Indie-List_V3_N17
I just got out of the Hotel Amnesia
Why I had to go there I can't remember
BUT NOW I CAN REMEMBER!
Message for ya, message for ya...
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Indie List Digest
March 8th, 1994
Volume 3, Number 17
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How to go deaf in a weekend without really trying
Eggs Album Release FunFest WookyWooky
reviews (live show & 3 song ep)
ADS:
Split Singles from Split Records
Free Photo of Mac From Superchunk
Go see Friendly, Maybe Mark's Chest Too!
++++++++++
From: Douglas Wolk <dbcloud@panix.com>
How to go deaf in a weekend without really trying
The answer is, of course, to go to an obscene number of shows: five in
three days. Friday night was Magic Hour/Fly Ashtray/Thinking Fellers Union
Local 282 at Maxwell's. Magic Hour consist of Naomi and Damon (ex-Galaxie
500) and Kate and Wayne (ex-Crystallized Movements); they've got an okay
7" out, and an album out in a few weeks; I've only heard one song from it,
but it's much better than the single.
Anyway, they played four songs. The first was a nice double-guitar
showcase for Wayne and Kate; the second was a really lovely one with Naomi
singing and Damon playing acoustic guitar instead of drums for its first
half. Damon's drumming is really odd: instead of keeping a particular
beat, he plays continuous fills. But it works really well in the context
of Magic Hour. After those first two songs, though, they did an
everybody-make-noise version of "Heads Down" that wasn't too great, and
then announced that they were about to play a song that they'd never done
in front of an audience before, but last time they'd played it it had run
22 minutes, and they wanted to see if they could beat that...
Short-attention-span Douglas decided to go hang with some people out front
for a little while. I wandered back in 10 minutes or so later, found them
whanging away on guitars while Naomi played the same ascending bass figure
she plays for the last five minutes of most of their songs, and wandered
out again.
Fly Ashtray and Thinking Fellers I actually saw two nights running; F.A.
repeated only about three songs from one set to the other, and TFUL282 had
no repeats at all. The Ashtray boys [no relation] are the worst-dressed
band in the history of rock and no mistake. Saturday night, James Kavoussi
was wearing a badly decomposed/stained giant rabbit suit that he'd found
in a dumpster somewhere (didn't wear the head or the gloves, fortunately);
Chris Thomas was wearing, I think, tuxedo pants with holes in the knees
and a Hershey's Chocolate t-shirt with some signs of serious misuse...
Friday night, they were drunk off their asses, forgetting how half the
songs went, and still brilliant (one of the new songs, "Moist Floor Ruined
My Bad Idea," is just about their best ever); Saturday night was a much
better performance but a much worse mix. If you ever play CBGB's, it is
VITALLY important to soundcheck, kids.
Thinking Fellers, on the other hand, were kinda disappointing both nights.
The _Admonishing The Bishops_ EP is a breakthrough of some kind (much
subtler than earlier records, although just as sonically varied), and the
Friday night show started out with a couple of GREAT new Anne
Eickelberg-sung songs, one of which had nearly the whole band playing one
set of drums at the same time. But then it sort of devolved into a bunch
of instrumentals from _Mother Of All Saints_, a good but kinda pointlessly
straightforward Rolling Stones cover ("Shattered"), a couple of "hits"
("2x4s" and "Nothing Solid")... And Saturday night they just didn't seem
to be too happy to be up on stage; the songs, especially the new ones, are
marvels of off-kilter construction, but it wasn't as engaging as I'm used
to them being.
Also on Saturday, I was privileged to see a drastically under-promoted
show at ABC No Rio with Cat Power (now a one-piece: Chan was so brave, she
faced the audience the whole time and everything... you sort of have to
understand that this is the shyest person who has EVER been in ANY band,
although she has some very, very good songs and a heartbreaking voice),
Lois (as soon as she said that she was just going to play acoustic guitar,
all the little hardcore kids left, so there were like seven of us watching
her play in the bitter cold of the Rivington Street basement) and God Is
My Co-Pilot (about whom I've said my quota of laudatory things already).
And the Ex and Tom Cora at the Knitting Factory... yes, in some ways
they're just about the best band there is, and if tightness were the most
important aesthetic criterion they would be. But I wish they'd explore a
little more, in ways other than having a three-minute free-improv section
in the middle of their set. Like, especially, learning some more new
songs. I saw them a year or so ago, and it was almost exactly the same
set, right down to the "Hidegen Fujnak A Szelek"/"War O.D." encore.
They're at the top of their game, but they're not challenging themselves
nearly enough. This, it should be noted, is an eyedropper of complaint in
a very large swimming pool of "what an amazing band they are!"
And last night I got to see the Spinanes. Lots of good things about them
have been said on I-L, and I'll second every one of them. Rebecca has
become an even better guitarist over the last six months or so, finding
all sorts of spaces to play within her (pretty tightly composed) songs,
and Scotty is the hardest-hitting drummer on Earth. He finds ways to hook
Rebecca's guitar-songs with his drums, and they're mostly REALLY
effective: listen, for instance, to the way two snare slams bookend the
little riff at the end of "Spitfire," or the incessant tom-beat for about
half a minute before he finally hits the cymbals in "Suffice." I'm real
impressed. And Rebecca's a mean fruit-machine player, too. They've had so
little time off the road that they've had practically no chance to write
new stuff--hence they played all but two or three of their recorded songs
in the course of an hour-long show--but there were a couple of new ones:
an okay Rebecca-only thing called "Thank You," and a mostly successful
cover of Mission of Burma's "Fame And Fortune." Given how utterly
obsessive I am about Burma, it made me jump up and down with sheer
happiness...
As far as records go, well, the one that's made me most happy today is a
new and very limited single on Way Out Sound: Merzbow doing his
noise-thing for nine minutes, accompanied by WOS guy John Goff playing
bagpipes. Just about anything on Way Out Sound is worth getting if you see
it, just on artifactual value alone, but this one and the Heavy Vegetable
single I was raving about a month or two ago are the most sonically
pleasing of the bunch, and totally different from each other.
Douglas D. Wolk dbcloud@panix.com
"If you're going to lead a double life, _lead a double life_."
-------------
From: ljason@wam.umd.edu (L Jason colton)
Eggs Album Release FunFest WookyWooky
[a.k.a. the party after the 8th annual TeenBeat banquet - Sean]
2/28/94 EGGS TEEN BEAT 96 EXPLODER RELEASE PARTY SHOW FEST
Eggs Blast off Country Style Tuscadero
Johnny Cohen and the Shoe Trees
-The Black Cat, Washington, D.C.-
These wacky D.C. cats. what will they think of next? D.C. needs a great
club. The main club, the 9:30 club , is a smelly hole in the wall, but
home to every moderately-sized band that comes to town (Teenage Fanclub,
Cracker, and hell, Run-D.M.C.) or starts and grows in town (Unrest,
Shudder to Think, Edsel). The booking is great, but the place is the size
of a townhouse with a couple of bars put in, and smells like no other
establishment on the planet. Not in a good way, at that. So, the Black
Cat could remedy this. The problem is, it's the size of a gymnasium. Hey
guys, gimmee something a little moderate, couldya? Hardly the ideal place
for the folky nonsense of Johnny Cohen and his pals the Shoe Trees, two
gentlemen who back Johnny up on his childlike odes with violin, acoustic
guitar, cello, and uh, toy piano. Johnny's whiny, nervous voice and
tritely odd lyrics pounded through the immense and still unfilled Black
Cat in a very disproportionate manner. He was received tenderly, if
questionably. ::::Then, these goofy kids get up, Tuscadero. I don't know
if they're actually on TeenBeat or not. But the general agreement was
that they had probably just formed a month or so before, after being given
a couple of guitars and copies of The Breeders' "Last Splash" and some
Courtney Love singles or something. The drummer and bassist were both
guys in ties who knew what was going on, how to play their instruments,
how the songs went, relevant stuff like that. To either side of them,
though, singing and playing the guitars, were these two girls who appeared
about 15, and seemed to have taken up the guitar as a New Year's
resolution, and were now appearing in front of Mark Robinson and all his
blissful ilk in the nation's capital. Odd. Memorable lyrics: "you are
my Chips Ahoy, you are my Almond Joy/you are my Nilla Wafer, you are my
Now 'n Later" (from, yep, "The Candy Song"). Most notable tune was a
tribute song to Nancy Drew. The worst thing about Tuscadero was that the
crowd actually liked them by the end of their set. People shouldn't be
allowed to do this! At least struggle in the basement for a whole MONTH
before you play a big show. Come on, kids. :::::Well, then the oddness
started to happen. Blast Off Country Style came out. The overall visual
element was bizarre enough. Then they actually started to play. Talk
about your sixties-inspired geek pop. craziness. it was unlawfully,
unabashedly bad, stupid, infantile, repetitious, talentless, and
dissonant. I danced up a storm. :::::Then dear friends, the big boys.
The Eggs Rock 'n' Roll Revue. (name coined by I-L contributor Steve
"aksdfjlskd" Silverstein, and remarkably appropriate.) There were so
many people on stage. The three Eggs Men, plus new drummer, hopefully
to stay this time, plus good ol' conga player, and also who could forget
resident Eggs Dancer Evan Bittner, resplendant in fiery orange circus
garb. The show was great. Most of the songs were new, and many were
tight. of course, the album was recorded in wacky fragments, rarely with
a full band, so some of the tunes were unrehearsed. But Eggs still
presented their softspoken peppy original pop whimsy, as lovely as ever.
Mr. Mark was thoroughly pleased. Something about the performance was a
little nervous, as if they were being observed by someone special. They
dedicated the show to the late great Unrest. 7" singles were 2 bucks. a
nice evening. I had this awful dilemma about whether to get the new Eggs
96 Exploder album on CD or double-record set, and weaseled into the CD,
which may not have been the finest choice, since apparently the album was
made as 4 distinct "sides", and hence is put on the CD with minute-long
pauses where the record-flipping would go. After first listen, I must
admit it's a bloody mess. Only a few songs capture that zest and life
that I'm used to from Eggs, many others are noodlings around. Sometimes
too much 24-track studio access can be a bad thing. But oh, how it grows
on you. :::::P.S. - after the show, some live-sounding Shudder to Think
music blasted over the P.A. Music from their older "Funeral at the
Movies" and Ten Spot" albums, but new recordings. What was it?
Apparently, when at a studio in New York, they recorded some stuff "live
in the studio", and picked the best five for near-future release on Epic.
:::::P.P.S. - no I didn't ask Mark R himself, but a TeenBeat
record-selling person. apparently, Unrest broke up because they just got
tired of it. Phil plans to get a "real 9 to 5 tie-wearing job" and they
will play other music with other folks. Dunno. sorta puzzles me. I
guess if 4AD has a slot now...heh heh...
Take care.
Jason.
ljason@wam.umd.edu
legal terminology is swirling round my head...
O-|--<
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From: Leigh Fullmer <LFULLMER@ALEXANDRIA.LIB.UTAH.EDU>
reviews (live show & 3 song ep)
Jawbox/Girls Against Boys**March 2, 1994*DV8*SLC UT***
Rushed right on down to DV8, missing the first song (damn). Pretty
consistent, careful, well-done. Not a flaw. They performed stuff I
recognized from Tropic and Venus (and lots more--not familiar with
_90's Vs. 80's_) They've certainly "matured" since the last show in
November--"mature" meaning both "more depth"--greater grasp on the
quiet-loud dynamic w/in a song; updated the older songs really well--and
also meaning "duller"--they didn't have NEARLY as much energy as last time
(which was in the cavernous basement of DV8 to which they relegate
all-ages/no-alcohol shows) ('course, I was more comfortable, degenerate
beer-swiller that I am). Still and all, flawless show. My only conceivable
complaint was with the Noisemaker's (keyboardist/ 2nd bassist)
dancing--found it hard to keep my head bobbing at a consistent pace
(always important), what with watching his manic flinging of limbs.
Rydolin(sp?) is the answer, I think. I initially payed little attention
to Jawbox--my roommate said they were a "snore," so I wasn't expecting
much. Pleasantly proven wrong, to an extent. Good dynamic--the goofy
bassist really held her own, despite her bouncing around. They seemed
pretty formulaic, though--songs for every indie-mood. (I can see the K-Tel
liner notes even now....)
--------
"Night and Day" "Feeling Dizzy" "On My Mind" *Everything But the Girl* No,
it's not new, neither is my interest in it terribly original, but it's
good, 12 years old and found without much hassle at my local
aspiring-corporate-slob record store. Guitars are nice, Tracy Thorn's
vocals are wonderfully H'd- and sexed-out, as per usual. Pretty
cliche-ridden lyrics, but what would you expect when the leading track is
a Cole Porter? Nice stuff. (Thanks, skm, for recommending _Caught In
Flux_, btw....)
fomo, wombat and faminist
"but i'm not fertile!"
email lfullmer@alexandria.lib.utah.edu
----------
From: searles@uvm-gen.EMBA.UVM.EDU
Subject: Ad - Split Singles from Split Records
INTRODUCIN' SPLIT RECORDS....
Split is a new 7'' only label dedicated to music from little old
Burlington, Vermont. Each single will feature two different Burlington
bands. We'll be doing a series of about 10 singles, limited runs of 500.
The first single, which came out last week, features a song by hover
called 'the World Within', and a new Chin Ho! song called 'World'....The
second single, out in April, has 'Waste Away' by Snowplow, and 'Same' by
the Madelines. Each single is 4 bucks (that includes postage)...canadian
folks add .75...Send to Split Records, P.O. Box 5373, Burlington, VT,
05402...or call 802-865-9282. If anyone has a 'zine or knows a cool radio
station that might want one, let me know....contact Brad at
'searles@uvm-gen.emba.uvm.edu'. Thanks!...
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From: "K. Lena Bennett" <keb@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Free Photo of Mac From Superchunk
Merge Records sent me a glossy publicity photo of Mac which I'd be happy
to pass on to anyone who wants it. It's a nice pic but it doesn't do
anything for me, if ya know what I mean ;) Send me private email with
your address and I'll send it to you.
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
"The worst violence you could commit while high on pot would be trying to
stand up, stumbling, and falling on top of one of your friends."
---------
Subject: Go see Friendly, Maybe Mark's Chest Too!
(blatant plug department)
Friendly is playing some shows on Tobacco Road this weekend, so if you
can make it, do...
Saturday the 12th: Asheville NC at Artcore, with the Spoonbenders
Sunday the 13th: Columbia SC at Annie's, with One3Four
Write me for more information.
Mark Cornick \ /
8 that's a mighty big word for a ten year old
mark8phantom.com / \
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[Submitted by: karlof chris knox (karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu)
Tue, 8 Mar 1994 20:34:35 -0500 (EST)]