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Issue # 61 July 2004 thewigwambam.com |
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| Ignoring Objectivity Since 1998
WIG WAM BAM “Albuquerque zine of music & nepotism”
Foma, Blue-Eyed Son, Sara Radle by Apache Chief (with commentary from Marvel Girl) the Church, the Shins, the Broken Family Band, Black Eyed Snakes, Badly Drawn Boy by Johnny Wrangler |
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| LOCAL
SHOWS |
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the Mindy Set, GoMotorCar, In Media Res, Shine Cherries 6/5/04 @ Atomic The Shine Cherries had barely started when I rolled in, with a bit of a shine on the dome of the drummer. Holy hell, has Heath shaved his mane? Is Johnny “Casio” doubling on bass and drums at the same time? Naw. It was Mr Ryan Martino sans hair but full of more pounding beats than every previous ‘Cherries set put together. The measured song structures could barely contain him, bopping around so much he looked like he was ready to take off. Single-handed, Mr Martino raised the Shine’s speed to slow from uh morose. Jumpin Jehu! A powerpacked punk surprise from St Louis, In Media Res admitted to me they thought their goose was cooked while listening to the Shines set so far, far from their musical outlook. Backed with a kickass staccato but rocksolid rhythm section they blew everyone away with a style like L.A. punk a month before it sucked and D.C. punk 48 hours before it happened with a few Minutemen blips on their musical radar. Heath and I were buying all their merch in sight. By far the youngest guys in the bar, they were tight as a new drum head and sounded more powerful than their three year history would belie. Careful if you look for In Media Res online: there’s actually another identically-named group with the that also has two Asian guys in the band! Since Johnny C. was in from Denver to play the Shine Cherries “reunion”, it was figured why the heck not toss off a GoMotorCar set? My favorite songs were those with a heavy bottom end but overall it was tight and accomplished indie rocking like Pavement vs the Archers of Loaf. Finally the Mindy Set played a reliably sweet set, pre-sabbatical as Mr Mike is off overseas again for awhile. Sounds like a career move: release the CD and leave your fans wanting more. Sneaks! Hoboes In Limbo 6/11/04 @ Albq. Press Club A nice mellow room for acoustic-based shows, the Press Club is a glorified log cabin for pro journalism types so they don’t have to rub elbows with us mortal slobs. Guess they turn in early too since I rolled in about 10:30-11 and the Rivet Gang were already done gone. But I did get a ringside table for the Hoboes who are improving by the handful every time I see them: the picking’s getting cleaner as are the vocal harmonies. Nobody needs grandstanding idiots like Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's John McCuen (the guy can’t do much with a banjo anyway; he’s more a frailer than a picker) and the Hoboes never grandstand. No, even if you aren’t so fast, clean & tasteful wins every time. For a bunch of hoboes, the Limbo gang is pretty damn clean and more scrubbed up all the time. the Washington Social Club, the Foxx, Pontius Violet 6/9/04 @ Launchpad Headliners the Washington Social Club were better than I thought they’d be and I liked ‘em more than I wanted to. Judging by the mp3s I downloaded , it looked like we were in for some updated skatepunk…or maybe that came into my consciousness because they’re playing the Warped Tour this year. Better than that, it was maximum pop time, chock full o’ hooks. Evan Dando and Tom Petty in a death match for Ruler of the Pop Universe, fronting the New Pornographers covering the Shins with a few members of Stiff Little Fingers. I could’ve done without the one reggae number (I can always do without reggae). The rest was pretty decent but, surprising for a commercial pop junkie like me, nothing I’d listen to on purpose. Since I’ve written time and again how great the power-glampop of the Foxx is and fun to dance to yadda yadda yadda, its time to comment on their tonsorial element (that’s hairstyles to you): Juliet - this is almost too easy: 1920s movie siren & uberstar Louise Brooks, no contest. Isaac - Mick Ronson with the curls of latter Mickey Dolenz. Zac’s new bleached ‘do is Billy Idol with a modified Bowie/Darby Crash. And Ryan in profile reminds of nothing so much as one of those trees atop windswept mountains, forced to grow in one direction due to constant gale winds. Openers Pontius Violet left most everyone but their friends indifferent. The best part of each song was the (sorry Mr Vocalist) the instro break. Overall their style was sorta spacey rock with songs that might (ought to?) have names like Embryonic Journey or The Cosmos Tempo. OK musicians, it was what they were doing with their prowess that didn’t add up for me. the Legendary Pink Dots 6/20/04 @ Launchpad Saddlesores, Fast Heart Mart, the Rivet Gang 6/20/04 @Atomic While new Fast Heart Mart bassist Pete “the Rooster” El Gallo is in the slammer for incendiary indiscretions, curly-haired Ken Doll took over bottom end duties. So not only does Fast Heart have a new trio line-up, I like the sound better than before. Less jammy, more whammy and a touch of twang. Nice. The Rivet Gang is more acoustic based (even when the electrics are in full effect) than yer typical twangcore band but miles ahead in style, execution & class. I slipped over to the ‘pad for the Legendary Pink Dots but the set was mostly uninspired, quite less than legendary I’m afraid. Lacking punch, it seemed like a snoozer to me, much less than some classic groove-goth cuts that DJ Nobody used to play on Rebel Radio. Can’t win ‘em all I guess… Since the Launchpad’s music ends reliably early, I slipped back to the Atomic in time for the Saddlesores. This ain’t no Bottlerockets crap but Chuck Berry doused with Texas BBQ sauce, hickory & bourbon flavor. Although this stuff is anathema to your average hipster/ scenester, I had a blast on the dancefloor with a gal who actually knew how to dance to rocknroll, something most scenesters just don’t get. Too old-fashioned? Too un-hip? Too bad, you’re the ones missing out… |
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| LOCAL RELEASES |
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| Saddlesores Let It Suck [CD-R 2004] Wasteland Records PO BX 4164 Albuquerque NM 87196 www.wasteland-records.com This is more tears-in-my-beer country with a capital “C” rather than the dancefloor rock-ass of their live set. The not-so-subtle homage to the Stones 1969 landmark Let It Bleed is sadly more apparent live than here, despite the jewel case’s cover. Mr Tim Stroh at Stepbridge Studios engineered this disc to his typical good standards. And speaking of typically good, maybe best, Mr Benjamin Harrison smokes on country-honk lead guitar. And that’s literally. Years back (stop me if you’ve heard this) I caught Q’s Revenge at a house party when some kind of electrical short actually shot a flame off’a his guitar neck, followed by a puff of smoke. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. All clichés have their basis in reality. |
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| Hit By A Bus [CD-R sampler 2004] www.hitbyabus.com Handed to me by I guess one of the Bus dudes himself at the Fall Crawl, this CD-R is harder and sludgier than I would’ve imagined. Not quite Static-X territory but might appeal to some of their mellower demographic. But even my musical reverse-misogyny (if a gurl sings it I’ll probably like it) was of little avail here with the split female vox that didn’t do me much. But Good Lord! what the fuck is up with the dreamy-ska ballad?! The three most poison musical words you can utter to me are, in descending order: emo, reggae and punk-rock. The fact that this disc froze my Dell three times while trying to listen to three tracks was no endearment either. Still as bad as this review sounds, I didn’t hate the first two cuts. Garbage Pail Kidz [CD-R sampler 2004] no contact info Musically smoother and more laid-back than their live set (you can hear the DJ’s nuance and scratch-subtleties in other words), it’s a revelation to me that I can find the hip hop more agreeable than the rock, especially compared to some other CDs reviewed this issue. Intelligent, astute lyrics with a good delivery. Chill as fuck. Nepotism alert: I remember my sobrina --Espa’ Valley homegirl Rose--scoping on Missy Elliot CDs when she was about sixteen, maybe some Lauren Hill. That’s a good thing eh. But as her tio, I wish she got more vocal breaks up in here. |
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| ALMOST-LOCAL RELEASES |
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| Must be 100 monkeys and critical mass
or something because I’ve been getting unsolicited CDs in the mail at a
more rapid rate than ever…ok, like maybe 3 in the last month but that’s
about a threefold increase… meaning that I never got any before. So far they’ve come from Arizona and Colorado which is just ducky ‘cause I’ve always had this self-imposed limitation of “locals only”. Now me, having come out of a farming/ bio-regional/ historic discipline (skip it; long story. ask me if ya really wanna know) I consider everywhere that was once Nueva Mejico (that’s New Mexico to you, pal) as “local”. Roughly, that’s Durango Mexico to Durango Colorado and Las Vegas New Mexico to Las Vegas Nevada. Poetic to tears eh? All this to say that any online readers from --I dunno--Oswego or somewheres will be shit outta luck. Although you Kansans just might squeak by since Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a Spanish expedition into what’s now western Kansas in 1541 ; that meets my criteria… lucky you. Amazing Larry Beat the Clock [CD-R 2004] North Country Press Po Bx 361 Durango CO 81302 www. amazinglarry.tk This would’ve been more fun about eight years ago as one of those self-release 7”s with the crappy DIY xerox sleeves. A place and time in other words. Bottom line, it sounds to me like any band you could find in any 7” bin in any punk record store in any state. Its quite possible Amazing Larry’s combined record collection is the Pistols/Ramones/Minor Threat triumvirate. Ok, maybe a token Standells platter in there somewhere… the Thirteens Swallow [CD 2004] King Bee Records PO BX 1164 Denver CO 80201 kingbeerecords@yahoo.com www.geocities.com/kingbeerecords See “Amazing Larry” above. Subtract the Ramones and add a few whoah-oh choruses. The harder tracks Lost Tribe and Distance caught my ear though. If the whole disc was like those, the world might be a better place. Pistols At Dawn Cobra Libre [CD-R EP 2004] www. pistolsatdawn.info If I have my shit together, you can be reading this very issue when these Phoenix guys are onstage at the Atomic Cantina on 7/9 with Denver newbies Palisades (ex-Albuqeuquenos Johnny Cassidy, Aubrey Sandoval & John Shoe) and our own Jason & the Argonauts. If not, look for the show review next issue… The music: I’m deathly afraid of free emo CDs in the mail so Pistols At Dawn get extra punk points for simply not being that. Four songs that true to their promo deliver a Foo Fighters-like power-packed pop punch. Also self described Weezer, Radiohead and Queens of the Stone Age influences are way over my pointed little head. Any of those bands could be on my radio right now and I wouldn’t be able to identify ‘em-- except for that dumb wee-ooh-sweater song. Pistolas en Amancer sounds like rock to me. And in case you’re anti-Dave Grohl, tough shit. I have the first two Foo Fighters releases in my collection (although I haven’t played them for at least three years) and if you can’t see that Nirvana was one of the best commercial bands of the 90s you have your head up someone’s ass and it isn’t mine… I have hopes the live show will kick this CDs digital butt. |
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| MESA, ARIZONA |
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| A quick work trip to Penix, Arizona
(no, that’s intentional, not a typo) left me little time to catch anything
in the way of shows. I bunked down in my favorite motel in the town of Mesa
overlooking an alfalfa field, buffering me from the main drag. Baseline
Road is always my baseline of operations since its home to the area’s best
rocknroll club: the Hollywood Alley (2610 W. Baseline Rd, Mesa AZ). I’ve
caught great sets here by Jeff Dahl, Ricky Rat, the Bellrays, Texas Terri,
the Crimson Sweet and many other trash & punk faves. A tight schedule left me just one night out on the town and tragically it was the only time I’ve ever been let down by the Alley. June 24th: I saunter into the club at about 11:30 to find that not only is the last act about to start but that they (against all laws of physics) both suck and blow at the same time. I was so disgusted with this double-acoustic abomination that I couldn’t even stick around to learn their name; Impy & Chimpy or Ben & Jerry --who the fuck knows, it pains me to even think of these guys. Immediately upon entry I saw that one of the college-age duo was wearing a Bob Marley tee, never a good sign. I immediately recognized their three opening chords as being the Dead’s Friend of the Devil. How dare this pair of little shits barely old enough to shave their pubic hair bring this hippie crud into my home-away-from home rock and roll HQ! Not only their choice of material but the execution was sub-abysmal, like a college boy trying to pick up college girls by bashing away on an acoustic guitar at a kegger (the tragedy is that girls fall for this shit, guaranteed). Gulping down my Stoli & Soda in record time, I bailed halfway into the second song, disgusted, and having no back-up plan retreated to my room to play Russian Roulette with the TV remote. Especially heartbreaking was the fact that if I’d stayed one more night I would’ve caught an all-grrrl punkrock roller derby match complete with live bands and $2 beer. With teams named Frenchkiss Army and Furious Truckstop Waitresses, and players like Sue Nami, Mayhemily and Sharon Needles, these gals are serious: there’s five teams in the league. It was the final home game of the season to boot and I wasn’t there! Life is oftentimes cruel… My only saving grace was an idle hour, pre-airport departure time next morning in which I hit & run the venerable Eastside Records (217 W. University Dr, Tempe AZ), a place that’s ruined my credit rating before with a full selection of vinyl and CDs and I do mean full selection: here you can find non-commercial techno scratch & hip-hop, something you rarely see stocked alongside punk, garage and soul --except at maybe our own #1 ‘burque shop, Mecca Records & Books. Speaking of our own, the Drags were already on the stereo when I walked in at 10AM. So I got to talking with the owner, him telling tales of Los Drags playing many an Eastside in-store and the like. I had no problem in my short time allotment dropping a hundred of which he took off a few bucks just because. He’s good people. I spaced on his name but he sorta looks like Tom Verlaine with Richard Hell eyes. Included in my pile was some take-a-chance new stuff like popbeat punkz the Soviettes (couldn’t resist the name) and from Brooklyn, a “British Invasion” update, the High Strung. But I also dug up lots of great reissue slabs like the debut ’77 LP from Ireland’s pre-New Wave punters the Undertones, a deluxe double-CD of uncovered alternate mixes of the truly classic Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. (the original Heartbreakers; to hell with Tom Petty), and finally from 1978 London, Slaughter & the Dogs featuring Dolls and Velvets covers. And to round it all off, although its better for ‘tabling than mere listening, I tossed a 1998 Q-Bert LP on top, one of the best stateside scratch DJs, representin’ for his Filipino-American homeboys. But the real prizewinner, worth the price of admission alone was the Heartbreakers. There’s way too much posthumous Johnny Thunders material available these days, appalling live shit where’s he’s too junked up to play worth a fuck or even speak but this reissue/remix is one of those desert-isle rockn’roll picks. For these sessions either Thunders was clean or, more likely, had lots of good blow to counteract the heroin. Contrary to the mud on the original release, everyone in the band (who rightly wanted to name themselves The Junkies) is here in top form. And Johnny’s lead guitar on It Is Not Enough is absolutely the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard. Having done my bit for the homeland security (if we stop consuming like pigs, the terrorists win) I headed to the airport vowing to check the rollergirls schedule next time before I zip over the Arizona border (http://azrollerderby.com). |
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| THIS
MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS |
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FOMA, Blue-Eyed Son, Sara Radle 6/12/04 @ Burt’s submitted by Apache Chief (with commentary from Marvel Girl) We arrived early having missed FOMA the last several tries. Who knew you could show up to the Launchpad at 10:30 and miss anything? [too many of us these days--ed.] Actually tonight we arrived long before anyone was on stage only to find that FOMA were playing last (finally!). Sara Radle (pronounced like cradle) and her band were moseying around like locals causing me to wonder why I’d never seen this gang around town before. When they took the stage and said "we're from Dallas" it all became clear. I would never have imagined such a well-groomed lot could spring from the loins of such a filthy hellhole, but hey, you learn something new every day. I’ve probably never seen seven people on Burt's stage before but this band fit a keyboard/singer, guitar player/singer, a tambourine/singer(seriously! )/guitar player/violinist /bass player and drummer up there and nobody got hurt. I was surprised to hear them say this was the first night of their tour because they sounded so well practiced. To me, the music sounded like Velocity Girl with a bigger band and less singing. An astute local musician with a keen ear pointed out that they sounded very much like Josie & the Pussycats. When I asked about the history of the band, we learned that Sara Radle started a label, quit a punk band, wrote some songs, recorded them and put a band together to play them. This, ladies & gentlemen, is that band. We bought a full length CD for ten dollars. A "casual" portrait of Sara graced both the front and back covers, ick. Upon opening said CD, we found about 10 more photos of Ms. Radle on the sleeve. Inspecting the actual disc, I discovered that I had just paid 10 dollars for a CD-R with a nice cover. Jerks. I also found that the band I just heard did not appear on the disc. This was her solo CD (not bad, just not as good). If I hear or see the name Sara Radle one more time.... Blue-Eyed Son (of Los Angeles California) played next. I thought this band looked like some stupid assholes, but hey I've seen Los Angeles do worse to good people. There was some talk about surfing and some surf-related video images. Apparently this singer/songwriter guy worked with some industry big-names, like some guy who engineered an Elliott Smith record or something. The music was not interesting. He seemed to sing pretty well, even sang a cool little melody on one song, but mostly sounded like some generic "play me on the radio" kinda crap. At least they were kind enough to decorate the bar with lollipops bearing the bands name. Marvel girl's take: Blue-Eyed Son played a bunch of crap. It was enough to turn Keith America into a bitter, bitter man and to chase him all the way to the Anodyne. Now, I really really like FOMA. They were the only reason we went out. I am a fan of this band and was enjoying hearing these songs that I knew I liked so much. But halfway into the set, I felt as though I were listening to the ghost of a great band. I have no idea what I heard that was wrong, but I wasn't hearing the all-consuming beauty that is magically created when this band does their thing. If this was a bad night for FOMA, it was the first I'd ever heard. No matter, this is one of maybe three bands that I feel honored to have the opportunity to hear regularly here in Albuquerque (no, Mike Watt is not one of them). I'll be there next time, right upfront. Marvel Girl's take: FOMA should ditch the dude. Heather & Ariel are wonderful musicians and the guitarist/singer detracts from their subtle creations. Johnny Wrangler’s '80s Flashback & Johnny Abroad His luxuriant Wig Wam Bam expense account keeps him in good stead whilst on the road, from the UK to his new hometown Denver, to gigging his old 'burque stomping grounds, from sun up to sun down, from sea to shining sea! Our own roving correspondent Mr Johnny Wrangler is all over the map this issue, intercontinental if not quite punctual. --ed. the Church 3/19/04 @ Bluebird Theater, Denver CO I traded cassette tape media when I was growing up. I'll admit it right now. Rush's Signals for the Fixx's Reach the Beach. Think me a fool? Well, I say that fools are thinkers too. Surely the dynamic range of bass playing powerhouse, Geddy Lee, would lead one to think that the bass player from the Fixx, whoever he is/was, was going about his basslines giddily. And of course "Tom Sawyer has mean mean strides" (and so will Classic Rock Stations forever more) while the Fixx was barely Saved by Zero. My musical tastes were changing and I'm glad that at that Rush/Fixx fork in the road I chose the latter. But this isn't about either of them right now, it is about The Church. Electric Lash was the first song I heard from The Church. It was on a Sire cassette sampler along with Siouxsie, the Smiths and some other "unknowns-to-me-at-the-time." The song had the perfect mix of jangle rock goth psychedelia that made me seek them out. I was into them but never infatuated or anything. They were in the New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jesus and Mary Chain mix. I first saw the Church live on the Starfish tour dated 1988...(wow what a timewarp)! I remember being impressed by main singer/songwriter Steve Kilbey's bassplaying and simultaneous low key croon...(not as easy as it looks, if you're a bassplayer you know what I mean). That show was amazing...somehow though I fell out of the congregation of the Church (as has their original drummer) and if they have gained any new disciples, as in the younger generation, you wouldn't know it judging by the age of the crowd in attendance tonight. I suppose the one fan who asked for Reptile (from ‘88's Starfish) wasn't all that interested in what the Church had been up to since then. Guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper snapped back with "We might as well pack up right now and head to the next gig!" Somehow this sort of smugness (which didn't stop there) mixed with the lack of recognition of over half the songs in their set left me lingering in some sort of nostalgic limbo for the band that opened my ears up to new possibilities a decade and a half earlier. It's not that they didn't play well, it was the sense of some sort of expected respect combined with meandering psychedelia, disengaging coolness and monotone vocals that left a bad taste in my mouth. There were some good songs from their earlier albums (Seance, Of Skins and Heart, Remote Luxury) that were played and hinted at the former Church that I knew and loved, but I didn't feel the beauty of the band that I had known previously. I suppose that's just the way things go. You can admire a relationship in hindsight and remember all the good times, but if you were to get back in that relationship after all this time has gone by, you'd see that things have changed and that some things are best left in the past. The Church put out a really great album in ‘86-87 called Heyday and I believe that was when they had theirs. VH-1 was sponsoring the Psychedelic Furs a couple of nights after the Church show...I saw the Furs in ‘87 and perhaps because of my experience at the Church, I opted to sit this one out. Rush is playing here at Red Rocks tomorrow night June 29th...maybe I should never have traded those damn tapes! the Shins, the Broken Family Band 4/1/04 @ Water Rats Theater, London, England Have you ever run into anyone you hadn't expected to see in the most unlikely locale...say, a truck stop in Tucson, a diner in Des Moines, a sold-out Shins show across the Atlantic? Could it have been a coincidental accident, or do you suppose that the surprise meeting might have been the result of a premeditated act of stalking? Concerning the following review, the latter is true. Yes I knew I was going to London, and yes, I knew that the Shins would be there. No, I did not have a ticket to the sold-out show, and no, they did not know of my intent on meeting them. If any chance existed to see this show considering its sold-out status, I had to get my ass to the club early enough in hopes of seeing one of the guys. Shows in London start early, usually about 8pm and end around 11pm. My lovely companion and I made the "tube" stop at Kings Cross and headed to the Water Rats theater, which is more of a pub separated from the performing area. It is not huge...somewhere between the Atomic Cantina and the Launchpad in size. Arriving at about 5:30, the bar itself would only be open for another half hour before closing down to set up for the show that night but we were allowed to sit and enjoyed a couple of pints of Stella Artois while the Shins sound checked. This alone would have been pretty cool as they sounded great and the bar was pretty much empty except for a few afternoon "alers". I managed to get the keyboard/bass player, Marty's, attention during a break and his look of surprise was priceless...kind of a crossed-eyebrows, shrugged-shoulders sort of "huh...what are you guys doing here...where are we?" From that moment, I knew we were "in". While they were finishing up the sound check, I chanced a conversation with a guy whom I took to be someone of importance. His name was Coston(?), he was from Germany and come to find out he was the Shins' road manager and had another Albuquerque alum on his resume from a few years back...Hazeldine. Small world indeed. Sound check over, hugs all around, guest list secured, mission accomplished. On to the show. The opening act, the Broken Family Band, from Cambridge, England, borrow heavily from the alt-country americana that seems to have as much an appreciation overseas, if not more, than its land of origin. Their set sounded great, even at the back of a crowded room amidst all the conversation. Acoustic guitars, brushed drums and American accents filled their songs and although I didn't give them much attention at the time, the CD I bought from them, titled Jesus Songs, is a nice souvenir of the first band I heard in England...on it they cover Neutral Milk Hotel's King of Carrot Flowers parts 2 & 3! "I Love You Jesus Ch-ri-i-ist!" Check these guys out if you can, they were at this years SXSW and if you aren't squeamish to Brits-do-Yankee accents and the occasional song with Jesus' name thrown in, you will be entertained. If the Broken Family Band dig up the countrified roots of Americana, then the Shins evened it out with their Echo and the Bunnymen/ Smiths meet the Kinks style of jangle-pop-modness. The Shins are a well rounded group, and by that I mean that they perform "live" just as well as they record their records. Sure the songs might be a bit faster (or slower) or altered instrumentally in some way, but if you want to hear a band play songs exactly as they sound recorded than stay home and shove it up your I-POD. The Shins relaxed style, humor and sincerity were just as evident here amidst the Brits as it is in the states and these guys show no wear for the endless touring that they have been doing. Apparently they had only been to London/Europe once before (a month or two previous to this tour) to promote the new album and create a buzz which seemed to work to their benefit...a sold out show and a ton of enthusiasm not to mention multiple articles in just about every zine that you happen to come by across the pond. Marty is always quick with the smiles and his boyish charm and comical quips have the crowd won over. The New Mexico "Zia" shirt that he was wearing was a mute prop to the state that spawned them. Dave Hernandez still pulls out the closed- eyes-shaking-head-back-and-forth move that had been part of the Scared of Chaka M.O. and he does a great job at adding the backing vocals and lead guitar parts that lend Shins recordings extra depth and panache. James plays the book smart wordster with a little Morrissey cynicism thrown in for good measure who keeps the sled behind the dogs. He rarely seems to give in to the "jolly good time" that Marty and Dave can't hide. And then of course there is Jesse who lives in his own little world behind the drums giving the songs just the snare, tom, cymbal, kick that they need. I heckled Marty from the front row about the puddle of ....?....beneath his feet and suggested Depends at which point James asked the Londoners what the equivalent of adult diapers were in these parts to which some guys replied "we don't talk about that stuff here!" Well alright then... perhaps not a good subject for stage banter...but one for the serious drinker who'd rather stay at the bar. All in all an excellent Shins show. They'll make you laugh, they'll make you cry, they'll show you what a great band with great songs can do. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that we were in Europe at the Shins show hanging with the guys afterward and getting totally schnockered, but this was one of the funnest shows I have been to in a long time. I could go on and on about the endless Jameson shots and pints and the taxi ride with Jesse or the planned abduction of my companion and I to All Tomorrows Parties that the Shins would go on to play a day and a half later, but I think I'll sum it up with...Viva La Shins! Black Eyed Snakes 4/2/04 @ Water Rats Theater, London, England Another night back at the Water Rats, we had such a good time last night I guess we figured the party would keep going...well, we were wrong. Black Eyed Snakes are Alan Sparhawk’s uninspired manic blues band. Mr. Sparhawk fronts the slowcore band LOW and I guess he's had some pent up frustration and felt that a raucous blues band would be the cure for all those super slow, nap-inducing ballads that LOW create. Well, let me tell ya...this White Striped Ambulance Chaser of a blues band had me yawning after the first song. At least LOW are original...it cracked me up to think that this guy up on stage shaking his rooster shock of curls back and forth and screaming at the top of his lungs was the same guy who comatosely croons in that minimalist dream trio. I think it was about three or four songs (who can tell when it's all recycled blues jams) into the set that Alan announced that the next song had only one verse in it... "Momma Don't Like it when her Daddy Don't Treat Her No Good!" Got that right, is that why Mimi (drummer/wife in LOW) isn't playing in this band? Well, "Johnny Don't Like It When Your Band Just Aint No Good! " We left after that song. Badley Drawn Boy 4/14/04 @ Hammersmith Working Mens Club, London, England Our last night in England before coming back to the states we went and saw an acoustic performance by Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Gough). The show was a fund raiser to re-elect the Mayor of London (aka Ken Livingstone). The show itself was great, getting there was the problem...it's pretty bad when you ask a cabbie directions and they don't know. The Hammersmith Working Mens Club, which resembled an Elks club/ Moose lodge, was tucked away in a neighborhood by the Hammersmith Bridge which is quite majestic with its green and gold painted structure. The show was hosted by Madness leader, Suggs, (yes, that Madness...the ska band).who was going to sing classic Madness tunes karaoke style if it hadn't been for the last minute arrival of original Madness piano player (don't know his name, but I do have a record of theirs upstairs if it weren't so late and I weren't so lazy). That guy Suggs is quite an entertainer and the kids at the show were having a ball dancing to some of the cheesiest 70 tunes and singin' along. The Madness guys played the classic tune It Must be Love and some others (that being the biggest hit that I recognized...no, they didn't play Our House...darn!)...they even played some classic London song called I Guess That's Why I'm a Londoner written by some famous/infamous poet of which the background was given, but again, I'm lazy and it's late... and I don't think you really care. I remember seeing Madness on the Young Ones (one of the funniest shows out there), and I kind of felt that we were in one of the hoods that Rick, Neil, Mike might have lived in. Badly Drawn Boy was up next, and I've got to say that The Hour Of the Bewilderbeast (from 2001 I think) has been one of my favorite albums of the past few years...yeah there's some Beatles, Beck, Elliot Smith kind of stuff on it, but it really holds up well...like the Shins Chutes Too Narrow (which I think is even better than Oh Inverted World) it still sounds great after many listens. So, Mr. BDB is armed with only an acoustic guitar (and an occasional harmonica) and the little knit hat that he always wears, and some nappy beard and some big spaces between his teeth...kind of hobo-lookin’ actually, but he plays some of the most beautiful songs and does a damn good job of it solo...(the album is chock full of every instrument imaginable: French horn, theremin, stuff, etc.) Some songs off of Bewilderbeast album were played along with some brand new songs that are yet to come out. I think that playing solo can be the most difficult thing for a musician to do, but BDB did it well. He was engaging and funny and had mastery of his songs and the guitar. It was very entertaining and fun, and if the Shins were the great kickoff party to our European tour, than Badly Drawn Boy was the final farewell to our two week long journey. Ok, so for a dollar, you get a raffle ticket (proceeds went to the mayoral election campaign), so I bought one, and guess what, I won....a box of chocolates...yeah, Oh joy, I won, I won...I opened the lid, and half of the chocolates were missing(?)! This girl next to me said to look at the date on the bottom of the box which had an expiration of January 2003 or something... she shouted out Hey these chocolates are outdated! to which the Mayor replied So are most of my policies! That got a round of chuckles...that mayor! He seemed really cool though and down-to-Earth and spoke of how he'd like to keep music and concerts more accessible to the younger generation with free shows and stuff... I'd vote for him. Until next time...giddyup! - Johnny Wrangler |
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Wig Wam Bam (by Captain America PO BX 4865 Albq NM 87196 captainamerica1941@hotmail.com) |
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| Wig
Wam Bam is written by Captain
America | po box 4865 | albuquerque, nm 87196 |
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