From the Apr 8 – Apr 14, 2004 issue

Music

Up & Coming

THURSDAY 4/8


SUNSET VALLEY, GRAIG MARKEL, MARK PICKEREL
(Crocodile) See Some Candy Talking, page 72.

KOOL KEITH, JACKY JASPER, DJ DEFT SAMPLE
(Neumo's) See the Truth, page 48.

FEY RAY, DOWNPILOT, TIN TIN
(Hideaway) See preview, page 35.

THE SOUNDS, VUE
(Graceland) It's said about a lot of bands, but in this case, it's true: The Sounds kick ass. Singer Maja Ivarsson owns the fucking stage, doing as she pleases and for no one's delight but her own. And though many think she sounds like Debbie Harry, I think she sounds more like Kim Wilde, or Tich Anderson of Scottish new wave band Altered Images. Whatever comparison is a compliment in its own way, especially since Ivarsson's from Sweden and only 23 years old, and the boys who back her up, though hot themselves, take the backseat musically while she rides, feet on the dash, shotgun. KATHLEEN WILSON

THE SOUL OF JOHN BLACK, SAMBUSA
(Rainbow) Fronted by former Fishbone member John Bigham, the Soul of John Black plays a brand of funk that has about it the urgency of a last-ditch attempt. It's as if the band were trying by every means/instrument available to reverse all of the damage that contemporary R&B has done to the very substance of black music--soul. Instead of surfaces, the Soul of John Black strives for depth--deep vocals and lyrics that communicate deep emotions and thoughts. If one is into brothers doing something that is sensitive and thoughtful, then the Soul of John Black is for you; but if you want to hear brothers being niggaz for life, then this show is definitely not the place for you to be. CHARLES MUDEDE

FRIDAY 4/9


PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, J-LIVE, SIREN'S ECHO
(Chop Suey) See the Truth, page 48.

OLD GHOST, CHRISTY McWILSON, DOLLY VARDEN
(Tractor) See Drunk by Noon, page 51.

THE RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS, CUTTHROATS 9, TRACTOR SEX FATALITY
(Sunset) Coming on the heels of a triumphant European tour, the Riverboat Gamblers have hit the road again and are back in town with their brand of sweaty, high-energy rock 'n' roll insanity. Both of their records, the self-titled debut on Vilebeat, and last year's Something to Crow About on Gearhead, are top-shelf catchy punk rock 'n' roll, putting them at the head of the class and taking over where others like the New Bombs Turks, Hellacopters circa Payin' the Dues, and the Quadrajets left off. I've seen these boys blow the roof off two packed crowds, one at the Sunset last year, and once in Dallas. Both times they put on one of the most intense, mind-blowing performances my young age has seen. But don't take my word for it, get down to the Sunset on Friday and see one of the best bands out there today, hands down. WILLIE CRANE

PINK MARTINI, LIONS OF BATUCADA, EXPRESSION LATINA
(Showbox) Thomas Lauderdale, bandleader and pianist of Pink Martini, can throw a party like no other, hip and swanky at the same time, and I'm pretty sure this show will be in that tradition. Merlot drinkers and Miller High Life swillers will each find their own fun, and given this is billed as a Wild Kingdom Rhumba, which I once attended 12 or so years ago in Portland, dancing is optional, but only a killjoy would decline. KATHLEEN WILSON

A PERFECT CIRCLE, THE MARS VOLTA
(Tacoma Dome) With striking symmetry, this tour spotlights the relatively conventional offshoot of a prog-metal titan and the outlandishly experimental spawn of a commercially viable alt-rock darling. A Perfect Circle provides a stunning showcase for the clarity and intensity of Maynard James Keenan's voice. In Tool, his day-job gig, Keenan's contributions crest and crash with the group's chaotic crescendos, but in APC they stand in stark silhouette against sparse, slow-paced backdrops. The Mars Volta merges the frizzy 'fros of At the Drive-In's most magnificently maned members. In concert, Cedric Bixler's high-pitched histrionics and Omar Rodriguez's otherworldly, effects-driven axwork combine with hard-funk bass lines, creepy keyboard ambience, and whiplash-inducing time-signature shifts to create a highly combustible compound. ANDREW MILLER

JOHN WESLEY HARDING, SCOTT McCAUGHEY
(Triple Door) Here's a bill that might be the less-than-glittery crowd's introduction to the absolutely gorgeous, very un-Seattle-like Triple Door. Harding is a singer with a beautiful voice and can tell a story between songs that actually has a point. McCaughey is equally talented, and between the two, the between-song banter is liable to send you home with sides aching. KATHLEEN WILSON

SATURDAY 4/10


HARKONEN, MEATJACK, PLAYING ENEMY
(Hell's Kitchen) Meatjack is not a pretty name. In fact, we'll leave it to you to decide what sorts of unpleasant images it conjures up. Brothers Brian and Jason Daniloski front this burly trio, whose third album, Days of Fire, recently came out on At a Loss records. Their style falls somewhere between the grinding repetitive noise rock of Unsane and the more epic, drawn-out hardcore of Neurosis circa the mid-'90s. Also on the bill are Harkonen, who also conjure up Unsane, pounding out looping, odd-time riffs topped off with barking vocals. It is the sound of frustration; whether or not that's a compliment probably depends on what you're looking for. WILLIAM YORK

BOBBY BARE JR., SMOOSH
(Sunset) If there were any justice in this world, the media would stop following Ryan Adams' tantrums and turn their gaze toward the songwriting talents of Bobby Bare Jr., a young man infinitely more qualified to hold the title of "alt-country-savant-with-oodles-of-pop-crossover-potential." Bare's last record (Young Criminals' Starvation League) was a witty and wistful collection of beautifully crafted yarns that highlighted his gift for mixing comedy with tragedy--and was so damn good that frankly, I was a little worried he wouldn't be able to top it. Thankfully, the forthcoming From the End of Your Leash (out in June on Bloodshot) is positively stunning and could provide the momentum needed to give the Nashville native his long-overdue moment in the sun. Although his performance tonight will be a stripped-down, semi-acoustic affair, don't expect anything low-key: Bare always delivers a roof-raising set, regardless of volume. HANNAH LEVIN

SUNDAY 4/11


MODEST MOUSE
(Paramount) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.

METRIC, MOVING UNITS, MELLOWDRONE
(Neumo's) Neumo's seems to be doing well after its used-to-be-Moe's relaunch, and this week's slot of L.A.'s Moving Units and Toronto's Metric stutters out two different North American jangle-fuzz, post-punk, music-history lessons and clarifies the space's new reputation for independent name brands. Moving Units really do look through a pile of Gang of Four records like everybody else--well-trained, routine, no spine (2002's Between Us & Them was the Rapture's Out of the Races and onto the Tracks without the bonfire surge). Luckily, Metric's so much better; they tiptoe to today's fashionable post-punk repopulation with the semisweet danger-pop of bird-killing little girls and Boston regulars like the Blake Babies. Vocalist Emily Haines sings as if she actually enjoys it. GUY FAWKES

THE OFFSPRING, THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY, THE START
(Premier) This Swedish band--swathed in farfisa organ, shag cuts, and Marxist rhetoric--stood at the cusp of the garage trend back in 2000. But their influences are much more current than the usual Nuggets names. In fact, their story mimics their main influence, the amazing early '90s Fugazi-Stax hybrid from D.C., Nation of Ulysses. The founding members of the (International) Noise Conspiracy cut their teeth in the mid-'90s with the spastic Refused, who were a near copy of Ulysses except, being Swedish, their socialist sloganeering didn't require irony. Then, after Ulysses morphed into ass-centric the Make-Up, Refused became the dancier INC. Despite their well-made mod punk, they nonetheless came off as a fan-club version of the Make-Up. The roads are finally diverging. The Make-Up has morphed again into the weed-centric Weird War while INC have remained focused, though their adherence to the matching outfit/nice haircut image is looking more like marketing than Marxism. ERIC DAVIDSON

MONDAY 4/12


HAIR POLICE, PRURIENT, KITES
(Rendezvous) See preview, page 39.

MIKEY DREAD, NUFFSED
(Graceland) Mikey Campbell, AKA Mikey Dread, operated, between 1977 and 1979, the first major reggae show in Jamaica. It was called Dread at the Controls, and ran from midnight to 6:00 a.m. every night except Monday. Hiphop radio shows in New York City in the early '80s, like WBLS (with Mr. Magic on the controls) and KISS FM (with Red Alert on the controls), had their roots in Mikey Dread's radio program. In fact, every important aspect of hiphop has its roots in Jamaican music--from rap (toasting), to deejaying (sound systems), to remixing (dubbing). Mikey Dread was and still is a master in all of these forms of reggae, and if you can get your hands on the album Dread at the Controls--which is based on the radio show and is very hard to find--you will have the pleasure of owning some of the best dubs and toasting in the history of Jamaican pop. CHARLES MUDEDE

THE STROKES, THE RAVEONETTES
(Paramount) I'm sure everyone here has strong feelings about the Strokes, and most people who are even vaguely interested will have either already purchased tickets to this show or boycotted it. I'm just writing this as a kind of public testimonial to say that recently, I made a choice to stop pretending I hate three bands: Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and the Strokes, and as a result, my life has improved dramatically. I'm not saying that the Strokes deserve to be lumped in with the first two legend bands. All I'm saying is that despite the fact that they are incredibly famous, cool-looking, fashiony rock stars, the Strokes are also an amazing band. Great songs, great playing, and yes, great look. So, there you have it. I'm not saying you should like them. I'm just saying that it's possible to admit it and still feel good. SEAN NELSON

TUESDAY 4/13


SQUAREPUSHER, CASSETTEBOY, JONNY J.
(Showbox) See preview, page 35.

THE VINES, JET, NEON, THE LIVING END
(Moore) See preview, page 36.

WEDNESDAY 4/14


EYEDEA & ABILITIES, BLUEPRINT OF SOUL POSITION, GRAYSKUL, BAD LUK, DJ KITMAN
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 43.

THE FIRE THEFT, GRANDADDY, SAVES THE DAY, HEY MERCEDES
(Showbox) See Underage, page 35.

DAVID BOWIE, THE POLYPHONIC SPREE
(KeyArena) The camps are passionately divided: Anyone who's checked out the heavy paper stock pages of any current fashion magazine knows that David Bowie and his wife, Iman, are the new models and muses of hipster-maligned Tommy Hilfiger's new upscale line H Hilfiger. I think it's a good thing because Bowie, besides being a musical legend who has never in is life looked better than he does now (never looked bad a day in his life, actually) and whose new album, Reality, is really good (it's nothing like the wretched Heathen), looks happy and at home in the clothes, as does Iman. Several musicians I've spoken with, however, are so disgusted by the ad campaign that I witnessed one who I showed it to fling the magazine out an apartment window. I know, it's Hilfiger, for crying out loud. But this is kind of different. And HOT. And ultimately, means nothing in the scheme of all things Bowie. KATHLEEN WILSON

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