The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales at the Soho Theatre

by Danielle Langman

UC Santa Cruz

October 8, 2011

Jason Beck AKA Chilly Gonzales

When I stumbled into the Soho theatre to catch a comedy show on this rainy October evening, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. It was still early, I had run out of things to do and the last thing I wanted to do was go home and stare at my blank white walls. I figured anything being put on by the Soho theatre had even the slightest potential of being more entertaining than that. So, I gave it a shot. I walked into the theatre box office and asked the woman at the till if there was anything good happening that night. She pointed to a chalkboard with the name “Chilly Gonzales: The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales” scribbled on it, explaining that it was sold out but that she had one return ticket left. “Hmmm, should I take it?”, I thought… “Yeah, why the heck not? I’ve got nothing better to do tonight!”. I gladly purchased the ticket and made my way to the newly opened Soho downstairs theatre.

 

I found a seat toward the back of the already packed house and braced myself for the hilarity to ensue. The room was dimly lit with candles and red, blue, and purple lights glowed from the walls. On stage, I noticed a black grand piano and several chairs, suggesting that the piano would play a major role in Chilly’s performance. Before the show, I read through the Soho theatre pamphlet, which contained a little blurb about Chilly. I knew the name sounded familiar and then I remembered why: he’s collaborated with one of my favorite musicians, Leslie Feist (best known for her single ‘1234’ which you may have heard in all of those Apple iPod nano commercials). Throughout his career, he’s assumed many roles: a Jewish rapper, an indie kid, a record breaking solo pianist, a composer, producer (of Feist, Jane Birkin, and Jamie Lidell), and a self-proclaimed “musical genius”. Tonight, he would be performing songs from his new, genre-defying album entitled “The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales”. I had a feeling this was to be more than just a comedy show and excitedly waited for him to come out and show us all he had to offer. 

Soho Downstairs Theatre

The show began abruptly when Chilly walked on stage and immediately began playing an elaborate, introspective piano piece, instantly demonstrating his proficiency as a classical musician. He played for several minutes, stopping mid-way through to introduce himself to the audience and crack a few jokes. Oh, I forgot to mention that he walked on stage wearing a silk bathrobe over a dress shirt and pants. His eccentric attire seemed to go hand in hand with the rest of his performance, which was at times quite shocking, amusing, and uncomfortable. After warming his fingers up on the ivory keys for a while, Chilly begins to address the audience as if they are old friends stopping by for a visit in his living room. He paces back and forth on the stage, still wearing his silky bathrobe, telling stories of his childhood, and delivering stand-up comedy worthy of Larry David (detailed with plenty of personal anecdotes). He even explains, in great detail, how his music was “jacked” by Drake, a fellow Canadian musician, for use on his new album but that they’re supposedly “cool with each other now” and discussing plans of future collaborations. I appreciated his honesty and bluntness, although it became a little tiring after a while. Luckily, he didn’t spend the entire time explaining his life story and got back to playing music.

Chilly workin' the piano!

Chilly Gonzales is the king of pun-making; his music frequently alludes to pop culture and is even pretty self critical. He’s an ironic rapper on the outside but his reputation as a classically trained pianist/indie star overrides our ability to take him seriously in that genre. Nevertheless, his songs are difficult to classify—consisting of a wide range of styles, combining ironic, rhythmic, rap-influenced lyrics with chamber music as their supportive backbone. He delivers the lyrics with ease and confidence, pounding on the piano keys, and requesting that his backup drummer make the songs sound more epic. “More drums please, I want this to sound like some f**cking Phil Collin’s drum solo. Again. No, like this…”, demands Gonzales. At one point, Gonzales even pretends to get upset at his drummer, banishing him from the stage, though eventually allowing him to rejoin the show at a later time. At the heart of his performance, however, is not the music (though incredibly amusing) but his ability to engage with the audience, sometimes soliciting their assistance against their will and occasionally causing embarrassment. In between his ironic rapping and piano playing, he gives impromptu piano lessons to random audience members. His chosen method of engagement is guilt: “Who wants to come up here and play this tune? It’s really simple, yeah, how about you! Come on…just do it. I’m going to wait here until you come on up. Don’t make me angry. You’re letting down all of these people.” Most people were open to the idea and complied, however, one audience member downright refused for unknown reasons. But, rather than let it go and move on to someone else, Gonzales stopped the show and pestered the woman until she agreed to participate (which obviously didn’t work). As Gonzales became more frustrated, she became increasingly uncomfortable because he simply would not let it go. He even threatened to end the show right then and there if she didn’t come on stage, to which the audience responded negatively. Eventually, the tension let up and he made do with the available willing participants. 

To be honest, his forceful reaction to unwilling audience members turned me off instantly, despite how much I enjoyed his blunt humor and creative take on music with his rap-classical fusion. The show continued on, and Gonzales even introduced his Apple iPad into the performance, turning on a simulated fireplace to make us feel more at home. As if his performance were not quirky enough, he began to play the electronic keyboard (via iPad) alongside his piano, adding a bit of a lo-fi quality to his songs. The icing on the cake, however, happened at the very end, when Gonzales kicked off his slippers, climbed on top of the piano and played a flawless rendition of one of his songs using only his toes. This end bit was quite impressive, silly, and very much in line with Gonzales’s attempt to shock and awe his audiences through his alternative take on music and comedy.

Look mom, no hands!

Going into the theatre, I had very few expectations for Gonzales’s performance and I must say that I was equally pleased and disappointed. For the most part, Gonzales delivered an entertaining show, complete with humorous rap songs and piano tutorials, improvised piano pieces, and more. However, I can’t excuse his stubborn attempt to force an audience member to participate when she clearly did not want to, even if it was “all in good fun”. All in all, I can respect his effort to turn musical genres and expectations upside down to create something uniquely Gonzales. He’s an acquired taste, that’s for sure.