I first encountered Vie Jester a year ago, when I still worked for UCLA Radio. The drummer, Cliff Conway (and from here on out referred to simply as Cliff), had reached out to me on Facebook, asking if they could have a spot on my show. It went from there, and before I knew it, we were sitting together and going back and forth in the station, ragging on the two party system and Gene Simmons. It should go without saying that the music was pretty damn solid, although unfortunately they were not able to play live on-air as we had originally planned, instead playing the digital copies of the music they had sent me in advance. It would be a year before I not only saw them in person again but also finally saw them play their stuff live. And I got to tell you, having seen this high-minded, hard-rocking trio give their all and all in a far-from-packed bar after hours on a weeknight like they were playing in a stadium filled to the point of overcapacity on a weekend evening, boy was it worth it.
I've lived in Santa Ana all my life, but the day I went to see Vie Jester play was the first time I ever walked down the staircase that led to The Copper Door and set foot within. My apprehensions about being by myself in this loud venue several feet underground faded right away, as immediately upon entering I saw Cliff. I walked up to him and said hi, half-curious and half-worried about whether he would recognize me. He initially seemed to draw a blank: who is this fat dweeb in a Who shirt, he probably thought. But soon enough his face lit up, embracing me and exclaiming "What's up man!" He was stoked to see me, so much so that he offered to buy me a drink, and I, being the respectable barfly that I am, accepted, asking for a coke with no ice. As I sipped my soda, I caught up with the other members: Kyle Guerrero, the guitarist and lead vocalist, who was equally stoked to see me, and bassist Jaimie Salas, who promptly quipped that I "forgot my tie", in reference to the tie I habitually wore at UCLA Radio. I was impressed that both he and Kyle remembered me too, much less that he remembered I wore a tie when I did my show. But it would be my turn to be impressed soon enough - or rather, it would be in an hour or so, because two other bands were playing before they went on stage. As the other bands did their thing, I chatted with another Jester fan, a tall, lanky gentleman in a trucker cap, while they got ready. As it turned out, not only was he a friend of theirs, he was probably the only other person who had showed up specifically for them. A fact made all the more lamentable by how good they were, he added. It was up to us to support them, even as the other remaining audience members departed after the previous band finished and Vie Jester finally took the stage.
"You know the thing about chaos? It's fair." So said The Joker, as played by Heath Ledger and sampled by the band at the start of their performance. Although that particular incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime has been bowdlerized and parodied well beyond oblivion, the sample still managed to effectively set the mood for the show. "I'm an agent of chaos," he continued, a phrase that neatly sums up Vie Jester, albeit one with an order underlying the chaos. Complex but not confusing. Hard but not harsh. Passionate but not pretentious. This is the essence of Vie Jester. Before long, the Joker quotes gave way to synthy syncopated blips, beeps, and snare roll, which in turn gave way to a powerful guitar lead and firm beat. They had elected to open up with "Saint", which was an appropriate name given the combination of anger and torment that Kyle's singing exuded. "Should I wait for you, like a saint? Should I pray for you, like a saint?" he pleaded before the audience. Pretty angsty stuff for such a kickback location as The Copper Door, but it was certainly more interesting than the slow, often bluesy pieces and dad-rock covers so common to the bar scene. In short, it was a strong opening number, with Jaimie superbly holding the fort as bass player and Cliff working himself up into a veritable flood of sweat by the song's end. The fact that this happened at the beginning of the show rather than the end shows how passionate Vie Jester is about their music.
In spite of this stunning performance, the crowd remained dispersed, but the band wasted no time, delving right into the bass, drums and synth of their next song, "Hollow Graffiti". Defined by quick guitar riffs and a multifaceted musical progression, "Graffiti" had a more adventurous sound to it than "Saint". From the steady verse sections to the strident chorus, and from the inaugural keyboard notes to the final fade out of the synth loops, it is a piece bursting with life. Kyle's guitar skills are particularly worthy of mention as he alternated between rowdy and reserved throughout the song, even carrying the song with gentle chords and mellow tones when it slowed down. Jaimie got a chance to shine too, kicking the song back into gear with a nicely-roving bass line, followed by Kyle's ascending guitar, and punctuated by a short, sharp drum breakdown from Cliff. It was around this point that the crowd, thought to be long gone, returned, their interest piqued by the band's high energy. They cheered and begged for more, to which Vie Jester gladly obliged. Kyle began plucking his guitar, with Jaimie shortly afterwards joining him on bass. Kyle softly vocalized before the tempo shifted and Cliff joined in, his percussion capably supporting the now fast melody of "Radioactive", of Imagine Dragons fame. The audience cheered upon recognizing the song, grooving along and egging the band on.
After this victory, the band moved on to "Dig It", a frustrated declaration of love draped in environmental metaphor and rung in by low-key bass and resonating guitar notes. Naturally, there was some overlap with "Saint" given the common theme of unrequited love, though there was a more pronounced ballad feel to "Dig It". Don't get too hung up on that ballad feel, however: it was just as hard as any of their other stuff. The guitar picked up pace after the first quarter, hitting some heavy-sounding notes in quick succession to the accompaniment of an animated bass line and lively drum section. I dug it very much, and the rest of the crowd must have too, because they remained glued to their seats (or the floor, as it was). Indeed, they remained until the very end, when the band broke into "Players of Paradox", the first song I heard by them and one I played on my show. Of course, playing it on a laptop and seeing the band actually play it are very different things, so it was a real treat to see it performed live. Another self-contained guitar melody served as an intro before Cliff's beat formally announced the start of the song. "Here is a challenge, for those who like to play," Kyle sang as he forcefully strummed his guitar. "I hardly have love," Cliff later joined in, reinforcing the undertones of love denied within their music. Love denied, but dignity maintained, as evidenced by the song's strong sound. With bold guitar, reliable bass, and percussion played with purpose, these players of paradox ended the show with a bang, not a whimper, something every rock band worth listening to - much less seeing - should do.
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