From the Apr 10 – Apr 16, 2003 issue

Music

Live Wire

Noise Patrol

by Jennifer Maerz

This is the second installment of Live Wire--my way of cramming more music reviews and information into the paper. As the name implies, this will mostly be a column of live show reviews, but I'm also throwing in other related stuff as it comes up and grabs my interest. Like the fact that if you're going to be near Detroit on the weekend of April 25 and 26, you should head to the Magic Stick, where Bulb Records is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a ton of bands that have graced the indie label over the years--from Andrew W. K. to Quintron, Demolition Doll Rods, 25 Suaves, Danse Asshole, Mind Flayer, and other purveyors of rock/experimental skronk. (Bulb has also released a great limited-edition comp of its early singles at www.bulbrecords.com.)

For more examples of what happens when low budgets and freaky music collide, check out www.burnmyeye.com, the website for the San Francisco TV show Burn My Eye!. Featuring taped interviews with acts like Erase Errata, the Locust, Les Savy Fav, and Black Dice, the site makes you wish we had a public-access show this fucked here. One of my favorite new SF acts, Zeigenbock Kopf (think Kenneth Anger meets Gary Numan) will play Pho Bang on May 1 (which excites me to no end)--to check out the merchandise before you buy, watch their video on BME.

All this is not to say things have been quiet here in Seattle. A week after Kid Koala lulled Chop Suey into a state of show-and-tell with his storytelling/bingo/turntablism night (an event higher on concept than delivery, but still a cool experience), local act United States of Electronica brought a decent-sized Crocodile crowd to its dancing feet (fists in the air and everything). The seven-piece band was like a campier Daft Punk, with backup singers, tight pants, and songs about "la playa" that were bubblier than a strawberry wine cooler. Definitely a local band to watch.

On Saturday night, Williamsburg met Zak's in a funny clash of cultures. Playing for a crowd dotted with regulars of the long-hair/short-temper variety, New York electrotrash act Split Me Wide Open used a drum machine, a female dancer in white boots and a bathing suit, a keytar, a bass, and a singer who looked like a more punk Perry Farrell to deliver messages about "triple-X phone booth sex" and getting your meat packed in the meatpacking district. The group, whose heavy goth undertones rested beneath dark dance beats, had balls both for continuing despite the loud boos from one drunkard and for rolling around on the club's floor, a place that's seen more than its share of blood, sweat, and beers. Zak's booker Brian Foss has been doing an excellent job giving underground acts of all genres a chance to experiment at the club--to a growing following--and the rest of the early-show lineup was equally entertaining. While San Francisco's Deep Throat did the stuttered-rhythm/no-wave thing well, it was Seattle's Tractor Sex Fatality who stole the show. TSF have gotten a hundred times better since the first time I saw them--and I already liked them then. Featuring two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist, and a singer with no pain receptors (hence his ability to wrestle on concrete), the Pussy Galore-ish punk band rocked the bottom-heavy rhythms as their frontman screamed in tongues and smacked into the audience. As chaotic as it all sounded, it wasn't pure noise, and the band definitely made it onto my list of acts I'd love a repeat performance from.

Speaking of repeat performances, Detroit's Paybacks played two shows in Seattle on Monday, March 31. After frontwoman Wendy Case did all she could, save for setting herself on fire, to rile up the all-ages Crocodile audience (people who were mostly there to see Superdrag) at a 7:30 start time, the band moved on to the more receptive fans at the Comet, where Case's vocal prowess (her voice is so tough it could split boulders) was really allowed to shine--the crowd was so excited that they sang along to every song. Although spontaneously organized, the late show was a blast and brought out a lot of locals from the rock community who knew their Detroit shit.

Although it's been around long enough not to be called a new thing, check out the electronic zine Three Imaginary Girls (www.threeimaginarygirls.com), an independently run local music site featuring show reviews, interviews, and other good stuff on Seattle music events.

jennifer@thestranger.com

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