CONCERT REVIEW: Canago rings in Thanksgiving in Bowling Green

The band Canago performs to a full crowd at Ellis Place in downtown Bowling Green on Nov. 23.

Chris Rutledge

Thanksgiving didn’t stop Canago from attracting a crowd Wednesday night.

Ellis Place patrons were gifted with three bands for the price of one when the Bowling Green quintet was joined by members of Morning Teleportation to form what the members refer to as CanCanTeleporGoGo.

The show was broken into three sections, similar to the Dylan and The Band 1974 tour.

First up was a stripped down Morning Teleportation set where the band spaced out and experimented with some new material. The best thing about this set was how unique it was.

Since Morning Teleportation relocated from Bowling Green to Portland, Ore., they’ve released a critically acclaimed album produced by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, and supported The Flaming Lips on tour.

It’s nice that the members haven’t forgotten their roots. Bowling Green was privileged to get a sneak peak into what is in the works for Morning Teleportation in the future.

Next up was the turkey of this musical feast, Canago. The members took little time engaging the audience, opening with a grooving rendition of “Fast Friends Again,” off of their 2010 album “Fun,” and never looking back.

The band mostly stuck to material off “Fun,” but that didn’t stop them from doing what they do best: spellbinding improvisations that would make even the tightest jam bands weep with envy.

It’s hard to describe the Canago live experience, but one thing can certainly be said about it: it has to be seen.

Guitarist Danny Mitchell said that his favorite part of the show was the mutual enjoyment that both he and the fans got.

“We had a lot of really good energy,” Mitchell said. “Playing in Bowling Green is a different experience than anywhere else and it feels so good to play for the people in our home town.”

After a good hour and a half of rocking out, Canago invited Goodwin and Merritt to join them onstage and things only got weirder and more energetic from there.

The highlight of the show came in the form of a very extended take on “Vibrations” that would make Trey Anastasio himself proud.

The band members traded up instruments for an audience sing-along of Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome,” while the other member took what was supposed to be a bathroom break.

While the cover was an admirable rendition of the classic, it ended up being an anticlimactic finale.

Band members later said that some signals were crossed and they had originally wanted to close with The Beatles “I Am The Walrus.”

Singer/keyboardist Craig Brown promised that next time they were in town they would tackle the psychedelic classic.

But Brown said the band weren’t at all disappointed with the show. The audience didn’t seem to be either.

“There are people from Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, Columbia, California, Baltimore and several other places, and they all sort of converged on making this their destination,” Brown said. “We’re always happy to have people spend their holidays with us, because that’s an honor.”