On the Road

Pearl Jam x 23

Or Why I Gave a Month of My Life to the Band

By Tim Doyle

“Aren’t They All the Same?”

It’s the question I got asked every time I told someone I was taking four weeks off work to travel and see Pearl Jam shows. “Won’t you get bored, going to so many shows? Aren’t they all the same?” The easy answer to those questions is “no.” Every Pearl Jam show is different. This is a band that has played more than 600 shows and has never played the same set twice. They have more than 100 songs on seven studio albums, as well as dozens more b-sides and covers.

How does someone plan for a trip of that length? Doesn’t it get expensive? What makes each show so special? Why, why, why? These questions take a little more time to explain.

The Plan

The idea was simple, really. I had to go to as many Pearl Jam shows as possible, with the majority of my shows during my slow season at work, June and July. When tour dates were released on January 23, I browsed through the schedule to see what shows I could attend. St. Louis and Champaign were easy choices; I could see both shows and not miss any work. Nashville and Atlanta made for a nice weekend trip, as did Vegas and Phoenix. Six shows down, no sweat; now for the fun part.

I was allotted three weeks of vacation time at work. I could buy another week of vacation, giving me four weeks to work with. After chatting with my friends, we decided to do every show from Chicago on out. The fan club ticketing system was easy: send a money order and an index card with the necessary details to the Ten Club, and you were guaranteed one of the best seats in the house. A handful of index cards, and hundreds of dollars later, I was on my way.

More shows were added, so more tickets had to be purchased. I found myself using all four weeks of my vacation. I would be on the road from June 18 until July 14. I had to miss one show for a bachelor party on July 5, so the grand total came to 18 shows in 27 days, with every place except Chicago being new to me.

The Budget

A four-week road trip is bound to get expensive, but there are ways to conserve funds. Budgeting in advance really helped me out. All but a couple tickets were already paid for, so there was no reason to worry about that. As far as a place to sleep was concerned, we had planned to mostly stay at homes of friends or family along the way. There were some nights where we would have to drive directly from one venue to the next, and even a few where we might have to stay in a hotel.

Three of us crammed into a Honda Civic. For a couple nights, however problematic it may have been, we managed to fit four. The car got good mileage and was reliable. Three people splitting gas meant saving even more money.

Food and drinks were a different matter. Once on the road, most of us fell into what we liked to call the “tour diet.” You become accustomed to eating one meal per day. Occasionally, you have time for two, but you could really save a bit of money, and the body could still get by, with only one meal. Coffee and other beverages for latenight driving only add to the expense. The key expense was water. The rule of thumb at shows—even more so during the summer months in outdoor venues—was, “Hydrate or die.” Water is the one thing that most people forget to budget for. Cups of water can cost anywhere from $3.00 to $5.00. Concertgoers aren’t allowed to bring outside drinks or containers of any sort into venues, so these places can get away with charging that much for a cup.

“Sliding Out of Reverse…”

I left with my brother for Chicago shortly after work on June 17, cash and ticket confirmation letters in hand and a few changes of clothes in the trunk. The next five days would take us to Chicago, East Troy, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis. The Cincinnati show was canceled due to a threat of flooding near the venue. After Indy, he drove my car back home, and I rode with various friends for the remainder of the tour.

What would make these shows special? It’s any number of things: the right opening or closing song, a good block of faster songs, a new song, hearing a song live for the first time, or hearing a song that hasn’t been played in a few years, if ever. What also make shows special are the friends you are there with, your interactions If the band is having a good time, you can be guaranteed it will be reflected in the music.

A Band With a Plan

The rumor had been spreading for a few days. Ed Vedder had mentioned to someone that Pearl Jam was going to play all three shows in Boston (July 2, 3, and 11) without repeating a single song. “Surely this wasn’t going to happen,” we all thought. Seven songs into the main set on July 2, Vedder confirmed it for us all, saying, “We’re gonna let you know what we’re attempting to do tonight. There’s kind of a plan, a method. Since we’re playing three shows in your neighborhood, and we’ve worked up about 70 songs for this tour, we thought we would play three nights without repeating a song, and get to every song. However, we thought we were playing about 70 songs. We are actually…I think we’re playing about 105.”

So there we had it. It was an unprecedented move. Three shows, 105 songs, no repeats. The first show had 26 songs, and the second show had 24, leaving 50-plus songs to be played on July 11. We wondered aloud over the next couple days about how they could manage to play 50 songs in one show. The answer came on the 8th: Pearl Jam would play an extra hour before the opening band, Sleater-Kinney, was to go onstage. It would be a “slower” set, and would help the band get in all of the songs before the curfew.

The show on July 11 was the show to be at. The show was guaranteed to be at least three hours long, and would feature an extra semiacoustic set. People made sudden arrangements with them, and the time that the band is having.

to be at this show. Case-in-point: two friends of mine flew in from Seattle at the last minute, just to make it to the show, knowing all along that they had to be there.

What ended up making the show on July 11 special? The band played 12 songs, mostly acoustic, before Sleater-Kinney took the stage. One of those songs, “All Those Yesterdays,” was completely new to the tour, and hadn’t been played live since 1998 in Seattle. The remainder of the show contained 33 additional songs, bringing the grand total for the three shows to 95 songs. A few songs short, one song repeated (“Yellow Ledbetter”), friends in town from all over the globe, and not a single one of them would dare complain. That’s what made that show special.

The End of the Road

The third Boston show is exemplary of what made every single one of Pearl Jam shows of this tour special. Good times, good songs, good friends, and nary a single complaint to be heard. Four weeks of fun, more than $1,500 spent, and more than 4,000 miles driven make up the most fun time of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Chicago Theatre, June 21

“Blixa’s not here. He’s gone...he’s gone.” With this brief farewell to longtime friend and Bad Seed Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave walked to his piano and began what promised to be an exceptional (and far too rare) evening: a live performance by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Bathed in a warm purple light, the band eased into “Wonderful Life.” The opening track of Nocturama, it’s a song that exemplifies the more subdued nature of much of Cave’s recent work. However, unlike the tour in support of 2001’s excellent No More Shall We Part, this was one of the few gentle moments. Cave seemed determined to prove he’s not quite ready to fade away into the land of easy listening and become the next Sting. Every song had a subtle variation and, with few exceptions, a harsher tone. Cave and the Bad Seeds crashed into a violent performance of “West Country Girl”—introduced as “A song I wrote for someone”—a song that had once been a mellow, rambling love poem.

The manic pace continued as the old fire-andbrimstone Cave returned for intense, almost angry, versions of “Do You Love Me,” “Tupelo,” “From Her to Eternity,” and the Birthday Party classic, “Wild World.” Even a rendition of “The Mercy Seat” which emphasized the piano built to a chaotic conclusion. All the more stunning, then, were the quiet moments. “Loom of the Land,” “Christina the Astonishing,” and “Hallelujah” held the audience in silent awe. Following “Sad Waters,” a single voice shouted, “I love you!” Cave seemed caught off guard, but smiled and replied, “I love you, too,” then added

after a brief pause, “Maybe not as much.”

Each of the two encores began with an attempt to lull the audience into submission and then overwhelm it with power. “Nobody’s Baby Now” led into a thunderous “Deanna” in the first encore. In the second, Cave’s whispers and piano on “God Is in the House” gave way to a frenzied performance of “Babe I’m on Fire.” Only slightly shorter than the full 15-minute version, the song allowed each member of the Bad Seeds to showcase his talents during this ferocious rant. As the band left the stage, there was a moment of complete silence before the audience erupted. It was an example of the rare ability possessed by this band to absolutely stun a crowd.

As for the recently departed Blixa, was he missed? Very much so. For longtime fans of the Bad Seeds, a performance without him seems unimaginable. He was always the dark, detached balance to Cave. Whether he really left to focus on Einsturzende Neubauten and solo projects as claimed or there were “creative differences” with the new direction Cave seems to be heading in (as has been rumored) is irrelevant; he will be missed. However, the inspired violin of Warren Ellis (also of the Dirty Three) brings a new depth to the Bad Seeds and allows such classics as “The Ship Song” to be heard in an entirely new light. During live performances, Ellis is hypnotic. He demands your attention, although he never faces the audience. He is a complement to an already brilliant group of musicians.

I drove five hours each way to see this show. Returning from Chicago, I tried to think of other bands I’d make such a trip for, and there weren’t many. The fact that I also had tickets for the show in NYC three days later says something. With only six Nick Cave performances scheduled for North America this year, it was worth it. —Rob Dunnett

Vans Warped Tour UMB Bank Pavilion, June 25

The Vans Warped Tour featured nearly two dozen bands performing over a seven-hour time span. Similar to other festivals such as Ozzfest, Pointfest and even Lollapalooza, the Warped tour is mainly targeted toward the young underage crowd, and they were out in a vengeance.

To go along with the good-sized crowd was an almost unbearable temperature upwards of 95 degrees; add the fact that concert-goers were on the blacktop all day, and that made it even hotter.

On a day where it was not uncommon to see kids passing out from the heat, bands played on and audience members rocked out to their favorite bands. It was also not uncommon to see many different band members walking around throughout the crowd, interacting with fans.

Vendetta Red gave a worthy performance to a crowd that was actually smaller than I expected. Red has been gaining popularity with their new single “Shatterday.” Lead singer Zach Davidson told an almost heart-touching story about wanting to play the Warped Tour when he was a young kid and now he is there. He told the crowd that they could do it too if they wanted to.

Andrew W.K. performed shortly after Vendetta Red. I must confess that I have never listened to an Andrew W.K. album, but his performance was one of the most energetic performances I have seen in quite some time. His songs sounded like cheers or rants, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy his 35-minute performance. He interacted well with the crowd and came across as sort of a big kid himself, which was cool.

Another band I had never really listened to but really enjoyed was Tsunami Bomb. I found frontwoman Agent M to be very cute, but she also possessed that kickass quality that is needed in a punk band. Their performance was one of the best of the day.

Other bands that were enjoyable to watch were Mest (these guys are just great live; the crowd really loved them), Rancid (what else can be said for one of the most famous punk bands in the world, except wow?), Less Than Jake, and S.T.U.N. (also very entertaining to watch).

The Used and A.F.I were supposed to be the closing acts of the show, but Mother Nature took care of that. After a day of sweltering heat, the rain was actually welcomed by many, except concert officials. The show was cancelled before either band could take the stage, which angered concert-goers. Some of the crowd chanted, “Rain or shine,” which was printed on the ticket stub. So after a long, hot, and fun day, it was a shame it had to end on such a negative note. —Jeremy Housewright

Placebo Club Metro, Chicago, July 9

Currently, I’m standing in a line wrapped around the block at the Metro and I feel as if I’m not wearing enough black. After what seems an eternity, they start letting people in. For such a large venue, there isn’t a lot of room. In fact, we’re packed in like sardines. I can smell the guy next to me, and I can’t escape.

Then, suddenly, the lights go dim, and people walk onstage. The opening act, Ambulance, is the latest trendy rock act from New York. By their set, it’s clear they aren’t the Strokes. Ambulance lacks the pop style, catchy songs, and “New Yawk” attitude that made the Strokes a garage rock sensation. Instead, their songs sound like soft rock of the ’70s. On stage, Ambulance is as lifeless as their music; they barely spoke or danced.

Placebo definitely knows how to make an entrance. A booming cheer goes up from the

audience as bassist Stefan Olsdal walks onstage. He throws his arms back and absorbs everyone’s affections. Lead singer Brian Molko soon follows, and an even louder cheer arises.

Placebo launches into “Bulletproof Cupid,” a raucous number from the current album, Sleeping With Ghosts. The first half of the set is filled with rowdy, rockin’, clench-your-fist-and-shake-it-atthe-sky songs, as they continue with “Every Me and Every You,” “Plasticine,” and “The Bitter End.” Then Molko announces that the next song is about “love in the time of pestilence”; a calm comes over the audience as the opening chords of “Sleeping With Ghosts” are played. This is a gorgeous, slightly electronic song about the idea of soulmates and fate. This song is mellower than the previous, but just as intense.

During “Black Market Music,” Molko and Olsdal duel for the spotlight. As Molko seductively strokes the neck of his guitar, Olsdal showcases all his best dance moves. The audience loves every minute.

The haunting “I’ll Be Yours” begins with Steve Hewitt’s dramatic drumbeats, soon followed by Molko’s familiar voice; the audience goes totally silent. Live, this song is more heartbreaking than it is on the album.

The band ends their set with a hit from their last album, “Special K.” A song about everything from drugs to relationships, the basic principle is whatever goes up must come down. As the song ends, band members leave the stage one by one. After moments of clapping, stomping, and oldfashioned cheering, Placebo returns for an encore.

As Placebo starts “Slave to the Wage,” we can’t stop cheering. This is one of the band’s most radio-friendly, poppy songs to date; it is familiar to every one of us. Live, the glistening guitar and driving beats that make this song so catchy made us want to dance. Molko slyly changes the lyrics from “Maggie’s farm” to “Bush’s farm.”

“Pure Morning” is next. Although this is one of Placebo’s most recognizable songs, I must say I loathe it. This song is all about drugs and women, with lyrics so childish, it would appeal to a 13-year-old boy. This song’s only redeeming quality is that it is played well musically.

Placebo once again disappears from stage. Many think this is the end of a spectacular night and clear the room. But as they say, patience is a virtue. Those of us who are patient are rewarded with a second encore.

First up: the dazzling “Centerfolds” featuring only Molko and Olsdal. Olsdal has his head bowed down, in deep concentration on this superb but bruised song. Molko stands with his guitar clenched in his hand and sings the lyrics

heartbreakingly. I almost shed a tear as he sings, “So long falling star, I refuse to let you die.” Good on the album, the song seems especially thrilling live. The mood picks up as Molko introduces the next song by Francis Black: “We didn’t write this, but we wish we had.” Then they start playing “Where Is My Mind?” by The Pixies.

Playing a song by The Pixies would be certain death for most bands. After all, you never want to cover a classic, as there’s no way it will be as good as the original. Placebo’s version isn’t as good as the original, but it is pretty damned good, as Molko and company stay true to every chord change and lyric. Toward the end of the song, Molko leads the crowd in chanting, “Where is my mind? Oooooh.” After our brief moment of solidarity, the lights flash on, and everyone heads toward the door. —Dawn O’Neall

X Pop’s, July 15

“I am a black and white ghost

In a black and invisible dress…” —X, “Because I Do”

As she took the stage wearing a vintage blackand-white dress, Exene Cervenka resembled that ghost. When John Doe, D.J. Bonebrake, and Billy continued on next page

Three to See

Here are just three of the great original St. Louis bands that play around town on a regular basis. Check them out as soon as you get a chance.

Orb Vroomer —For anyone tired of predictable bands, Orb Vroomer is a true mustsee. This original four-piece group mixes guitars and keyboards over a brutal drumbeat to create their own eccentric version of gothic electronica music. Just watching them perform onstage is an experience in itself. The lead singer—who takes turns playing guitar and synthesizer—and his female sidekick on keyboards have a strong stage presence and are hard to stop watching, for fear of missing anything. The vocals have so many effects that they are almost like another instrument; things get even more unusual when scary spokenword performances take the place of singing.

Whoppers Taste Good —I can vividly remember seeing this band perform on the Double Helix show “Critical Mass” back when I was in junior high. After seeing their performance and the hilarious interview that went with

it, I really wanted to see them play. Sadly, I left town for school before seeing any of their gigs. I finally caught one of their shows at the HiPointe last month and Whoppers Taste Good proved to be a good band, indeed. This local punk rock group has all the loud and distorted guitar sounds you’d expect from a punk band, but they have a sense of humor and theatrics, as well. The lead singer’s costume seems to be inspired by a combination of beer cans, wrapping paper, and the beloved Cardinals mascot, Fred Bird. Their show is lively and exciting, well worth your time to go see.

Miss Pie —Miss Pie is a one-woman punk rock show who serves up catchy songs with the help of a drum machine, electric guitar, and some sampled excerpts she plays between songs. Going to see her play is a surefire way to get your fill of catchy songs ranging from stories of sex, popular mall girls, and a punk rock cover of “99 Red Balloons.” She’s very personable and not afraid to chat and tell stories, but the best piece of her set is a tribute to the antidepressant, Prozac. She recently has joined the band (appropriately titled) The Misses. —John Kujawski Backstage Pass

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Zoom took their places with her and immediately tore into “The Phone’s Off the Hook,” it was as if the entire band had returned to the land of the living.

Yes, they’ve toured with other lineups, performed reunion shows, and concentrated on side projects, so they’ve never really gone away. The energy thrown off by the four original members, however, was something that had been missing. Not tonight, though. They concentrated on their early (and best) material. X was never the “typical” punk band. Exene’s lyrics and the musical ability of the rest of the band always set them apart. The songs hold up remarkably well, while other bands of that era sound dated. Because of this, the show was able to avoid that whole “nostalgia” feel so many reunion tours fall victim to. The punk scene that spawned X is history, but the band still sounds as fresh as it ever did. X has the ability to blow the current MTV punklite bands off the stage. What I wouldn’t give to see Exene bitch-slap those goofy pricks from Blink-182. But I digress. Still, if you needed further proof that the “good ol’ days” are long gone, this audience provided it. Balding ex-frat boys jumping around like morons does not a pit make. You’ve missed the point there, Biff.

Back to X, though. I was surprised (and grateful) to hear “We’re Desperate.” I think they once said they no longer perform the song because, well, they’re no longer all that desperate. Maybe they are again. Who knows? Who cares? They ripped through all the classics, from “Los Angeles” and “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline” to “Year One” and “Nausea.” Billy Zoom posed and grinned throughout, reminding people why he’s probably the best guitarist ever drawn to punk. D.J. Bonebrake never let up on the drums. John Doe and Exene harmonized in a way that can only come from such a long history together, but sang with an energy that made the songs sound as if they were written yesterday.

Another thought regarding the crowd. I’ve never been a fan of bouncers. That probably comes from experience with the knuckle-scrapping goons who used to work at Mississippi Nights (you know…back when they still booked good bands). Anyway, the Pop’s staff was excellent. One of the best I’ve seen. Which is a shame, in a way. During “The Unheard Music,” some dickless wonder doused Exene with beer. She obviously wanted to dive in and rip his eyes out, but stopped herself. This would have been one of those rare times when having ill-tempered, violent bouncers around would have been a good thing. This guy needed someone to drag him outside and bounce his skull off the concrete a few times.

As for the opening band…yes, there was one. They called themselves The Fags. A few songs had a Descendents-like feel and weren’t that bad. On the slower numbers, though, I swear to God the singer’s voice had a disturbing similarity to Rod Stewart. That’s just wrong. —Rob Dunnett

Poi Dog Pondering Blueberry Hill, July 15

Poi Dog Pondering serves up a music luau in the sense that their performances are a musical feast with such variety and freshness that is rarely experienced, but always enjoyed.

They recently played to a packed Blueberry Hill Duck Room on a steamy Thursday night on the first stop of a three-city jaunt away from their home base of Chicago. They’ve been playing to packed houses and an adoring fan-base in Chicago the past few years and are finally taking their show outside Chicago for a full state tour this fall. Their first in awhile since it’s hard for them to tour because there are twelve of them plus crew, according to Frank Orrall in a recent phone interview.

Orrall is the leader and architect of PdP and has designed the current and fifth incarnation of the group from his interest in dance-inspired music. Orrall said a lot of the players that are with them now have done a lot of work on dance records, but came out of the jazz world. The Susan Voelz of Poi Dog Pondering onstage at Blueberry Hill. Photo by Jil Daw.

jazz, soul, and mood sounds are dominant on their newest disc, In Seed Comes Fruit, which was released in late June. The group, with nine members present at the show, played a few heartily received cuts from the new cd, as well as many songs from their previous releases, which have more of an international, folk, rock, and island sound. With such a diverse repertoire of songs and talent, the evening was filled with the rich and flavorful sounds of violin, cello, flute, sax, bass, keyboards, clarinet, guitar, drums, and vocals, just to name a few of the instruments that made their appearance. Everything was well orchestrated and tight, as you would expect from this seasoned band.

After hearing 20 songs, the crowd didn’t want to let the band get away without serving up a second helping. To experience Poi Dog Pondering’s energy and enthusiasm live is a rare treat and one that shouldn’t be passed up. The joy they get from performing live is obvious from their interactions with each other and the crowd, and infects the audience with an almost spiritual music euphoria.

If you can’t get to a live show, pick up one of their recordings and keep an eye out for more. Orrall says he’s been playing percussion and collecting a lot of odd percussion and, for the next record, is leaning toward an acoustic and percussion-based sound, using all really odd, strange acoustic instruments. But, as he also says, he may get into something else by the time they get there.

Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. As their bumper sticker queries, got poi? Yes, and you should, too. —Chris Daw

Ozzfest UMB Bank Pavilion, July 17

Ozzfest 2003 may be remembered as Ozzy’s last stand. The veteran rocker looked weary and slow during his hour and a half performance to close Ozzfest 2003. It could be from the constant touring or he may finally be slowing down, but nonetheless, he put on a great show. Battling severe laryngitis, he used long guitar solos to get through the evening. The nearly full house at UMB Bank Pavilion cheered him on through his whole performance. For myself, it was odd seeing bassist Jason Newsted without the other members of Metallica.

While Ozzy closed the evening at Ozzfest, it was Marilyn Manson who stole the show. Manson put on one of the most bizarre, strange, and entertaining shows I have ever witnessed. Manson came out dressed in his typical black leather apparel; from there, the show got stranger by every song. At one point he appeared onstage wearing arm extensions that were twice or three times as long as his normal arms. Another time, he had two dancers onstage who were wearing prosthetic body parts. He ended the show in black-and-white face paint wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Manson’s fans could be seen all over Ozzfest; teens in dog collars and dressed from head to toe in black were out in abundance. Though I used to think he was more famous for his shock value than music, I may have been wrong; I really enjoyed his entire hour-long set.

Korn, Disturbed, and Chevelle were also on the main stage. I was surprised to see Chevelle on the main stage, but they opened the show well. Disturbed was also enjoyable. I have never really listened to much of their music, but they do have a dedicated group of fans, many with tattoos that honor the band. Lead singer Dave Draiman had a lot of interaction with the fans. He spoke of playing music for the people because they are what the band is all about. He also made a nice gesture by paying homage to a man he called “the godfather of heavy metal,” Ozzy Osbourne.

I was really anticipating Korn, and they didn’t disappoint. Having seen them on four previous occasions, I can say their performance gets better every time. After two disappointing albums, the band is trying to make their music more raw and harder, as it was in the beginning. If their hour-long set was any indicator, Korn may be ready to once again take the metal music scene by the horns.

The second stage was filled with up-and-coming metal bands, including Endo. First of all, I must thank them for the great seats; I had a great view of the main stage. “Intense” is the only word that comes to mind when defining their performance. Lead singer Gil Benton’s presence onstage is ferocious. With Benton as the driving force behind the music, the other members seemed to feed off each other’s energy, which created a brutal and intense show. This band could be destined for the main stage of Ozzfest. —Jeremy Housewright

Phish Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI, July 18 & 19

I had to be standing in the middle of a sea of 40,000 stoned mop-heads to understand: Phish is the NASCAR of American music. continued on page 36

ith a name like “The New Pornographers,” they have to be begging for it. No matter how scholarly or how juvenile any music writer may be, you can count on the fact that he or she will be looking for ways to hit the band from the pornography angle. It doesn’t help that they speak of lesbians in their lyrics (“Chump Change”) and name songs with things like “The Body Says No.” All of their songs begin to grow subtext that is probably not intended to be there; all of their album artwork will be overly scrutinized; all of the band members will be looked at in a different light.

Take Neko Case, for example. She’s been around for a while, gaining popularity by herself with last year’s Blacklistedor from as far back as 1997 with Her Boyfriends (as in “Neko Case & Her Boyfriends”), but it was only a mere three months ago that Playboy named her the “Sexiest Babe in Indie Rock” and tried (unsuccessfully) to goad her into posing for them. To be fair, the “Sexiest Babe” award was voted on by readers of Playboy, but how did they come to find out about her in the first place? I doubt it was as a result of her alt-country solo career. My guess is because of the pornography.

In the end, though, and probably only because I and every other music writer don’t want to make ourselves sound like 13-year-old boys, we use the pornography lead to bring us to what a great band they are. Band member/mastermind Carl Newman, previously known for being a member of the band Zumpano, says that he’s seen his share of reviews that say, “These guys have a stupid, terrible name; but I love them.” You know that the band has to be doing something right if the only valid criticism a rock critic can give them is in regard to their name. Besides, if it hadn’t been for that blunt-ass moniker, it might have taken a lot longer for everyone to take notice of them. After all, they are (by the most unbiased and straightforward description only) a stereotypical supergroup composed of people who were just one step away from being name musicians at the time of the group’s formation, and the style of music that they play is a very done-before brand of power pop. There wouldn’t be any reason to pay much attention to them if they didn’t have a funny name.

Once they have their foot in their potential listener’s door, though, it is a different story. First of all, their songs waste no time filling in those little crevices in your brain that house catchy songs and play them back to you all day. For the most part, the band’s method is simple, and their sound is stripped-down; the songs are just concerned with putting you at the mercy of their hooks, of which no song is completely lacking, and often have upwards of two. Second, if you are listening to their CD, you will never get bored, even if you were to put it on repeat and leave it on all day (it might make you tired, though). There are four distinctive, prominent vocalists in the band (in addition to Newman and Case, there are Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Kurt Dahle of Age of Electric), and they are rotated from prominence to backup to nonexistence in each song in such a way that the CD gels somewhere in between a really good compilation album and a release from a band made up of godlike deities.

This lead singer musical chair concept was one of Newman’s many original decisions when they were still trying to decide which direction to take. Of his decision to organize the band in this way, Newman explained, “Well, if I was singing and if Neko was singing and Dan was singing, and we all have such radically different voices, I thought it would give the record an interesting feel. You get a sense of joy from a lot of people singing together.” It is really only appropriate to call the feeling that results from listening to a New Pornographers song “joy” if you listen to just one track; after an entire album, you’re aggressively happy, and everyone around you had better look out.

By the way things are going, everyone is going to have to look out all the time, as the New Porn’s popularity seems to be growing exponentially with each passing week. Their first CD, Mass Romantic, was released on the Canadian label Mint Records, and it wound up a surprise success (and a massive success, at that) on the indie rock circuit back in 2001. While all of the press was eating them up and all of the fans were trying to find a retailer who wasn’t sold out of their CD, the band began recording Electric

Version. Newman and the rest of the band never broke a sweat over having to fulfill everyone’s unrealistically high expectations for their followup, though. When asked about what it was like to have to follow up Mass Romantic, Newman said, “It was a little intimidating, but we didn’t really think about it, you know? We had no choice. It was strange because we didn’t have the surprise factor anymore. We couldn’t be the band that just pops out of nowhere; we had to live up to this record that a lot of people liked. But we were the same band, so it didn’t seem like it was a big problem. It just seemed to me like we should keep doing what we were doing.” By the time that Electric Version was completed, indie rock god label Matador agreed to release it in the United States and in the U.K.

It might be because of Matador’s sway in the music world, but with Electric Version, the Pornographers have gained even more popularity than they had with Mass Romantic, including an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman in June. “I appreciate Matador because I think they have their act together,” Newman said by way of explaining how the label was able to infiltrate the last holdouts of the indie rock crowd that had somehow not yet heard of the band. Matador is now, no doubt, looking for further conquests, such as the territory of the nonindie rock crowd or those who have grown to love Case’s handful of solo albums.

One of the problems of being a Pornographer (too bad I can’t start every sentence with that phrase) is that they are, in fact, a supergroup, or a band made up of members of other popular bands. This circumstance seems as if it would make it difficult to write new songs, practice, and, God forbid, tour, especially with Case’s success, which is growing at about the same speed as the Pornographers’. “The hardest part was getting Neko into town,” a not-bitter-at-all Newman explained, but he didn’t make it sound as if getting everyone together in the same room with the intention of recording an album was all that hard. With Zumpano now defunct, the only other member of the band who might be difficult to track down is Bejar, who, aside from being in Destroyer, is becoming a more and more notorious recluse who never tours or grants interviews. “Basically, all we had to do was get him to drop into town and record with us, so that was easy,” Newman said of securing Bejar for recording the album, so perhaps he is only reclusive at the prospect of having to face fans and media, and he can hardly be blamed for that. “As for the rest of us, I mean, we might do other things, but The New Pornographers is our main band.” If things keep on going the way that they have been for the Pornographers, the band will become everyone’s main band, both for the band members and for everyone else in the world.

While it may look like the steadily growing solo career of Case may put a damper on the band’s ability to crank out the records and tour all over everywhere, she is, in many ways, the band’s most powerful weapon. For one thing, she has the most immediately enthralling voice of all of the many singers. Take the track “The Laws Have Changed” from Electric Version, for example. The song is split over the band’s many singers, but Case’s voice is the most resonant, and the song winds up seeming as if it was hers all along. Second, the supergroup mechanic does have its benefits, one of which is that hardcore Case fans, or Zumpano fans, or Destroyer fans, etc., will track the New Pornographers down just to see what their favorite musician is up to, and since Case has the biggest individual fan base of any of the Pornographers, she is making the most use of this particular mechanic. And the final reason why Case is the band’s not-so-secret weapon is because, well, she is The Sexiest Babe in Indie Rock.

With a note of “you are the biggest idiot who has ever interviewed me” in his voice, Newman responded to my query regarding whether Case’s growing status as a sex symbol would help or hurt the band by saying, “You think Neko becoming a sex symbol will hurt the band?” His hardly masked contempt in this case was per

fectly valid, as when has having a sex symbol as a band member ever hurt any band? It might distract everyone from how respectively good or bad their music is, but there are worse things that could happen. Regardless, once he calmed down a little, he went into it a little further: “It’s funny having known Neko for so long, seeing her kind of morph into what people think is this indie rock sex goddess…all of what happens to us and to her are all of the old music traps, and it seems kind of absurd, you know? All you can do is just sit back and enjoy it.” Spoken like a true pornographer.

NORTHFORK (Paramount Classics, PG-13)

The year 1999 saw the release of the first film from the Polish brothers (Mark and Michael), the cool Twin Falls, Idaho, which concerned two conjoined twins and how much it sucked to be them. In addition to writing and directing Twin Falls, the Polish brothers actually played the twins, and the resulting feeling was of a creepy, mildly surrealistic, and deeply felt psychodrama about the good and bad things that result from never being alone.

The Polish brothers then released Jackpot, their follow-up to Twin Falls, in 2001, but I didn’t bother to see it, because it looked stupid and boring; despite the fact that Twin Falls was good, it wasn’t good enough to warrant my following the directors anywhere. So when Northfork, their third film, screened relatively successfully at Sundance earlier this year, I was reasonably enthusiastic about seeing it, as it looked a lot more interesting than Jackpothad, if nothing else.

Well, it sucked. Whereas Twin Falls felt Lynchian without ever seeming as if they were intentionally emulating David Lynch, Northfork feels like they are trying to emulate someone who is trying unsuccessfully to emulate Lynch. The plot is scattered and nonlinear, involving the denizens of a town called Northfork who spend their time looking for angels, building arcs, and generally doing any other heavy-handed thing they can to draw broad metaphors with heaven.

To be more specific as to how Northfork feels like a twice-removed Lynch knockoff, consider the fact that it (as well as the Polish brothers’ other two features) focuses exclusively on the citizens of an odd, small town, just as Twin Peaks did in the early ’90s. The characters speak in a manner that allows them to spurt forth gobs and gobs of non sequiturs and bad one-liners, the plot developments can be interpreted pretty much any way the viewer wants, and Kyle MacLachlan even turns up in the cast. I’m not sure if the Polish brothers would have been more obvious had they been making an outright parody of Lynch’s work.

If there is a saving grace in Northfork, it is that the cinematography and production design are almost always interesting, creating this weird palette of black, white, and a bluish-gray shot in a Guy Maddin–esque dreamy, streaky soft focus, so that it takes a couple of minutes into the movie before the viewer is even sure that it is in color. Second, out of the large, impressive cast (and when I say the cast is impressive, I mean that it is impressive the casting director got so many name actors to be in this shit movie, not that their acting is impressive), only Anthony Edwards is worth mentioning, as the limbless and blind Happy.

What is probably the most important role in the film, that of a sick orphan named Irwin, is screwed up beyond recognition by the hack child actor Duel Farnes, who only breaks up the wooden recital of his lines to occasionally emote all over the place, which makes for the most wildly irregular bad performance in some time.

For all of the people who have been ripping him off lately, one would think that David Lynch’s best work would have been within the past three years or so, as opposed to the near 15 years its been since he’s released anything that has been up to par. Maybe this is all coming now because of his recent “success,” Mulholland Drive, a film that I did not like, but seemingly everyone else did. Regardless, I am almost looking forward to the resurgence of Tarantino plagiarizers after Kill Bill, because I don’t think I’ll be able to stand another Northfork. —Pete Timmermann

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (Miramax, Rated R)

There are a lot of directors who like to experiment in very different genres from film to film, and most of them are well liked in the film community as a result (Ang Lee is a good example of this). However, there’s a British film director named Stephen Frears who does just that and has had a longer and more prolific career than Lee, but even the most serious film buffs don’t always recognize his name. Even if they don’t, they have undoubtedly seen or at least heard of My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons,

. Photo: Andre Blaise Northfork Duel Farnes in Paramount Classics'

The Grifters, Mary Reilly, or High Fidelity, all of which are popular films that Frears directed. The newest addition to his overlooked résumé is Dirty Pretty Things, and it is a thriller/drama thing and therefore not a new addition to the list of genres he has worked in, as he was there with The Grifters, among other films.

Perhaps the reason why Frears remains relatively unknown is that he lacks the talent of most film directors that have followed his career path. Of his 16 films, the only ones that I care about one way or the other are Fidelity and Liaisons, and this includes Dirty Pretty Things.

I gave Things the benefit of the doubt when, within the first reel, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tautou in Miramax’s Dirty Pretty Things.

hotel desk clerk and the center of the film, unclogs a stopped up toilet, only to discover that a human heart was causing the stoppage. I thought that Frears and writer Steve Knight were going for a slightly surrealistic thriller, a lá Blue Velvet or something. And maybe they were, for all I know. Regardless, they failed miserably. After a while, the plot of Dirty Pretty Things reveals itself as concerning the sale of kidneys and the fellating of locals by illegal immigrants in London, as a means of getting fake documentation to “prove” that they are citizens of the country and avoiding deportation. It all feels implausible from the start, but goes over the line in the final scenes with bad writing and ridicu

lous scenarios involving mock hospitals and tacked-on endings. As a result, after the film was over, I felt dirty, for lack of a better word.

Unfortunately for the movie-consuming masses, there are a handful of reasons to see this dreadful film. First and foremost is that it is the English language debut of Audrey Tautou, who is quickly becoming everybody’s favorite actress (myself included). Second, whoever designed the poster is a genius, as it is a near-exact replica of the poster for the great Luis Bunuel/ Catherine Deneuve film Belle de Jour, except it features Tautou looking provocatively at the poster-gazer in lieu of Deneuve. And finally, there are a few of us out here that will go and see a Frears film on his name alone, hoping that he has another High Fidelity in him. Based on the quality of Dirty Pretty Things, I shouldn’t get my hopes up. —Pete Timmermann

JOHNNY ENGLISH (Universal, Rated PG)

Rowan Atkinson is a genius. For two decades, his slapstick humor and glib tongue have made him a staple of British comedy. Now, the star of Mr. Bean, Black Adder, and several successful one-man comedy shows is in fine form in his new film, Johnny English.

Johnny English spoofs spy films. Originally conceived as a character in a series of U.K. cred

Ben Miller, Rowan Atkinson and Natalie Imbruglia in Universal's Johnny English.

it card commercials, English has manifested himself on screen. Parallels will be drawn with the Austin Powers films. However, unlike Austin Powers, Johnny English manages to be uniquely British. He’s a saddo who lucks into a great gig and gets wrapped up in it, then he really is oblivious that he is over his head. Atkinson plays this well. His zealous and cheeky character manages to blunder into strange situations, only to carefully extricate himself from them indignantly.

Johnny English mocks the elegance, gadgets, car chases, dashing heroes, and thin plots of spy movies. English is a spy who blunders. He’s at the right place at the wrong time and has no idea what to do. This is why this film is so funny.

The film opens with Atkinson’s Johnny English, a junior intelligence officer who manages to luck into the job of Britain’s top spy through a series of mishaps. There are no better spies in all of the realm, because there are none left. With all the great Brit spies out of commission, Her Majesty must turn to her last, best hope, Johnny English.

English is assigned to guard the newly restored Crown Jewels. However, fate decrees that the jewels are taken from the Tower of London and given to a villainous prison builder, played by John Malkovich, who will crown himself king and turn the U.K. into a sort of neoAlcatraz. Malkovich is amazing. He plays Pascal Sauvage, an annoying, aloof, over-the-top French criminal mastermind. His wacky accent and maniacal devilishness make him a great serious foil for the loopy Johnny English.

The heroine is played by Aussie soap star and pop singer Natalie Imbruglia. She plays Lorna Campbell, another spy out to save the Crown Jewels. Surprisingly, she holds her own here, providing serious moments between comedic escapades.

Rowan Atkinson drives the movie. This is a nonstop laugher with all the standards of physical comedy, plus deviant silliness thrown in for good measure. Johnny English is a smart, savvy comedy with whimsy, fun, and a cavalcade of humor. —Rob Levy

Play by Play

at her well/‘It won’t fall down,’ she says. ‘It won’t fall down.’”), the gently rolling “My Heart’s a Flame,” the raw hunger of “2 Hungry Women,” and the African beat of “Blue Mary.” The standout track, however, has to be “Aire (Buenos Aires),” a breezy dream of escape that perfectly catches the wind and soars.

Fans of Gene Loves Jezebel’s “Desire” days won’t be disappointed by Exploding Girls—and with the right promotion, Michael Aston’s thoughtful musings on the second sex could very well introduce GLJ to a new legion of listeners. —Laura Hamlett

ANNIE LENNOX: BARE (J-Records)

If anyone found the task of assigning any sort of music to a particular color in the listener’s mind as being tedious, Annie Lennox has saved us the hassle. It’s not blue, even though it may seemingly be mistaken as such by some, while others may allocate it as a pale tan or gray to reflect the mood of Bare. The work has been done for us, and it’s colorless. It’s not monochrome but more of a diverse statement that Lennox is trying to express by taking any particular color from the record, leaving it up to our imagination. The only thing it’s not, is transparent.

Lennox has used both mischievous and androgynous contradiction with her audience in Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) with the Eurthymics in 1983, she in the sharply dressed suit and cane in the boardroom, and being intentionally and exaggeratedly feminine in 1987 during Savage. In 1992, Diva stunned us with soft yet strong soulfulness, while in 1995, Medusa showed more of Lennox’s reminiscence for herself and ourselves who listened. Bare is an emotional waterfall of thoughts and images flowing into a lake of resolution and mutual conception

with any demons that she would have dealt with prior. While some see Bareas something close to mildly dismal, with some time and attention devoted to this record, hopefully those listeners learn to see some elucidation and sweetness inside the tension.

There still lives contradiction. It’s the familiar trick of the tongue-in-cheek happy or unhappy song title when the song itself displays a completely opposite mood from what the title originally suggests, such as “A Thousand Beautiful Things”: “Every day I write the list of reasons why I still believe they do exist,/a thousand beautiful things, and even though it’s hard to see the glass is full and not half empty.”

Barereminds mature listeners of a time when pop music neither had nor needed overproduction and publicity like the radio of today. It’s tastefully understated with a heart-wrenching melody along the lines of what Carole King offered us with Tapestry. “Honestly” is a song perfect for sunrise or sunset, whichever you happen to be awake for: “Fools like me get so easily taken and fools like me can be so mistaken.”

Lennox has never had problems with selfassurance throughout the years, even if it seems as if her heart was broken or there was some sort of absence of intimacy. Baretouches upon some more overcast skies of gray, but the significance of the songs tells a story of a woman emerging from the wreckage of the bleak to tell a story of personal triumph. This is the same triumph that still allows her to resonate as if she is wearing the choir robe at church even though she prefers to wear leather. She knows what choice suits her best for any particular moment. —Cory Hoehn

THE MARS VOLTA: DE-LOUSED IN THE C OMATORIUM (Universal)

Upon first listen, The Mars Volta’s premier fulllength album is jolting to the ear. Familiar with the explosive style of former band At the Drive-In, I threw this offspring group’s new project into my

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CD player, expecting to hear a high-energy version of today’s standard variety of punk/indie rock. Instead, I was completely disoriented to discover a bizarre, foreign aural assault of genreless music. Panicking to fit this album into a neat, tidy box to present to readers, I scanned my mental catalogue of generic music types to find one that at least partially described this sound, let alone bands to compare it to so that I might write that always unhelpful and ultimately disappointing blurb about this being “a conglomeration of Fugazi and Jane’s Addiction, with a hint of Miles Davis.” I drew a blank.

Yet this is precisely what is so fascinating about this album—in creating it, the musicians fully intended to break boundaries and defy classification. Which makes sense, considering their background—At the Drive-In disbanded once they began to gain notoriety because members Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavalas were fearful of being pigeonholed into the same sound, record after record. The two split off to create The Mars Volta, while the others formed the equally respectable band Sparta. With Cedric leading vocals and Omar on guitar, the two also enlisted former Long Beach Dub All-Stars keyboardist Ikey Owens, ex-DeFacto member and old friend Jeremy Ward, and drummer Jon Theodore. These four, along with Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame on bass, form the new and uncategorizable sound that is The Mars Volta.

And certainly, De-Loused in the Comatorium is a dynamic and explosive debut that well establishes the indefinable, progressive sound of the band. A concept album from start to finish, it is a fictionalized account of the cerebral experiences of a man who lies in a coma after attempting suicide. The album is derived from the life of close friend Julio Venegas, who com

mitted suicide in 1996. De-Lousedis a tribute of sorts from Cedric’s imagination, detailing the fantastical adventures of the mind that his friend must have experienced while unconscious.

Because this is a concept album, it is difficult to pick out and distinguish particularly strong or weak tracks, all of them melting together into one fluid whole. However, I will at least say that the initial track, “Inertiatic Esp,” has a kinetic grip that will easily pull any listener into the rest of the album. “Eriatarka” also has a hypnotic hook that will most certainly remain echoing in your mind, perhaps as you are trying to fall asleep.

Although the album concludes with Venegas awaking from a coma only to successfully carry out the taking of his own life, the ultimate impression is not one of darkness and letdown. Instead, it is one of great energy and hope, a homage to a dear friend that engenders an honest, ever-changing album that not even once fails to engage our undivided attention. This is not background music; it is a lyrical accomplishment that might demand concentration on its intricacies were we not already and automatically shaken to awareness, wide awake and listening. —Anne Valente

M OGWAI: HAPPY SONGS FOR HAPPY PEOPLE (Matador)

Since 1997’s Mogwai Young Team, Scotland’s Mogwai has brought wave after wave of post-rock crunch to the forefront of underground music and at times has popped its collective head up from the depths to flirt with mainstream trends (see the band’s last full-length, Rock Action ). The genre of post-rock has tried desperately to reinvent itself over the past few years, most markedly in the hands of Chicago jazz-rock purveyors Tortoise and Iceland’s ethereal Sigur Rós. It seems as though those bands have tired of the genre’s formula of “no formula,” and who can blame them? As history has demonstrated, in less than two years, we’ll be hearing Slint’s “Nosferatu Man” on Mitsubishi commercials. But Mogwai isn’t worried about that, and they’ve never been interested in reinventing the car commercial. On their latest release, the superbly titled Happy Songs for Happy People, they do, to a point, as they have done on their past efforts, create excruciatingly melodic rock music boasting a sheet metal frame.

This adherence to form is simultaneously the saving grace of the band and the force that keeps it from achieving greatness. But there are slight, yet notable, changes on Happy Songs, and frankly, it’s about time. Happy Songs is the band at its most distilled. The tracks are laconic when Happy People: Mogwai (courtesy Matador Records)

compared to those of their debut, but they are by no means minute in scope. They still carry broad strokes of power chord, boxy piano intros, and a precise amount of distortion on all instruments, including voice. But I wonder if the same effect can be reached in four and a half minutes rather than eight. Fulfilling a song’s climax, especially when the song is structured around the rise to that tumultuous epiphany, is a delicate operation. Four and a half minutes may not be enough. If the one-track, 20-minute My Father My King EP taught us anything, it’s that Mogwai’s music takes time to bloom. What’s more, Mogwai is fleshing out the band’s “sound,” adding more and more strings to their compositions, which softens them considerably, consequently stripping them of that hint of fury evident in the band’s first two albums. And the meaty synthesizer that begins “Moses? I Amn’t” sounds as though it were copped from fellow countrymen (and sometime label mates) Boards of Canada. As prolific as the Boards are, furious they amn’t.

This isn’t to say that the best moments on Happy Songs are the least focused—quite the opposite. The static percussion on “I Know You Are but What Am I?” and the gentle feedback and gentler vocals on “Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep” slide easily, yet efficiently, into the listener’s ears. In fact, the whole album is very pleasant, but not exciting or moving in the same way Young Team was. Still, it is a step toward something; it just isn’t sure where it’s going yet. Is this the sound of an older, wiser Mogwai? Are the noisy meanderings of “King Herod” and “Christmas Steps” gone forever, only to be replaced by a poppier, more user-friendly postrock? These are questions Mogwai must answer definitively on their next album, because they can’t live in the gray area between jagged postrock and succinct indie pop forever. Happy Songs for Happy People, enjoyable as it is, sounds like a compromise, and if Mogwai could fulfill some of their potential, post-rock may not be destined to soundtrack auto ads just yet. —Andrew Rea

ALLISON MOORER: SHOW (Universal)

If, like me, you missed Allison Moorer’s performance at Blueberry Hill last year, don’t get her new concert CD/DVD set, Show. If this performance, recorded in January at 12th & Porter in Nashville, is anywhere near comparable to her performance in St. Louis, it will just make you kick yourself one more time for missing her.

Show was recorded on Moorer’s tour in support of Miss Fortune, her third and most accessible album, which showed her moving further outside her country roots without risking the label of sellout. Several notable songs from that release appear on the set list here, including the poignant “Let Go” and the rocking “Going Down.” The latter is one of three songs on which Moorer’s big sister, Shelby Lynne, provides vocal assistance. Moorer doesn’t really need it, though, and outshines her sibling, particularly on “Bring Me All Your Lovin’,” where Lynne pales in comparison for soulfulness and range.

Other star power is lent by Kid Rock, who performs on “Bully Jones.” But the strongest showing remains Moorer and her voice, which manages to deliver tearjerkers without straying into the overwrought and has a suitable edginess for the harder tunes. Live shows are where singers prove that they can really “do it,” and Moorer does so without misstep. Her voice is just as rich and smoky onstage as it is in the studio.

The DVD doesn’t add much to the experience compared with the CD, beyond the opportunity to see the lovely Moorer on stage. But then, the energy of seeing an artist perform live is something that’s almost impossible to capture in concert videos, which prove an inadequate substitute for the real thing. The DVD does, however, have a bonus track not on the CD, the quietly beautiful “Cold Cold Earth,” and that makes it more than just a curiosity. —Jeffrey Ricker

Play by Play

ANNA OXYGEN: ALL YOUR FADED THINGS (Cold Crush Records)

I’ll be honest. I can’t write a review of this CD. I don’t know what to tell you that you haven’t heard before. So, here’s the deal: this month I won’t pretend to be a pretentious critic. We’re just going to have a talk, music geek to music geek.

The CD is All Your Faded Things by Anna Oxygen, a Seattle artist on fledgling Cold Crush Records. The thing about Oxygen is that she basically sounds like everything you’ve ever heard, but different. I know it’s confusing, but I’ll try my best to explain.

The first track, “Baby Blue,” is a good representation of the album—I guess the overall genre would be electroclash, even though there are many different sounds. “Baby Blue” is a slick pop song, awash with pulsating drumbeats and this “crazy” instrument called a synthesizer (I hear a lot of bands are using it these days). Oxygen’s vocal style is very…organic. It’s very warm and emotive and a lot of times operatic. This isn’t heard much in the electroclash genre.

Next up is “Red Horse Café,” one of the strongest tracks on the album. The electronic beats are highly danceable, and they mesh incredibly well with Oxygen’s voice; there isn’t a point where the synthetic pandering distracts from her. In fact, the beats may give her more depth and style. In short, this song makes you wanna shake your butt.

Another great song is “Aviva.” This is a pop song that anyone can relate to. The simple drumbeat and the synthesizer give it the pop swagger, while Oxygen’s voice makes it sound very human and, at times, somewhat curious. The chorus is extremely catchy. You’ll suddenly find yourself singing, “I wonder if you know if you look so…cute.”

“Ponytails” is another strong contender. With more of an electronic feel, this song could be a huge club hit. “Ponytails” sounds a bit darker than the other tracks, and the subject matter is also somewhat somber. This song has a steady, ’80sfueled beat. Oxygen sounds a bit bleak on this tune, almost as if she’s been hardened by her experiences throughout the album. The chorus, however, is also very catchy; you can’t help but dance as Oxygen sings, “I don’t want to be your rebound girl/I just want to be the queen of your world.”

“Nerve Angels Two” is an interesting song, reminiscent of a Jane Fonda workout video. This vision is complete with the synth-laden soundtrack and Oxygen sounding like a relaxing yoga instructor. Dare I say “Loose to the Tight” has somewhat of a hip-hop feel? I’m currently picturing Eve singing this, and it works—so, yes, it has a hip-hop feel. This song was an interesting break on the album; I wasn’t expecting it at all. I have to say that I really liked it. The lyrics are fairly basic, but the beat reminds me of break dancing.

“Painted Yellow Crown” is one of the more ambient numbers on the album, a song about a girl who has had some hard times, but is still strong thanks to support from her girlfriends. I have to say, the jury is still out on this one. I really enjoy the music, but the lyrics make me cringe. At some points, it reminds me of Madonna. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen.

While All Your Faded Thingsdoes have a few frustrating moments (only because you know Oxygen can do better), it is a sound album. However, I will leave you with a few words of warning. You may not like this CD when you first listen to it. It, like a lot of things in life, seems a little strange and foreign at times. However, also like a lot of things in life, it grows on you, and you start to like it, maybe even love it. In short, don’t knock it ’til you try it. —Dawn O’Neall

P OI DOG PONDERING: IN SEED COMES FRUIT (Premonition)

Chicago-based Poi Dog Pondering has survived numerous lineup changes and continues to develop unique music with each successive record. Beginning with the happy acoustic sounds of their 1989 self-titled debut and follow-up, Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like The Sea, they attracted a hippie-dominated cult following. Their sound progressed toward a danceinfused electronic personality with the 1995 classic Pomegranate and stretched even further with 1999’s cool Natural Thing album. Following a significant hiatus, Poi Dog Pondering continues to explore original avenues with their new release, In Seed Comes Fruit.

On past records, charismatic frontman Frank Orrall has generally taken the lead role, but this time, he shares duties with two excellent female vocalists, Charlotte Wortham and Carla Prather. Both women strongly enhance the soul elements of the record, with Prather especially shining on the emotional “You Move Me” and upbeat “Daytrippin.” Orrall still plays a prominent role and conveys solid writing and vocals to opener “Had I Known” and “A Love Rains Down,” which bears a fair resemblance to past staple “God’s Galipoli.” His shining moment occurs on the album’s high point, “Simple Song,” a ten-minute epic that matches some of the band’s finest material.

Over its 17-year existence, Poi Dog Pondering has repeatedly discovered ways to tackle fairly

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simple messages and make them memorable. Unique grooves combine effectively with intense passion to create songs much greater than the lyrics conveyed. This delicate balance worked in the past on the classic “Everybody’s Trying,” and it continues here with “True” and “Keep the Faith,” which begins with an eerily solemn phone message. In Seed Comes Fruit may not match their best work, but it does showcase Poi Dog Pondering continuing to generate refreshing material. The new tracks should translate wonderfully to their live shows, which remain energetic celebrations of musical excellence. —Dan Heaton

SEAGULL SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER: R ED TALK (Arrivederci Baby!/ Cherry Red Records)

Here’s what you need to know about Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her. They are two Japanese girls who take their name from a song on XTC’s album The Big Express, and they absolutely rock.

That alone should be reason enough to buy their CD, but if not, here are a few others. The band was started by guitarist, lead singer, and songwriter Aiha Higurashi in the early ’90s; bassist Nao Koyama joined in 1996 (there is also an unofficial band member drummer). SSKHKH has put out a series of EPs peppered with a couple of LPs over the last ten years. Red Talk is an 18-track compilation sampling much of this work and is the first of their releases to be remotely commercially available here in the United States.

One of the best things about Japanese rock bands is their unabashed love of American rock ’n’ roll (music and culture) and the fact that most are not content to merely emulate it, but rather borrow from it while still making it their own. SSKHKH provide a good example of this blend of admiration and work ethic. Influences are plenty throughout Red Talk, ranging from British punk to The New York Dolls and The Ramones to Sonic Youth. Much of Red Talk shows the experimental nature of SSKHKH, such as the song “8” which is just Higurashi repeatedly counting to eight over a chainsaw guitar riff. “She” gives us a spoken word recounting of an overheard murder threat on a dark bed of drum, bass, and guitar, while “Sister, Sister” is light, happy track that is almost completely synth/electronic.

Although most of the rest of Red Talkhas the DIY sensibility of punk, it is not without depth musically or lyrically. “Pink Soda” opens with a few bars of quietly jazzy ride cymbal, finger snaps, and walking bass line joined shortly thereafter by Higurashi’s vocals, sounding more Betty

Boop than Kim Gordon. The song then explodes into an all-out slashing punk guitar riff with Higurashi screaming into the mic. “Psycho Melody” shows the group’s ability to lay down a good groove while the album’s closer, “If I Happen To Follow Down (In Your Arms),” exposes the duo’s softer side, complete with acoustic strumming and a country-flavored pedal steel track.

Red Talkmay not be the easiest CD to find (it is available through Amazon.com) but Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her is well worth the effort. —Wade Paschall

SIXTEEN HORSEPOWER: OLDEN (Jetset)

Sixteen Horsepower comes as close to being a religion as most bands will ever get. I realized this the other day, explaining why I enjoy/love/worship them (see?) to a friend. It is not something you can easily explain. It is like explaining why cold water on a hot day, certain drugs, or a lover is so special. Like all those things, 16HP is an acquired taste. They require thought and the acceptance of the listener, as well as allowing oneself to be drawn into the world of David Eugene Edwards (the band’s founder and songwriter).

Oldenis a set of 18 tracks dating from ’93/’94 and two very brief interviews. For fans, they are a nice addition to your Sixteen Horsepower collection. For those of you not indoctrinated into the 16HP society, it provides a very clear example of why the band is so good (though I would purchase this along with Sackcloth ’n’ Ashes— their first and still best album). The first 12 songs are from two demo sessions recorded in Denver. They reveal the band at its earliest and most earnest. The leaner and more vocal-intensive version of “Scrawled in Sap” is worth the price of admission alone. It points out the beauty of Edwards’ voice and some of what was lost in the production of Sackcloth ’n’ Ashes (the album that broke the band nationwide).

My suggestion is to go right for the live tracks recorded at the Mercury Café in Denver. They reveal the band’s strengths and intricacies. The intensity with which the band plays and the depth of their lyrics are astonishing. (Edwards has always mixed a great deal of religious imagery into his music, and though not immediately apparent in their sound, they are one of the more spiritual bands out there.) “Heel on the Shovel” and “Sac of Religion” provide the pure essence of the band—masterful words, concise and passionate playing, and an ability to entrance their audience. Whether you are adding to your collection or starting it, Olden is a good foundation. —Jim Dunn

DAVID SYLVIAN: BLEMISH (Samadhi Sound)

The majority of Sylvian’s fans are loyal ones to say the least. The former lead singer of Japan has encountered a few hits and misses over the years in making music and influencing bands like Duran Duran. It’s continually refreshing to see such artists still keeping their fans happy, although a great number of others lose interest just because airplay was next to nil.

Picture this: a cave where bumpy walls are lined with glazed marble; built-in single flashing strobe lights and black lights flicker with each beat. With each turn, while sustaining the same dark but polished atmosphere, the matter of the same bumpy walls changes from granite for a series of moments, then broken glass for more. Eventually, it ends up being a journey of different textures and characteristics with the same haunting implications. Sylvian’s Blemish is this minimalist shadow-laden journey. Rich in texture, it is a seismograph reading set to musical prose.

“The Heart Knows Better” is an avant-garde covered wagon ride of soft-spoken confrontation with the self in regard to the affection of another and the risk of loneliness as the viable option: “And every night is wedding night in my head,/my eyes are closed but I can see the sky stretched overhead,/the mattress on the floor, I see faces at my door.” It’s okay to be by yourself as long as you have a clear imagination of the consequences of a relationship without sounding jaded in favor of relaxed.

Sylvian seemingly raided his storage locker of various musical instruments, including the mandolin-like sound for the interlude “She Is Not” and the acoustic guitar for “How Little We Need to Be Happy.” “Happy” uses the distinctive technique of the playing of random guitar chords, which ends up sounding as if a toddler was hired to play it just before naptime. It probably doesn’t sound as flattering in this review, but Sylvian makes it work because it matches the torpid vocal arrangement which accompanies.

Blemish not only exhibits traditional instruments played in nontraditional ways, but also includes the well-placed usage of a sample of a rumbling shopping cart for the stand-out track, “Late Night Shopping.” This is the track to enjoy through headphones for the complete effect since Sylvian made the effort of providing the rhythm via simple handclapping. “Tell me what we need, write a list or something,/we don’t need to need a thing, late night shopping.” Sylvian still knows his way around a synthesizer as well, many will be happy to take note.

Blemish is available as an import or from Sylvian’s Web site at www.davidsylvian.com. —Cory Hoehn

VENUS HUM: BIG BEAUTIFUL SKY (MCA)

Venus Hum is a Nashville-based group that sounds like nothing you’d expect to come from that city. The only way “country music” can be said to be relevant to this trio is that their music seems to be influenced by being out in the country. But not the country of pickup trucks, honky tonks, and free-roaming chickens (and dogs!); rather, Venus Hum seems inspired by the country that is characterized by vast fields of wildflowers, clear starry night skies, and lazy hours spent contemplating life by the side of a beautiful lake or stream. In other words, the pastoral side of it all is what hooks this group…and ultimately the listener.

Take the romance with nature (and romance!), slightly psychedelicized, that XTC engaged in on Skylarking; set it to rhythmic, keyboard-heavy electronic beats reminiscent of Depeche Mode; and add a versatile female vocalist (Annette Strean), and you have a rough idea of what Venus Hum sounds like.

Early songs like “Hummingbirds,” “Soul Sloshing,” and “Alice” are pleasant, often danceable numbers; the second half of the disc, beginning with the sensual and driving “Beautiful Spain,” the group starts to hit its creative stride. “The Bells” is a haunting composition in which Strean’s passion becomes truly palpable: “I ache to hear the bells, the bells, the bells/Hold my breath, hold my chest, wait for the bells, the bells.” And Strean demonstrates her ability to reach for—and hit—the big high notes, the kind Björk often does in that dizzying way. Soft strings and a shifting rhythm track add to the overall potency of the track.

Then we get several more big, sparkling songs. There’s the peerless “Springtime #2,” one of the most ecstatic pieces I’ve heard in awhile. Strean recites a whole series of lyrics that comprise a seasonal serenade: “I’m picking poppies from the sky/Lawnmowers, bees, daffodils, sunbursts and moonbeams/Dazzling dandelions,” she swoons, at one point letting out a beguiling sigh. Another lyric went “Hey you, get out here/Make music for the rest of the class,” a rather warm, inviting sentiment no matter which way you read it. The acoustic guitar that graces the track, and the immaculate arrangement, help make it one of the clear highlights of the recording.

Despite similarities to other artists, there is some great material on this recording, including a couple of the best songs delivered this year. And you can count me as a fan anytime you can find a way to evoke pastoral bliss (with a good beat!) on a record that tastefully uses the technology to get there. —Kevin Renick

By Rob Levy

The broiling St. Louis summer is here at last. Fortunately there are enough boring tours, repeat TV shows, and terrible end-of-summer films to keep us all content and blissfully unaware. I am always amazed at how many people do stupid things in the heat. There are always dumb people who will endure countless stupid weather situations to see a crap band or just walk around ’til they melt. Nonetheless, everyone should get out there and try to make the best of it.

Nothing beats the heat like paying a gazillion dollars to see Radiohead in a crap venue.

The early ending of the Warped Tour show here was an act of mercy. This should happen more often.

How tragic that The Blackeyed Peas had to open for Justin Timberlake and what’s-her-face. They deserve better than that. They should not have to shill their records that way.

Green Day and Peaches appear on the new Iggy Pop CD, Skull Ring, due this September. But the real cool thing about the CD is that it features four new tracks with the surviving members of the Stooges, Scott and Ron Asheton.

James Iha is set to replace Danny Lohner in A Perfect Circle.

I think something needs to be done about DJ Rap. That insipid TV commercial of hers is an affront to smart people. Plus she is a talentless hack. It’s bad enough she makes terrible records, but now she has to be seen on the telly spinning her terrible records.

Jack White is producing tracks for the upcoming Loretta Lynn album. Lynn recently opened for the White Stripes in New York. Speaking of the White Stripes, could they possibly get any more media attention?

Andy Gill of Gang of Four has produced “First Day,” the new single from Brit-band-of-themoment Futurehead.

Shame on those of you who didn’t stick around to see Jurassic 5 at Lollapalooza. You should be carted off to SPIRITUALIZED SPIRITUALIZED the Congo for your sin! Spiritualized has parted ways with Arista Records. Their new record, Amazing Grace, is due out on September 9 on Sanctuary Records. Cat Stevens is lawsuit-crazy. In recent years, he has sued loads of artists for copyright infringement. This time around, he is going after The Flaming Lips. Stevens claims his song “Father and Son” was ripped off by the Lips and transfigured into “Fight Test.” A recent settlement split the royalties of the Lips’ album between the artists.

A Tribe Called Quest are reforming and releasing a new record.

David Bowie knew Andy Warhol; now he also knows the Dandy Warhols. Portland’s finest are slated to open for Mr. Bowie on his massive World Tour. The Dandys have a new CD out entitled Welcome to the Monkey House. Duran Duran ’s Nick Rhodes and legendary producer Tony Visconti produced it.

Skinny Puppy will record a new album later this year. The wait is due in large part to the fact that its members have other projects at the moment. Nivek Ogre is in a new band, Ohgr, a sorta pulsing, loud, technodustrial band; their new record is called Sunnypsyop. Cevin Key, in the meantime, has made an album, The Dragon Experience, with Ken Marshall.

The Libertines ’ European tour has been wacky as a result of frontman Pete Doherty being MIA and not showing up for any of their gigs. They are currently tourDOVES THE CURE

ing without him.

Royksopp has remixed “Clocks” by Coldplay.

Doves will begin recording their third album this fall in Scotland.

DJ Rap is so terrible I had to mention it twice. 4AD has reissued the first four Cocteau Twins CDs; these would be Garland, Head Over Heels, Treasure, and Victorialand.

Jewel still annoys me, but not as much this month as DJ Rap.

The Cure are capitalists. They have just released a live DVD and are busy recording another studio album. Plus, they are releasing a boxed set of B-sides later this year. On top of that, they are remastering their first five albums with bonus discs of live tracks, outtakes, demos, and rarities.

Echo & the Bunnymen will reissue their first five albums in 2004. Each album will have extra tracks and unreleased material.

Television is also remastering their early albums for sometime in 2004.

My Bloody Valentine has had several misfires at recording new material over the last 12 years. However, this time something may be up. There will be an MBV boxed set in 2004 and the band, sans Deb Goodge, has been rumored to be recording five new songs for it. These five songs were leftovers from the Glider sessions.

One final note: hang in there—autumn is not quite as far off as it seems. There are loads of better shows and interesting new goings-on to look forward to.

I Think I’ve Said Too Much

By Rev. Mike Tomko

Episode 4: “The Art of the Demo: Part Two”

To continue last month’s discussion regarding the making of a demo, I would like to dig further into the recording process and shed some light on some of the more commonly misconstrued issues of production.

What is the difference between analog and digital?

This topic is way too complex for such a short column, but we will touch on the basic aspects of these two recording media. Analog recording refers to using media such as cassette, reel-to-reel tape, or vinyl to store sound, whereas digital media consist of DAT, compact disc, minidisk, or computer hard disk. The main difference between the two is that analog recording always has a physical representation of the sound (in the case of tape, magnetized ironoxide [rust] on the tape’s surface), whereas digital recording uses binary code (1’s and 0’s) to mathematically represent the sound as data. Many feel that analog recording sounds better than digital, but with the advent of new technology, that argument is getting harder and harder to make.

What is multitrack recording? What is an overdub?

As you may know, all of the CDs, records, or tapes in your personal collection come in either a

mono or stereo format. Stereo recordings, sometimes referred to as two-track recordings, contain both a left and a right track. All of the instruments are then placed (panned) across the two tracks, thus giving your ears the illusion of a live band on stage. A mono recording, on the other hand, is a one-track recording where both the left and right tracks are combined, making the sound from both speakers the same and removing the illusion as to the positioning of an instrument on stage. In multitrack recording, bands can record each instrument to their own individual track, to be combined (mixed) later into either stereo or mono. This type of recording also allows for musicians to record each instrument individually and then play over, or overdub, other instruments on top of the previously recorded sounds. Multitrack recording offers lots of versatility for recording in the studio.

With all ofthese studios advertising anywhere from 4- to 24-track recording media, how many tracks are necessary to record my band?

For the most part, the song itself dictates all aspects of production needed to record it. By this I mean that if you try to overextend your music, it will definitely show. Choosing a medium to record to that offers an ample amount of extra tracks can allow you enough margin for overdubs and any other extras you would like to add. Be careful, though; this method can often trap artists into feeling as if they have to fill all of the tracks just because they are there. A lot of bands like to purposely limit themselves when recording in order to allow them to focus on only the essentials.

What is EQ?

The term “EQ” is short for equalization, referring to the process of tonally altering a sound based on the frequencies that make up that sound. Think of the “bass boost” on your car stereo or the “graphic EQ” sliders on your home stereo receiver; what these knobs and buttons do is electronically boost or cut the sound signal at a given frequency. When you push the “bass boost” button, your stereo electronically adds a significant amount of bass or low-end to the signal, thus creating the low rumble effect that you can feel in your chest. Frequencies are divided into three main categories: low-end (bass), midrange, and high-end (treble). While this is but a very bare-bones definition, you should at least have a better idea of what EQ is.

What are dynamics? What is compression?

Dynamics are the highs and lows of music. A band that is described as being dynamic usually has great latitude between their softest (calmest) and loudest (most intense) parts. This is a major way that a band can capture emotion in their music. Think about it: if a band is playing a ballad at full intensity and volume, wouldn’t that confuse most listeners? In the production world, the main form of dynamics processing is termed “compression.” Compression, in and of itself, is exactly what it sounds like: Imagine a trash compressor, which takes all types of trash and squashes it down to a skinny, even lump. An audio compressor applies the same principle: it takes all of your softest playing, all of your loudest, and all the notes in between and squashes their volumes down to an even level. A compressor is used to remove or lessen the dynamics from your music. I’m not going to get into the arguments associated with using compression, but the next time you listen to the radio, listen for the sounds of compression. Notice that when the band breaks it down and becomes softer, the volume doesn’t usually change, just the mood.

Tune in next month for Episode 5: “CD Spit Polish: Making Your Demo Shine.”

Mike Tomko is the acting program and music director for KGLX, the Galaxy, the radio station of Webster University, www.kglx.org. louie_zou@yahoo.com.

Five Quick Questions With Jeff Jarrett

By Laura Hamlett

You wear a number of hats in the music community. Tell us what they are.

I manage Nadine. I’m the booking agent for Chris Lee (Misra Records), Summer Hymns (who are part of the Elephant 6 collective), Chris Mills, and Will Kimbrough. I also help a few local bands when I have time, like the Rockhouse Ramblers and my friends in Magnolia Summer. And I’m the road manager for Jesse Harris and the Ferdinandos.

How did you get into all of this stuff?

I interned for Bob Andrews and Meggean Ward at Undertow in Chicago. And I made good contacts while I was there. When I moved back to St. Louis to finish school, I ran into Adam [Reichmann] from Nadine a few times. Before I knew it, I was managing my favorite band on the planet. Everything spawned from there.

How did Nadine’s deal with Trampoline Records come about?

I sent an unsolicited copy to Trampoline, which is run by Pete Yorn, Marc Dauer (Jukebox Junkies), and Rami Jaffee (the Wallflowers), because I liked what they were all about. They had a good roster (Minus 5, Pete Droge, Minibar) and could provide the nationwide exposure that Nadine have been lacking for the past six years. Marc and Rami told me that they listened to hundreds of submissions and that Strange Seasons blew all three of them away. I flew to L.A. with Jimmy [Griffin] for the Tramp show at the House of Blues, met everybody, and got a really good feeling about the whole thing. Now the record is the maiden release on Trampoline and comes out September 2. I really couldn’t ask for more. Everybody involved is great.

We heard that Nadine is starting a record label, too.

Yeah, Adam and Steve [Rauner] from Nadine are soon to be the owners of a record label. We haven’t secured the rights to a name for it yet, but I’d expect for everything to come to fruition toward the end of the summer. Our only vision right now is to re-release the back catalog. We can’t accept the responsibility of putting our records by other artists. Hopefully, things will go well enough so that someday that’s a possibility.

Elliot Goes

Some people think the lack of a local record label has been holding the St. Louis rock music scene back. Do you see yourselves as answering this call in any way?

Like I said, the label is strictly for the Nadine back catalog at the moment. And I like the state of St. Louis music. We’ve got great bands putting out records, like Nadine, Jay Farrar, and the Bottle Rockets, and we’ve got a history of amazing artists like Chuck Berry and Uncle Tupelo. Criticizing the St. Louis music scene and talking about what’s wrong with it would be counter-productive. I’m just going to keep on fighting the good fight by turning people onto great music. I was just at Jay Farrar’s two awesome gigs at the Bowery Ballroom, and Pete [Yorn] was just on MTV News talking about Nadine. I’ve got a feeling that St. Louis will be just fine.

Judge a man by the company he keeps. Jarrett’s clients include (clockwise from top): Nadine—Adam Reichman and Jimmy Griffin, Chris Mills, Will Kimbrough, and Summer Hymms.

by Bosco (with illustration help from Jessica Gluckman)

August is Festival time: V and Reading in the U.K., the Lot in St. Louis, the bluegrass festival in Wyoming...

This is the month we rack up the most frequent flyer miles... first class all the way, baby.

We caught a ride home with Thom, who was heading that way anyway. He works in Radio or something, but he has this really cool jet. Move over, Jonny!

Profile: Kill Hannah

With the new recordings, I have noticed a definite growing sense of maturity from the early days of the band, the standout aspect being in Garret’s drumming, I definitely feel the presence of a live drummer, with still maintaining the danceability and electronic vibe.

Mat: I would agree to that; the recordings in the past have been kind of hurried, and compromises had to be made. This time what’d we take, four or five months? [Silly laughter]

I also felt that there wasn’t the overproduced debut record aspect to the songs.

Dan: [Sean Beavan] did a lot of the Nine Inch Nails and Kidney Thieves stuff before, so we were really conscious of that going in, because there is a fine line between industrial-based bands and guitar-based bands.

Mat: I think it is funny that we could get criticized for being overproduced or for paying an unreasonable amount of time to sonic details, because I think conceptually…philosophically we are indie. When we were in the studio, we weren’t necessarily interested in bringing in giggers to play bass or string sections, we were interested in cutting corners wherever we could. We worked long hours and bathed infrequently.

Greg: This band has always been run indie, everything we did in Chicago. We printed our own flyers and promoted everything ourselves.

There was always a big-money professionalism to your shows, even though you were still poor independent artists. How do you respond to criticism that your image is more important than your music?

Dan: I don’t know any other band that has done more low-budget shows, made their own merchandise…

Mat: Hired friends to shoot photos…

What about all of the fansites? I have seen bands with a handful of major-label records and tours under their belt not have as many or as good of fansites as you do.

Mat: We kind of set the standard, and people responded. I took a lot of care in writing my journals during the recording process, and the emails I was getting back from kids were all very well structured and well written. I think with the aesthetic of the band it is the same thing, when you put yourself out there, if you show it is something you take really seriously, and I don’t think the fans really want to disappoint.

Besides the production aspects we talked

from page 4 about, what were some of the things you hoped to accomplish with this record?

Greg: I think we all wanted something that we were proud of because in the past, we were never really proud of giving our record to somebody, saying this is us. We never liked the way it came out whether it was mixing, or the recording of it, or the songs, and whatnot. This time, we wanted everything to be perfect

Mat: I want it to be like a symbol of ten years of hard work. I think it is 99 percent there.

I really heard the guitars come to the forefront more as guitars than as the synth-like tones from previous recordings.

Greg: Yeah, our producer and A&R guy really wanted it to be a guitar-oriented record.

Mat: We wanted it to sound pretty natural, too. When we went into the studio, we were citing examples of Wilco and other records that have a very natural feel to them. We didn’t want it to come across as over-processed and phony.

At this time, the interview ended; the checks arrived and everyone was more interested in who had added their food to Greg’s bill. Visit www.killhannah.com.

The Grammys are coming to St. Louis! The Recording Academy (the organization behind the Grammy Awards) is producing a demo review and contest for unsigned artists in Missouri. Demos will be reviewed by a panel of music industry experts, with the top ten submissions being critiqued before an audience in St. Louis on October 15 at the City Museum. A winner and two runners-up will be awarded prize packages consisting of services that will help them create an effective demo and promotional package. Entry forms are available at www.grammy.com/memphis.html; your submission fee also gets you entry to the event.

Pete Yorn was on MTV recently, talking about his Trampoline Records label. The Sony subsidiary’s first signing is none other than our town’s Nadine. Says Yorn, “It’s a really great, kind of progressive alt-country band, and it’s going to be cool.” Strange Seasons, Nadine’s fourth album, drops on September 2, the same day as Trampoline Records Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The band’s first single, “Different Kind of Heartache,” will be featured on the compilation.

Somnia is set to perform at the third annual Midwest Music Summit in Indianapolis August 7 to 9. This is the third time the St. Louis band has performed at the event. Now in its third year, the Midwest Music Summit is an established multifunctioning music conference that builds networking bridges between independent artists and industry representatives. This year includes over 250 artists showcasing at 22 venues, with the emphasis on dis-covering unsigned talent.

The Kevin Barry –fronted supergroup that debuted at Cicero’s last month has finally been named. Fainting in Coils features Barry on guitar and vocals, Josh Kohn on guitar, Steve Bunk on drums, and Jeff Church on bass. Also, look for a solo album from Barry in the coming weeks.

What used to be called the Forum for Contemporary Art has been renamed contemporaryartmuseumstlouis. The new building, going up right next to the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in Grand Center, will be sleek and urban. Though a grand opening isn’t until September Summerfest Crowd

20, you can get a sneak peek at www.contempoTheatre at Washington University. rarystl.org. “Savvy: Media Influence in Contemporary

A Reasonable Place to Park lost Society,” an exhibit by Leo their vocalist and are auditioning Oliveira, Aline Duarte, and Mark replacements. The bunch of twenLockwood, runs through August ty-somethings plays indie rock 30 at the St. Louis Artists Guild. along the lines of Elliot and Hum. In case you weren’t around Contact Josh Waller at July 18 (we weren’t), jwaller50@hotmail.com if interestEntertainment St. Louis ’s ed. Washington Avenue Summerfest

Radio Cherokee ’s planned Sandy Weltman redeemed itself in the local music reopening date of August has department, as two of the night’s been pushed back. Starting in mid-September, three acts were St. Louis–based. Don’t miss the Radio Cherokee will operate as a coffee bar next two fests: Friday, August 22, and Friday, (sorry, no booze permitted) with shows about September 26. Look for the Playback St. Louis once a week. booth at both events!

On August 23, visit the Literary Corner at the Harmonica virtuoso Sandy Weltman will be Missouri Black Expo at America’s Center. leading a harmonica workshop at Music Folk on Sponsored by Left Bank Books, First Sunday, September 28, from 1 to 3 p.m. The cost Civilizations, and the Missouri Black Expo, the is $25, and space is limited. Seating is on a firstevent will feature readings, conversations, and come, first-served basis. booksignings with authors Omar Tyree, MetroMarket is a monthly outdoor festival at Jacqueline Powell, Crystal Wilkinson, Tricia Leon Strauss Park in Grand Center hosted by Rose, Vincent Alexandria, John Fountain, and Metropolis St. Louis. Held on the first Saturday of Mimsy Hebron. the month (through October), the festival features artwork for sale, hand-crafted by local and regional artists in the categories of jewelry, clothing, painting, ceramics, glass, metal, fiber, mixed media, custom furniture, and much more. Contact Torrey Clark at metromarketinfo@metropoli

Rockhouse Ramblers St. Louis quintet My 2 Planets was recently selected to perform at the second annual

The Rockhouse Ramblers have booked M.E.A.N.Y. Fest in New York City, September 20 recording time on their third CD next month at to 27. It is one of the largest independent music the Broom Factory , notes Kip Loui of the band. festivals in New York. M.E.A.N.Y. Fest will pick “I think we’re gonna try to branch out a bit on one artist each year that displays outstanding this one,” he adds, “and do some slightly more musicianship, songwriting, and most potential to complex stuff and some things that maybe aren’t have a successful career in the music industry. All strictly country—but then, we’ve always kinda 2003 finalists will appear on the TV show Rockin’ done that.” Loui (who’s also co-producing a Clubs on Time Warner cable NYC, where they Chuck Berry tribute CD to benefit KDHX ) likewill be seen in almost half a million households. wise reports that the quintet’s been invited to The finalist will then go on to perform at The perform at the Americana Music Conference in Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Nashville in September. (“We’re pretty psyched St. Louis’s own First Flight Records has about that,” he tells us. Understandably!) released three new discs: Anamude ’s Urban

In observance of the 150th anniversary of Comfort, Emery Reel ’s ...For and Acted Upon Commodore Matthew Perry ’s arrival in Japan’s Through Diversions, and St. Louis group The Edo Bay, which opened up diplomatic relations Potomac Accord ’s In One-Hundred Years the between the U.S. and Japan, (Mostly) Harmless Prize Will Be Forgotten. More info at www.firstTheatre concludes its 2003 season with Yukio flightrecordlabel.com. Mishima ’s Four Modern Noh Plays from July 24 Kicking off Hothouse Theatre ’s 2003 season in to August 10 in the A.E. Hotchner Studio September will be the Midwest premiere of

tanstl.com if you are interested in participating.