TOE Rocks, Opens Doors at City Hall

Eric Bates, Owen Lee, Ted Nelson of Toe

Eric Bates, Owen Lee and Ted Nelson rock – both in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and in their rock band, TOE (Ted, Owen, Eric).
   The stalwart Generation Xers, whose day (and night) job is performing with the CSO, shifted into alternative gear as guest artists on the first of this season’s “Mayor’s 801 Plum” concerts April 25 in council chambers at Cincinnati City Hall.
   Born and raised during the cultural divide that saw the ascendancy of rock music, the three grew up loving the contemporary beat, though each cast his lot with the classical camp.
   Violinist Bates is first assistant concertmaster of the CSO, Nelson is a member of the cello section and Lee is CSO principal bassist.  They and the rest of the CSO are just back from a whirlwind tour of Europe – 12 concerts in 15 days in five countries. The CSO has three concerts April 24-26 at Music Hall.  Bates, Nelson and Lee had just performed a matinee with the CSO earlier on the day of their “801 Plum” debut.
   Mozart was not ignored at City Hall. The Austrian master figured on both concerts, sharing the City Hall program with a “stoner/shoegaze/sludge” set that demonstrated the span of the universal urge called music.  Attendees ranged from pre-schoolers to retirees.  They took away an earful -- plus beverages and tasty appetizers catered by “Cincinnati Cooks!” during the pre-concert “happy hour.”
   If you missed it, remember the name: TOE.  Just two years old, they have been heard in such venues as the Mad Frog and Top Cats.  Visit them and hear their music on My Space at www.myspace.com/toerocks.
   Naomi Lewin of WGUC-FM provided the introduction, after which the bandsmen took over and spoke for themselves.  Their “cover songs,” said Lee, were “not Billy Joel or Van Halen,” but Mozart, Albrechtsberger (one of Beethoven’s teachers), Rossini, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak.
   Bates and Lee were joined by CSO violinist Cheryl Benedict and violist Stephen Fryxell in a gracious opener, the first movement of Mozart’s early Divertimento in F, K.138.  Bates, Nelson and Lee performed two movements from Albrechtsberger’s jolly Divertimento, also in F Major.  Nelson and Lee followed in Rossini’s Duet in D for Cello and Double Bass, a challenging piece written for the Owen Lee of his day, Italian bass virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti (Dragonetti is the reason double bass parts in Beethoven’s symphonies are so hard, Lee said).  Bates, Benedict and Fryxell re-joined Nelson in a dreamy, nuanced Andante cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1.  All five closed with “one more by a dead white guy” (Lee), the rousing Allegro con fuoco from Dvorak’s Quintet in G Major.
   “Stay tuned, the night is young,” said Lee as he, Bates and Nelson morphed into TOE.  Bates sings and plays guitar, Lee plays drums, Nelson sings and plays bass.  All write songs for the group.
   Guitarist Bates, who handled most of the vocals, displayed a smooth, engaging voice, subsumed at times by the band's “wall of sound” (textural manipulation using guitar pedals, digital signal processing, etc.).  A prime example was “You Move,” a basically “lyrical” love song which also featured a barrage of static-colored decibels.
   Lee, who played bass in rock groups as a teenager, deferred to Nelson in forming TOE, becoming its drummer instead.  As charismatic here as he is in the CSO, he played like a fiend, ripping off drum shots and crashes like one to metal born.   
   Nelson is the veteran rocker of the group, having played in bands continuously since he was a kid (the reason he wears ear plugs now, he said).  His vintage Rickenbacker bass, which he has played for over 20 years, was recently autographed by Bootsy Collins.  Unassuming cellist with the CSO, Nelson revealed a genuine “star” personality with Toe, spiky hair, grizzled beard and all:
   "And now for the ridiculous part of the show,” Nelson said as he stepped up to lead his own “Shanghai Honey."  Nelson has a rocker’s swagger, shouts vocals and moves around onstage.  His shoulder strap became detached at one point, but an assistant came quickly to the rescue.   
   Other TOE songs included “Abel,” “Leaves Me,” “Up Late,” “Flower Like” (heard on their MySpace site) and “Bun.”  Finale was Nelson’s heavy metal-influenced “ Hong Kong” (also on MySpace), which drew whoops from the audience.
   Next on the “Mayor’s 801 Plum” series, a sub-series of the Linton Chamber Music Series, is jazz violinist and Lexington, Kentucky native Zach Brock and Arrival/Departure at 7 p.m. May 9. Check out Brock and his band at www.zachbrock.com and http://www.myspace.com/zachbrock.  
   Tickets are available at Cincinnati Arts Association box office in the Aronoff Center, (513) 621-ARTS (2787), online at www.CincinnatiArts.org.