PLAYBACK:stl March 2004

MARCH

FREE

TWENTY OH FOUR

TED LEO • HENRY ROLLINS • OMAR EPPS • IMA ROBOT • ALASKA! • SXSW PREVIEW • REVIEWS ABLOOM, INCLUDING: THE VINES • ELECTRELANE • DIZZEE RASCAL • GRAHAM PARKER • MILTON MAPES • AMERICAN ART OF THE 1980s: THE BROAD COLLECTION • BOOKS: ELIZABETH ROBINSON • REBECCA BROWN • STEREOLAB AND MOVIE TICKET GIVEAWAYS

stellastarr*

E L U D E H C S H C MAR

DRIZZIT , K E N A M , D E N 5 – AWAKE 6 – eKe 12 – OCEAN SIX 13 – BOUND LUSION, IL F O S M O T P 19 – SYM NITUS LEFT4DEAD, TIN OCHI 20 – MADAHO EAD 27– NOTHINGH ), E EARTH (5/15 H T T IN A P : N O RPRISE GUEST, U COMING SO S A H IT W G TIC EVENIN S AT SAVVIS E M A AN ALL-ACOUS G S E LU B TO AND FROM ERIE SHOWS FREE SHUTTLE G N LI , S Y A D S R AND THU ON TUESDAYS ). all for schedule (c S Y A D S E U T ON

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NT I E V L EVO

S ’ I K K I LIL’ N

March 2004 Clearing Up the Facts

Passing Into Spring Where did the first two months of the year go? The idea that winter is passing is just fine with us; we can’t wait to see those first flowers pushing out of the ground.

Along with the largest Playback St. Louis ever, March also brings one of the country’s best festivals: South By Southwest.

Austin, Texas, hosts an amazing music, movie, and interactive gathering that lasts well over a week. Musicwise, well over a thousand bands perform as the stages are packed with some of the best talent out there. Last year, we saw over 65 bands in 4 days (check out the photos and stories online at www.playbackstl.com). The feast only served to increase our appetite, as this year we will see dozens more, including stellastarr* (on our cover this month), Ima Robot (Profile), The Hold Steady (Play by Play), and alaska! (Take Five), to name just a few. We are also happy to be co-sponsoring the Twangfest SXSW event featuring a great lineup of performers who will be here in June. If you can’t head down to Austin yourself, check back here next month for pictures, interviews, and stories from SXSW. On a brief, sad note: One of the regular stars of Playback St. Louis, Henry (“Elliot Goes”), passed away in late January. Those of us lucky enough to have day-to-day interactions with him know that he was a true professional and the sweetest and warmest of friends. We miss him, but we take comfort in knowing that he will continue on in the cartoon and in our hearts.

Playback St. Louis: Get used to it.

and BALLWIN 15355A Manchester Rd. 636-230-2992

3/5: The Barnacles 3/6: Steve Bequette 3/12: Joe Swigunski 3/13: Keith Sherman 3/20: Leslie Maclean Trio 3/26: The Kellys 3/27: Philip Wesley BRENTWOOD 1519 S. Brentwood Blvd.

314-918-8189

3/11: Benny Weber

In your October issue of Playback [St. Louis], you reviewed the record, Holding Pattern, by our band, Missile Silo Suite. The article displayed several discrepancies: First, our guitarist Anthony Spinali, had his name misspelled. Second, you listed Bryan Assata as our drummer. Bryan Assata is not in Missile Silo Suite. He is listed in our “thank you’s” but Jamie Perryman is clearly listed and photographed as our drummer. Bryan Assata was very upset with this oversight as he is trying to attempt his own musical career in the band Fused. We are unsure of how this mistake happened. Even if you didn’t have the insert, which contains the correct lineup of the band as well as correct spellings of our band members’ names, our Web site (which should have come up in any Web search for our band) also contains correct spellings and an accurate lineup.

We contacted you immediately following the printing of the October Playback [St. Louis], hoping for a retraction or at least an apology, whether it be in Playback or e-mail response. We have gotten neither.

We have always enjoyed Playback magazine.

Frankly, after years of abuse from The Riverfront Times, most St. Louis bands have rejoiced in the fact that a publication exists that really seems to want to advance the overall community, not just point out flaws and short-comings. We were a little surprised at the review content for our record in your magazine (especially after hearing many kind responses from several of the staff members).

Your opinion of our work is exactly that: your opinion. While we as a band and as individuals will always respect your opinion and your putting it in a public forum, even if it isn’t as flattering as we had hoped, we do ask that the information be accurate. And if the information isn’t accurate, a correction and an apology would be appropriate.

At the very least, a response to our e-mail five months ago would have been polite.

In the next month or so, Missile Silo Suite will be submitting a new release to Playback

cosponsored events in March: 3/13: Monty Hobson 3/26: Mitsu Saito 3/27: Robin Anderson 3/28: Salt of the Earth CREVE COEUR 11745 Olive Blvd.

314-432-3575

3/5: Rob Boyle 3/6: Chloe Day 3/13: Precho 3/20: Mark Biehl 3/26: Toni Becker 3/27: Steve Bequette

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS

SUNSET HILLS

6611 N. Illinois 618-397-6097

10990 Sunset Hills Plaza 314-909-0300

3/6: Mike Harper 3/26: Common Wealth 3/27: Mike Harper

3/5: Chloe Day 3/6: Keith Sherman 3/12: Precho 3/13: Steve Bequette 3/19: Sarah Popejoy 3/20: Middle Ground 3/26: Auset 3/27: Monica Casey

ST. PETERS 1320 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. 636-278-5000

3/13: Kious & Wolberg 3/26: The Barnacles 3/27: Hicks & Kreher Guitar Duo

*All shows 8-10 pm unless noted

PLAYBACK– TALK

[St. Louis]. Good or bad, we know that Playback will be fair in its review. All we ask is that band info be accurate.

—A.D. Thurston Missile Silo Suite I had a detailed exchange with Chris Hughes (who produced the album) after the review, but will repeat some parts here. Yes, there were a few mistakes. I got my information from a local music site and not your Web site; for that, I apologize.

I believe I praised Bryan Assata’s playing in my review, so Fused can feel confident in their bandmate. As for opinions, you are 100 percent correct: it was my opinion, and my opinion is only one of many here at Playback St. Louis. We are pleased that all of our writers are allowed—and encouraged—to speak their minds. That is the only way to avoid being “namby pamby,” as someone so famously said. I am sorry you were upset by the lack of retraction; we rarely do that unless we have made a major mistake. Each month’s issue is proofread by the toughest of proofreaders. We strive for quality and always look to improve.

—Jim Dunn Associate Editor, Co-Publisher

Talking About Murder I would like to ask your editorial staff to consider taking a look at the new lineup in Murder City Players. This is the group’s 20th year as a band and despite some personnel changes, their music remains as solid as ever and they still pull in that mixed audience that enjoys reggae and likes to dance. And by the way, they will be kicking off a new Sunday night series at BB’s on Broadway with a show starting at 8 p.m.

—Bob Schoenfeld Nighthawk Records

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Contents

Playback St. Louis Pop Culture

Profile

Omar Epps...............................................3 Ted Leo ...................................................4 Henry Rollins...........................................6 Ima Robot ...............................................7

Play by Play .................. 9

The Vines, BR549, Dizzee Rascal, Electrelane, Gooding, The Hold Steady, Incubus, Just Jack, James Lavelle, Lil’ Jon & the Eastside Boys, Ludo, Milton Mapes, Mountain Goats, Graham Parker, Potomac Accord, Various Artists: No Depression

Quick Hits.................... 14

Descendents, Madcap, Kylie Minogue, The Narrator, Ocean Six, Robbers on High Street, Semidivine, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Backstage Pass............ 16 Har Mar Superstar, Puddle of Mudd/Smile Empty Soul, Wheat, Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Cover Story................. 24 stellastarr*

You Are Here ............... 32 American Art of the 1980s, Van McElwee’s Video Art, Polly Apfelbaum

Curmudgeon ................ 34 Take Five ...................... 36

Managing Editor Laura Hamlett Associate Editor/Art Director Jim Dunn Contributing Editor Bryan A. Hollerbach

Imaad Wasif of alaska!

Book Editor Stephen Schenkenberg

Elliot Goes.................. 36

Film Editor Bobby Kirk

Local Scenery ............. 37 Page by Page................ 38 Jacques Jouet, Oz Shelach, Rebecca Brown, Elizabeth Robinson

What’s Going on Here? 42 Ben Kweller, Blue October, The Sounds, Marshall Crenshaw, The Lawrence Arms

Three to See ................ 18 SXSW Preview ............. 20

Contributing Writers Jeff Church, Joshua Cox, Jim Dunn, Andrew Friedman, Laura Hamlett, Dan Heaton, Cory Hoehn, Paul Hoelscher, Bryan A. Hollerbach, Jeremy Housewright, Bobby Kirk, Steve Kistulentz, John Kujawski, Rob Levy, David Lichius, Brian McClelland, Sean Moeller, Dawn O’Neall, Angela Pancella, Wade Paschall, Kevin Renick, Stacey Rynders, Stephen Schenkenberg, Marc Syp, Michele Ulsohn, Anne Valente, Rudy Zapf Contributing Photographer Brian McClelland

Now Playing

Interns Jesy Jones, Anne Valente

True/False Film Festival ....................... 22 Cinema: Rivers and Tides, The Dreamers, Greendale .............................................. 26

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Publisher Two Weasels Press LLC

Advertising Sales Jim Dunn • 314-630-6404

DVD: Welcome Home Elvis.................... 41

Cover Photo by Phil Knott Printing by The Printing Source Tim Lyons • 636-343-6400

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS REVIEWS THE NEW VINES ALBUM, P. 9 (photo: www.thevines.com)

Distribution Two Weasels Press LLC Playback St. Louis is published Monthly ©All content copyright Playback St. Louis 2004. No material may be reproduced without permission.

For advertising rates, submissions, band listings, or any other information, please check our Web site at www.playbackstl.com or send e-mail correspondence to Contact@Playbackstl.com.

Submit calendar information to Events@Playbackstl.com. Manuscripts for consideration must be typed and e-mailed to Editor@Playbackstl.com.

We want your feedback! write to Contact@Playbackstl.com.

Subscriptions are available for $25/ year (12 issues) prepaid and include a free T-shirt. Send check or money order and T-shirt size to: Playback St. Louis P.O. Box 9170 St. Louis, Missouri 63117-0170 314-630-6404 Playback St. Louis T-Shirts are also available! Send check or money order for $10 (postage paid) to the above address; specify S-M-L-XL (men’s or babydoll).

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March 2004

PBSTL PROFILE OMAR EPPS

Omar Epps Takes it Against the Ropes

by Kevin Renick

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mar Epps is talking about the ill-fated Rams playoff game against the Carolina Panthers and Mike Martz’s decision to settle for a field goal in the waning seconds.

“That was crazy, man. All season long, you’ve been a guy who takes chances, a guy who pushes the team to win any way possible. And now, when it really matters, when the game is on the line, you suddenly play it safe? What’s that all about?” He shakes his head. “That just wasn’t right. You have to go for it, man.”

Epps, clearly a sports aficionado, jaws on the subject energetically. It could be one of the reasons he’s been cast as an athlete in films such as 1992’s Juice (Paramount) and 1995’s Higher Learning (Columbia/TriStar). In Against the Ropes (Paramount). Epps plays Luther Shaw, a boxer extricated from a life of drugs and jail by Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), one of the few successful female boxing promoters in history. Their emotional and situational sparring makes for a compelling film, as Shaw is at first cautiously receptive to Kallen’s efforts to shape him up and turn him into a successful prizefighter, but later grows resentful at her controlling nature and need to have the spotlight on her all the time.

Epps plays Shaw as an edgy, temperamental cuss who lacks the discipline to make it as a big-time fighter, yet has a heart that is ultimately able to listen and do what it takes to break him out of his psychic constraints. He’s riveting to watch and almost never seems as if he’s acting on screen.

“I’m an avid boxing fan,” said Epps. “I watched a lot of Marvin Haglar tapes. But I only had a month and a half to prepare, to spend time trying to learn the craft. Boxing is about a lot of things besides skill and drive. The training was rigorous. Basically, it was tough…what Charles [S. Dutton, the director] wanted to capture, I had to be in tip-top shape for.”

In some of the film’s scenes, Epps looks like he’s getting whacked pretty good. “I took a couple of hits,” he said with a laugh. “But nothin’ too bad. I couldn’t afford to get hit on top. I’m reactive; that’s

part of being on top of my game. There’s only so much you can prepare for... For a filmmaker, boxing is one of the hardest things to capture. You can’t rush anything, you have to be able to see the guys, see what they’re doing in the ring.”

“I actually didn’t want to do another sports film,” said Epps. “But I was intrigued by the backstory of this one. Boxing was sort of the last thing on the list. First of all, this film is about a woman in the boxing world—that sets it apart right there.

It’s also about a man and a woman on screen in a platonic relationship. These are two people on opposite sides of the spectrum. In their respective worlds, they were both underdogs, and they understood this about each other.”

Epps admits it’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond to another boxing movie. “I don’t get into that part of it,” he said. “As an artist, you just do your craft, and if it’s a good film…you just never know. So many other components go into the making of a film. Once a film is done, it’s…really about marketing and promotion.”

Epps was in the unique position of working with a major actress, Ryan, bent on transforming herself away from the romantic comedies in which she had specialized. First in last year’s In the Cut (Screen Gems) and now as the flamboyant, gutsy Jackie Kallen, there is little trace of the old Meg evident on screen. In other words, it’s not When Luther Met Jackie.

“Meg was great,” Epps said. “The most exciting part is that she’s coming out of that box and challenging herself. It’s refreshing seeing someone try to do something that’s really outside their comfort zone.”

Epps is a pleasant and amiable actor who has logged some tough performances in his career, which began at the New York High School for

the Performing Arts. After his debut in Juice, Epps earned acclaim for his portrayal of a young man going to college on an athletic scholarship in the John Singleton film Higher Learning. He also snagged a brief but recurring role on the hit show ER as the emotionally stressed Dr. Dennis Gant. Portraying a hardened criminal, Epps was nominated for an NAACP Award for Best Actor for the Showtime original movie Conviction (Paramount) in 2002. He also starred in two HBO movies, First-Time Felon, directed by Charles S. Dutton, and Deadly Voyage, produced by Danny Glover.

Other big-screen pictures include Scream 2, The Wood, The Mod Squad, Major League 2, and Love and Basketball.

One of the first projects for his recently formed entertainment company BKNY will be a script Epps co-wrote.

It’s intriguing to hear an actor relaxed, jovial, and upbeat after witnessing anger and abrasiveness effectively portrayed onscreen. Luther Shaw is one tough mutha. “I tried to improvise pieces of different characters that I liked,” he said. “You try to let it happen naturally. It’s reactive. You know, ‘A white woman’s gonna manage me? What? Get out of here!’”

“A lot of what you see in the movie is a product of Omar’s improvising,” said Nick Alachiotis, the assistant boxing choreographer for the film.

“That’s how naturally talented he is as an athlete.

In fact, I think if Omar stuck with the training, he could actually get in the ring professionally.”

Epps would be flattered by the comment, but it’s doubtful he’ll be getting back in the ring anytime soon. He’s got a movie to promote, a script to finish, and more offers to field, as Against the Ropes makes more people aware of the talent and versatility of this heavyweight actor. Jackie Kallen would be proud.

“As an artist, you just do your craft, and if it’s a good film…you just never know. So many other components go into the making of a film. Once a film is done, it’s…really about marketing and promotion.”

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PBSTL PROFILE TED LEO

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

recent intrigue to disprove the frequency of apple-bobbing among peers and fans led Ted Leo to conduct an involved and tireless investigation into the supposed all-American rite of passage. He surveyed friends and foes, neighbors and strangers. He polled Web-surfers far and wide to affirm his hypothesis that he wasn’t odd for never having plunged headlong into a wet tub, chomping for a core. The results he returned with were staggering.

“I found that a lot of people had done it, and those who had have done it more than once,” Leo said. “Which is kind of gross.

“Earlier in the fall, something made me think about bobbing for apples, and I realized that I’d never done it before, and I didn’t really live a childhood that was that far out of the norm.

So I started asking friends of mine if they’d ever bobbed for apples, and none of them had either, so I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this a big conspiracy?’”

The next topics up for discussion could be the lost art of pillow fighting or if anyone can positively verify that cats always land on their feet, and if not, from what height do we see crashes. Okay, I’m kidding about that. What really needs to be discussed is the general cover that Leo works beneath. Sure, he purposely shirks the mere concept of big labels, choosing to peck out an existence on Lookout! Records and make name recognition a struggle when competing against the bottomless promotional pockets that tout unimportant pretty boys such as John Mayer and Howie Day. What’s money better spent? Is it the green bills to support light, marshmallowy messages like those trash nuggets in Mayer’s “Your Body Is a Wonderland” or the cash put behind the smart, why-do-we-believethe-illusion-that-the-rest-of-the-world-loves-us scoldings of Leo’s “The Ballad of the Sin Eater”?

Leo is this decade’s Bob Dylan, but with a voice that hits falsetto highs the likes of which only The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins could comfortably reach while wearing his testicles. Leo’s messages are not just slogans or extended catchphrases; they take aim at every meaningful target a song should strike. They’re lasting, roasting the

When I’m just milling around the apartment, I’m hair off your brows, coating over your short-term always making noise. For a half hour, I’d just be memory like a slow wave of maple syrup, and singing or talking to myself, and I’d be like, ‘Holy dealing with principles and purposes that make shit, I can’t be doing this.’” a monkey of conventional love songs.

The Siren Festival and a solo performance In Dirty Old Town, Justin Mitchell (direcat the famous Pianos bar were two of the first tor of Songs for Cassavettes, a documentary of appearances Leo made after his forced shutdown the early ’90s West Coast punk underground) to rest his tattered throat. Initially, Leo worried beautifully pans New York’s Coney Island durthat, with a project like Dirty Old Town which ing a broiling hot July 2003 day as the Siren was going to have some permanence, a rusty, Music Festival is taking place with Leo, !!!, still-recovering voice wasn’t the one he wanted Radio 4, Sahara Hotnights, Modest Mouse, etc., to showcase. “I sort of reluctantly gave it a all sharing a stage bordered by the Astroland thumbs-up,” he said. But he’s glad he did, notamusement rides and historical boardwalk. Leo’s ing that everything about the film is performance is impassioned and aggressive, top-notch. “If anything is lacking in punching out words and givit, it’s me.” ing them as much meaning as Mitchell’s work gives fans a one throat can. He plays and glimpse of the calm and humble man sings as if it’s the last time he’ll who can’t keep himself from writing ever get to and, in doing so, songs or wearing a worn green Tgoes against the better wishes shirt repetitively stating along the of his health advisors. They’d left side of his trunk that he loves like him to take caution and New Jersey (he wears the same one cool the intensity since he blew on the cover of the Tell Balgeary, his larynx to pieces last May in Balgury Is Dead EP). He gives a lot Champaign, Illinois. of glimpses himself with constant “Pretty much every trip out [it Web site updates and actual peracts up]. I wasn’t able to give it sonal responses to e-mails, just to the time off that the doctors and stay in tune with his fans. my vocal coach assured me I’d “I think it’s one of the most need,” Leo said. “I’ve modified my gratifying and energizing things road habits. It’s very important to about the way I do the thing I me that I don’t spend a lot of time Old Town Scenes from Dirty do. People feel really comfortin the clubs talking to people and (Plexifilm) able with friendly heckling, and they want to watching bands, which is unfortuchat after the shows,” he said. “People are really nate, because that kind of used to be my M.O. freaked and appreciative that I respond to their eThat, more than anything, helps me through. mails. It would be the same way I would be, too.

“My whole life in a club that night requires There might be a point where I can’t practically that I be quiet and hide out in whatever modido it anymore. cum of a dressing room they give me. I stretch “Sometimes there are people who’ll come and I try to warm up, but it’s kind of impractical up to me and be like, ‘What’s the deal, dude? that you can have something soundproof where I talked to you the last time you were here, and you can go, ‘Mi-mi-mi.’” you said you’d write me.’ And I’ll have to say, When the voice failure first happened, Leo’s ‘Sorry, that was six months ago. I’ve played 200 doctors forced him to remain silent for three shows since then. Cut me some slack.’” weeks. “It was easier being silent around other Ted Leo + the Pharmacists play the Rocket Bar people,” he said. “What was really insane was on March 22 with Electrelane and Paris TX. that I realized how vocal I am when I’m alone.

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PBSTL PROFILE

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

HENRY ROLLINS

Henry Rollins: The Girls at the Office Say I’m Shallow

By David Lichius

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ood spoken word performances are few and far between. Where Jello Biafra overloads your brain with enough damning historical/political facts to make your head explode, Henry Rollins tends for the most part to keep things on the lighter side. Self-effacing stories about the time he knocked himself out seconds into a Rollins Band gig or stories about his youthful misadventures are the type of fare you can expect. If you sit through an entire Rollins spoken-word show and don’t laugh your ass off at least once, chances are you were probably weaned on an iceberg.

Like the late Johnny Cash, Rollins has been literally everywhere the past 25 years. Best known for his years singing for the punk band Black Flag, Rollins, through his own grit and will, has built up a body of work whose breadth is larger than most professional “entertainers” could ever dream of. Rollins, while continuing his musical career in the Rollins Band, has established a career as writer/poet, actor, voiceover talent, publisher, hovercraft captain, and a spoken-word entertainer without peer. Late in 2003, Rollins embarked on his first USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. The “meet and greet” took him to military bases in Afghanistan, Qatar, and Kurdistan.

Rolling toward Cleveland the day after his forty-third birthday, a rather reserved Henry Rollins discussed just what keeps his pilot light lit after all these years and the impression the USO tour left on him. “It was an eye-opener, and I met a lot of really good people. It gives you a sense of just how stupid wars are. They’re just stupid, you know. There’s just no sense to it. It’s almost like being in a movie. It’s surreal, because if everyone just put the guns down, there would be no war. It’s all you would have to do, and all of a sudden, it’s a different day.”

While Rollins let it be known that he doesn’t agree policy-wise with the Middle Eastern conflicts, he jumped at this chance and plans for a second USO tour in April. “I think the war in Iraq and the thing in Afghanistan is about something else. I don’t think it’s about ‘We feel so bad for Iraq.’ I don’t think our president feels that bad about an evil dictator. While I don’t agree there, I do see the predicament of these young people, and I can understand their loneliness and their isolation and their displacement, and that’s what I respond to.”

In his interaction with the military personnel, Rollins found out later, through their correspondence to him, the gravity of discontent among some of the men and women stationed overseas.

“It’s not in person, but it’s the letters that you get later where they say things like, ‘Oh, I’ve been in Baghdad for like four months, and I still don’t get it. I don’t know why we’re here, or this is bullshit.’ They will say things like that.”

That USO tour all but closed out what was another endless working year for Rollins. Starting roughly on January 6 through December 15, his typical year will take him on the road for musical and spoken-word tours upwards of 180 days a year. When not on tour, Rollins uses his “downtime” to get caught up on his other projects.

“Between tours, it’s usually steady office work, which is editing a book, working on releases at the label (2.13.61), voice-over work, auditions, or a movie or TV thing. When I’m home, I work through the weekends. I get a lot of work done during the weekends, writing-type stuff, just because the office is quiet, and I can do a lot of typing, a lot of research on stuff.”

So with a schedule so bogged down with tours and “downtime,” what exactly does he do to fend off burnout? “I just basically switch mediums, and it kind of gets me out of one thing and into another. I get burnt on one thing, and I just go to the next.”

Despite changing up his schedule, Rollins’ career leaves room for very little else; in fact, there are aspects of his career that are not so pleasant. “There’s an element of vigorous work ethic, but I can’t overstress the unflattering aspects of it, which is, like I said, I don’t have a whole lot else going on, to the exclusion of probably a lot of things that I could be checking out. The girls at the office say I’m shallow.”

Whether Rollins is truly shallow is frankly irrelevant, for he remains driven by his own philosophic ideas of what the artist work ethic is. “This sounds really strange, but I really thought, and still do, that the real paradigm of the artist-type is vigorous work.”

Rollins bases this ethic on the lives of John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and Henry Miller. While he does not

equate his life with his heroes, their lifestyles have left a big mark on how Rollins carries himself professionally today. “They just worked all the time. They were; therefore, they worked.

They were their work, and their work was them, and they were happy with that.”

One can also dig deeper into Rollins’ past to find the seeds of what drives his engine. “I come from the minimum-wage working world with a high school education. So I went from an ice cream store job paying four or five bucks an hour…to being in a band where I was all of a sudden completely broke all the time [Black Flag], and little by little, one thing led to another, and I can pay my rent now. Knowing where I come from gives me a lot of backbone, because I got a break.”

So after 24 years on the road, what accomplishment stands out as the one thing of which he is the most proud? “Pride is a weird word.

The thing that I am the happiest about is not any single release or anything; it’s the fact that, after 24 years of touring, I’m still touring, still releasing stuff, and people are still showing up. Like anybody else in my situation, I’m very grateful.”

One can give up the love to Henry Rollins as he hits town March 6 at the Pageant.

March 2004

PBSTL PROFILE

IMA ROBOT

by Laura Hamlett et me set the stage: it’s about ten years ago, and there’s this kid named Alex, and he wants to be rebellious, right? So he turns to—get this—hip-hop music because none of the other kids are listening to it. Nothing shocking, right? Then the kid starts deejaying and rapping, not thinking at all about being in a band or anything as common as that. And then, suddenly, all the kids are into hip-hop and rap, and the movement’s not so fresh anymore, at least not to Alex, so he takes the leap and starts a band.

Sure, there’s more to the story, but I’m summarizing. Really, Alex is a very interesting guy, thoughtful and well-spoken and very flashy onstage. The band he started is called Ima Robot—it’s a joke, really, the antithesis of the performance Alex & Co. give onstage. Far from being robotic and programmed, instead every night is a new chance to play a part, to revisit memories and relive experiences and go through a sort of catharsis and growth with every performance. At least, that’s the way Alex sees it.

Alex the teenager has grown into Alex Ebert, vocalist/mastermind behind the L.A. glam-punk band Ima Robot. Their debut album, self-titled, was released on Virgin last fall; the newly released Alive EP, featuring “Alive” from Ima Robot as well as three previously unreleased tracks, charted at Number 14 on the CMJ Top 200 Chart. Ima Robot is an overall pleasing mix of bravado, cockiness, and smut, the kind that made Greg Dulle of the Afghan Whigs charming rather than sleazy—Ebert throws the right amounts of intelligence, shock, and sleaze into the mix, most of the time. Besides Ebert, the band consists of guitarist Timmy the Terror, keyboardist Oligee, bassist Justin Meidal-Johnson (who, along with original drummer Joey Waronker, formerly played with Beck), and brand-new drummer Scott Devours.

When I spoke with Ebert, he had just gotten back into town and was cleaning house. He explained unapologetically that his roommates were “kind of gung-ho” about the cleaning thing.

I took the opportunity, then, to ask the burning question: how, exactly, does one get from hip-hip to glam-punk? To my surprise and delight, Ebert acted as if it wasn’t a question he was asked all the time.

“Gosh, let me think,” he replied, continuing, “I’ve never really answered the question like that. First of all, hip-hop was kind of like my punk when I was young; no one else was really into it. So that was kind of my thing. But when I stopped liking rap, because it got redundant, I started looking for other music that had that same renegade feel in its early days. It turned out that the first five years of just about every form of music were exciting, and then they dropped off and became unexciting. Early punk, early new wave, early glam, early rock ’n’ roll, early everything. And then as far as performing, I just like performing, so I guess maybe the glam thing comes out of that. It just became like a speed and movement issue; that’s how the music kind of got faster, and it became a more punky thing.

It wasn’t necessarily that I was trying to do that; that was the energy I was feeling, and that’s the speed I was trying to move at.”

He baited me; I had to ask: Was he saying that if Ima Robot’s still around in five years, the band will sound old and stale and boring? Ebert laughed. “Oh, I’ll never get old and stale and boring—not for myself, anyway.” And then he talked himself in circles: “Maybe other people will think I will be. I think everyone kind of just does what they do… I’m going to try not to think about stuff like that. I think what would get old and stale and boring to me was if I was consciously trying to make people think that I wasn’t getting old and stale and boring.” He laughed. “That would be a really big bore to try to pull off.”

OK, so we’ve established that: Alex Ebert will get neither old, stale, nor boring. But back to the

band. Ima Robot has received a lot of press since its inception and before that, due to its large following in L.A. clubs. In fact, last year the band played England’s Reading Festival—a sure sign of accomplishment. How does it feel, I wanted to know, to be the next big thing? “It’s exciting,” Ebert admitted, “but you can only be the next big thing for so long, until you’re like, what happened? So hopefully that’s not what happens.

That’s the whole point: to be the big thing. For us, anyway; we’re not trying to keep it under wraps. We feel like we have plenty to give.”

As if there’s any doubt that Ima Robot is a rising star, check out their latest video, “Dynamite,” directed by Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford. “We just sent him the song, and he loved it, and he wanted to do a video,” Ebert explained off-handedly, as if rubbing shoulders with the Coppolas was a common occurrence. And one that may happen again: “If [the album’s hidden track] “Black Jettas” ends up being a single, I would like him to direct it, because he really wanted to.”

Finally, as a newbie to Ima Robot’s live show, I wondered what to expect, and asked. Ebert answered thoughtfully, “Just expect 100 percent, all that we can give.” An acceptable answer, certainly, but then he turned the question on himself. “I wonder what I expect from the shows? It’s kind of like jumping off a bridge every time for me, emotionally dealing with things. I keep working on myself at every show; my soul is being massaged. In that way, every show is somewhat different. We’re working through a different aspect of ourselves, getting to know each other better and getting to know the whole world better through what we’re doing.”

Ima Robot share the stage with The Sounds and Kill Hannah March 2 at Mississippi Nights.

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March 2004

PLAY BY PLAY MUSIC REVIEWS

THE VINES: WINNING DAYS (Capitol) I must admit that when The Vines first album, Highly Evolved (Capitol), was released, I was somewhat skeptical. After all, The Strokes, The Hives, and The White Stripes were all doing similar-sounding things. I suspected The Vines would continue in this same vein, a backwash of punkish power pop melded with angry Kinks-ish vocals. To make matters worse, my reservations were also based on the fact that record labels were signing, hyping, and shoving as many of these three-chord, cookie-cutter bands as they could. I was wary because it was painfully obvious that this was the “now” sound and it was becoming trite and cluttered.

However, something about The Vines’ debut caught my ear. They had an attitude to them.

They swathed and swaggered. They screamed, snarled, leered, and growled. Goddammit, they were a real band that wrote songs that rocked and touched nerves! This immediately superseded my assumed comparisons to The Strokes and Nirvana. Delving into the record was a pleasant surprise. Craig Nicholls proved to be a vocalist who could work with tasty guitar hooks. He also could get his bandmates riled up, creating pop songs with intensity, cohesion, and melody. Yes, The Vines were indeed fun.

Fast-forward two years to 2004. The Strokes, The Stripes, and The Hives are still around in an expanded field that now includes Jet and The Datsuns. With so many guests already at the table, you might think there wouldn’t be room for The Vines. Think again. This is the stage for The Vines as they release Winning Days, their second album. Although the hype, MTV buzz, and media frenzy has simmered down somewhat, this has not stopped The Vines from unleashing an unrelenting album.

After one listen to Winning Days, it is abundantly clear that The Vines want to be famous, stadium-playing rock stars with big cars and nice

houses. The best example of this is the pounding, anthemic first single, “Ride.” “Ride” sets a loud, crushing tone for the rest of the album.

On the whole, this is a well-paced and wellconstructed record. It doesn’t tire easy or give in midway through. The pace is slowed down somewhat with “Animal Machine” and the candle-flicker anthem “Autumn Shade II.” By the time The Vines start to rock again, on the gritty “Evil Town,” I was completely taken in by how big and massive they sound. Winning Days is has the great power chords that every proper pop song needs, but it descends into this great, chaotic, swirling bed of noise at the end. “She’s Got Something to Say” comes out swinging with a loud, raucous guitar into. It has heavy, loud percussion and a spastic bassline. “TV Pro” and “Rainfall” are solid rock songs, ideal for indie radio. “Fuck the World” ends the album where it began, with loud, expansive anthem rock. It is a frantic mess of Swervedriver-sounding lethality.

With the release of Winning Days, The Vines have grown leaps and bounds as musicians.

The constant touring may have something to do with this growth. Nonetheless, Nicholls is lyrically confident here. He is a songwriter who is increasing his depth and range. He alternates from happy to angry to lovelorn in smooth, easy transitions. The band is behind him all the way, growing into the skin of a definitive rock band on the make. The Vines are going to be around for a while. They manage to wear their attitude on their sleeves without ignoring their influences or innovation. Winning Days is a much more enjoyable album than I expected. They have proven themselves to be a band with legroom.

Unlike many in the music business today, The Vines have walked the walk and produced an impressive sophomore effort.

—Rob Levy

BR549: TANGLED IN THE PINES (Dualtone Records) “You try to be honest you try to be fair,” observes BR549 on the seventh track on the honky-tonk quintet’s Tangled in the Pines, and from a critical perspective, the line’s premonitory: because that Dualtone Records disc initially didn’t make much of an impression, a review of it after just a single spin, in all honesty and fairness, would have amounted to little.

Sometimes, of course, first impressions go astray, and Tangled in the Pines embodies that continued on next page

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS Play by Play

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possibility. To wit, its 12 tracks, after more than just a single spin, grow ever more engaging. That should constitute glad tidings to longtime fans of the band, two of whose founders split awhile ago. Replacing them—and joining Don Herron on fiddle, steel guitar, and mandolin; Chuck Mead on vocals and guitar; and Shaw Wilson on vocals and drums—are Geoff Firebaugh on doghouse and electric bass and Chris Scruggs on vocals and guitar, and as suggested earlier, the new lineup should engage the attention of anyone interested in neotraditional country.

Tangled in the Pines opens genially enough with “That’s What I Get,” a Mead co-write that chugs merrily along, and otherwise includes a number of catchy and unapologetically cheery tracks, among them “Movin’ the Country,” another Mead co-write, a line from which begins this review. Arguably the disc’s most memorable offering comes fifth: the title track, co-written

by Mead (yet again) and Scruggs, concerns a romance gone awry and, in its near-subliminal narrative, borders on the sublime.

Again in all honesty, BR549’s Tangled in the Pines by no means ranks as some new benchmark in the genre—but again in all fairness, the band likely never meant for it to function thus. Rather, the disc ranks as a twangy, frolicsome way to pass 34 minutes and 59 seconds—and sometimes, as now, that more than suffices.

—Bryan A. Hollerbach DIZZEE R ASCAL: BOY IN DA CORNER (Matador) One can reasonably guess that Dizzee Rascal was supposed to ride the coattails of British

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almost-rapper Mike Skinner of The Streets.

Both seemed to have backed into rapping from the U.K.’s surging garage scene, emerging as pseudoemcees sounding different from most other hip-hop. Their styles differ greatly: Skinner is a storyteller first and lyricist a distant second, where Dizzee instead attracts listeners with his rapid-fire flow and sinister voice. In downplaying lyrical content, Boy in da Corner risks The Streets’ universal appeal: Skinner’s drunken rambling and British accent speak to party people of all flavors, whereas Dizzee Rascal is just another emcee. In his favor, there are very few emcees who nail the Busta-Rhymes-as-a-Disney-villain steelo as well as Dizzee Rascal.

Dizzee’s accent is sharp and sinister, his vocals peppered with boggling slang and gunshots. He pretty much sticks to the book in terms of topics.

Boy in da Corner is basically straight-up dickwaving braggadocio, with a couple of cautionary tales thrown in. On “Jezebel,” the Rascal tells the sob story of a woman heading down the wrong path in life at a young age. “I Luv U” is a high point, where the hook has Dizzee bouncing his lyrics off a female counterpart. While Skinner may be the British King Adrock, Dizzee falls much closer to New Orleans fire spitter Mystikal.

That is, if Mystikal rhymed over Korg synthesizers being hurled down stairwells.

Boy in da Corner fails miserably in the beat department, coming through with production on some second-day-with-the-equipment shit.

Sounding like Timbaland with ADD, the drum programming seems done at random. The tracks rarely offer a melodic bassline or hook, relying instead on the unpleasant hums of “Live O” and “Seems 2 Be.” When a melody does show up, it is redundant and sparse, as on “Hold Ya Mouf” and “Jezebel,” wearing out its welcome long before the song ends. The lead single, “Fix Up, Look Sharp,” uses Billy Squier’s extremely played-out “Big Beat” and shamefully yanks his lyrics for the hook. For the most part, the problem with bad production usually stems from bad judgment. Though one may object to tracks like Puff Daddy’s “Come With Me,” an unapologetic rip-off of Led Zeppelin’s “Cashmere,” the beat at least has some semblance of that old boom-bap. Even with its creativity in question, “Come With Me” is well constructed and professional—the antithesis of the production on Boy in da Corner.

Despite a reasonable showing lyrically, Boy is, as a whole, unconventional to a fault. The album practically dares listeners to dislike it

and join their parents in the ranks of uncultured music fans. This is not paradigm-shifting musical genius; it is merely unlistenable. For the sake of British hip-hop’s good name, one can only hope his recent rise to American fame will land Dizzee Rascal on some tolerable production in the future.

—Andrew Friedman ELECTRELANE: THE POWER OUT (Beggars Banquet) Electrelane is four girls from Brighton, England, who may also be the next big thing in music. Their debut album, Rock It to the Moon, created a buzz in the indie rock world. The Power Out may very well turn that buzz into a boom.

The first track, “Gone Under Sea,” is a mellow, glistening number sung entirely in French.

This song is quiet but speaks volumes with lead singer Verity Susman’s vocals; one minute they are sweet and soothing, the next they are angry and rebellious. The rhythm of “Gone Under Sea” and Verity’s excellent vocals create a resonating melody.

“Oh Sombra!” (Oh Shadow!) is another foreign track, this time Spanish. “Oh Sombra!” is very lively and has somewhat of a punk swagger.

The guitars chug along, while Susman rants like Courtney Love in Hole’s punk heyday.

On “Take the Bit Between Your Teeth,” Electrelane shows us that they can rock out as well as Black Sabbath. Once again, Susman’s electrifying voice is focal point, as she ranges from Patti Smith to Iggy Pop. This song even has a roaring guitar solo followed up by orgasmic yelps that really sex up this almost metal/pop song.

Electrelane switches things up a bit with “Birds,” a somber song about getting over the loss of someone. “Birds” starts off somewhat depressive (“I want to see you, more than anything”), but ends with a fierce bang (“It’s not that I can’t go on without you/busy, busy all the time”). Once again, the band is taking advantage of the quiet/loud dynamic. At the end, they tie it all together when Susman sweetly sings, “But I can’t stop thinking about you.” This quiet twominute song is one of the shining moments of the album.

So far, so good, right? Well, not exactly.

Electrelane loses its way on “The Valleys” and decides to take a more pious route. This song is a Siegfried Sasson poem that has been arranged for a Chicago choir. While it is, no doubt, an impressive song, this track breaks up the melody of the

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March 2004

“Already Gone” is a single in the making; it’s a beautiful, catchy, guitar-driven ode to a relationship that’s past its prime: “You’re my sword in the sand/ The hope that slipped my hands/ My excuse not to get anything done.” “This Way Child” will get you movin’ and groovin’: “Just sway child/This way child/It’s okay child,” Gooding instructs; as listener, you see the wisdom of the word and shake your head, tap your feet.

The Gooding Band, in all its hard-working glory: Billy Driver, In the first few listens, “The Gooding, and Jesse Reichenberger. Photo by Mike Marlett.

Killing Sea” quickly became my favorite track on the disc. It’s album. Electrelane was a little too artistic in this heartbreakingly beautiful, both lyrically and song; The Power Out was very a cohesive album vocally. In this song, Gooding allows his voice until this point. to reach new heights, to function as both instru“Love Builds Up,” “Only One Thing Is ment and narrative. His voice cautiously stretchNeeded,” and “You Make Me Weak at the es over the precisely picked intro, confessing, Knees” are a return to Rock It to the Moon’s all“I’m all out of answers.” As the accompanying instrumental sound. On several of these tracks, guitars join in and the refrain swells, so does his Susman no longer uses her voice as an instruvoice, hitting new heights that, truly, take your ment. She turns to her keyboards, giving these breath away. The guitar bridge, too, is a prime songs a new wave strut. These songs work well example of why this man’s brilliance deserves together, as well as with the album. They create to be heard. a stellar end to The Power Out. The ready measure of “Cruel World Away” The band has grown tremendously since its will have you singing along as Gooding intones, debut album, but they have a little more grow“We’re not the grownups we’re supposed to be.” ing to do. The Power Out is a polished gem of Truly, the guitars are so crisp and perfect, the tangible feeling, but it is sometimes devoid in voice soaring and delicious; does music get any communication. While The Power Out may be better than this? Another grab-you-by-the-ears, louder than a buzz, it’s not yet a boom. radio-friendly song is “Nice Day (If It Doesn’t —Dawn O’Neall Rain)” in which Gooding professes, “Ideas they wash you while beliefs they stain.” The interGOODING: SOLDIERMAKING (S3 Records) spersed instruments ebb and flow as Gooding’s If I were to speak for him, I’d say Gooding singing soldiers on. considers himself a As homage to Gooding’s artistry, soundscape artist Soldiermaking contains two instrumental rather than a songnumbers, “Forgotten Family Noise” and the writer.

Recording title track. The former features sweet flamenco since he was 14, he’s guitar overlaid with a cacophony of blended released a handful of voices; the latter, a gently meandering mix of instrumental CDs, one Reichenberger’s expertly wielded percussion and of them (Factory Blue) Gooding’s multi-guitar goodness. specifically a film Talent has no place on St. Louis radio; our soundtrack. The problem—to record label execs, airwaves are paid for by Clear Channel, which at least—is that his sound defies ready catmeans you’re only going to hear what has egorization. He’s a guitar virtuoso, his supreme money behind it. Sadly, independent artists strumming skills lending a global flair to his comlike Gooding—the real fabric of our nation of positions. He believes in the extended jam, as songwriters and storytellers, musicians who live exemplified by the terrifically talented Gooding the music with their heart and soul—don’t often Band: drummer Jesse Reichenberger, bassist Billy register on the record labels’ radar. But albums Driver, and boy wonder Gooding. But it was only such as Soldiermaking are the albums that with 2002’s Life Itself that Gooding has ventured remind us we’re alive—lyrically, vocally, instruinto writing—and singing—lyrics with his mentally. Truly, this is an album that will make songs. With the aforementioned pedigree, you you feel—and isn’t that, really, why we listen? might not expect the man to have much of a —Laura Hamlett voice, but he does, and now with Soldiermaking, he takes that voice into more beautiful and challenging realms. continued on next page

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS Play by Play THE HOLD STEADY: ALMOST KILLED ME (French Kiss) The Hold Steady starts where Lifter Puller, Craig Finn and Tad Kublers’ previous band, left off—or, perhaps, Star Wars–like, The Hold Steady are a prequel. The music on Almost Killed Me is more anthemic rock ’n’ roll than Lifter Puller’s savvy and somewhat punny chordwork.

As the press buzz takes pains to point out, “Drop the Emo backpack, take your DJ headphones off, get out of the hotel lobbies and get back in the bars. Bar rock is here again, and The Hold Steady is only trying to help you.” The music makes the band (rounded out by Galen Polivka and Judd Cousell) sound as if they would love to hold center stage at a stadium with a million Zippos flickering in the night; maybe the whole thing could be capped off with some fireworks.

However, fireworks are not necessary with Finn’s voice and lyrics around. They remain almost unchanged from his LP days, and it is comforting (if that word can be used) to hear his rants. They are a litany of likes and dislikes, the asides about the fruitlessness of the night and

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the numbing chase: the drugs, the star fucking, and lives so gloriously misspent. Finn is that guy who appears both threatening and riveting. His stories sometimes need a decoder, but for the most part, his rants are just honesty spewed out with an effortless passion.

The songs were recorded mostly live (though in studio), and the lyrics were thrown out almost as a stream of consciousness. It is a tribute to Finn’s abilities as a rapper of middle-aged angst that what comes out is both entertaining and memorable. It is easy to imagine the genesis of a song like “Certain Songs,” which turns us all into the songs we play too much on the jukebox: “B-1 is for the good girls./It’s only the good die young./C-9 is for the making eyes./It’s paradise by the dashboard light./D-4 is for the lovers./B-12 is for the speeders./And the hard drugs are for the bartenders and the kitchen workers and the bartender’s friends./And they’re playing it again./ Ellen Foley gives us hope./Certain songs they get scratched into our souls.” There is an honesty that can only come from a person speeding along and talking a mile a minute.

Finn’s stories and observations are fascinating. I don’t know if they will ever be “scratched into our souls,” but they might at least make for a memorable night with your Zippo in a stadium.

—Jim Dunn INCUBUS: A CROW LEFT OF THE MURDER (Epic) incubus, n: A name of nightmare; something that weighs heavily on a person; burden or incumbrance; dead weight.

In the band’s 13-year existence, Incubus’s big break came in 2000 with the monstrous success of the CD Morning View, which yielded a whopping four top-ten singles, catapulting the then-littleknown band to superstar status. The long-awaited follow-up release, the oddly titled A Crow Left of the Murder, finally became available for mass consumption in early February. Although it is highly unlikely that it will even come close

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March 2004

to becoming the hit-producing machine that Morning View was, it does contain plenty of catchy, crunchy, often gorgeous rock songs with powerful messages and serious stick-to-yourbrain potential.

This disc is one of the many fruits of labor of late from the band’s multitalented singer/songwriter Brandon Boyd, who recently published his first book, White Fluffy Clouds, a collection of art, poetry, and insights. He contributed most of the illustrations to Crow’s CD booklet, which also contains all of the lyrics printed in Boyd’s handwriting, scratch-outs and all.

Starting on an intense note, the first song (and first single) “Megalomaniac” picks up right where the heavier material on Morning View left off, musically speaking. Its anti-leader message seems subtly directed toward Bush, as Boyd angrily advises someone who is neither Jesus, Elvis, nor the answer (but apparently thinks that they are) to “wash your hands clean of yourself and step down! Step down! Step Down!”

Other particularly politically themed songs are “Beware! Criminal,” a mellower, mid-tempo track whose chorus chants, “You came, you saw, you conquered. And I’m left here guessing what went wrong,” along with “Agoraphobia,” about a person afraid to leave his house who repeatedly cries, “please end this before it ends us” near the song’s ending. It’s relatively clear that Boyd is not exactly content with the current state of affairs in America.

On a more personal level, Boyd exposes his sentimental and romantic side on a few tracks, such as “Southern Girl,” one of the disc’s prettier, more melodic, and more radio-friendly tunes, and “Smile Lines,” where Boyd states, “Met my match today, felt the blood rushing and mingling, a curious and enigmatic thing.” The crown jewel of Crow, however, is a song entitled “Here in My Room,” a haunting piece of music that features both the cello and the piano and truly showcases the raw beauty of Boyd’s vocals, especially when it enters the falsetto zone without inhibition.

Incubus now features a new bassist, ex-Roots member Ben Kinney, who sounds as if he were destined to be part of this band and fits right into their signature groove. His presence is especially noticeable on tracks like the heavily syncopated “Sick, Sad Little World” and a quick-paced, frantic little number called “Priceless,” which has a very distinct Primus (Incubus’s tour-mates in 1998) feel to it. Also new to the band’s hired staff is famed producer Brendan O’Brian, who has now replaced long-time Incubus producer Scott Litt.

Taken as a whole, the 14 songs on A Crow Left of the Murder form an unpredictable ride through Boyd’s gifted songwriting/storytelling skills.

Although this journey is often turbulent and sometimes falls a bit short of the high expectations many would have of Incubus, it does maintain a strong level of intrigue throughout most of its duration. And after all is said and done, Boyd seems content with the results he has achieved and indirectly tells us so with the last lyrics of the disc’s final song, “Leech”: “The ride’s over. Did you enjoy yourself? The ride’s over. Fairing well?

Not on my time.” www.enjoyincubus.com —Michele Ulsohn JUST JACK: THE OUTER MARKER (TVT Records) Jack Allsopp’s guilty pleasure is honesty, and in the shadows and beams of The Outer Marker, Jack connects himself to the world around him by showcasing his life through his own words and sounds with his candid point of view. Given the similarities, he’s a bit more subdued than Mike Skinner of The Streets with an obvious tender side during his musings, even though it’s difficult to avoid that comparison just because they both identically use the word “geyser”—which, admittedly, doesn’t happen

for every recording in the world. The articulation between the two is ironically uncanny for lack of finger-pointing of style-snatching.

Just Jack’s sample-fest begins with “Let’s Get Really Honest,” which joins in with the rest of the similarities of this album based on other artists’ sampled works. This track heavily samples 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love,” also used by Daft Punk for their Discovery album in 2001. Jack is almost cockney with his delivery, which lacks some originality, but his thoughts are truly his own.

“Sometimes it feels like I’m looking through a pane of glass/I can see your mouth move but I can’t hear the words” is almost subliminally chanted on the best track on this record, “Snowflakes.” Jack plays the part of the ghoul looking over your shoulder or the spider on the wall as he chants continuously in layers. It takes the appeal out of the term “chill” to procreate an unnerving aural backcloth. Also available is the “Cursed by the Temple of Jay” mix, which includes main elements of The Cure’s “Lullaby.”

Apparently, Jack jumped through a lot of hoops to gain permission from Robert Smith personally, which is a bit of a letdown, as the original versions of each track are far superior to the matchup of the two. Purist Cure fans will more than likely have the same opinion.

Like Haydn using the element of surprise in his “Toy Symphony,” Allsopp also shops the toy department for “Snapshot Memories,” creating a morph-like installment of three completely different songs into one, from ragtime piano to oldschool, analog-voiced, electro-hip-hop, to present day gangsta rap to jazzy rhythm and blues from the ’60s. It’s another clever set of moments.

The Outer Marker is edgy and cool while remaining thoughtful at the same time, which makes Allsopp’s structured prose into the top redeeming quality. This record will not be his strongest in theory. Musically, I hear too many other elements from other artists, and it can be distracting. He could benefit from listening more to his thoughts and articulation and creating continued on page 26

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QUICK HITS

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DESCENDENTS: ’MERICAN (Fat Wreck Chords) You can breathe a sigh of relief and relax. If this four-song EP—with two songs from their upcoming LP Cool to Be You (March 23) and two nonalbum tracks—is any indication of the quality of the aforementioned full-length, the Descendents have done nothing to damage their legacy.

Not steering far from 1996’s Everything Sucks, ’Merican opens with vocalist Milo Auckerman’s upbeat, poppy ode to laziness, “Nothing With You.” The chorus is rather representative of the song’s sentiment: “I don’t want to move,/except sit here in my living room and see what’s on tube,/ while I’m hanging out with you.”

Following bassist Karl Alavrez’s Bad Religion– like title track, the mood slows down with the broken-hearted “Here With Me.” Closing out the advertised tracks is the “This Place Sucks”–reminiscent “I Quit,” a rather blunt middle finger to those out there who think that Auckerman should drop his microbiology gig and return to the nomadic lifestyle of a touring musician. “Go ahead and say it./Tell me I’m getting old./Tell me I’m a sellout./But it’s you that’s being sold./See, I refuse to think of rock ’n’ roll as my career./Tell me all my opportunities, ask me if I care.”

When you disregard the hidden track, which should have remained in the vaults of drummer Bill Stevenson’s Blasting Room studio, ’Merican is a definite sign of “Good Good Things” to come. (DL) MADCAP: UNDER SUSPICION (Victory Records) Madcap is definitely one of those bands that wears its influences not only on its sleeves, but also probably on the buttons that adorn its jackets. The Clash, The Jam, The Ramones, and Rancid’s influence on this band is not subtle, but rather blatant. In the end, it doesn’t really matter because Under Suspicion is a mighty fine punk rock record, no matter whose sound the band might be borrowing. From start to finish, Under Suspicion is vacant of stinkers and full of tunes that one could actually dance to. On their third LP, this Southern California quartet waste no time getting the party started with the fiery “Keep Dancin.” This is a tune that’s almost impossible to forget, whose lyrics (“’Cause when the radio is on and the music’s playing, I just want to keep dancing”) will be stuck in your head for days on end.

While full of solid punk numbers (“Somewhere in the City,” “Youth Explosion,” “Turnaround,” “It Won’t Die”), Madcap does stretch out and show their ska and reggae influences in “Searching for Ground,” “Midnight Strikes,” and the title track. Under Suspicion won’t cause the earth to shake and send the Mississippi River running backward, but what it will do is put a goofball smile on your face by the time this record winds down. Topnotch! (DL) KYLIE MINOGUE: BODY LANGUAGE (Capitol Records) Body Language is quite a departure from 2002’s Fever, which may disappoint some of the club kids who long to wave their hands in the air in the middle of the dance floor. After 16 years of bestowing pop music to the world (she virtually owns the U.K. and Australia), Minogue can pretty much do what she pleases.

Granted, Body Language isn’t a straightforward disco record, but you can’t accuse Minogue of not offering some variety over the years. However, the variety is organized by the album, not by the tracks on the album. With that said, Body Language is an album of mostly down-tempo, soul-influenced electric pop, which sounds tailored for Soul Train’s mid-show couples’ dance parade.

The electro beats start and end midway through the record, fusing into soulful pop in its progression. The first single, “Slow,” uses the sounds that made Nintendo a household name

back in the late ’80s. Centrally through “Body Language,” Kylie takes a more relaxed and cool approach. It’s not groundbreaking material to make somebody ponder the world around them because that’s not what she’s after. She makes simplicity go a long way. (CH) THE NARRATOR: YOUTH CITY FIRE (Flameshovel) Despite the creepy mumbling of “Culture/ Counts,” which begins this five-song EP, Youth City Fire is an enjoyable listen from a fresh Chicago band. Led by what sounds like a punked-out Mick Jagger (no roles are defined on the CD), the band intones intelligent angst that’ll relight the rebellious fire of your youth.

Rapid-fire drums only heighten the feeling of breakout.

Any album of youth is incomplete without its screamer (“All Are Assassins”), but it’s the slower, more thoughtful numbers that stand out: “We Call Police” and “The Electric Slide” (which is, trust me, nothing like the wedding favorite).

The simplicity and repetition of “The Electric Slide” make its full-throttle rock parts all the more effective, ending the disc on an original, off-tempo, and ultimately harmonic note. (LH) OCEAN SIX: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT (Shamballah Records) It’s pretty clear after listening to this CD that Ocean Six is a local rock band that won’t be sinking anytime soon. This 16-track recording is a great showcase of the band’s solid guitar sound and strong hooks. Unlike the group’s all-electric live show; the recording is more melodic, adding acoustic guitar work to songs like “Beauty and Danger.” The smoothed-out sound only makes the hooks even harder to ignore than they are in concert. Tracks such as “Left Behind” and “Light Years Away” are catchy enough to be radio hits; Devon Allman gives a strong vocal performance throughout the whole CD. Throughout the band’s live career, Allman has shown no fear in regard to entertaining the audiences. He can be seen from time to time at Mississippi Nights, actually going out into the crowd and walking along the ledge near the over21 area during the band’s cover of “Rebel Yell” or urging the crowd to yell requests to him. It may seem that this level of confidence and energy would be hard to reproduce on a recording, but Somewhere Between Day and Night is a solid and well-produced CD sure to please fans. (JK) ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET: FINE LINES EP (Scratchie/New Line Records) If, like me, you’re tired of waiting for the new Spoon album, you need wait no longer: we now

March 2004

have Robbers on High Street. I don’t mean that as a knock against the band, really; the EP is quite strong and not wholly derivative. But damn, if Ben Trokan doesn’t sound a hell of a lot like Britt Daniel.

With Fine Lines, Robbers give us more of a throwback New York rock sound than an Austin-based indie rock one. Besides Trokan (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Robbers consist of Steve Mercado (guitar), Jeremy Phillips (bass), and Tomer Danan (drums). Their press release describes them as looking “like four guys who could have met in a prep school detention hall.” The EP, catchy enough to grab you at first listen, is straightforward and unswerving, with a touch of retro and a dash of alternative. These six tracks are just a taste of what Robbers on High Street can do—a full-length is scheduled for release next summer—but they’re enough to let me know this is a band worth watching. (LH) SEMIDIVINE: SEMIDIVINE Gotta love local rock ’n’ roll. Semidivine isn’t one of our town’s bestknown bands, but here they’ve gone and put out a respectable full-length debut. “Turn Around” is an aching, guitar-driven pop-rock gem in the vein of Just Add Water; at times, Nate Edmonds’ voice even sounds eerily like JAW’s Steve Waller. “Burn My Name” is a gentle rocker; a stark burst of guitar adds a hint of unrest before the refrain opens to a gallop. “Good for Nothing” packs a harder punch, while “Yesterday” is a bittersweet look back at love gone wrong. “The Long Way” is another pretty number on which Edmonds ventures into falsetto and a fitting way to close out the disc.

According to the band’s bio, each of the members—aside from Edmonds (voice, guitar), there’s Rek Mohr (bass), Ryan Cooper (guitar), and Ben Miller (drums)—has a hand in creating the songs, though Edmonds is the one behind the lyrics. The CD is available from the band’s Web site (www.semidivinemusic.com) or at any of their shows. (LH)

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VARIOUS ARTISTS: MUSIC FROM QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY (Capitol Records) You could call this compilation a tool for cashing in on the series that made Trading Spaces “so circa 2000.” As inevitable as it was, this disc won’t help you pick out the right candles for your living room or tell you why you shouldn’t bite off the plastic tag holders from the shirt purchased 30 minutes earlier. This assemblage offers a gaggle of tunes with something for everybody, though.

Fans of Duran Duran have been waiting impatiently for the new record from the original alliance of the five “metrosexual” members. In the meantime, the Jason Nevins remix of “Sunrise” will have to tide DD fans over with its contemporary style of guitar-based dance music. For spending as much time as the Fab Five spent in the studio, the song sounds as polished as it should.

The other common trend in pop music is the “mash-up,” in which a song from years past and another from the present are placed together in one. Barry Harris (of Thunderpuss and Kon Kan, for those who remember) summoned Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You” and Fischerspooner’s “Emerge” into “Everybody Wants You to Emerge.” In a nearly unsettling way, it works.

The assortment of songs on this soundtrack covers the main genres, including Basement Jaxx, Sting, Liz Phair, and Elton John. It’s a bit like placing a color wheel in the CD player—or a fruitcake, for that matter. (CH)

New and Used Vinyl Arriving Weekly 601 E. Lockwood (Formerly the Alpine Shop) H ANNA KILL HE • MARCH 2 R

INSTO

Contributors: Laura Hamlett, Cory Hoehn, John Kujawski, David Lichius.

314-961-8978 www.euclidrecords.com

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

BACKSTAGE PASS CONCERT REVIEWS

Har Mar Superstar

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The Blue Note, February 14 True/False Film Festival Valentine’s Day Concert The Blue Note, a cavernous, converted movie theater in Columbia, Missouri, was nearly empty when the People’s Republic of Klezmerica opened the True/False Film Festival–sponsored show with their unique and exuberant hillbillyYiddish folk songs. Resembling the Mizzoumusic-majors-doing-this-shit-for-kicks offshoot that they probably are, the PRK shouted and lurched through a loose, fun set of euphoric chants and bari sax versus flute rock-offs.

Fans of non-same-sounding lineups rejoiced as the next band, Mahjongg, hit the stage in a fury of indie-rocked new wave. Incorporating samples, keyboards, drum loops, and (occasionally) a second, smaller drum kit into spastic, hooky, Talking Heads–ish arrangements, Mahjongg had the crowd moving to their mix of rocking instrumentals and sing-along rave-ups. Bonus points go to the bass player for rocking a pair of pump-up sneakers and to the keyboard player, who removed his hippie blouse midset to reveal a small leather vest with no shirt underneath. Man. Taking a break from recording his followup to last year’s phenomenal You Can Feel Me (with Timbaland in the producer’s chair this time, no shit) to headline this event (as a favor for a friend involved with the festival), Har Mar Superstar strutted onto the stage like a Vegas peacock. Performing to backing tracks (but without his regular dancing ladies, who sadly couldn’t join him for this one-off show), Har PHOTOS: BRIAN McCLELLAND

Mar worked the crowd like the world’s smallest, hairiest, Stevie Wonder–singin’est Chippendales dancer. Starting the set swathed in what looked to be a graduation robe, he quickly tore away the garment to reveal a powder blue tuxedo adorned with sparkly red hearts. It was only a matter of time before he was stripped down to a skimpy pair of red briefs, cavorting in the audience with any ladies interested in bending down (did I mention how tiny he is? little-sister tiny) for a kiss.

The set was split between new songs and favorite You Can Feel Me tracks, keeping the party at full throttle in between dancing and singing along or laughing at the sheer spectacle of the guy. Or both. It didn’t matter, because as absurd and ridiculous as he looks, he’s a born entertainer with songs as catchy as they are hilarious. After a finale featuring an excerpt from the musical Hair, Har Mar left the stage without an encore, reentering the emptying club 15 minutes later. Dressed in his civvies now—trainer pants and a hoodie—he was suddenly Sean Tillman again, out of character and off duty, soft-spoken and polite to fans asking for a picture. As he posed with his arms around two female fans, I distinctly heard him (or, rather, Har Mar) purr, “Happy Valentine’s Day, ladeeeez.”

—Brian McClelland

Puddle of Mudd w/Smile Empty Soul The Pageant, February 10 Puddle of Mudd’s new album, Life on Display, may not be selling like their first record, Come Clean, which moved over three million copies, but they can still rock the house. However, they weren’t the only band to get the sold-out crowd

to its feet; Smile Empty Soul also had a strong performance—in fact, probably even better than Mudd.

Smile played an energetic 40-minute set, featuring the group’s breakout hit, “Bottom of a Bottle,” as well as their current single, “Nowhere Kids.” Lead singer Sean Danielsen seemed to hit every note just right throughout the performance, going from a mellow verse to a gut-wrenching scream. The band rarely stopped to speak to the audience, the only time being to mention Trader Bob’s Tattoo Shop in St. Louis, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, as the band flew through many of the well-written songs on their debut album.

Mudd’s performance was sort of a homecoming. The band hails from Kansas City, and lead singer Wes Scantlin’s family was on hand to watch the performance, including his young son.

There were several fans that had made the trek from K.C. to catch their favorite band in action.

Mudd opened with their first hit, “Control,” and went right into their new material from Display. While many of the songs on the band’s first album have a distinct sound, most of the songs on the new album sound the same, although the fans didn’t seem to mind. Some of the new songs the band performed included “Nothing Left to Lose” (a personal favorite) and “Away From Me,” the current single.

Mudd also performed crowd favorites “Drift & Die,” “Nobody Told Me,” and their biggest single to date, “Blurry”; Scantlin brought his son onto the stage for the performance of “Blurry.” Mudd closed with the catchy and annoying “She Hates Me.” Overall, it was a heavy, grunge-filled evening, highlighted not by the headliner but by Smile Empty Soul. Mudd’s performance just had a “been here, seen this before” feel to it, while Smile looked to be a band quickly on the rise.

Read Jeremy Housewright’s interview with Smile Empty Soul online at www.playbackstl.com.

—Jeremy Housewright

March 2004

Wheat Gargoyle, February 11 While standing in the Gargoyle watching Wheat perform, I found myself weighing the options of whether it’s better to see a band that you know and love or to see one that is entirely new to you. Nothing beats the preshow anticipation of knowing that you will be seeing performed live some of your most beloved music. But there is always a subtle fear that your favorite band will churn out a completely uninspiring performance, rendering the genius of their recorded perfection tainted and somehow less thrilling than it once was. The excited build-up to a show is absent when seeing a band you know nothing about, because there are no expectations either way. Yet this is precisely why unknown bands can offer an advantage that those frequenting your CD collection cannot. With no expectations, there is, of course a chance that you will not like what you hear and will leave the show unaffected either way. But there is also an equal chance that you will be pleasantly surprised and maybe even completely blown away.

I admit that I went to the show to see Hey Mercedes open, knowing nothing at all about Wheat or what kind of music they might offer.

When Hey Mercedes didn’t show up (which

Wheat frontman Scott Lovesque later informed us was due to car trouble), I was slightly disappointed that I was now tied into an evening of music in which I had no vested interest. By the end of the evening, though, the disappointment had faded into the general lightness of feeling that accompanies being favorably surprised.

Wheat played to an admittedly sparse audience, but the small size of the gathering contributed a sense of intimacy rather than emptiness.

The band itself created an air of familiarity and friendliness by constantly talking with the audience, as though they were a band just starting out and playing in their parents’ basement to a few close friends. The amateurish impression that they gave was deceiving, though, as I was informed by fans around me of their past albums and established history. One guy even mentioned that Wheat’s debut album made the topten list of his all-time favorites, a testimony that clued me into an apparently diehard fanbase.

I was also told that Wheat historically produced somewhat sad, melancholy music but had switched directions on their latest album, Per Second, Per Second, Per Second…Every Second (Sony). The old style was lost on me, because every song they performed was happy, melodic, and upbeat. Wheat exudes colorful cheer, short of being sickly saccharine. Theirs is not the

music of shiny exteriors and vacant cores; it is instead pleasant, bright pop with intelligence to back it up. Armed with credentials to set them apart, Wheat has the potential to explode onto the music scene. So much so that next time they come through St. Louis, it might not seem like such an intimate gathering.

Wheat next hits the St. Louis stage at the Pageant on March 16 in support of Liz Phair.

—Anne Valente

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Sheldon Concert Hall, February 15 It’s a miracle the mic stands survived.

The Sheldon has a smallish stage, and there are ten guys in Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The mic stands were in a line of nine in back, with one for leader Joseph Shabalala in front. The members of this South African a cappella group did not just stand in place or occasionally sway; they did high kicks. Often. Sometimes the kicks were all together, precise as a drill team; sometimes they were in the service of horseplay. At least one foot hit at least one rear end in the course of the evening. Thus, the miracle: shards of metal and plastic did not fly about the hall like shrapnel. That’s a display of talent. continued on page 19

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

Three to See Here are just three of the great original St. Louis bands that play around town on a

While his stage presence is undeniable, the band’s energy and impressive guitar riffs make it impossible not to enjoy the show. On a side

Even when the band plays a power ballad, it’s as if the audience is on edge, waiting for the heavy sounds to kick back in. Killjoy4fun is a great band to have in our local music scene, and it shows that there certainly is great rock music in St. Louis.

Killjoy4fun—Aside from a great band name and being fun to watch, this threepiece rock band easily serves as a sound of joy for anyone who needs a larger-than-life

Galaxy Rock Meets William—This unique, underground dance band is a highly underrated group that deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys getting on his feet and dancing to innovative keyboard and bass sounds. This talented group features a man named Keith on vocals and a woman named Morgan on bass who put everything they have into their vocal performances. The highlights come when the two perform duets over the high-energy rhythms that are impossible to experience sitting down. There is no shortage of originality here, and while Keith is a bit better when he sings than when he raps, the melodies and lack of predictability in the songs make this band a must-see.

—John Kujawski

get a chance.

own. I saw this band perform at Mississippi Nights last month,

Threesixtysmile has a set of songs which go from one catchy tune to another, inspiring young audience members to sing along with the words and take part in a mosh pit which moves to the driving sounds of the group.

Singer/guitarist Josh, who just goes by his first name, takes center stage with such ease, it’s as if he had just walked into his own house.

ready to destroy anything in their path. The band members’ instruments are a bit like weapons as they blast through heavy rhythms and brutal guitar riffs. The only chance the audience has at taking a breather is when the group has to stop and tune their instruments, which apparently take a fair amount of physical abuse.

CITY MUSEUM 701 North 15th Street St. Louis, MO 63103 www.citymuseum.org

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EVERY MONDAY: IRISH JAM w/KEVIN BLAKELY & FRIENDS EVERY TUESDAY: ACOUSTIC JAM EVERY WEDNESDAY: BLACK EYED SUSIES (10 - 1AM) EVERY THURSDAY: SAWMILL (9:30 - 1AM) WEEKENDS: BLUES & JAZZ CITY MUSEUM OPEN TIL 1:00 AM EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT

JOIN PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

In Theatres March 19

Come see a special sneak preview of the new Jim Carrey movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (with Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, and Kate Winslet) on us. We are giving away free tickets on our Events Page (www.playbackstl.com/Events) and at Borders outlets. Pick up or download your tickets starting March 1.

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 7:30 P.M.

March 2004 Backstage Pass

from page 15

The high kicks accompanied the faster songs in Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s repertoire. These songs, most of them in Zulu, followed a consistent pattern: a slow call-and-response introduction leading into a quicker tempo where a phrase was repeated over and over. The chant formed the background for clever choreography—mimed actions (walking up mountains, perhaps, or scattering something on the ground), the aforementioned high kicks, the cross-cultural humor of slapstick. It was quickly apparent that the guys on the far right and the far left were the show-offs of the group, the ones most likely to, say, pull up a bandmate’s shirt and rub his belly or get “scolded” for mischief that happened too quick to catch.

Silliness played a key role in between-song banter, as well. Shabalala told the crowd that the group didn’t always remember what city they were in. So he quizzed one bandmate: “Where are we?” “Louis Township,” came the answer.

Toward the end of the evening, another of them (they never gave their names) asked us to visit them on the Internet. He gave the address as “W, W, W…W, W…” and kept going, putting ten W’s before mambazo.com, “one W for each Mambazo. You don’t want to visit just three Mambazos, right? You want to visit all ten Mambazos!”

The fun could be sweet: a song called “Hello My Baby” earned a chuckle when the band blew the audience kisses: “Come along, come along to kiss me [smack]…nice, nice.” And the sweetness could be poignant: “Because I love you,” ran a chant in the background as Shabalala responded, “I will feed you. I will wash you.”

—Angela Pancella

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UIS

Bands to Watch at SXSW and in the Lou We here at Playback St. Louis have scoured the South By Southwest music festival and St. Louis/ Columbia concert listings so you don’t have to.

Here are some bands that’ll be passing through both cities, as well as our recommendations.

Blue October

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SXSW: La Zona Rosa, March 20, 10 p.m.

STL: The Pageant, March 19 Fingers crossed: it appears Blue October’s time has—finally!—arrived. The San Marcos, Texas, quintet released its third album, History for Sale (Brando/Universal), last summer; what began as an indie release following their drop from Universal (Consent to Treatment, 2000) turned into a happy reunion, as Blue October was re-signed to Universal. The band will be prominently featured at this year’s Austin festival: with a 10 p.m. Saturday night slot, Blue October follows Liz Phair and precedes both Cracker and Camper van Beethoven. Singer/ songwriter Justin Furstenfeld writes heart-wrenchingly personal lyrics; his delivery ranges from a soothing murmur to an anguished howl. But the BLUE OCTOBER remaining bandmates are no slouches, lending intricate orchestrations (including the occasional aching violin) to complete the experience. You can catch their blend of beauty, noise, and angst when they hit the Pageant stage March 19 in support of Better Than Ezra. (LH)

British Sea Power SXSW: Rockstars, March 19, 10 p.m.

STL: Mojo’s (Columbia), March 4 Pick up the debut LP (The Decline of British Sea Power) from this Brighton, England, quartet and listen to the first two songs. Both are fast, spastic, and nasty. Hit pause, and wait five minutes; come back, hit play, and listen. What the hell happened? What happened is the band that may not get the hype of Interpol, but whose British retro act has more sincerity than those hair stylists could ever muster. More Bowie and Bunnymen than Joy Division, BSP is swinging through Columbia on their way to SXSW before heading back across the pond. Therefore, get off your hinder and break it down to Tiger Country. I know you’ve got plenty of sick days left. (DL)

+/SXSW: Friends, March 18, 11 p.m.

STL: Mississippi Nights, March 27 Originally conceived as a side project, +/- has now released two albums and is touring in sup-

port of the latter. You Are Here (Teenbeat) is a beautiful, angst-filled CD, replete with catchy musical hooks, interesting sounds, timing shifts, and insinuating vocals. Formed by ex-Versus members James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos (each vocals/guitar/keyboard), +/- also includes Austin drummer Chris Deaner. There are elements of the Faint, New Order, and Death Cab for Cutie in You Are Here, yet +/- remains very much their own band. Expect the live show to deliver harder and louder interpretations of songs from the often-gentle record; in other words, bring your earplugs, and prepare to be amazed. (LH)

The Walkmen SXSW: Exodus, March 18, 12:00 a.m.

STL: Mojo’s (Columbia), March 13 Rising from the ashes of the celebrated Jonathan Fire Eater in 2000, The Walkmen modify that fierce garage sound and deliver an eerily unique and diverse musical style. Three members remain from the original group, who gained acclaim and a Dreamworks contract through ferocious live performances. Former Recoys’ bassist Peter Bauer and singer Hamilton Leithauser joined the group and helped to craft their surprising rhythms, which effectively match his haunting vocal delivery. The Walkmen are currently touring behind their sophomore album, Bows and Arrows, released in February to very positive reviews. (DH)

The Wrens SXSW: Friends, March 18, 1 a.m.

STL: Music Café (Columbia), March 15 In the mid-’90s, The Wrens were an underground sensation on the cusp of success.

Collectively, brothers Kevin and Greg Whelan (bass/piano and guitar, respectively), Jerry Macdonald (drums), and Charles Bissell (guitar) released their second full-length, Secaucus, in 1996 to critical acclaim on Grass Records.

Halfway into their first tour in support of the disc, they were pressured to sign a high-dollar contact and make music that is more radio-friendly; they declined, parting ways with the label. Legal complications ensued, and The Wrens nearly fell prey to the complications. Fast-forward to fall 2003, when the band re-emerged with The Meadowlands (Absolutely Kosher). Now, finally, the waiting world can hear the intelligent indie rock that is The Wrens. (LH)

Deathray Davies SXSW: Club de Ville, March 17, 11 p.m.

STL: Gargoyle, March 18 Electrelane SXSW: Buffalo Billiards, March 18, 1 a.m.

STL: Rocket Bar, March 22 The End SXSW: Emo’s Annex, March 18, 9 p.m.

STL: Creepy Crawl, March 3 The Forty-Fives SXSW: Continental Club, March 18, 12 a.m.

STL: Way Out Club, March 6 Michael Fracasso SXSW: Lounge, March 18, 1 a.m.

STL: Off Broadway, March 31 Kill Hannah SXSW: Hard Rock Café, March 19, 9 p.m.

STL: Mississippi Nights, March 2 The Killers SXSW: The Caucus, March 18, 8 p.m.

STL: Gargoyle, April 17 Lawrence Arms SXSW: Elmo’s, March 19, 9 p.m.

STL: Hi-Pointe, March 15 Ted Leo & the Pharmacists SXSW: The Blender Bar, March 18, 1 a.m.

STL: Rocket Bar, March 22 Milton Mapes SXSW: Cedar St. Courtyard, March 19, 12 a.m.

STL: Off Broadway, March 26 Ian Moore SXSW: 18th Floor, March 18, 10 p.m.

STL: Off Broadway, March 26 Paris TX SXSW: Rockstars, March 18, 8 p.m.

STL: Rocket Bar, March 22 Liz Phair SXSW: La Zona Rosa, March 20, 9 p.m.

STL: The Pageant, March 16 Pretty Girls Make Graves SXSW: La Zona Rosa, March 18, 11 p.m.

STL: Mojo’s (Columbia), April 5 stellastarr* SXSW: Red Eyed Fly, March 18, 9 p.m.

STL: Gargoyle, April 17 Wheat SXSW: La Zona Rosa, March 20, 8 p.m.

STL: The Pageant, March 16

m.

March 2004

What does 2004 have in store for Magnolia Summer? What about the other SXSW: Room 710, March 20, 10 p.m.

We were unable to reach Grand Ulena for an Grabau projects?

We just finished recording a track for an interview. upcoming Chuck Berry tribute compilation.

We’re also going to record another record with Magnolia Summer the hope to have it ready for an early 2005 SXSW: Club de Ville, March 17, 9 p.m. release. We also have plans to continue to play Interview With: Chris Grabau out of town regionally in cities like Chicago, Is this your first time playing SXSW? Yes. Magnolia Summer has only been around Nashville, Omaha, and all points in between.

In addition, the other band I play in, Waterloo for a little over a year. Our first record, Levers (led by Magnolia Summer member Mark Ray), and Pulleys (Undertow), was released nationally in MAGNOLIA SUMMER will release a new record titled In the Light of Day (Undertow) October. This was the first on April 6. We are planning a time we applied to SXSW. number of local and regional We are playing a couple shows. I’m very excited about of shows during SXSW: a the record! The record was showcase slot and a BBQ produced by Matt Pence and co-sponsored by the manfeatures a number of guest musiagement end of Undertow, cians, including Scott Danborn Misra Records, and Harp and Will Johnson from Centromagazine. Should be a lot matic, as well as Howard Draper of fun! We’re looking forfrom Little Grizzly. ward to playing, catching Which band member will up with friends in other be the first in line for Stubb’s bands, and eating a bunch barbecue? of Mexican food.

Hmm, I’m not sure...is this You guys are so one of those Atkins fad diets I’ve involved in other projbeen hearing about? ects; how do you find

Grand Ulena

time for Magnolia Summer?

I think it’s one of the things that I’m most excited about with Magnolia Summer. I feel quite lucky to have a band whose members are not only great people but are versatile enough to play in other bands. Having a band whose members are involved with a number of other projects is directly in line with the overall aesthetic of the band. At one time, we counted that the band was collectively involved in 15 other projects!

For example, Aaron Zeveski is also the drummer for Ring, Cicada. John Horton also plays guitar in a number of bands, including the Bottle Rockets; Mark Ray and I play in Waterloo, and violinist Jeremy leads an excellent band called Trief.

We always change and rework live shows, especially when we play in St. Louis. We write a lot, test new songs live, and rework arrangements. Therefore, if a band member cannot make a show because they are on tour with another band, we work around it. So far, we’ve played shows with as few as two members (Jeremy and I) and as many as seven people on the roster. The fluid lineup makes playing out a lot of fun and I hope more interesting for anyone who decides to come to one of our shows. After all, live shows shouldn’t be about rehashing your records.

The Lyndsay Diaries SXSW: Copper Tank, March 20, 11 p.m.

Interview With: Scott Windsor Is this your first time playing SXSW? Yes, this is my first time. I had to cancel last year due to van problems.

How does it feel to play the biggest music festival in the country?

I am definitely honored to be invited to the festival. It is, however, a different vibe than a normal show. It is more of an industry-based deal, a little different than playing in front of the normal fans. But it is as equally important.

Besides LD, what else are you involved with?

Lyndsay Diaries is pretty much my main focus in life right now. That and bowling.

What does 2004 have in store for The Lyndsay Diaries?

THE LYNDSAY DIARIES’ SCOTT WINDSOR

St. Louis Bands on the Road to Austin

I will be recording my third full-length in April.

After that, I plan on touring until the end of the year.

Nadine SXSW: Roxy, March 20 Interview With: Adam Reichmann Is this your first time playing SXSW? This will actually be our fourth time going down there. St. Louis weather still sucks in March, and we’ll take any excuse to get south.

How does it feel to play the biggest U.S. festival?

It’s always exciting to play in front of people from all over. You never know who’s in the audience. Downside is that there are a lot of rock stars wandering around, and when they all stand side-by-side, it’s pretty pathetic. Lots of selfobsession.

What does 2004 have in store for Nadine?

Are you kidding? We’re still in recovery from 2003! Behind closed doors, we’re writing and experimenting and doing whatever we all do in our regular lives. I’m trying to get my liver sent back from Los Angeles. Live rock shows will continue...keeping the out-of-town thing cooking as much as possible. It’d be nice to get out of the country.

Which band member will be first in line for Stubbs’ barbeque?

Hmm. I’m going to say Anne because that gal’s got initiative...and a healthy appetite for shredded pork. Also, Jimmy, her chief competitor, will still be asleep.

NADINE

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS Nick Park’s Creature Comforts was featured as part of Real Britannia: British Animated Documentaries.

NOW PLAYING TRUE/FALSE FILM FESTIVAL

True/False Columbia True/False Film Festival

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Columbia, Missouri February 12–15 Columbia, Missouri, recently hosted the first annual True/False Documentary Film Festival.

Featuring four days of documentaries and documentary-style films, the festival crammed dozens of films, parties, and workshops into one long weekend.

Conceived by the owners and programmers of Columbia’s Ragtag Cinemacafe, Paul Sturtz and David Wilson, T/F highlighted documentary work on the cutting edge. Sturtz and Wilson decided to focus on docs because, as they said, “We like documentaries, and it is an exciting area.”

Programming through invitation only, the pair assembled a stunning lineup. Part of the focus and criteria for selections was the filmmakers’ willingness to attend the festival; as a result, most of the films had a representative present to discuss the work after each screening.

The films were screened at three locations around downtown Columbia. The 80-seat Ragtag Cinema, the 250-seat Blue Note, and the 1,200-seat Missouri Theatre are all within a few blocks of each other and are nestled among dozens of shops and restaurants, providing easy access to food and diversion between screenings.

Unfortunately, there was little time between screenings, and while speakers were scheduled with almost every film, the discussions were normally ended early to accommodate the next film.

In general, T/F was well put together, although a few problems did arise. Mainly from the lack of foresight in scheduling, films were piled on top of each other at each venue. This created several problems. First, exiting a venue became difficult as patrons awaiting the next film clogged the doorways. Second, the overlap of starting and ending times often locked a viewer into a single location for the day, as no cushion was provided for changing locations. There was no block pro-

gramming; often a film started 10 or 15 minutes before films at the other locations ended.

There were other complaints, albeit minor: the chairs at the Blue Note became increasingly uncomfortable with each movie and they were often placed so close together, strangers tended to be pushed into each other’s laps. The Ragtag itself is set up wonderfully, but its lack of seating shut many interested viewers out of popular screenings.

Selling out of tickets is a good problem to have, and it was due to a schedule devoid of filler. The programmers put together such a wonderful list of films that a tiny venue just did not cut it. The program was spectacular; the top docs in the world were on display. Every piece had a buzz and most delivered. Ranging from gritty independents, to high-end productions, to local interest pieces, the festival delivered variety and a chance to submerse oneself in an oftenoverlooked genre.

I was lucky enough to take in four features and two shorts programs, but there were several compelling pieces I missed due my Friday night arrival or sold-out crowds.

The pieces with huge buzz that I was unable to see but will recommend searching out are Jandek on Corwood, Touching the Void, Before They Fall, Party Animals, and Surplus. These films made an impression on the crowds and most will be available locally, either in theaters or on video.

I started my festival experience with the shorts program Real Britannia. This program highlighted several pieces from the last five years of animated documentaries in the U.K. Animated docs combine created images from stop-action, computer generation, or traditional drawings over interviews, creating a whole new way to present factual footage. Spanning traditional linear storytelling to more impressionistic works, the docs did a wonderful job of creating a story.

The highlight of the program was Nick Park’s Creature Comforts. Park, best known for the Wallace and Grommit films and the feature Chicken Run, places the words of the public in the mouths of animals in the zoo and in the circus. It is wonderful and hilarious to hear the animals’ comments on the world. Tim Webb’s A Is for Autism uses innovative animation techniques to create a visual and aural representation of the mind of an autistic. Robert Bradbrook’s Home Road Movies uses some interesting animation to tell the story of a man and his car.

My fist feature was the Oscar-nominated The Fog of War. Errol Morris spent 2 years, 26 hours, and 3 editors painting a portrait of Robert S. McNamara, secretary of defense during much of the Vietnam War. The film, however,

Kim Bartley and Donna O’Brian’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised looks at the attempted coup in 2002 in Venezuela.

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March 2004 Lars Ulrich hands out drum sticks after a show in the documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

PHOTO: Joe Biriger

was a major disappointment. The filmmakers could not decide if they were making a film about McNamara or about Vietnam. Still, there are some interesting points and moments.

Revealing conversations between McNamara and Kennedy, and McNamara and Johnson, make it plain McNamara wanted out of Vietnam and was forced to continue a war he knew was unwinnable. McNamara has a few insights into the era and the war, but when asked the tough questions, he stonewalls Morris. He never takes the stand the filmmaker wants him to. The film itself is all over the place: never settling down to tell a story, but rather picking and choosing points Morris wants to make, and often repeating those points. Morris has an agenda and he rams it home, but he never creates a compelling argument or tells a compelling story.

I believe the anti-war stance of this movie coincided with strong anti-war sentiment in liberal America. Hollywood and the press account for a vocal portion of that liberal America, and instead of judging this film on its value as a documentary, it has been championed for its poorly presented message.

In juxtaposition, The Revolution Will not Be Televised indicts the current Bush administration, not by pushing a political agenda, but by telling the compelling story of Hugo Chavez.

Two Irish filmmakers headed to Venezuela for a profile on President Hugo Chavez, a popular leader with ties to Castro; they found themselves in the midst of a coup. Chavez, who won in a landslide election, is deposed by leaders more sympathetic to the oil concerns of the United States. The filmmakers are present in the presidential palace during and immediately following the coup, and their cameras continue to roll.

The footage is interspersed with Venezuelan television reports and U.S. political reaction. The result is a perfectly weaved tapestry of a political uprising in a fledgling democracy, U.S. foreign policy based on economic need, and the ability of the media to manipulate the truth.

While both The Fog of War and The Revolution Will not Be Televised are anti-war and carry messages currently in vogue in Hollywood, Revolution is tremendously compelling and a tight, well-made film. Luckily, it will be showing in St. Louis at the Tivoli on March 26.

Sunday also included another program of animated docs. This one was highlighted by Tom Schroeder’s Bike Ride, the Australian It’s Like That, and Grasshopper from Bob Sabiston, who animated Richard Linkletter’s Waking Life.

Sunday closed for me with the riveting C.S.A Confederate States of America. C.S.A. is not strictly a documentary, but is the kind of film

the programmers sought out. Director Kevin Willmott pushes the boundaries of the form.

Shot in a Ken Burns style and containing many factual quotes, C.S.A. presents an alternate outcome to the Civil War, the basic premise being the South won the war and slavery still exists in the country. C.S.A. tells a compelling story while raising issues of racism and tolerance. The entire movie is designed to take the audience out of its comfort zone. Issues are never skirted, but met head on. The tension is often diffused with laughter, making the argument easier to swallow. There is an agenda, but the agenda is not to preach. The filmmakers are shining a light on a dark and often ignored part of America. The audience is left to draw conclusions, discuss issues, and examine society—and themselves— in this new light. The effect is an amazing piece of entertainment that happens to deal with big issues along the way.

The film also brought a local flavor to the festival, as it was filmed in and around Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas. Both the director and producer were available for questions after the film. This film should show in St. Louis in the late summer or early fall in a limited release.

Finally, my favorite piece of the festival was the intriguing Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

Directors Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger spent over 180 days shooting more than 1,600 hours of footage of one of the world’s biggest rock bands. What makes the piece so spectacular is the amount of access the filmmakers had to the band during a period of redirection: they were actually allowed to shoot the band’s group therapy sessions. The band’s commitment to open access creates an unprecedented intimacy

in nonfiction filmmaking. The most personal moments are played out before the cameras without regard to long-developed public personas. One of the most obvious examples of the disregard for pretense is the continuous use of raw musical recordings. Most bands are loathe to let any bit of music slip out unpolished; here, unmixed drum tracks, raw guitar jams, and vocal takes are all presented uncensored.

What began as a basic chronicle of the recording process for the album St. Anger became an in-depth character study and document of the healing process. This film could have easily devolved into some sort of Spinal Tap Goes to Therapy but it avoids clichés and shows the difficult melding of forceful personalities into a cohesive unit. The problems that arise during the recording process, James Hatfield’s stint in rehab and resulting life changes, the search for a new bassist, and general artistic differences are huge because the monetary stakes are so high, yet are at the same time so universally human.

Berlinger and Sinofsky were the recipients of the festival’s only award, the 2004 True Vision Award. Sinofsky attended the screening and was available for comments afterward. The film will be released this summer and should play in St. Louis.

Overall, I found the True/False Festival to be a rousing success. Not everything worked perfectly, but it ran smoother than many festivals in existence decades longer. I hope Sturtz and Wilson are able to sustain the quality of programming next year, and if they do, I hope they learn a lesson from this year and schedule repeat viewings of the hottest pieces.

—Bobby Kirk, Film Editor, Playback St. Louis

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

ON THE COVER stellastarr*

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here’s a lot of talk lately about the ’80s sound coming out of New York. You’ve got hype-mongers The Strokes, The Rapture, Interpol, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. On the lesser-known side are bands such as stellastarr*, groups who, like the aforementioned, wear their ’80s influences proudly on their tornoff sleeves. In stellastarr*’s case, you can hear shades of The Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division. But don’t stop with the inspirations; this New York quartet breathes its own artistic life and energy into every song they write and perform, resulting in a sound that is at once shockingly unique and comfortingly familiar.

One spin of stellastarr*’s full-length self-titled debut and you’re hooked: catchy pop melodies, synth grooves, dreamy instrumentals, and howling vocals. Singer/guitarist Shawn Christensen provides much of the lead work, his voice alternating between soothing, wailing, or roaring.

Playing Kim Deal to Christensen’s Frank Black is bassist Amanda Tannen; in addition to her vocal duties, Tannen lays down a mean rhythm undercurrent. The other half of the rhythm section is Arthur Kremer, an Animal behind the drums who also strokes the keyboards and lends the grooves. Rounding out the mix is guitarist and third vocalist Michael Jurin, the fourth and solidifying member of the group.

The roots of stellastarr* were planted at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, where Christensen, Tannen, and Kremer first formed a band while attending art school. All three were tentative

musicians at best: Christensen, whose first love was art (painting, specifically) followed closely by acting, had only picked up his first acoustic guitar months prior; Kremer was a graphic designer; and Tannen was a classically trained cellist, only turning to bass guitar when she joined the band.

Following graduation, Kremer wanted to form another band. Christensen, who was happy paying the rent via commissions on his paintings, held back, stating he didn’t see music as any sort of reliable career. Eventually, he agreed to the band, but only if two conditions were met: one, if Kremer was able to re-recruit Tannen, who’d moved to Los Angeles, and two, if he found them a truly incredible guitarist. Miraculously, Kremer accomplished both, stumbling across Jurin in one of those only-on-TV moments: the former, a previous tenant of the latter’s apartment, returned to check for lagging mail, and the two got to talking.

Ironically, considering his unique voice and strong stage persona, it was never Christensen’s intention to front the band; he didn’t consider himself much of a singer. Instead, he envisioned stellastarr* (named after a high school classmate whom he never met, the asterisk and lowercase both intentional additions) as led by a female vocalist. As the band came up empty in recruiting a suitable vocalist, Christensen reluctantly tried singing the songs himself; Tannen and Jurin soon followed. “She [Tannen] wasn’t singing in the beginning,” explains Christensen. “Once I started singing, then it was like, well, now it

would make sense if Mandy would sing. Then Michael would come in some times, and there would be three harmonies.” The fact that Jurin had similar influences to Christensen (he was a Jesus and Mary Chain fan, too) only helped solidify the union. stellastarr* made its first splash on the other side of the globe. Initially signed to U.K.based indie label Tiswas Records, they released their debut EP, Somewhere Across Forever, in December 2002. The band quickly received accolades from the British press, including New Musical Express, which proclaimed them “a band with wit, imagination and a knack for hooks.” As for why they broke in the U.K. before their home country, Christensen says, “That’s just how the stars aligned. It’s all about radio play in America, whereas in the U.K., if you were never on the radio and you got nothing but press, I think you could still sell out certain venues.”

Returning to the States, the four, like so many bands before them, made the spring pilgrimage to Austin, Texas, for their first foray into the musical showcase that is South By Southwest. A nearly unknown band at the time, they were one of the highlights of the festival. “The first trip [to SXSW] was pretty exciting in the aspect that we’d never really left New York before, and we’d never been at a festival. So when we went to Texas and [our show] was sold out, and we were approached by all kinds of agents and labels, it was kind of a shock. Also when we went down there, we had a lot of press: we were in the Austin Chronicle, and we were in all these publi-

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cations, and it was just very odd to us. I guess our view of festivals was that they were just a melting pot of a thousand bands basically just getting lost in the shuffle. We didn’t think anyone actually paid attention.”

But pay attention they did, and stellastarr* soon found itself being courted by record labels and industry press. They signed to RCA Records and in September released the self-titled tensong gem. In that month’s Playback St. Louis, I offered the following observation: “The sounds aren’t entirely new; they’re familiar, put together in a new fashion. The voice is strong and reminiscent of many who have come before—Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Russel Mael of the Sparks.

The music is exquisitely strummed or keyed or drummed or otherwise coaxed.” Alternative Press named stellastarr* as one of the 100 bands to know in 2003.

Though the band has been accused of being too “retro,” Christensen insists it wasn’t intentional; it’s just what he grew up on. His theory is that the influences of childhood are the ones that remain, whereas other phases in your life merely burn bright and then fade away. “What I believe is that you can’t escape nostalgia; nobody can,” he told me. “Ultimately, songs you heard when you were five or six or eight or nine, however old—when you’re in the car, on your way to school, or on the bus—those kinds of things,

“I didn’t really listen to [music] until the early ’90s,” Christiansen confesses. “I just wasn’t into it; all I was into was drawing, really.” In fact, Christensen set out to be an artist, attending New York’s Pratt Institute to further his art skills. If not art, then he figured he’d fall back on acting, finding music to be so uncertain. “I never could take it seriously as a career because it’s such a shifty industry,” he says “How can I ever feel secure in this industry?”

Asked how much time he still has for art, Christiansen admits, “I still get commissions from people to do things. I’m painting the Libertines right now for somebody, just because that’s a lot of money right there and I’m not doing anything anyway besides rehearsing. It keeps me with a paintbrush. I don’t really do much of what I want to do—I did the album art, and I do some things that deal with the band here and there, but that’s about it.

“I had to make a conscious decision to sort of combine acting and painting and music,” he continues. “Before that, I was sort of splitting myself into thirds, you know? I was sort of a jack of all trades but a master of nothing. It didn’t really work out until I realized that I had to combine them all together in order for anything to really be prosperous.” Hence, the effervescent stage persona was born, wherein Christiansen combines his acting and artistic qualities with his music.

Regardless of his creative talents, Christiansen has a strong work ethic and manages his gifts with an eye toward the business end of things. He sees his “job” as a combination of fun and work: “It’s like fun work. Since I’m doing what I want to do, the creative thing, the answer is yes, it’s fun, but also I’m very, very, very frugal about the business side. I really pay attention to that thing, and I can’t afford not to. And it might be a little bit of a pain in the ass for maybe our manager or people on our team for me to know everything that’s going on, but that’s the way it’s gonna have to be.”

See for yourself: www.shawnyboy.com. bad or good, they’re going to stick with you. If you’re keen enough to weed out what the good aspects are, you can be really on to something, because you can’t really escape those things; those are subconscious, I think. Since all of us were that age growing up and listened to similar music, I think we subconsciously write those kind of passionate songs.

As for where the band is headed—or if they’ll even know what it is when they arrive— Christensen is vague. “I still don’t know what ‘made it’ means for me right now,” he admits.

“But where I felt that we had really broken some ground was when we got some radio play in the U.K. and we started selling out shows over there.

And then when we signed over here to a label, I think that’s when we realized that, OK, this is something that we’re going to be doing for the next few years, and we’ll be happy doing it.”

In the end, the conglomeration of art and music has resulted in a sound that is at once unique and familiar and catchy as hell. The stars fell into alignment with this group; truly, there is no better configuration for this band. Indeed, it’s impossible to imagine the band led by anyone other than Christensen, with his distinct, defining voice and commanding presence. Still, I asked him to imagine what stellastarr* would be today if they had found the female singer they’d been seeking. “I think it would actually be too similar to a lot of other bands,” he says. “Now there are so many bands with female singers in them…so maybe it was better that we didn’t go that route.”

He won’t get any arguments from me; I wouldn’t change a thing.

Check out stellastarr* for yourself at the Gargoyle on April 17.

PAINTINGS: BJORK, RADIOHEAD, AND SID VICIOUS BY SHAWN CHRISTENSEN

March 2004

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

NOW PLAYING CINEMA

RIVERS AND TIDES: ANDY GOLDSWORTHY WORKING WITH TIME (Not Rated)

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Filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer spent a year with artist Andy Goldsworthy and his works. The resulting film, Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time, beautifully depicts the artist’s works. Goldsworthy specializes in creating sculptures from natural found materials. He enters an area and communes with the surroundings, drawing on the power of the place. His sculptures range from lengthy stone walls to delicate lengths of petals floating on water. Some of his works come and go in the blink of an eye; others stand as monuments, but organically arising monuments.

The film consists of footage of Goldsworthy working and discussing his process and of beauty shots of his completed works. Goldsworthy’s dialogue continues as he works and in interviews after the process. He thoughtfully attempts to explain his work without resorting to esoteric clichés. A down-to-earth guy, Goldsworthy even mocks those clichéd answers that explain nothing and save the artist from actually examining his work and process. He genuinely tries to explain how he comes by his art; often he rambles or searches for the answers, but that is because what he is trying to explain is esoteric and ephemeral. When Goldsworthy does find the words, he is eloquent, offering insights into art, life, and humanity.

Because Goldsworthy’s works are so completely connected to the time and place of their creation, they are difficult to experience by a mass audience. Rivers and Tides’ spectacular cinematography brings these works to that wider audience. The irony of Goldsworthy’s works is most of his pieces fall into two categories. The first are projects that come and go before anyone ever sees them, such as a sculpture of icicles or leaves in a river. The second are massive structures often of stone that, while stoic in their nature, change with time as the seasons or tides warp the world around them; consequently, they take years to experience. Both types are difficult to view, the first because they are completely of the moment, and the second because they are only revealed over lengthy periods of time. This is where the film succeeds. The magic of cinema

captures the pieces of the moment and condenses time around the established installments.

Riedelsheimer’s film brings Goldsworthy’s work to life. Riedelsheimer takes the viewer places most actual visitors never see. Arial shots of long constructions, time-lapse composites of seasons blooming, and falling around stone cones provide a different perspective and new insights. Fred Frith’s plunky soundtrack counterpoints Riedelsheimer’s vivid camera work.

Frith’s almost atonal combination of Australian Aboriginal tones and Native American music sets the languid pace of the film. The haunting score seems found and assembled, much like Goldsworthy’s works.

This is a wonderful film about both Goldsworthy’s artistic process and the artistic process in general. It is filled with serene visuals and poignant commentary, weaving not so much a story as a study.

Rivers and Tides plays March 5 through 7 at the Webster University Film Series.

—Bobby Kirk THE DREAMERS (Fox Searchlight Pictures, Rated NC-17) The Dreamers is being released in the U.S. in its full, uncut form by Fox Searchlight Pictures with a mildly controversial NC-17 rating. Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight, proudly defends the decision by likening the new film to such uncut and formerly X-rated classics as Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Bertolucci’s own Last Tango in Paris (1972).

Certainly one can’t fault the studio for placing The Dreamers in the same company as the director’s own Last Tango in Paris, but unfortunately, the comparisons between the two films are a bit too plentiful—it has already been joked that The Dreamers might more aptly be named First Tango in Paris—and one wonders if this metaphorical town is big enough for the both of them.

The Dreamers is ostensibly a story of sexual and intellectual discovery in which the vaguely incestuous brother-and-sister team of Theo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green) invite lonely young American and fellow cinephile

Matthew (Michael Pitt) to stay at their luxurious Parisian villa while their parents are away on vacation. Set loosely against the backdrop of the student-worker revolt in Paris in 1968, the bulk of the film is a series of fairly graphic sexual encounters and circumcoital conversation—heavily salted with film history, ’60s rock, and talk of revolution.

The basis of the love triangle is anchored by a game of film history charades. In what makes for an interesting and engaging filmic device, Bertolucci intercuts the scenes being reenacted with the corresponding archival footage of Greta Garbo, Jean Seberg, and the like, involving the viewers in the game implicitly. Film buffs may enjoy the challenge but may or may not be happy to find out the penalty of an incorrect guess: a bizarre sexual act.

Unfortunately, the resulting sex scenes are somewhat perplexing and unsexy; they seem to be characterized by misguided attraction as opposed to genuine chemistry. It’s not completely unpleasant to watch, if you don’t mind the copious (mis)use of body fluids and get a kick out of the Greenaway-like juxtaposition of sex and fried eggs; there is a sort of tension that is maintained by the hope that something useful will come of all this, and the cast is attractive enough to be forgiven for their seemingly perpetual nudity.

Between sexual episodes, the characters mostly lie around in various states of undress while debating the topics du jour. While some

Louis Garrel, Eva Green, and Michael Pitt in the menage a trois–driven The Dreamers. Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight.

March 2004 of this conversation makes for some of the best moments of the film, the characters are unfortunately afflicted with the sort of pseudo-intellectual cleverness that comes from a script that is overly ambitious and symbolic while not particularly deep.

Thus the overall effect of the film, despite a handful of excellent moments, is a caricature of tantalizing concepts that are squeezed out by overly prominent body parts and fluids. One wishes, at times, that the superficial trio would just cut the cleverness and lame attempts at romance and join the revolution that they love to discuss so lavishly.

—Marc Syp GREENDALE (Shakey Pictures, Not Rated) Neil Young has never won a Grammy or an Oscar, but if awards were given for sheer artistic vitality, he would be overdue for a lifetime achievement honor. This legendary Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist/filmmaker and outspoken humanist has been confounding expectations and continually redefining his art for nearly 40 years. Greendale, Young’s new multi-format work, has to be considered a real surprise even to longtime aficionados.

First, Young presented the ten songs that make up the work in an intimate acoustic show in Dublin. Then he launched a full U.S. tour with a cast of characters who lip-synched and acted out the songs, while Young and Crazy Horse performed them. Then a CD of the songs was released, with a companion DVD of the Dublin show. Now comes Greendale, the movie.

Greendale is the fictional story of a multi-generational American family, the Greens, beset by hard times and the quirks of fate that end up bringing unwanted media intrusion into their lives. Young uses his characters and his potent, guitar-driven songs to paint an evocative picture of modern life gone awry, corporate greed and political turmoil draining the spirit, and out-of-control media bent on capturing a story regardless of personal toll.

As each song plays, characters mouth the lyrics or simply act out the situations described. In “Falling From Above,” Grandpa and Jed sit on the porch with the paper, chatting about the world and how “a little love and affection/will help to see you through.” In “Double-E,” Sun Green takes notes on a television broadcast about the environmental threat to Alaska.

In the truly poignant “Bandit,” Vietnam vet Earl Green unsuccessfully tries to peddle his psychedelic paintings. And in “Devil’s Sidewalk,” the Devil himself bops around in various places, including a schoolyard, where hot young cheerleaders cheer on the “Fighting Demons.” When Jed impulsively shoots a cop who stops him for speeding, news crews swarm the Green property to interview Grandpa, with dire results. The film builds to a climax in the songs “Sun Green,” where the newly energized young woman heads for Alaska with a comrade to fight the good fight, and “Be the Rain,” where the whole crew is shown onstage dancing and pumping fists into the air.

It’s a story of ethics and heartfelt values versus corruption and government oppression. News clips of John Ashcroft and Osama bin Laden make it clear that this is today’s world.

The film is grainy, lending an intimate home-movie feel to the proceedings, while all the news footage is crisp and clear. Greendale is essential for fans of Young’s music and should prove compelling to most others.

Young only appears in the film briefly, but his indomitable spirit informs every frame of this film. Young’s wife Pegi plays Edith Green, and Ben Keith, Young’s most enduring musical sidekick, plays Grandpa. Directed by “Bernard Shakey,” Young’s well-known cinematic alias, Greendale’s camera work itself may be a bit shaky at times, but Young’s compassionate vision of an America in jeopardy never falters.

Greendale will be shown at the Tivoli Theatre from March 5 to 11.

—Kevin Renick

THIS MONTH ON WWW.PLAYBACKSTL.COM: • Bobby Kirk’s review of the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri.

• Kevin Renick’s review of On the Ropes (Paramount).

STEREOLAB IS COMING TO TOWN AND YOU CAN SEE THEM FOR FREE! WIN ONE OF TEN PAIRS OF TICKETS BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO M ARGERINE@PLAYBACKSTL.COM AND WE WILL SEND YOU AND A FRIEND TO THE THURSDAY, APRIL 8 SHOW AT THE PAGEANT (WE WILL EVEN THROW IN SOME COOL EXTRAS!)

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Come see the truly spooky movie The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra featuring a loopy cast of characters including the beautiful cat-suited Animala, the lovable Dr. Armstrong and his charming wife Betty, sinister Dr. Roger Fleming, out-of-this-world couple Krobar and Lattis (along with their mutant pet), and, of course, the power-mad Skeleton who wants to rule the world. Playback St. Louis and Landmark Theatres invite you to a special sneak preview of this classic (or soon to be classic) horror film.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 • 7:30 P.M. at The Tivoli Theatre ~ In the heart of the Loop Pick up your FREE tickets at these Playback St. Louis distribution locations: All Borders Locations • Einstein Brothers Bagels (Richmond Heights) • Kayak Coffee (Skinker Blvd.) • Euclid Records • Crazy Bowls and Wraps (Clayton and Lindell locations) • Star Clipper • IronAge Tattoo • Slackers CD & Games or e-mail us at: events@playbackstl.com

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS Play by Play

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the music around what’s swirling around in his psyche and less from his influences—or, at the very least, use them with more subtlety.

—Cory Hoehn JAMES LAVELLE: ROMANIA #026 (Global Underground) In 2002, James Lavelle took time out from his crazy schedule to record a DJ set in Barcelona for Global Underground’s DJ mix series. It was an amazing set filled with punchy electronic beats, tribal breakbeat sounds, and acid house melodies. Lavelle was at the top of his game.

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Lavelle is back at it again with his second Global Underground foray, Number 26 in the series, entitled Romania. The set was recorded last December in Bucharest at Studio Martin. Romania was selected for this gig because it has superseded Budapest as the epicenter of Balkan club culture.

Romania is booming socially and economically. As a result, it is the latest Eastern European country to have a re-energized club scene.

Romania is neatly divided into two halves, one entitled “Beauty” and the other “The Beast.”

Both halves form the core of a hard-as-hell set that moves from a rock-oriented beginning into to an abstract, blippy middle and a crunchy, houseflavored end. The “Beauty” side is the rockier sounding of the two halves. Lavelle believes rock music has a place on his dance floor and begins with his own remix of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows.” This moves into some UNKLE songs before finding DJ Shadow’s beat-heavy crusher “GDMFSOB.” Before settling into more experimental sounds, disc two unleashes Brit popsters Ian Brown and The South into the mix.

Lavelle likes to push the boundaries. He builds upon the more rock-based sound of disc one and carries it into a more melodious-sounding second half. “The Beast” is funky, fresh, and lively.

Lavelle quickens the pace here, spreading it out on the horizon. He opens with a faint hum that rises into Richie Hawtin’s paranoid masterpiece, “Ask Yourself,” then gets into some downright sweaty tracks by Craig Richard and UNKLE (again). You can almost hear Bucharest boogieing as things accelerate with Peace Division’s “No More Subliminal Shit” before plunging onward, eventually settling the set into the house music bliss with the “Don’t Funk” by Photek and culminating with the Chemical Brothers/Flaming Lips confab “The Golden Path.” After that, the adrenaline slows down, collapsing finally with UNKLE’s quieter “In a State.”

DJ mix CDs are tricky little bastards to listen to. They are circumspect because very seldom do they deliver the goods from track one through until the very end. Romania sidesteps this dilemma because Lavelle mapped out a set that avoided redundancy, while building layers of sound that smoothly transitioned into each other, carefully sculpting a tempo that was never excessive or overbearing.

James Lavelle’s next project is a new fulllength from UNKLE entitled Never Never Land.

—Rob Levy

LIL JON & THE EASTSIDE BOYZ: PART II (TVT) With OutKast and Ludacris as notable exceptions, Dirty South rap’s biggest successes have been with incredible beats and simple, sometimes downright stupid lyrics. Cash Money Records’ platinum-selling back catalog consistently breaks every cardinal rule of rhyme, epitomized in Juvenile’s breakthrough single, “Ha.” Every line in “Ha” ends with that word, thus circumventing the actual need for the lyrics to rhyme. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; Juvy’s crazy southern drawl and Mannie Fresh’s beat easily outweigh the questionable lyricism. Therein lies the blueprint for Lil Jon’s brilliant, unapologetic party music: make gigantic, bass-filled beats and shout over them, occasionally bringing in all-star emcees to contribute verses.

Part II is a CD/DVD pairing that sells for the price of one disc. The EP is a reasonable seven tracks long, although not quality front to back.

“Get Your Weight Up” features TI and 8-Ball, and TI kills it from the gate. Lil Jon’s beat has a somewhat hokey twang to it, but suits the rap well.

The “Put Your Hood Up” remix features Jadakiss of The Lox, the most reliable guest emcee in the game right now (see Ghostface’s “Run” or Gangstarr’s “Right Where U Stand”), and, for no good reason, an intro by the light heavyweight champion of the world, Roy Jones Jr. The “Throw It Up” remix features the unremarkable Pastor Troy and G-Unit’s weakest link, Young Buck, but manages dopeness with a beat that flips a Kronos Quartet melody. The other four tracks are mostly forgettable. Busta Rhymes and dancehall star Elephant Man show up on a dull remix of the hit single “Get Low,” which is then remixed again in a merengue fashion featuring Pitbull.

TVT labelmate Oobie does her best impression of StL’s Toya on an out-of-place “Dirty Dancin,” and while Chyna Whyte sounds better than usual on “What They Want,” she’s still kind of boring.

While the CD has some good tracks, the DVD is worth the price alone. In reverse order, this is all of Lil Jon’s videos from the last few years. The premise of his videos is as simple as his music: take a whole bunch of people and film them getting crunk to a Lil Jon track. “Put Your Hood Up” is far and away the best, putting the party in an elementary school setting. They get crunk on a schoolbus. They get crunk on the kickball field.

Bay Area legend E-40 shows up in an ice cream truck and does homage to Big Worm in “Friday.”

“I Don’t Give a Fuck” is the most advanced, as one long steady-cam shot follows the crew

March 2004

through a crowded club. Mystikal spits his guest verse from a urinal. The “Behind the Scenes with the Kings of Crunk” feature is the only disappointment on the DVD, mixing together basically random shots of award shows, backstage footage, concerts with low sound quality, and the obligatory inside jokes. A shot from the Source Awards nomination is an embarrassing highlight, as the viewer watches New York emcee Fabolous (sic) struggle to read his set of nominations.

Simply put, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz make the 2004 equivalent to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”: simple and effective party music, music to howl when drunk. Part II is a cheap, high-quality slice of crunkness, with some decent tracks and a classic DVD. —Andrew Friedman LUDO: LUDO (Redbird Records) Congratulations, Ludo!

You have recorded an album.

Now you can sell copies to your friends and to the adolescent poppunk demographic with whom you are obviously attempting to identify. Now you can tell your parents and relatives that you finally accomplished something and reimburse them for purchasing your guitars/bass/drums. Now you can dwell in the memory of having played at the Pageant. Now you can claim more success than the other 130 bands in St. Louis that sound just like you. And now you can stop playing. Please. Just stop.

The 11-song, self-titled CD is bearable at best. The vocal melodies are repetitious; the guitar techniques are juvenile; the rhythm section is simplistic; and the song structures are predictable. (Oh, a reggae-influenced verse into a slamming chorus? How clever.) I became weary of the self-proclaimed “soaring melodies” by the third and most commercially adaptable track, “Hum Along.” Other tracks, such as “Good Will Hunting by Myself” and “Laundry Girl,” are reminiscent of Weezer without any level of sophistication. Note: Having musical ability is as important as having witty lyrics.

The lyrics, ranging between clichéd (“I watch time slip away” from “Summertime”) and ridiculous (“There’s a party-thumpin’ booty-humpin’ music wagon in my head” from “Saturday Night Thunderbolt”) may amuse you once but probably for the wrong reasons. The inside jokes and odes to former girlfriends (the CD’s obnoxiously recurring theme) will forever entertain the boys in the band, but for those of us on the sidelines, there’s no fun in being a spectator.

I’m not saying that no one can have fun writing and recording music. And I’m not saying that humor has no place in music. I’m just trying to

point out that if bands take themselves seriously and want to, as Ludo’s press kit states, “continue their rapid rise to the top,” then the bands have to take into consideration how high that ceiling is and whether they’ve already hit it.

—Jeff Church MILTON MAPES: WESTERNAIRE (Aspyr) Is there really an American music? I think there is, and Austin’s Milton Mapes comes from a generation weaned on Americana (read: alt-country): technologically savvy but with a rhythm adjusted in the heartland. On this disc, you will hear traces of Wilco, R.E.M., Waylon, and Willie, with odes to Autry, Cline, and Rogers. The music portrays an endless horizon and a lonesomeness that seems odd in this world of effortless connection. This band, named for founder Greg Vanderpool’s grandfather, paints aural landscapes that feel hot and dusty, with the promise of home just around the corner. The band also includes Roberto Sanchez, Ty Chandler, Jeff Jones, and Chepo Pena.

The songs on Westernaire remind me of Nashville’s Glossary in their recurring themes of want. The allusion to a porch light left on, waiting for that sound of return in “The Only Sound That Matters” is painted in deceptively simple terms, yet it speaks volumes about the subjects in the song: the dance that is a relationship and the symbols that we use. “Just like a backlight, too/It’s your protection/And she’s leaving it on/ She is waiting for your return/The only sound that matters.” Vanderpool has the geography of a great empty country upon which to build his lyrics. He does so with a steady, unrushed momentum. The effect is like a soundtrack for a cross-country drive. Images pass in the car window—from cactus to mountain, from mountain to ocean—voices in a darkened car, stories not so much riveting as they are soul food.

There are very few missteps on this album; it has a grandeur that makes it “easy listening” in the best sense of the phrase. The only point at which I found it a little disjointed was the song “This Kind of Danger.” It seemed that, when the band tried to pick up the tempo, they lost their timing. I guess every road trip soundtrack needs a pit stop; this one was hardly a bump.

Milton Mapes’ Westernaire offers what people have searched for throughout history—the rapidly vanishing America that is there if we only just listen for it.

—Jim Dunn

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MOUNTAIN GOATS: WE SHALL ALL BE HEALED (Matador) “Here they come/the young thousands/here they come/the young thousands.”

After generating numerous lo-fi releases in relative obscurity during the past decade, the Mountain Goats are starting to garner a much larger response with recent albums. We Shall All Be Healed represents yet another step toward a deeper, more complete musical sound with much higher production values. The result is a consistent record that retains singer/guitarist John Darnielle’s intriguing lyrics throughout the piece.

Dark, mysterious lines such as “There must be diamonds somewhere in a place that stinks this bad” are commonplace across the record.

Darnielle crafts tales of lonely souls struggling to stay afloat while rarely stating anything directly. Presentations of isolation within dirty and bleak environments exist within each track, yet it becomes difficult to discern a linear tale anywhere. There is definitely little overt Springsteen territory being covered in these songs. The album begins with haunting strings backing the melodic acoustic guitars of “Slow West Vultures,” which wonderfully paints a troubling, yet possibly hopeful future. Darnielle’s unique nasal delivery seems to disguise much of the depressing elements and provides at least room for slight optimism. However, his words remain puzzling and stuck within the enigmatic aspects of the human psyche.

We Shall All Be Healed may cover some difficult territory, but musically it includes numerous attractive moments. “Letter From Belgium” features a driving guitar beat that will have listeners singing right along, even if the lyrics discuss “chewing our tongues off.” A piano tune supports “Your Belgian Things” and injects an added emotional context to Darnielle’s vocals. Devotees of the Mountain Goats’ early work might long for the early hiss-filled cassette numbers, but they shouldn’t discount this impressive record. Nearly every song paints a distinctive story and causes our imagination to flow in countless directions.

—Dan Heaton GRAHAM PARKER: YOUR COUNTRY (Bloodshot Records) You think you know somebody. You figure you’ve been a fan for some 25 years and you know every album pretty much by heart. And then, Graham Parker goes and puts out a country album on you. Okay, so maybe not strictly a country album, but I don’t remember hearing

from previous page

a pedal steel player on any of those classic English Pub Rock records he made in the ’70s.

For Graham Parker fans, this album is a bit of a departure, but it shouldn’t come as any Milton Mapes. Photo by Robyn Eden. real surprise. He is one of a very small cadre of artists who have managed and I find their creative aesthetic—whatever it to stick around this long without trading on is—quite compelling. For one thing, it’s stark, past glory. If you picked up 2002’s Deepcut to right down to the cover art: their first album Nowhere, you already know that Parker has only depicted a bleak, overcast day at the ocean; their gotten better with age on all fronts: vocals, musi- new one, In One-Hundred Years the Prize Will Be cianship, and songwriting. Country is not a style Forgotten, features an off-green pattern that looks of music Parker is typically associated with. There like the tablecloth used when no guests are comhave always been traces of Motown in his songs, ing over or the neighbor’s curtain that’s drawn but never Nashville. Listen to Your Country, most of the time.

I could be wrong, but I think The Potomac however, and you realize he would not be so out of place walking along Music Row. Songs like Accord’s curtains are indeed pulled most of the “Cruel, Cruel Lips” and “Anything for a Laugh” time. This is an introspective, sort of mysterious make him sound as though he’s been there all group, and they don’t get much publicity. They along, as does the swing he puts to his cover of don’t even play live that often. But hey, if you needed someone to score your film, especially Jerry Garcia’s “Sugaree.”

Still, there are other songs that are more one with a lot of slowly shifting, unsettling imaglike the Parker we know and love. “Nation of es, these guys should be on your shortlist to call.

Shopkeepers” and its lyrics about being from Their music is very cinematic, and Andrew Benn England show that even though he may be briefly (piano, vocals, guitar) knows his way around a straying from his musical roots, his heart is still piano—both the white keys and the black keys. in his homeland. Country music fans, however, He plays majestic chords, chords that rise and are perhaps the biggest benefactors of Parker’s fall, chords that march forward in a stately manforay into this style of music, if for no other ner, gain in intensity, and drop back. There is reason than Parker could single-handedly stop enormous assurance in Benn’s playing, and he’s country music lyrics from being the butt of so an utter master of the art of repetition with slight variations. This can be tedious, of course, as many jokes.

—Wade Paschall Benn is content to sustain the melancholy mood here for quite a long time.

So it’s a good thing that founding member THE POTOMAC ACCORD: IN ONE-HUNDRED Jerry Green is there to play some precise, crisply YEARS THE PRIZE WILL BE FORGOTTEN recorded percussion and occasionally rock things (First Flight) I don’t know about up a bit. New bass player Michael Lorenz and you, but I think every violinist Samantha Bendet are also there to add metropolitan music diversity to the textures. But musically speakscene needs at least ing, this is mostly Benn’s show, and he sings one moody, piano- on nearly all the tracks. Benn has a gentle if centric, shoegaz- unremarkable voice; he delivers lyrics with pretty ing, cinema-loving, much the same confidence with which he plays. conceptually vague, Sometimes the emotionality of his vocals lures perspiring, aspiring, you in deeper, and sometimes, honestly, it simply sometimes haunting, sometimes boring bunch grates. Whether it limits the commercial potential of methodical musical introverts. Not all cities of The Potomac Accord is debatable, but I give have such a thing, but I’m really glad that St. this band the benefit of the doubt because they Louis does. They’re called The Potomac Accord, sound like no one else around here, and I’d rather

March 2004

have a band aspiring to heights of contemplative Dualtone Records has issued No Depression: beauty and getting there at least half the time What It Sounds Like Vol. 1, which makes a fine than a bunch of smug rockers who might be more intro both to the music that magazine celebrates charismatic or crowd-pleasing. Also, their work is and, by extension, to the magazine itself. “[W]e’ve gathered this baker’s dozen of songs exceptionally well recorded and mastered.

TPA tends to be most memorable in moments: that have moved and inspired us over the years, the spooked finale on opener “A Quiet White Cut to perhaps offer some aural focus to our vision by the Longest Blue Shadows” (love your titles, of alternative-country music,” No Depression coguys), on which Benn repeatedly whispers “I editors Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock (who will swallow you”; Benn’s absolutely exquisite produced the CD with Kyla Fairchild) observe in playing coming out of a crescendo at the seven- the liner notes. “Whatever that is, it sounds a minute mark in “Sunset on the Empire” (wonder- little like this.”

The disc opens gloriously with Johnny Cash ful bass playing there, too); the way the drums swoop in briefly on the hauntingly sad little tune (backed by musicians from Alice in Chains, “Some Kind of Farewell Forever”—a piece where Nirvana, and Soundgarden) covering “The Time the Potomac Accord is almost worthy of being of the Preacher,” the Willie Nelson standard; it called an American version of Iceland’s sublime closes in a similar fashion with the Carter Family’s Sigur Rós; and the evocative, hymn-like breaks “No Depression in Heaven,” fittingly. Between between the singing on “Ghost of Kalamazoo” the Man in Black and the co-founders of mod(although the vocal itself on this track shows ern country music, Alden and Blackstock have that Benn is no Thom Yorke, which he’d almost have to be to achieve the kind of grandeur he’s shooting for here). The band really stretches out on the 11-minute-plus “Newly Fallen Century,” which is sheer crunchy melancholic goodness and maybe the closest a local act has come to producing something on par with Bendsera Radiohead, with even an OK Computer–like moment or two.

High praise, I know, but this band aims high, and in certain moments, you can really feel that surge as they push, push The Potomac Accord a little harder…and just about get there. They may be a little overindulgent, assembled such stunning tracks as “Is Heaven but I like The Potomac Accord very much and Good Enough for You” from Allison Moorer, find their seriousness of purpose and shadowy “Cowboy Peyton Place” from Doug Sahm, presentation rather compelling. On the basis of “Parallel Bars” from Robbie Fulks with Kelly their two recordings so far, I’d put them on any Willis, and “Thrice All American” from Neko list of unique St. Louis bands that I’d want my Case & Her Boyfriends. Also included are songs out-of-state music-loving friends to hear. from Whiskeytown, Alejandro Escovedo, Buddy You have two upcoming chances to hear Miller, Kevin Gordon with Lucinda Williams, The Potomac Accord live: they’ll be playing at Kasey Chambers, Hayseed with Emmylou Harris, Lemmons on Saturday, March 6, and Friday, and “the Hole Dozen,” an extemporaneous group April 4. gathered for a Mickey Newbury tribute—with —Kevin Renick nary a dud among them.

To those who erroneously believe that conVARIOUS ARTISTS: NO DEPRESSION: WHAT IT temporary country comprises only whatever acts the Bull (93.7 FM) is broadcasting in heavy rotaSOUNDS LIKE VOL. 1 (Dualtone Records) Although a number tion, No Depression: What It Sounds Like Vol. 1 of general-distribu- should serve as a wonderful wake-up call.

—Bryan A. Hollerbach tion magazines cover country music and related forms, arguably the meatiest bears the title No Depression and appears bimonthly from Seattle. Now

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

YOU ARE HERE ART

American Art of the 1980s: Selections From the Broad Collections

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Washington University Gallery of Art January 23–April 18 Visiting the current exhibition at Washington University’s Gallery of Art, American Art of the 1980, was like going to church. Well, not like sitting in a pew and singing some hymns, but rather backpacking through Europe or Mexico and marveling your way through their seemingly endless parade of magnificent Gothic cathedrals.

Granted, the gallery was a little smaller than most cathedrals (it only took me about 20 minutes to go through) and the art students cruising in and out were a far cry from any clergy or devotee I’ve seen. But the work at the gallery, mainly towering paintings bursting forth with that renewed interest in colossal figure painting of the 1980s, encouraged the viewer to behave the same way he or she would have in any of those cathedrals: shuffling sideways, being careful not to disturb the quiet devotion and meditation such a place surely deserves, craning your neck to look up and around, standing and gawking in front of each work, maybe not quite sure what was so moving about each one, but unable to walk by without being affected.

Like traveling pilgrims of the Fourteenth Century reading about the Passions of Christ in stained glass or gold-leaf and tempera, at Wash U I was presented with the passions of the 1980s—materialism, celebrity, commercialization—through the iconography blaring forth from work such as Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Horn Players, David Salle’s Pound Notes, and Keith Haring’s Red Room.

Every work in the exhibit seemed to deserve that same sort of reflection. Robert Longo’s Untitled from the White Riot Series reminded one of a classical frieze transplanted from the Acropolis, while Jeff Koons’ Louis XIV mirrored its overindulgent Rococo origins while its glittering metallic surface brought the viewer sharply back into the present age.

Top left: Jean-Michel Basquiat; top right: Keith Haring (in a self-portrait Polaroid series documenting himself through the ’80s)

Of course, by removing these pieces from their historical context, we’re encouraged to forget about what happened to the art world during the ’80s. The exhibition catalog tried to remind me of the impact that the “media- and imagesaturated era” had on these artists and that artwork of the 1980s was seen as a conspicuous consumer good but, while blamed for reducing the artist to a mere “producer,” also revealed a rebirth of art as a personal exploration.

I think, though, I ignored that reminder and chose instead to revel in the near spiritualness of this work. Maybe it was comforting for me to find work that was powerful and full of strength in a “traditional” form as opposed to the new media work flooding the art scene these days.

After all, any artwork viewed within an isolated context is bound to be misinterpreted. Still, who thinks about such things in church? I was too busy browsing the Sunday school schedule.

—Joshua Cox

Time Play: A 25-Year Retrospective of Van McElwee’s Video Art Saint Louis University Museum of Art January 23–April 4 Relatively speaking, video art is a new art form. Compared to its millennia-old siblings, sculpture and painting, it’s just a kid. Hasn’t achieved the respect that comes with adulthood. But in the family of art history, it could more accurately be seen as on the cusp of adolescence; all the awkward physical changes, the moody swings between cocky certainty and self-conscious, defensive demands to be taken seriously. Young enough to be hip, but not old enough to vote.

Into this brave new arena, Van McElwee has cast his shadow. The SLU Museum of Art is currently showing a retrospective of his work that ranges from 1978 through 2003. Twentyfive years creates a long shadow, and McElwee has not been idle during that time. The exhibit

includes single-channel videos, multiple-screen installations, stills, prints, jigsaw puzzles, lenticular prints (aka Blinkies), and an interactive computer piece. Viewing the exhibit and experiencing the range of emotions it elicits is not unlike going through the carnival ride of puberty itself. The cacophony of sounds and sights, the hyperawareness of tiny details, the speeding up and slowing down of time, the sense of spiritual oneness with the world, as well as the feeling of singularity and isolation—McElwee’s work captures all the conflicting moments of that slow catharsis out of childhood.

After 25 years of continual work, his oeuvre is a large serving of art—more than can be easily swallowed at one sitting. After two trips to SLUMA on Lindell Boulevard, first impressions had enough time to gel into observations, with the conclusion that his less complex pieces are easier to appreciate simply because they don’t cause indigestion. The hyperactive editing of images and sounds in Confluence (1999) creates the dissonance of a bad dream. Granted, it’s an important work, the winner of several awards, including Grand Prize at the NAP Biennial.

Notice that “important” and “enjoyable” are usually not interchangeable. With nanosecond cuts from scenes that range from an Indian funeral to a carnival, a Cairo market to rush-hour Tokyo, the waves of movement become felt as well as seen. The normal senses of time and place have been usurped by overlapping clips of foreign situations—“foreign” because we are not invited into these events. The carnival is not fun, the funeral for a stranger does not bring grief or sadness, and after a few minutes, the grasp of “reality” that one expects to hold seems to flicker like snow on a screen. This piece and one titled Radio Island (1997) create such disjointed visual flows that it is impossible to mentally articulate what one is experiencing.

On the other end of the spectrum, McElwee has produced works that offer enough breathing room to allow exploration of the art. One such work was Equilibrium (2000). Two screens, side by side, show the same loop, one set in forward time, one set in reverse. A wrecking machine, looking for all the world like a horse grazing, chews huge mouthfuls of steel and cement from a building. As one building is destroyed, the

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March 2004

From the Confluence video installation by Van McElwee

building on the other screen ascends into existence, being spit out from the horse’s mouth. It would make a great creation myth. These horses are beautiful: their necks curve so gracefully, the muscles tensing and flexing as they turn to nibble another sprig of wire.

Sound and syncopation are vital elements in McElwee’s program. Split Second #1 & #2 (2001) are video stills screened onto jigsaw puzzles. Seems like a relatively simple piece, but in McElwee’s world nothing is simple. The stills are split-framed into four parts, and while one contemplates the surreal colors and David Lynch distortion of the beheaded human with folded arms, a doorbell rings, and somewhere an airplane revs its engines in preparation for takeoff, while a staticky, burnt electric buzz marks a series of unlucky insects. These sounds are not actually part of this piece, but as audio images from adjacent works, they become associated with the experience of looking at the stills.

In many of his works, McElwee focuses on architecture: man’s relationships to buildings, human constructions in contrast with nature, interiors melting into exteriors, etc. In the screening room where seven videos play consecutively, five of the works use architecture as the basis for the electronic structure. He travels to far corners in order to utilize cutting-edge structures for his own modes of expression.

The artist is most often quoted for his statement, “I want the work to be something, not just about something.” If this is his ultimate goal, he has succeeded. McElwee’s videos are not viewed so much as experienced. The repeated images, constantly changing, become embedded in the memory like a visual mantra. The work becomes more than the clever manipulation of a modern medium. The sense of time and spaces melting together is merely the tip of the existential iceberg. After reading T.L. Reid’s interview with McElwee from the journal After Image, it’s clear that this man combines science, technology, and art in ways that are beyond my ken. At one point, he talks about a Dutch computer-designed building that becomes a starting point for one of his videos: “This building was born in a computer. In my piece, it will jump again into video where it can mutate freely.

Particles will be changed back into pixels, matter into light. The building will be melted, frozen, pulverized, and melted again into something new and totally transmissible.”

The artist is brilliant, he’s discreetly living in town working as Professor of Media at Webster University, and suddenly it seems that the vitality of St. Louis art is a bit brighter.

—Rudy Zapf

Polly Apfelbaum: Crazy Love, Love Crazy Contemporary Art Museum, January 23–March 28 For me, visiting Polly Apfelbaum’s exhibit at the Contemporary, Crazy Love, Love Crazy, was less about the artwork (too much of a decoration to be that impressive) and more about never wanting to leave that great building while trying to give off the cool vibe of not caring about it.

From the moment I entered, my sneakers echoing metaphorically off the concrete floor, walls, ceiling, reception desk, and practically every other surface, I knew that I was entering a realm of cool—not pretentious cool,

not trendy cool, just…cool. And I wanted to be a part of it. After enough time in their galleries, I began to dream that maybe the gallery attendants weren’t just making sure I didn’t step on anything, but were eying me for a job there or at least an invite to their cool dinner party.

Don’t get me wrong: Apfelbaum’s work wasn’t entirely without merit.

It was rather visually stunning, I’m just not sure I understood what it was supposed to be about. The installation was designed especially for the Contemporary, and the impact it had within that environment was significant. Almost like a surreal swimming pool, Apfelbaum’s blanket of cut velvet flowers had the effect of softening the somber gray interior and fighting for my eye’s attention against the soaring gallery ceilings. The “Cool” side of the exhibit had even more impact since it didn’t have the outside distractions from the windows on the “Warm” side.

The accompanying literature contrasted Crazy Love, Love Crazy with the structurally and blatantly masculine installations of artists such as Carl Andre and Richard Serra who use “heavy, industrial materials” for their oppressive work while Apfelbaum constructs her “superficially happy” installations with ultra-feminine hand-cut flowers. Well, sure, that much is obvious, but who has time to think about such things while you’re trying hard not to pick or scratch at some part of yourself since you’re the only visitor and all of those cool people are looking at you?

Still, there is something to be said about the effect of Apfelbaum’s “icons of femininity” on the coolly masculine walls of the Contemporary. What’s it say about me that I wouldn’t have expected a (straight) man to create this?

Am I such a blatant product of my sexist, racist, and xenophobic society?

All I know is that for the time that I spent in front of Crazy Love, Love Crazy, I wasn’t thinking about any of this. Rather, I was thinking about checking the job listings at the Contemporary as soon as I got home.

—Joshua Cox

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

CURMUDGEON

BY ROB LEVY

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Don’t you love the spring? The allergies, the baseball (complete with Redbird thirdplace antics), the inevitable playoff collapse of the Blues, and an end to the indoor soccer season. However, one groovy thing about the spring is that it marks the arrival of some really good shows. I am not just talking about the big large, overpriced, scary LYDON R i v e r p o r t / U M B / Galactic Empire shit.

No, I am talking about lots of good bands and respected artists gigging out in smaller venues. With that in mind, the next two months are going to be off the hook.

In the next few months, there is a flurry of great live music action: Dressy Bessy, The FortyFives, The Starlight Mints, Guided by Voices, Stereolab, Bob Dylan, Keb’ Mo’, Lucinda Williams, Henry Rollins, Liz Phair, Grandaddy, Ben Kweller, Death Cab for Cutie, and the Stereophonics are all coming to town. Plus, if you figure in larger shows like David Bowie and Missy Elliott, then the spring is indeed going to be crazy. All of this is happening before the summer heat sets in, bringing with it humidity and stupid tours for dumbass Limp Bizkit assclowns, skater kids, and mundanes with no sense of musical propriety. So get out and see some bands or read a book, but don’t just sit there!

If everyone who made a fuss over Janet Jackson’s boobie would spend as much time and energy thinking, reading, and being creative, we’d live in a much better place. Ultimately, it is sad that her nonspeaking body part was much more interesting than any of the actual performers at the SuperBowl halftime show. The show itself was a collection of current and future hasbeens. Maybe next year they could get Gerardo or Monie Love.

Elbow has covered Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” as a B-side for their next single.

Just when you thought it was safe to come out into the world, Billy Corgan has announced he is working on a solo album.

Czech fetishists British Sea Power are releasing “A

STEVE EARLE Lovely Day Tomorrow” as a single in the Czech Republic. The exclusive single will be released in both English and Czech.

Steve Lillywhite, the man responsible for the sound of U2’s first two albums, has again reunited with the Irish band. After helping out on some previous albums, he is back to fulltime production for their next album, slated for a late 2004 release. In the meantime, the Edge has recorded the “Batman Theme” for the new Dark Knight animated series. for a new QOTSA album before the end of this Johnny Lydon caused quite a stir in the U.K. year. on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here. He drew Steve Earle is the subject of a new documenflak for being incredibly profane and belligerent tary, Just an American Boy. The documentary to the cast and crew. Things got so literal and lensed by Amos Poe features an in-depth look intense that Lydon abruptly quit the show. at Earle’s career and his 2002 tour.

Carnegie Hall hosted a Tibet House Benefit Down-tempo chillsters Frost hail from last month featuring Ray Davies, David Byrne, Norway. This in itself is not enough to make Yo La Tengo, Phillip Glass, and Keb’ Mo’. you jump up and down with glee, but when Maybe it’s just me, but the new Webster you consider that Frost is the latest in a string Film Series people don’t seem to be offering of Scandinavian bands to infiltrate Europe and programming as daring or interesting as their North America, then that should make you take predecessors. notice. This duo makes pop music in the vein of Urge Overkill had reformed and played a Club 8 or a calmer Portishead. Frost’s good buds series of West Coast dates.

Royksopp have remixed “Endless Love” for their The Pixies are releasing a 22-song retrospeclatest album, Melodica. Melodica offers anything tive, Wave of Mutilation, to coincide with their that a purveyor of trip-hop or down-tempo could reformation. Their British tour sold out in less want. It is full of sweeping back melodies, lush than 30 minutes. They are headlining this year’s vocals, and beats that melodiously move about, Coachella Music Festival with The Cure and fitting snuggly under the vocals.

Radiohead.

Astor Piazolla was the world’s most famous Together We’re Heavy is the title of the clunky tango musician. He made some amazing records second album from The Polyphonic Spree. The with melodies NICK DRAKE hour-plus-long CD, due later this spring, again and harmonies features serious orchestration. that zipped, Krist Novoselic is abandoning his plans sang, and to run for lieutenant governor for Washington angled their State. His former Nirvana compadre, Dave way into your Grohl, recently recorded a track for the new subconscious.

Garbage album, which is due out next year.

Now Milan Which brings me to this point: could anyone Records has more boring than The Foo Fighters or No honored his Doubt win a Grammy? work with Also idiotic is Sean Combs’ interest in buyAstor Piazolla ing the Orlando Magic of the NBA. Remixed, feaIt has been about five years since Ghost turing contemreleased an album. Their porary artists BRITISH SEA POWER new album, Hypnotic like Koop and 4hero reworking and re-pastichUnderworld, is a sweeping, ing Piazolla’s tangos into new electronica-tinged massive movement of feedcompositions. back, noise, and textured Despite the recent back problems that sidesound overtures. tracked Guided by Voices’ recent tour, Bob Bassist Nick Oliveri Pollard is at it again. GBV spent February reschedhas left Queens of the uling tour dates and recording new material for Stone Age. Earlier last their next album, due later this year. Meanwhile, month, Mark Lanegan left Pollard, in the guise of Fiction Man, is releasing the band to finish work on his new solo project later this month. his solo album. Despite the Underachievers Please Try Harder is the fine lineup shenanigans, look new album from Glasgow’s Camera Obscura. It

BEASTIE B

AKE

March 2004 is a resplendent thing, laden with quiet melodies, sultry, calm vocals, and dynamic, sweeping orchestrations. If Nick Drake made a record with Belle & Sebastian, it would sound like this.

The Alarm recently re-formed and pulled a fast one on the often-daft U.K. music press. Using the moniker The Poppy Fields, they recorded a single, “45 rpm,” then put young, hip kids in the video to fool people into thinking they were someone else. Very few outside the band were in on the gag, which was done to show that the U.K. music business is only interested in looks and image. The single cracked the U.K. charts.

I am very tired of this Courtney Love person. Can’t she just go away?

It has been over two decades in the making, but Mission of Burma is back! The re-formed lineup is playing the U.K. date of the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival as well as this month’s South By Southwest shindig. This May, they will release their new studio album, OnoffOn. Behind the Decks is the title of the new record from DJ Bad Boy Bill.

Can’t he come out in front of them? This way, we would all be spared his cacophony of bad techno tunes.

The new Beastie Boys album should be out by the end of June.

OutKast is making a film, Speakerboxxx, with director Bryan Barber and actress Rosario Dawson.

Paul McCartney and James Brown are headlining this year’s Glastonbury Music Festival.

Such a fuss has been made over Mel Gibson’s Passion movie that I wanna nail his Braveheart pansy ass to a cross BEASTIE BOYS for being in so many bad movies lately. He should be lashed for being on TV way too much, shilling this thing. At least it isn’t a Cody Banks flick.

Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home feels like a handful of useless crap and sounds like ass.

The Descendants have re-formed and released a new EP entitled ’Merican. Look for them to tour later this year.

The planned collaboration between Coldplay’s Chris Martin and The Streets is nevermore.

However, a scary collaboration is under way that is both frightening and weird. Dead or Alive’s Pete Burns’ new single, “Jack & Jill Party,” is written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys.

Done & Never Again is the title of the nice new Wormwood Scrubs EP. The band is setting off for an East Coast tour in April.

Way too much is being made of The Darkness.

Finally, a bit of culture and refinement...Last month, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra named conductor David Robertson as its new musical director. He will help out next year as music director designate before taking the baton full-time for the 2005–2006 season. For a symphony that desperately needs to draw a younger audience, he is an ideal choice. Here are three quick reasons why. First he brings to his repertoire a familiarity with our orchestra and its programming. Second, Robertson’s grasp of traditional classics is strong enough to withstand the leering and scowling of even the namby-pambiest of symphony diehards. Finally, his command of Twentieth Century composers won’t be so far out there to alienate the average concertgoer. This is important because, in the past, SLSO supporters have scratched their heads at the many new or avantgarde compositions. You can get a smattering of his style when he conducts the St. Louis Symphony the weekend of April 24. On that program. he will handle Brahms’ eloquent and soft “Violin Concerto” and +’s sweepingly pleasant “Sixth Symphony.”

That should do it for this time, get out and see the world, smile often, and please...don’t buy any more Sting albums.

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Every Monday:

Open Mic with Heather Barth 3.2 Jazz Trio 3.3 The Moonglades & The Unmutuals 3.4 Jake’s Leg 3.5 Jackhead 3.6 Murder City Players 3.9 Tim Fahy & Randy Furrer 8-11/Ali & Emily 11-1 3.10 Earl & Leadville 3.11 Jake’s Leg 3.12 Racket Box 3.16 Benefit for Confluence 3.17 The Whole Sick Crew & The Spiders 3.18 Jake’s Leg 3.19 Slipstream 3.20 Jalopy 3.23 Racket Box 3.24 Mega Hurtz & Bloodletters 3.25 Jake’s Leg 3.26 Team Tomato 3.30 Ali & Emily 3.31 Palmers Room & Big Star Kadillac

Drink Specials Every Night Please Call for Schedule Updates

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

TAKE FIVE alaska!

ALASKA!’S RUSS POLLARD, LESLEY ISHINO, IMAAD WASIF PHOTO: JEFF GROS

Near-Death Experiences With alaska!

By Laura Hamlett When I spoke with alaska!’s Imaad Wasif, he was at Guitar Center in Denver, having a bass amplifier repaired. Two nights prior, less than two weeks into their current tour, they’d been driving through Wyoming when they hit a patch of ice and flipped the van. “We landed on the roof,” he explained. The van was totaled; said Wasif, “It’s just a miracle that anyone’s alive.

With that in mind, a little Q&A with what could be the luckiest band on the road today.

Elliot Goes

we were broke. Really, really broke, actually.

We got a call that Laurel Canyon wanted us to audition for this part—I guess we were quoteunquote real musicians, or something like that.

What does 2004 have in store for you?

We are going to finish this tour right now, that we have miraculously survived the first week and a half of. We’re going to get home, and we’re going to figure out how to make our record. That’s what we’re doing right now: we’re on tour, and we’re playing a lot of the songs that will be on the next record. We just really wanted to get out; I personally was at a point where I had kind of gone through my writing process in L.A. I just don’t want to stagnate at all.

We’re all just really passionately connected to one another and emotionally driven to the point where that’s the focus of this: we’re going to figure out how to make this happen on our next record. We have been a band, and we’ve been through everything together: we’ve been through emotional meltdowns, we’ve been through neardeath car wrecks, and we are still alive, and we’re still totally in love with playing music.

by Bosco (with illustration help from Jessica Gluckman)

www.mentalsewage.com

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How is the band doing?

Everyone’s OK; we had minor scratches and stuff. No one wanted to cancel the tour, because we’re at a really good point right now. I have a friend in Boulder, and I had him rent a van in Fort Collins, which is like 80 miles out. He picked us up, and we had to high-tail it down, with all the equipment, to make it to the rental agency so I could switch [the rental] over for the rest of the trip. It was unbelievable; I was at point zero, and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. We made it for the show last night; I’ve just never been presented with a challenge like that in my life.

Tell me how alaska! came to be.

We actually—Russell and I, Russ Pollard— started playing together sometime in 2000. We were both living in San Francisco, then about

a year later, we moved to L.A. and recruited our friend Lesley [Ishino, The Red Aunts] for the drums.

So we’ve been a band with her for about two years.

You were in Lowercase, and Russell was in Sebadoh. Were the bands breaking up anyway, or did you leave to form alaska!?

Lowercase did a few tours opening up for Sebadoh; the last tour we did was in ’99, and that’s where Russ and I met. I was at a point where I had started writing songs that I didn’t think I could do through Lowercase anymore, and I wasn’t really sure what I was going to.

Everything was [in] a very shaky, sort of emotional state by that time. When Russ moved to San Francisco, Sebadoh had gone on hiatus, so it just sort of fell into place very naturally. We had gotten along so well; it just seemed, at least for me, the natural evolution of what I wanted to do musically.

You’ve also played with Folk Implosion, which led to your being the on-screen band in Laurel Canyon. How did that come to be?

We just helped Lou [Barlow] write and record the last Folk Implosion record. We were in L.A., and Russ and I were doing alaska! full-time and also working on the Folk Implosion record, and

At this rate, I bet he has to invade And these guys are all so wishy-washy.

Canada if he wants to stay president.

There’s only one thing to do.

March 2004

www.mentalsewage.com

STEVE BEQUETTE

Last month, Steve Bequette, who has just released his first CD, Maybe Wednesday, spent a weekend in Orlando recording at Kyle Cook’s (matchbox twenty) studio. After a recent STL jam session, Cook asked Bequette to come to his studio so that he and his producer, Brian Kunitz (also from St. Louis) could put together a couple of tracks. Cook will personally mix both songs and has asked to produce all of Bequette’s future material.

Radio Cherokee has reopened! Check for show listings and other information at www.radiocherokee.net (the page should be up in a week or two). Remember, shows are early, all ages, and no booze.

Lance Hildebrand, drummer for local altcountry act Pitchfork, reports that the band is taking a break from performing during the month of March to finish its first (as-yet-untitled) CD. Production is being handled by Pitchfork bass player Shawn “Buck-O” Bell of Buck-O Productions. Look for a CD release party in April or May, likely at Frederick’s Music Lounge, where the band played its first-ever gig.

Submissions are being accepted through April 2 for the 2004 Bread and Roses Exhibition in the categories of visual art, musical entries, and poetry/spoken word. The event is intended to be both an annual celebration of the arts in political action and a fundraiser for the St. Louis Jobs With Justice coalition. Each year, submissions are requested on a different theme; this year’s theme is “This Is What Democracy Looks Like.” The exhibition will be held May 7; more information is available at www.stl-jwj.org/breadroses/.

The next Lunar Menagerie is set for Tuesday, March 2, at the Way Out Club, with doors at 8 p.m. and show at 9:30 p.m. Lunar Menagerie is the brainchild of local writers/dreamers Kenneth J. Pruitt and Shane Mosby, wherein they invite local poets, musicians, and performers for a not-so-open open mic performance. Come see what talent the city has to offer!

This Longing, a show of black-and-white photography by Bob Reuter, continues at Atomic Cowboy through March.

The 19th Annual Women & Blues Concert to benefit Redevelopment Opportunities for Women will take place Saturday, March 27, at the Pageant. The concert will feature St. Louisans Denise Thimes, a nationally acclaimed jazz diva

LOCAL SCENERY

and actress, and Kim Massie, whose powerful blues renditions have thrilled concert and club audiences across the region. Both women have packed the house at previous ROW Women & spacey keyboards, conjuring a remarkable and Blues concerts.

Ménage a Cinq, a group exhibition featur- unique sound. Check out their wherabouts at ing the work of Southern Illinois University www.eeromusic.com.

On Sunday, April 25, the Music Folk will Carbondale graduate students Greg Cochenet, Phil Davis, Fiona Jappy, Baggs McKelvey, and be offering a Taylor Guitar workshop with Ruth Pringle, runs March 5 through April 11 at Chris Proctor. Proctor is currently one of Taylor the Mad Art Gallery. An opening night recep- Guitar’s most active clinicians. A pioneer of the tion will be held from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, contemporary fingerstyle guitar movement, he March 5. The reception is free and open to the arrived on the scene after Leo Kottke but before the Windham Hill label popularized the style in public, with a cash bar available.

Nadine’s Adam Reichmann recently played the early ’80s. The clinic will look at the cona solo acoustic show at the Town Hall Pub in struction and artistry of Taylor guitars. Plenty of examples, visuals, and fine playing from Proctor North Melbourne, Australia.

Conquest has been back in the studio work- are also on the agenda.

St. Louis’s Living Things made Spin’s “Next ing on their next CD, which they hope to have out in late spring. The CD was recorded at Big Things” list for 2004.

Local scenester Erik Carlson has created Angelfish Studios, with some tracking done at Red Light Studios. The band predicts the CD is www.stlscene.net, a forum for the STL music scene. going to be much heavier than previous releases, The site features MP3s of local bands, a daily going so far as to call their music “in your face” events calendar, photos, polls, artist/venue/record metal. In other news, the band has been selected label/studio pages, message boards, and more.

According to Carlson’s disclaimer on the site, as an official Jägermeister band.

STLScene was created Following last year’s TripStar PHOTO BY BOB REUTER as “a forum for everyone breakup, Donny Besancenez in the local music comtook a break in an attempt to munity. Artists, venues, rekindle the fire for his love of listeners, and, yes, even music. He started writing some writers can congregate of the best songs he has written and embrace a beautiful in years, with the intention of togetherness under a releasing a solo record. Longing single metaphorical roof.” for the camaraderie of a band, Donny decided to hook up with a friend, guitarist The design is top-notch, too; check it out.

There’s a new TV show on WB11 called Scott McGreer. Scott brought the chocolate, his tasty licks, and sense of atmosphere; after playing a Audaphobia. Host/producer Mark Bland couple of shows to test-drive the material, the two describes the show as “a mix of American looked to recruit a drummer and bass player. Bassist Bandstand and TRL (MTV) where we showJon Parsons (ex–The Ambassadors and Nadine) case the newest, hottest talent as well as play brings his melodic bass playing, along with his the hottest music videos.” Audaphobia is friend, drummer Scott Lampley. The music is self- sponsored by Nelly and described as a combination of rock and soul, with his charity, 4sho4kids. a twist of twang pop. Look for an upcoming release For more information and schedule information, go to in 2004 as well as upcoming shows.

Javier Mendoza Band have released their www.audaphobia.com.

Bonnie Boime may best fourth album, Matter of Time, and will be celebrating with a CD release party at Missississippi Nights be known as the bass player on March 6. The last CD release party the band had of The Skulls or for her work at the Hi-Pointe Café, but she is also dedicated attracted nearly 1,200 people. eero, a band making its live debut with to the cause of animal rights. She held a benefit Maxtone Four last month, is composed show last month at the Hi-Pointe for S.T.A.R.T. of singer/songwriter/guitarist Derek Bayer (ST. Louis Animal Rights Team), a nonprofit ani(ex–TripStar, the Dave AlanS Band, and The mal rights organization, and puts together about Adored), bassist/keyboardist Jeff Lehman four benefit shows a year.

The Saw Is Family played a show last month (formerly known as the hilariously acerbic singer/songwriter “John Dear”), and drum- at the Way Out Club with a slightly new lineup mer Bill Wheeler (ex–TripStar and the Dave and some inflatable dolls, which they brought on AlanS Band). This melodic pop/rock trio infuses stage. Bob Putnam, owner of the Way Out, even its hooky, emotionally intense songs with gor- came on the stage to sing along with “White geous melodies, loops, samples, and tastefully Trash Trailer Park Girl.”

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PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS

PAGE BY PAGE BOOKS

Not Just Politics as Usual

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JACQUES JOUET: MOUNTAIN R (Dalkey Archive Press) OZ SHELACH: PICNIC GROUNDS (City Lights Books) A glance at the best-sellers list in The New York Times or at Amazon.com over the last six months would produce clear proof of the popularity of books about politics. Whether it’s Al Franken’s Liars or Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin Zone, Americans have been reading and writing about our current government from a multitude of political persuasions. While the eleventh-grade civics teacher in me may find seductive pleasures in recent attention given to public consciousness, a closer examination of this zealous genre of books reveals angry rants, loose connections, broad interpretations and little factual documentation. Like viewers of Michael Moore’s films, readers of these books are harassed with noisy social angst in order to find a few key questions that ultimately go unanswered. (Not surprisingly, Moore has offered two of the more popular titles in recent years, Stupid White Men and Dude, Where’s My Country?) It seems as if the political diatribe has become commonplace, while the intellectual evaluation of public policy has been forgotten.

It is difficult to write eloquently and effectively about current events because the analysis and commentary remain short-sighted by nature. Recent political offerings display exactly how hard it is to comment on complex issues related to societal leadership. While these nonfiction selections have declined to allow the reader to analyze and consider the issues for oneself, two recently published books— Mountain R by Jacques Jouet (translated from the French by Brian Evenson) and Picnic Grounds by Israeli writer Oz Shelach—may offer an informed audience refreshingly new perspectives on political opinions. These two novels consider very different international issues, but their nuance and subtle styles may delight a reading public that’s grown tired of bombastic and superficial analysis.

Told from three different perspectives in three short sections, Mountain R details a “Republican Council” in a fictitious country that’s decided to conduct a massive public-works project called

“Mountain R.” Literally a gigantic mound of earth, this government endeavor is plagued with corrupt contracts, political doubletalk, and murderous scandals. In the first section of this ambitious satire, the president informs the public about this 1,500-meter monument that will be dedicated to the nation’s greatness. “Therefore we’ve thought of this great notion of a grand mountain (which is no less a grand notion of a great mountain), which will provide members of the Republic with good air for the lungs, the fragrance of high-country pines, snow for the eye to admire, peace and quiet for our children and skiing for all!” Reminiscent of New Deal deficit spending or cynical views of foreign war as a means of distracting the country from social issues, “Mountain R” is suggested to represent the “future of this grand democracy”; however, it’s unnecessary and designed simply to keep people busy.

The second section of the novel describes the construction site, and the reader is made aware of the total dysfunction of this corrupted project by one of its chief engineers, who was guilty of covering up numerous accidental deaths. “They bought Mrs. DiPascale’s silence, but she wouldn’t even have the right to be a widow. Superior interest of the State!

There never was any catastrophe on the construction site of Mountain R! Isn’t that clear?” A trial scene provides the novel’s concluding section, in which an investigation is meant to properly assess guilt for several scandals related to the construction of the mountain.

Picnic Grounds differs in writing style and subject matter, though it’s still related to current politics. Organized like a collection of short poems, this captivating book provides original insights into daily life in the violent world of Israel. Subtitled A Novel in Fragments, the book’s every page creates a new event, character, or reflection on the simple notion of living amidst a religious and political crisis that has been waged for hundreds of years. Almost like a photographer capturing an exact moment in time or a cartographer locating a precise location, Shelach establishes the mood of a person or group within the subtle context of the complicated issues in

the Middle East. Plotline is dismissed for brief and intimate portrayals of a normal life that lacks our Western sense of normality. In one scene/chapter/ page, a Jewish family vacationing along the Sinai Peninsula encounters an older Bedouin waiter.

“We wanted him to address us by our first names, we wanted to give him a generous tip, even a pair of good sandals, but because of the openness with which he told us his story we could see no point in trying to assuage him.” As if feeling a need to connect out of guilt or sadness, the family forces their kindness upon a stranger who has lived in refugee camps established because of the Israeli occupation. In another scene, the author offers an insider’s perspective on the city of Jerusalem. “We, who know our way through all the narrow alleys, as well as the wider winding streets and recently bulldozed express-roads that cut through the mountainous slopes of our city at impossibly straight angles, know also that this sense of being trapped in a maze is the foundation, the very essence even, of Jerusalem.” With other references to mandatory military service, car bombings, and political protests, the reality of the Middle East comes to life on the pages of Picnic Grounds through the words and actions of people that could easily be your own friends or family.

Unlike numerous recent works of nonfiction that offer opinions without creative insight, Mountain R and Picnic Grounds allow the reader to explore two different political realms and develop personal interpretations in a more subtle and therefore more convincing manner. Both books break from traditional plot-driven narratives to offer multiple perspectives and various interpretations. Their strengths lie in the nature of literature, allowing the reader to approach serious political topics on their own terms.

—Paul Hoelscher REBECCA BROWN: THE END OF YOUTH (City Lights Books) Upon the death of his famous mother, John F. Kennedy, Jr., reportedly said that one doesn’t really become an adult until both parents have died. The narrator of Rebecca Brown’s The End of Youth is in accord, for her passage to adulthood is defined by the explorations of her history and relationships with her late parents.

The book opens with the one-page story “Heaven,” in which the narrator—she’s never

March 2004 given a name, and the reader always stands just out of reach of fully knowing her—offers her two versions of heaven, one centered around her mother and the second around her father. Brown chooses a simple, conversational tone, opening with a basic sentence: “I’ve been thinking a lot about heaven lately.”

Although the narrator focuses on the loss of her parents’ physical presence and her memories of them, the reader need not have experienced such a loss to find kinship with her. The stories are a one-sided conversation, and it’s easy for the reader to play the listening, nonjudgmental bartender to the narrator, a onetime customer in need of a stranger’s kindness and patience as she finds her own way.

The narrator relays those parental events branded into her memory as relevant, although their importance isn’t always instantly apparent.

Despite the intimacy of the revelations, the narrator withholds herself, allowing only snippets of her past life to be told. There is no indication of the narrator’s age and minimal discussion of her loves or her siblings. And there is no discussion of the present except for the conclusions she has drawn from her nostalgia.

The narrator’s stories unravel in a disjointed, nonchronological manner, often starting with one thought and jumping seemingly haphazardly into another history, as casual conversations with near strangers often do. As the reader continues, however, it’s clear that a story preceding the primary one shares its continuous theme and that the initial story was needed to provide some elucidating information. For instance, “The Fish” starts with a prized moment with the father and his fish, a moment photographed for Field and Stream. The story detours from this youthful memory through a scattered selection of other fish memories and concludes with an adolescent dispute between the narrator and her father. In

Critic’s Choice ELIZABETH ROBINSON: THE TRUE & OUTSTANDING ADVENTURES OF THE HUNT SISTERS (Little, Brown)

Armed with some fierce schmaltz-detector, debut novelist Elizabeth Robinson has written a family comedy-drama that’s moving where it could have been maudlin, funny where it could have been forced, and real where it could have auto-driven into generalities. It’s as if a cheesy disease flick had been moved to the hands of an indie-hearted spitfire, then remade completely.

The story’s told by Olivia Hunt, a movie producer recently dumped, recently fired, and recently sensing an oncoming mustache. (“A mustache!”)

She just used her last sack of cash to buy a script of Don Quixote, a seemingly unconquerable book-to-movie project that migrained the real-life minds of directors Orson Welles and Terry Gilliam. On the other side of luck is Olivia’s married and pregnant sister Maddie, who’s dying of leukemia. And there’s much of the emotional thrust: Olivia’s bruises versus Maddie’s chemo. “It’s weird you’re such a bad loser and I’m not, and you’re the one with everything,” Maddie tells her sister at one point.

“It’s always been like that. You make me sick, actually.” What’s a relief here is that Olivia is as deep-down thoughtful as she is caustically witty, too smart not to be aware of the sorry imbalance; this allows the book to bypass any Sweet Novemberization—watch the selfobsessed character turn caring—and become the end, father and daughter make amends with bait and tackle and a midnight venture to a lake.

It is through the journey from one fish story to the next and the next that the reader learns about the ties between father and daughter that make the last story so pivotal for the narrator.

something all its own and larger than that sad single issue.

The novel is told entirely through Olivia’s letters—to her family, to lovers, to Hollywood heavies (“I’ve always admired you, your exquisite taste, your incredible box office”), and to friends and doctors. While I thought the epistolary route might produce exposition-cranking, tiresome prose, it did the opposite; the plot moves briskly and believably, and the letters’ change in tone and subject matter—one berates a too-cool indie director, then another captures a solemn family moment (“Maddie and I sat in the garden, digging holes in the damp black dirt, and buried the bulbs with our questions”)—keeps the narrative feeling authentic and worth following.

The rest of the book follows Olivia’s Quixote project and romantic tangles, Maddie’s cancer, and the Midwest family’s coming together.

Despite a few wobbly moments here and there, Robinsons lands us safely at the end untouched by the bathos that seemed to be waiting around every corner. And while the novel’s first half gained our confidence through humor and cultural cachet—Olivia on the Guthrie/Wilco gem “California Stars”: “It’s so wistful I could kill myself”—what it’s saved by is sadness, which is jokeless and real and harder to do.

—Stephen Schenkenberg Brown’s book lags in sections when she opts to write in poetic, vague interludes during which the narrator’s tone changes. These jagged breaks, seemingly randomly placed, are usually marked by italics or an asterisk and often detract because they break so far from the original voice and continued on page 39

few Struggl Alw Alth It m Whe r I wa h I am

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Alw This Althou reminis make a Alth does n she foc ries hav withou distanc on clos

March 2004

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March 2004

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THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW: WELCOME HOME ELVIS (Music Video Distributors) The Oxford English Dictionary defines curio as a souvenir or rarity. Think back to the brief heyday of picture discs.

They were curiosities, vinyl-record LPs embossed with a still photograph (my favorite was a pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s that had the Beatles in full uniform on one side, gold vinyl on the other). And even though the picture disc contained music I already owned, I had to have one.

So I have sympathy for anyone who might be tempted by the DVD release of The Frank Sinatra Show: Welcome Home Elvis, but as an artifact of either man’s career, this particular episode is solely a curio, for completists only.

Taped on location at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 26, 1960, and broadcast that May, Welcome Home Elvis was to be the King’s triumphant return from his two-year, U.S. Army exile. Despite an audience every bit as animated as the Beatlemaniacs in the Ed Sullivan theater four years later, the Elvis who

performs here is a straight-laced, family-friendly King, oddly restrained in his physical movement and noticeably stiff in performance.

Unfortunately, the show can also be seen as a harbinger of the crass commercial enterprise that the later, fatter Elvis would become. He’s still in fighting trim here, even donning a tuxedo to trade lines with Sinatra on a famous duet of “Love Me, Tender” and “Witchcraft,” with the two singers giving their take on the other’s signature song. Still, given the $125,000 Elvis received for the special, he’s on stage just 9 minutes, a 30-second introduction followed nearly 40 minutes later by a three-song performance. The rest of the special is given over to ill-conceived dance numbers, awful Borscht Belt shtick between Sinatra and Joey Bishop, and a duet between Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. The show closes with a pair of uninspired numbers featuring not the King, but Sinatra’s modestly talented daughter, Nancy.

Perhaps it is the noticeable absence of Dean Martin, but throughout the program, Sinatra himself seems distracted, and his attempts at comic spontaneity using Bishop as his straight man end up as non sequiturs. While the quality of the program itself is disappointing, the DVD suffers added injury from its clearly substandard source tape. The original video masters of the Sinatra ABC specials were destroyed by the net-

Page by Page occur too infrequently to make them an identifiable thought process of the narrator. However, a few italicized interludes make one of the later stories, “Description of a Struggle,” a little less jolting. It reads: Always it was here except for sometimes.

Although perhaps that’s not the case.

It may not have been when I was young.

When I was young I was not as I am. It may have been but I nor knew nor recognized.

I was, when I was young, resilient full of hope.

I had not learned to not have hope.

I am no longer young.

NOW PLAYING DVD

work in 1975, allegedly to free space in its storage facilities. The sole surviving print of the show is a kinescope badly in need of restoration and digital remastering. The resulting straight video-toDVD transfer shows performers who look oddly washed out, except for a heavily made up Sinatra who performs “Gone With the Wind” on a darkened set. Without serious computer-assisted correction to the master, the tuxedos appear at times to be almost light gray, and the pageantry of Sammy Davis Jr.’s costumed performance of “Come on Bess” is nearly lost amid the poor picture quality.

Perhaps the most jarring moments of the performance come in those electrifying nine minutes when Elvis actually sings. If the Welcome Home Elvis special has any historical significance, it’s only that the Elvis of 1960 arrived home to an audience that craved the rebellious Memphis-era performer who dominated the late 1950s. What they received instead was a precursor to the corporate Elvis of mediocre films and overblown Tropicana Ballroom concerts. Except for the one leather-clad comeback special some eight years hence, the Elvis that this audience screamed for was already dead.

—Steve Kistulentz

from page 37

Always it was here except for sometimes.

This story does not focus on a single memory, but wanders in poetic circles. Although aptly named, “Description of a Struggle” is not difficult to read. It is reminiscent of an inner struggle, of the circles run in one’s mind while trying to make a difficult decision.

Although the prevailing themes of The End of Youth sound depressing, Brown does not allow her narrator to linger in self-pity or overstate hardships, nor does she focus solely on the negative. Like most parent-child relationships, these stories have as many traumatic events as beauti-

ful ones, and Brown balances them without ever overwhelming the reader. The narrator relays her memories with the distance of time so that no one story is ever burdensome. The narrator’s focus is on closure and, perhaps, on letting go.

So the book always feels bittersweet.

Reading The End of Youth doesn’t elicit tears or thundering laughs, but it ignites memory and emotion within the reader, who wants always to jump in and tell the narrator a related story.

Unfortunately, the narrator just passes through for an afternoon.

—Stacey Rynders

41

BB’S JAZZ, BLUES & SOUPS

BEN KWELLER w/DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE AND +/AT MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS MARCH 27, 7:00 p.m., ALL AGES TICKETS: $16/$18 • CALL: 314-421-3850

My friends get completely sick of me sometimes. I have a tendency, when in groups of three or more, to turn certain random comments into unnecessary burns. For instance, if one of my as yet non-riled pals says, “This pizza could use a few more minutes in the oven. It’s still doughy in the center,” I’ll more often than not instinctively say, “You could use a few more minutes in the oven. You’re still doughy in the center.” And this goes on and on, with every utterance twisted into a Chris Farleyesque reply, circa Tommy Boy 1995.

But I catch a lot more shit for another of my mannerisms that, to me, is a public service, not an annoyance: I recommend albums and bands to those who don’t subscribe to every music publication known to man or ransack used bins for hours 42 to find a replacement for that Of Montreal record of mine (Cherry Peel, if we’re being exact) that a drunk girl broke at a party or Beautiful Rat Sunset, the last Mountain Goats album I needed to finally have the complete discography. They would explain that they have more important things to worry about. But when I do think something is great, I talk about it until I’m red in the face, which, unfortunately for my friends, takes a lot of talking. With Ben Kweller’s new album, I’m going to blab until I’m beet-red.

Kweller, a prodigy who was winning songwriting competitions at nine years old, turns in what will not only be a defining album for the year 2004, but for his career. With his latest album, On My Way (ATO), Kweller has written his first Pet Sounds.

Where Brian Wilson stacked his masterpiece with a zoo of instruments and harmonies, Kweller actually achieves the same kind of wonder with a less robust arsenal and a raw production that has vocals maxing out, reaching an unconventional, but holy fuzz in places. And it’s mysteriously sinister.

The title track is an acoustic-only tale about versions of himself that he worries about becoming or not becoming. He’s got more “That’s Not Me”s on the record (it’s hard to deny the pure-cane pop songs inside a person) than “Caroline, No”s, but it all adds up to one of the most remarkable albums you’ll hear this year—from an artist who took a soaring leap forward. And to think Kweller did this at 22, a year before Wilson could achieve true greatness. My friends are going to hate me.

700 S. Broadway • St. Louis, MO 314-436-5222 • www.bbsjazzbluessoups.com 3/1: Sessions Jazz Big Band 3/2: Cryin’ Shame Blues Band 3/3: Baker-McClaren Blues Band 3/4: Johnnie Johnson Band 3/5: Leroy Pierson, Arthur Williams Blues Masters 3/6: Tom Hall, Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/7: Malik White Benefit Concert 3/8: Sessions Jazz Big Band 3/9: Cryin’ Shame Blues Band 3/10: Alvin Jett & The Phat noiZ Blues Band 3/11: Oliver Sain’s R&B All-Stars 3/12: 7 pm: Leroy Pierson; 10 pm: Patti & the Hitmen 3/13: 7 pm: Eric McSpadden & Margaret Bianchetta; 10 pm: The Holmes Brothers 3/14: Leroy Pierson, DJ Ranx & Dubtronix Reggae Band 3/15: Sessions Jazz Big Band 3/16: Cryin’ Shame Blues Band 3/17: John Primer Blues Band 3/18: Johnnie Johnson Band 3/19: Leroy Pierson, The Bel Airs 3/20: Tom Hall, Soulard Blues Band 3/21: Leroy Pierson, DJ Ranx & Dubtronix Reggae Band 3/22: Sessions Jazz Big Band 3/23: Cryin’ Shame Blues Band 3/24: Uncle Albert Blues Band 3/25: Oliver Sain’s R&B All-Stars 3/26: Leroy Pierson, Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band 3/27: Fab Foehners, Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/28: Murder City Players Reggae Band 3/29: Sessions Jazz Big Band 3/30: Cryin’ Shame Blues Band 3/31: Janiva Magness Blues Band

3/8: Soulard Blues Band 3/9: Big Bamou 3/10: Bottoms Up Blues Gang 3/11: Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/12: Rockhouse Ramblers 3/13: Gumbohead 3/14: 3 pm: Melissa Neels Band; 8 pm: Johnny Fox 3/15: Soulard Blues Band 3/16: Big Bamou 3/17: Naked Groove 3/18: Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/19: Baker McClaren Band 3/20: Dangerous Kitchen 3/21: 3 pm: Radioking; 8 pm: Johnny Fox 3/22: Soulard Blues Band 3/23: Big Bamou 3/24: Jeremy Lyons & the Deltabilly Boys 3/25: Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/26: Cumberland Gap 3/27: Jake’s Leg 3/28: Hamilton Loomis 3/29: Soulard Blues Band 3/30: Big Bamou 3/31: Alvin Jett & the Phat Noiz Band

BLUEBERRY HILL 6504 Delmar Blvd. • University City, MO 314-727-0880 • www.blueberryhill.com 3/6: Marshall Crenshaw 3/7: Arvin Mitchell 3/11: Jeff Austin & Chris Castino 3/17: Chuck Berry w/Eric Lindell 3/25: Murphy’s Law

BRANDT’S 6525 Delmar Blvd. • University City, MO 314-727-3663 • http://brandtscafe.com 3/1: Georgy Rock w/Mr. Dill 3/2: Bosch, Gokenbach & Gough Jazz Trio 3/4: Jesse Gannon w/Ben Wheeler

BROADWAY OYSTER BAR 736 S. Broadway • St. Louis, MO (314) 621-8811 • www.broadwayoysterbar.com 3/1: Soulard Blues Band 3/2: Big Bamou 3/3: Mojo Syndrome 3/4: Bennie Smith & Urban Blues Express 3/5: Rich McDonough Band 3/6: Hudson & the Hoo Doo Cats 3/7: 3 pm: Scott Kay & the Continentals; 8 pm: Tom Hall

6691 Delmar Blvd. • University City, MO 314-862-0009 • www.ciceros-stl.com 3/1: Madahoochi & friends 3/2: Kind Tuesdays w/The Schwag 3/3: Pala Solution. Benevolent Mushrooms 3/4: Cornmeal w/Woodbox Gang 3/5: Jake’s Leg 3/6: 12 oz. Prophets, Ocean Six, SevenStar 3/7: Afternoon: City A; eve: Open Mic Night 3/8: The Soul of John Black w/Madahoochi 3/9: Kind Tuesdays w/The Schwag 3/10: Murder Happens, Sonic Reducer, Sullen 3/11: Phix w/The Station 3/12: Jake’s Leg 3/13: Bockman’s Euphio w/Future Rock 3/14: Afternoon: Stooky; eve: Open Mic Night 3/15: Madahoochi & friends 3/16: Kind Tuesdays w/The Schwag 3/17: Sac Lunch 3/18: Speakeasy w/Starrunner 3/19: Jake’s Leg 3/21: Afternoon: Centerpoint, Yer Mom, Say Goodbye 3/22: Madahoochi & friends 3/23: Kind Tuesdays w/The Schwag 3/24: The Slip w/Debasser 3/25: High on the Hog w/Slip Stream 3/26: Jake’s Leg 3/27: Frank Bang’s Secret Stash 3/28: Open Mic Night 3/29: Madahoochi & friends 3/30: Kind Tuesdays w/The Schwag 3/31: Prosthetic Head w/The Whiskey Hounds

COWBOY MONKEY 6 Taylor St. • Champaign, IL 217-398-6665 • www.cowboy-monkey.com 3/6: Poster Children 3/12: Decibully w/The Reputation & Shakin’ Babies 3/13: Fotamana 3/19: Prairie Dogs

BLUE NOTE 17 N. 9th St. • Columbia, MO 573-874-1944 • www.thebluenote.com 3/4: Asylum Street Spankers 3/5: Bockman’s Euphio 3/6: Dr. Woo, Ludo, Red Guitar, Breaking English 3/8: Guided by Voices, The Go 3/12: Zoso 3/13: The Hackensaw Boys 3/14: Chimaira, God Forbid, Full Blown Chaos, Cast the Stone 3/15: Rhymesayers 3/29: Sound Tribe Sector 9

CICERO’S

THE SOUNDS w/KILL HANNAH and IMA ROBOT at MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS MARCH 2, 8 p.m., all ages TICKETS: $10 • CALL: 314-421-3853 They must be having a pretty good time in Sweden these days. Their economy is good, the health care system is among the best in the world, and they keep producing one kickass band after another. The latest is The Sounds from the southern town of Helsingborg, on their first U.S. headlining tour. The quintet are gloriously retro ‘80s, with the requisite blonde bombshell upfront (Maja Ivarsson), the pinging synth, and the infectious dance rhythms. Their debut album Living in America, may not have a truly original bone in its body, but who could resist such terrifically catchy tunes? Says bassist Johan Bengtsson, “This is all about dancing and having a good time. We are a major chord band!” That they are, calling to mind early MTV sonic pop tarts like Berlin, Missing Persons, The Motels, Kim Wylde, and Blondie.

Sure, this is aural candy, but what could be better these days? Put on your dancin’ shoes and go party like it’s 1983. —Kevin Renick

CREEPY CRAWL 412 N. Tucker • St. Louis, MO 314-851-0919 • www.creepycrawl.com 3/1: One Eyed Jack Night 3/3: Macabre, Premonitions of War, The End, Ornament of Disgrace, Lye by Mistake 3/4: Number One Fan, Gunrunner, Bi-Level, Ever since January, The Nat Attack 3/5: Calico System, Remembering Never, From a Second Story Window, On Broken Wings, Beret!, Tree of Woe, Lexington 3/6: 4:30 pm: Psycho Dad, The Monskasities, The Chupacabras, LHD, Soma, Klean Kut Kids; 9:30 pm: Baine, Metal Progress, Self-Betrayal, Gimili 3/7: The Dream Warriors DJ spin 3/10: The International Playboys 3/11: The Everyothers, The Menstrual Tramps, & TBA 3/12: 6 pm: Summer Always Ends, Perfections Countervail, Stuck on Third, Best of Winter; 9:15 pm: Overdrawn & TBA 3/13: Early November, Hey Mercedes, Spitalfield, Limbeck 3/14: John Vanderslice, Okkervil River, North Country, Ester Drang 3/16: One Line Drawing, Retisonic, Cardia, & TBA 3/17: Yakuza & TBA 3/18: Bane, Armor for Sleep, Alexis on Fire, Bear vs.

Shark, Silent Drive 3/21: Hawthorne Heights, When Sparks Fly, Blame Gary, Modern Day Hero, Alisdair 3/22: Stookey, Stranded, Like Linus, Pyro!, Building Rome 3/25: Dillinger 4, Grabass Charlestons, The Methadones 3/27: Mark’s Invaders, Yowie, Skarekrauradio, The Adversary Workers, Pat Sajak Assasins, Corbeta Corbata, The Conformists, Tree of Woe, The Arch, Orb Vroomer

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3/28: Time & Distance, The Lyndsay Diaries, Blinded Black, Staying Up Late, Good as Famous

JAZZ AT THE BISTRO 3536 Washington Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-531-1012 • www.jazzatthebistro.com 3/3-6: Cyrus Chestnut Trio 3/10-13: Steve Tyrell 3/17-20: Ann Hampton Callaway 3/26-27: Dave Venn Quartet 3/31-4/3: Jane Monheit

FOCAL POINT 2720 Sutton • Maplewood, MO 314-781-4200 • www.thefocalpoint.org 3/2-3: Celtic Fiddle Festival 3/7: Tim O’Brien & the Crossing 3/12: Steve Seskin 3/13: Eire Japan 3/19: Brooks William 3/27: 2 pm: Song Circle of Friends; 8 pm: Tom Hall

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4454 Chippewa • St. Louis, MO 314-351-5711 • www.fredericksmusiclounge.com 3/1: Free Monday Movies: Cabin Boy & Get a Life 3/2: Jerry Castle Band, Chris Johnson 3/3: Midwest American Idle w/Julia Sets & surprise guests 3/4: Free Noiseday Hootenanny Open Mic & Jam Session 3/5: Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys 3/6: Magnolia Summer, Bagheera 3/8: Free Monday Movies: Blue in the Face 3/9: Ransom Note, The Moonglades 3/10: Midwest American Idle w/Julia Sets & guests 3/11: Free Noiseday Hootenanny Open Mic & Jam Session 3/12: Graham Lindsey, Ben Weaver 3/13: The Tripdaddys 3/15: Free Monday Movies TBA 3/16: The Drapes, The Phonocaptors 3/18: Free Noiseday Hootenanny Open Mic & Jam Session 3/19: Randy Cliffs w/Rockhouse Ramblers 3/20: The Silvermen w/TBA 3/22: Free Monday Movies TBA 3/23: Dresden Dolls, Danny Black 3/25: Free Noiseday Hootenanny Open Mic & Jam Session 3/26: Diesel Island 3/27: Two Cow Garage, Dexter Romweber, The Ghostwriter 3/29: Free Monday Movies TBA 3/30: Bell Dora, Adam Brodsky, Jonathan Baer

THE GARGOYLE Washington Univ Mallinckrodt Ctr. • St. Louis, MO 314-935-5917 • http://gargoyle.wustl.edu 3/18: Starlight Mints w/Palomar & Dressy Bessy

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HI-POINTE CAFE 1001 McCausland Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-781-4716 • www.hi-pointe.com Mondays: KDHX Superfunhappyhour live remote Tuesdays: Get your foot in the door nite Wednesdays: F5 Records showcase Thursdays: Non-Prophets Comedy Troope Sundays: Leon’s Ladies Night 2004 3/5: Fred’s Variety Group and Baysayboos 3/6: START benefit 3/12: Shame Club tribute to The Who w/Gentleman Callers 3/13: Forty Till Five w/KRT & Murda Happens 3/19: Supercrush, The Charmers, & Steve Bequette w/Maybe Wednesday 3/20: The Elements, LP Outsiders, & Sac Lunch 3/26: Tripdaddys 3/27: Shame Club & Bible of the Devil

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51 Main St. • Champaign, IL 217-356-2337 • www.thehighdive.com 3/5: 5th Platoon 3/10: The Walkmen w/French Kicks & Orphans 3/13: Ronnie Baker Brooks 3/15: Red Hot Valentines, Cordalene, Greedy Loves, Spindle

INFIERNO 1403 Washington Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-588-8900

MARSHALL CRENSHAW at BLUEBERRY HILL’S DUCK ROOM MARCH 6, 9 p.m., 21+ TICKETS: $16 • CALL: 314-727-0880 If you don’t know who Marshall Crenshaw is (and it’s a crime if you don’t), you probably know his songs. His first hit, “Someday, Someway,” appeared on his debut album, Marshall Crenshaw, released 22 years ago; to this day, the song still shows up on TV shows and movie soundtracks. But Crenshaw is much more than a one-hit wonder—or, more accurately, a three- or four-hit wonder. His second album featured the song “Whenever You’re On My Mind” and he also co-wrote the Gin Blossoms’ hit “’Til I Hear It From You.” It would even fall short to say that Crenshaw is a working musician who is still putting out new material. In his early days, he played the role of John Lennon in Beatlemania and later portrayed Buddy Holly in the film La Bamba.

In the mid ’90s, he published the book Hollywood Rock: A Guide to Rock & Roll in the Movies. More recently, he has scored episodes of Sex and the City and a PBS documentary on Yogi Berra. Crenshaw is not just a pop/ rock icon in his own right, he is a rock ’n’ roll scholar of the highest credentials. And on top of all that, he is an absolutely phenomenal guitarist. —Wade Paschall Mondays: Monday Night Metal Tuesdays: Music Industry Night/ $1 tacos Wednesdays: Crazy Movie Night 3/5: Angryland, TBA 3/6: Crazy Beats, Hockey Night, Femme Fatality 3/10: The Deal, Hazel Would 3/12: Spiders, American Moustache, Corbeta Corbata 3/13: Bug, TBA 3/19: Robie, Ryan Sears, The Agency 3/20: 3 legged dog 3/23: Stretchmarxxx w/TBA 3/26: Form Follows Failure, Shattered Angel, Last Annual, First Class, Failing English 3/27: Lungdust, Killjoy4Fun, Nervous Pudding

5800 Gravois • St. Louis, MO 314-481-4812 3/4: Bibowats 3/5: The Dead Celebrities, The Hailmarys, The UnMutuals 3/6: Puerto Muerto, The Potomac Accord, Mr. 1986 3/11: The Love Experts, Brain Regiment 3/12: Shine, Driver 3/13: The Crazy Beats, Billy Coma, The Moonglades 3/18: Miles of Wire, Dead Letter Drop 3/19: Earl, The Round-Ups, Aintry 3/20: Reigning Heir, Book of Lies 3/25: Phonocaptors, The Bamboo Kids, The Bloody Hollies 3/26: Fred’s Variety Group, Wormwood Scrubs, Bug 3/27: Tomorrow’s Caveman, The Civil Tones

LEMP NEIGHBORHOOD ARTS CTR. 3301 Lemp Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-771-1096 • www.lemp-arts.org 3/4: The Chromatics, Jet Black, Sleepaway 3/5: Bad Business, Step On It, Cardiac Arrest, No Control 3/6: Daughters of the Revolution, Damage Deposit, Corbeta Corbata, The Effect!

3/10: Fallout Project, With Childlike Eyes, Sine Nomine, Knife 3/11: The Show Is the Rainbow, Glorybee, TBA 3/12: Roustabouts, Tanka Ray, Chokehold, Fare Thee Well 3/13: He Who Corrupts, Seyarse, Hyphen-O, Sleepaway 3/15: Lying in States 3/16: Rick, The Church of Gravitron, Hyphen-O, TBA 3/17: Self Evident, TBA 3/18: The Ground Monkey, Max Noi Mach, TBA 3/19: Comfortable for You, Goodbye Blue Monday, Bricklayer, The Fragments 3/20: Life at Sea, Krafted in Korea, TBA 3/21: Pseudosix, Conformists 3/24: Oh Yeah, Jerusalem & the Starbaskets, TBA 3/25: Oliver’s Army, Knife, Scatter the Ashes 3/26: Terror at the Opera, Yowie 3/27: Conductor, Nathan Crowley, Lye by Mistake, Breaking the Vessels 3/30: Blue Sky Mile, Target Market, Bricklayer, Whiskey Ring

LIL NIKKI’S 1551 S. 7th St. • St. Louis, MO 314-621-2181 3/5: Awakened, Manek, Drizzit 3/6: eKe 3/12: Ocean Six 3/13: Bound 3/19: Symptoms of Illusion, Left4Dead, Tinnitus 3/20: Madahoochi 3/27: Nothinghead

MAGEE’S 4500 Clayton Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-535-8061 Every Monday: Open mic night w/Heather Barth Every Thursday: Jake’s Leg 3/2: Jazz Trio 3/3: The Moonglades & The Unmutuals 3/4: Jake’s Leg 3/5: Jackhead 3/6: Murder City Players 3/9: 8 pm: Tim Fahy & Randy Furrer; 11 pm: Ali & Emily 3/10: Earl & Leadville

BLUE OCTOBER w/BETTER THAN EZRA at the PAGEANT MARCH 19, 8 p.m. • all ages TICKETS: $20/22 • CALL: 314-726-6161

“When we get on stage, don’t you dare bring the calculations and precisions up there, just let loose.”

—Justin Furstenfeld Justin Furstenfeld is a walking contradiction; hell, just listen to any Blue October album (2000’s Consent to Treatment (Universal) or last year’s Brando/Universal release, History for Sale; there’s also a self-released first album that’s no longer available) and you’ll hear it: heartbreakingly beautiful love songs (“Clumsy Card House,” “Amazing”) interspersed with songs of madness, anger, and hatred (“Razorblade,” “Somebody,” “Sexual Powertrip”). Furstenfeld’s the singer/songwriter/ 43 emotional washrag fronting this San Marcos, Texas, quintet, and he’s the one responsible for making the band a form of art rather than a bunch of noise.

The latest album is just as it sounds: Furstenfeld’s personal history, for the price of a CD. He’s got songs “about lying...about getting to the core of relationships and understanding where they fell apart”; he’s got songs picking himself apart, facing his own demons; and he’s got songs of people who have done him wrong, people about whom he harbors no good will. And he’s ruthless in his honesty, holding nothing back. When asked how he draws the line in writing, he responded, “I don’t; that’s the thing. I just don’t name names.” Still, he admits, “It’s hard emotionally. Like, ‘Do I actually want to say this, do I actually want to admit this?’ Because then it’s going to fuck up a few of my relationships if I go ahead and do this. But then I always come back to, ‘Yeah, you’ve got to do this, or else you’re a half-ass.’” Still, he accepts the wrath of friends, family, even strangers, saying ever so wisely, “Art is not made to be beautiful all the time.”

Yet “beautiful” is one word you’ll use to describe Blue October, whether live or on CD. There’s such a precision to their choices: words, instruments, delivery, a squealing guitar here, a gentle violin there.

They’re the antidote to bland, boring rock bands with nothing to say and no motives other than money and stardom. This is the real deal, St. Louis: are you ready for it? If you are, then this is the band for you. (And they’re playing on my birthday; what more encouragement do you need?)

—Laura Hamlett

PLAYBACK ST. LOUIS 3/11: Jake’s Leg 3/12: Racket Box 3/16: Confluence benefit 3/17: The Whole Sick Crew & The Spiders 3/18: Jake’s Leg 3/19: Slipstream 3/20: Jalopy 3/23: Racket Box 3/24: Mega Hurtz & Bloodletters 3/25: Jake’s Leg 3/26: Team Tomato 3/30: Ali & Emily 3/31: Palmers Room & Big Star Kadillac

3/13: 12 oz Prophets w/Thos & Bound 3/17: Showcase of the Bands 3/17: Nathan Davis Duo w/Geoff Kessell 3/19: 7:30 pm: Pieta Brown & Bo Ramsey; 9:30 pm: Billy Coma w/Book of Lies & The Highway Matrons 3/20: 7 pm: Mick Byrd; 9 pm: Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band 3/24: Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel w/Rough Shop 3/25: Tom Russell & Andrew Hardin w/Kristi Rose & Fats Kaplin 3/26: Ian Moore w/Milton Mapes & Donny & the Feelgoods 3/27: 7:30 pm: Ellen Rosner; 9:30 pm: Barefoot Jones w/The North Country & Jive Ass -Slippers 3/31: Michael Fracasso

MANGIA ITALIANO

44

3145 S. Grand Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-664-8585 • www.dineatmangia.com 3/1: Open mic w/Keiren Malloy 3/3: eighty-four Glyde 3/4: The Moonglades 3/5: Dave Stone Trio 3/6: Brian Sullivan Trio 3/7: Reggae-dub Spin 3/8: Open mic w/Keiren Malloy 3/10: eighty-four Glyde 3/11: Cherry Octopi 3/12: Dave Stone Trio 3/13: Palookaville 3/14: Reggae-dub Spin 3/15: Open mic w/Keiren Malloy 3/17: eighty-four Glyde 3/18: Hicks & Kreher 3/19: Dave Stone Trio 3/20: The Good Griefs 3/21: Reggae-dub Spin 3/22: Open mic w/Keiren Malloy 3/24: eighty-four Glyde 3/25: Johnny Fox 3/26: Dave Stone Trio 3/27: Swing Set 3/28: Reggae-dub Spin 3/30: Open mic w/Keiren Malloy 3/31: eighty-four Glyde

MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS 914 N. First St. • St. Louis, MO 314-421-3853 • www.mississippinights.com 3/2: The Sounds w/Kill Hannah & Ima Robot 3/4: Howie Day w/Stereophonics 3/5: 12 Summers Old, Fourth & Long, Your Mom, Camden 3/6: Javier Mendoza Band w/Ghetto Prenup 3/7: Phunk Junkeez w/Saint Dog, Mower, & Last Laugh 3/9: Guided by Voices w/The Go 3/12: Few and Far Between, Lexington, Stateside, & Saved From Tomorrow 3/13: Core Project 3/16: Ziggy Marley w/Michael Franti & Spearhead 3/19: Shanti Groove 3/20: Dada w/Just Add Water 3/26: Ludo w/Anchondo 3/27: Ben Kweller & Death Cab for Cutie w/+/3/30: Sound Tribe Sector Nine

MOJO’S 1013 Park Ave. • Columbia, MO 573-875-0588 • www.mojoscolumbia.com 3/1: Annie Quick, Nova Lunacy 3/3: The People’s Republic of Klezmerica 3/4: British Sea Power w/Kaito UK & The Passion 3/5: Bottoms Up Blues Gang 3/6: Mountain of Venus w/Buddy Rose 3/9: The International Playboys, Monte Carlo, Tall Wats 3/10: Three Headed Moses, Cast the Stone, Verbal Narcotic 3/11: Kingdom Flying Club, Ambulance Ltd., Company Men 3/12: Don Caballero, The Exempt, Transponder 3/13: The Walkmen, The French Kicks 3/15: The Stills, Billy Schuh & the Foundtry, Photolab, Washington Social Scene

THE PAGEANT

THE LAWRENCE ARMS at the HI-POINTE CAFE MARCH 15, 9 p.m. • CALL: 314-781-4716 If you’re in the mood for a lively night out, and if you’ve also been in withdrawal from the cutback in shows lately at the Hi-Pointe, seek no further. On March 15, the walls of the Hi-Pointe’s tiny yet comfortingly snug upper room will again be shaking with the reverberations of good old-fashioned punk rock. The Lawrence Arms, hailing from the same Chicago music scene of Alkaline Trio and other Asian Man Records affiliates, has produced a number of solid records while resolving as a mainstay to not take themselves too seriously. As a result, they’ll undoubtedly show you a funloving, raucous good time. Don’t forget your earplugs. —Anne Valente 3/17: Fat Possum Record Showcase 3/20: Trebuchet, Long Since Forgotten, Confident Years, Copilot 3/22: The Apes, Modey Lemon, & Gris Gris 3/23: TV on the Radio, The Panthers, Oh*Yeah 3/24: Southern Culture on the Skids 3/26: Chump Change

MUSIC CAFÉ 120 S. 9th St. • Columbia, MO 573-815-9995 • www.themusiccafecolumbia.com 3/5: Frank Bang’s Secret Stash 3/10: Edi Okri & the Legacy Crew 3/11: The Nadas 3/12: The Everyothers, Ghosty, Triple Whip 3/15: The Wrens w/The Bloodthirsty Lovers & Bottom of the Hudson 3/16: Starlight Mints w/Dressy Bessy & Palomar 3/17: Japonize Elephants, A bateria, Tabla Rasa 3/20: Frankenixon 3/22: The Dresden Dolls w/Demolition Doll Rods & Kilowatthours 3/23: Polysics w/Stendek

OFF BROADWAY 3509 Lemp Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-773-3363 • www.offbroadwaystl.com 3/3: Brenda Weiler w/Justin Carroll 3/4: Jack Ingram w/Rough Shop 3/5: 7:30 pm: Dave Moore w /Bob McKee; 10 pm: The Asylum Street Spankers 3/6: Leon Russell 3/10: The Basement Duo 3/11: Miles of Wire w/The Hibernauts & Dead Letter Drop 3/12: Bugs Henderson w/Kirby Kelly

6161 Delmar Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 314-726-6161 • www.thepageant.com 3/1-3: Bob Dylan 3/4-5: 1964: The Tribute 3/6: Henry Rollins Spoken Word 3/10: Keb’ Mo’ w/Kaki King 3/12: Lucinda Williams w/Bottle Rockets 3/13: The Edwin McCain Band w/Robert Bradley & Blackwater Surprise 3/16: Liz Phair w/Wheat & Rachael Yamagata 3/17: Dream Theater 3/19: Better Than Ezra w/Blue October 3/20: Indigo Girls w/Shawn Mullins 3/23: Ruben Studdard 3/26: Three Days Grace, Apartment 26, Edgewater, Lo-Pro 3/27: 19th Annual Women & Blues

POP’S 1403 Mississippi • Sauget, IL 618-274-6720 • www.popsrocks.com 3/2: Devil Driver 3/5: Broke 3/6: Mojo Risin’: a tribute to the Doors 3/8: Tech N9ne 3/13: Zoso: a tribute to Led Zeppelin 3/14: Poison the Well 3/19: Manalishi: a tribute to Judas Priest 3/20: Tesla 3/22: Dillinger Escape Plan 3/26: Yngwie Malmsteen & George Lynch 3/27: Evolution: a tribute to Journey 3/30: SnoCore featuring Trapt, Smile Empty Soul, Fingereleven, Strata

POP’S BLUE MOON 5249 Pattison • St. Louis, MO 314-776-4200 • www.popsbluemoon.com Open jam every Tuesday; see Web site for listings.

ROCKET BAR 2001 Locust St. • St. Louis, MO 314-588-0055 • http://rocketbar.net 3/5: Superhopper 3/6: Just a Fire, Camp Climax for Girls, Lost to Metric 3/10: Target Market, Shuttlecock, Stylex 3/12: Railers of Kiev, Overstep, The Affair 3/13: Don Caballero, Constantines, Dakota/Dakota 3/16: Sick Lipstick, In Medias Res, In Medias Res 3/17: Desert Fathers, Bibowats 3/19: Elefant, The Race, The Floating City 3/22: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists w/Electrelane & Paris TX 3/23: All Night Radio w/Cass McCombs 3/24: TV on the Radio, Panthers, Year Future

SALLY T’S 6 Main St. • St. Peters, MO 636-397-5383 • www.sallyts.com 3/2: Girls’ Acoustic Open Mic 3/3: Outbound w/High Existence & Perfect Existence 3/5: Nine-O-Five w/Holy Frog & TBA 3/6: Middle Ground w/442 & The Dead Drive Fast 3/10: Burnt Ninja & Spatik

3/11: Ever Since January, Brad Miller, SevenStar, & Arbo 3/12: Del Ray w/Exe & Artificial Hip 3/13: Spent w/B. Koolman & TBA 3/17: Madahoochi & Pepperhoochi w/Salt Vision 3/18: O’Nathan Davis Band w/Bound & Matt Lilley 3/19: Adams Off Ox, Opie Hicks & the Elements, Stendek 3/20: Five x’s Over w/Dead Root 3/22: Andy Camp w/We’re From Japan & Norm’s Band 3/23:Patrick Thomas w/Matt Lilley & TBA 3/24: High on the Hog & TBA 3/25: Dan Potthast w/Rick Johnson Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine 3/26: Again w/The Saw Is Family & Book of Lies 3/27: Something More & One Way Conflict 3/31: The Rove w/Lithic & The Projections

SHELDON CONCERT HALL 3648 Washington Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 314-533-9900 • www.sheldonconcerthall.org 3/14: 5th Annual Sheldon Wine Tasting & Buying 3/18: Mary Black 3/24: Juilliard Jazz Small Ensemble 3/26: Celebrate Life With Laughter Comedy Jam 3/28: Spring Into Spring w/Paul James 3/31: Franck, Faure & Chopin

STUDIO CAFÉ 1309 Washington Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-621-8667 3/6: Urban Blight Players 3/12: Agency 3/19: Twisted Oak 3/20: Pud 3/26: The Ted Wilson Inexperience 3/27: Coral Courts

THREE-1-THREE 313 E. Main St. • Belleville, IL 618-239-6885 • www.three-1-three.com Every Monday: Park Avenue Trio Every Tuesday: DJ Rob Gray Every Wednesday: Open mic night w/Matt Schomber Every Thursday: Industry night w/DJ Kenny Kingston 3/7: CJ Boyd 3/12: Honest Pod 3/13: Tailspin 3/17: The Beautiful Down, The Audible Campaign 3/20: Through Dint of Heavy Wishing 3/26: Southerly, The Conversation

TOUHILL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER University of Missouri – St. Louis • St. Louis, MO 314-516-4949 • www.touhill.org 3/6: Alexandra Ballet: Sleeping Beauty 3/10: Cambio de Colores 3/12: John Whelan Band 3/18: UMSL University Singers & Orchestra & SLCC Meramec Singers 3/19: Paula Poundstone 3/20: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra 3/25: Fosse 3/31: Kronos Quartet

VENICE CAFÉ 1905 Pestalozzi • St. Louis, MO 314-772-5994 Call for schedule.

WAY OUT CLUB 2525 S. Jefferson Ave. • St. Louis, MO 314-664-7638 • www.wayoutclub.com 3/5: Brain Regiment 3/6: The 45s 3/13: What’s Up Benefit w/The Round Ups, Wydown, & more 3/20: Maxtone Four See Web site for additional listings.

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SUNDAYS Leon’s Ladies Night 2004 with Guest DJs and Dirt Cheap Drinks $5

MONDAYS Superfunhappyhour with a live KDHX remote check website for listings

TUESDAYS Get your foot in the door night – check website for listings

WEDNESDAYS F5 Records showcase – check website for listings

THURSDAYS Militant Propoganda Bingo Machine w/NonProphets Comedy Troupe

SHOWS NOT TO MISS! March 5 – Fred’s Variety Group & Baysayboos March 6 – START benefit March 12 – Shame Club perform a tribute to The Who w/Gentleman Callers March 13 – Forty Till Five w/KRT & Murda Happens March 19 – Supercrush, The Charmers, & Steve Bequette w/Maybe Wednesday March 20 – The Elements, LP Outsiders, & Sac Lunch March 26 – Tripdaddys March 27 – Shame Club & Bible of the Devil

THE EN IGM A LOUN GE

THE UNDERGROUND OF ST. LOUIS ORIGINAL MUSIC OPEN TUES-THURS@8PM FRI-SAT@9PM 15480 CLAYTON ROAD BALLWIN, MO WWW.ENIGMALOUNGE.COM FOR ALL SHOW INFORMATION GO TO WWW.ENIGMALOUNGE.COM