest of all fancies? Now that you’re aware of the greatness, let me try to describe it.
You never know what you’re going to get with Capyac.
At SSBD 1, the boys took the stage with a rotating interpretative dance crew, taking the stage two-by-two to freak with props like a warty squash and a horse’s head. At SSBD 2, Capyac took the stage solo sans dancers… although they opened with a simulated alien abduction, leading into a five-minute cheers where the audience was prompted to hold their hands up like football referees indicating a field goal the entire time. You got yelled at if you put your arms down.
The night of January 25th, Capyac had friends: one adorning a white jumpsuit and matching cowboy hat, freaking with a full-sized disco ball; the other, quietly reading a book on a wooden stool in the back of the stage. Simply fascinating stuff. The set started rocky on the sound front (apparently), with Peana yelling for more in his “15, 16” speakers, which was immediately echoed by attendees shouting “15! 16! 15! 16!” in unison to the beat. One of two co-founders of Same Same Fest boogied by as the music began, leaning in to ask me, “YOU READY FOR THIS??” It was indeed about to pop off, stretching the most epic of dance parties into the wee hours of the morning. Capyac whipped out groovy tracks from the start, segueing into their more popular tracks “Speedracer” and “Fade Out”, amongst others. The flamboyant cowboy sensually humped the floor. The reader read with nonchalance. No matter how you danced, it was excepted, as long as you kept dancing.
If you weren’t at this wild night in San Diego, it sucks to be you. Luckily, Capyac continues to spread their kinky vibrations around the country in a tour that is still underway. Do yourself a favor and hit the reset button on your life by going to a Capyac show ASAP.
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