The Melvins
at the Galaxy Theater
The Melvins are the rock gods of many, including the most famous of all, Kurt Cobain (all fellow natives of Aberdeen, WA). Still, they stand as one of the last remaining from Ye Olde Seattle days, though, of course, they don’t let that get to them. Starting with their first release in 1987, they’ve managed to spread their post-punk glory with 18 albums under their belt, including this months’ release of Hostile Ambient Takeover on Ipecac Records. In honor of said event, the Melvins have embarked upon an extensive world tour, one of the first dates being at the spacious Galaxy Theater (my one complaint directed towards the venue’s security, who made it their mission to very unprofessionally harass all females present throughout the entire evening). Starting the evening with opener Black Heart Procession’s short but sweet set, the Melvins charged on stage with their usual flair. Singer-guitarist Buzz Osbourne’s infamous afro mixed with his trademark fashion sense, backed by fellow original

member, singer-drummer and fellow Fantomas bandmate) Dale Crover, and their latest bassist, Kevin Rutmanis, form a tight ensemble fit to deliver a heavy yet thoroughly entertaining (and amusing) evening. Each number full of rockin’ life, the three stomped through the evening with absolute disregard of morals, manners, and etiquette. And accepted hair length. Here’s to their 30th anniversary (come 2014), and every single one up until then.
www.melvins.com
- Megan Gaynes


Plaid
by Sean Halloway
The velocity at which Mira Calix plays gently increases how a good dream sets in, in more ways than one. Seemless. Gradual. It hits everyone head on. The critical mass of crowd-movement strikes as her set officially moves from warming up to boiling over and spilling all over the crowd like glucose-rich sugar-water. Her set consists of spinning ambient noise combined with what could be called industrial, in the strictest, literal sense - machinations and humming of powergrids underneath concrete, eating at the ears gently with bass-laced fury. She's slow like foxes in nightmares.

It fades. The grandmaster himself, Nobukazu Takemura, comes onto stage with an accomplice. He immediately begins playing, on his three laptops - one a Titanium Apple Powerbook - some of his more infamous tracks off his album Scope. The melody sounds like a thousand ridges at the bottom of the ocean being ripped apart as alien lifeforms land in a highly advanced piece of machinery, and, needing the hydrogen in our ocean's H2O molecules to fuel their fusion reactors, decimate us, oxidate us.

The set is accompanied by a rotating series of pre-animated movie clips, which his accomplice splices and sequences in real-life. Claymation figures go along with songs that are throwbacks to childhood dreams. It takes me to places one can barely speak of, like the underbelly of the most absurd of copper lobsters holding pocket-watches. It just is. It’s hyperreal. The master takes us into the palm of his hand. We are Nobukazu-sensei's putty. He is the master. He is the master. He lets us go. It dissipates with the same passion as it formed, nebula-like, a disk building steam and building motion as the forces which work against it work to form it. We're the planets around Nobukazu's star now. And we scatter. He revokes the laws of gravity with his genius. We are let loose to the far edges of the universe.

Plaid’s dramatic and final set is dominated by more recent work, tracks selected from last year's Double Figure. All of those present are taken, not by force, but because they want to go, let go, and go to places on the screen. As each track goes by, played off of Ed Handley’s and Andy Turner’s matching Ti Powerbooks.


Umphrey’s McGee
4-10-02
by Dave Weinburger
What do six white boys from the armpit of America know about fusing elements of funk, hip-hop, heavy metal, rock and soft love ballads into a tightly woven musical journey? Well, after seeing Umphrey’s McGee perform at club 1650, I’d say a hell of a lot!
Umphrey’s McGee, a jamband from Chicago, took L.A. by storm with their infused style of playing. They experimented with such covers as Motley Crue’s “Dr. fFeelgood” and their own interpretation of Eminem’s “Kill You” as well as their own brand of intricately composed songs that moved the audience to not only dance but bang their heads in homage to all metal hair band of the past. Now don’t misunderstand me - this is not a metal band. Umphrey’s McGee is a jamband that composes tightly woven improvisational jams with harmonic vocal nuances that elevate them to a new standard of jamband.
Guitarists Brendan and Jake work so well off each other as they harmonize over the tightly laid down rhythms of the bass and drums. Adding to the overall mix is Joel the keyboardist who adds textures and synth sounds that are eerie and reminiscent of Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic.” This band blends together better then rum and coke and have the ability to take you to new heights of splendor with their mind bending jams that lift you off your feet with light airy grooves, then propel you to outer space with their funked out space age cohesive style of jamming.
This is a band that will be blowing up in the next year as they have limitless potential and have found a formula to stand out in the jamband community with their own brand of midwestern funk. I highly recommend seeing them live or getting your hands on a bootleg copy of their show as the live experience is something I feel blessed to have witnessed.


Wayne Horvitz's
Zony Mash
at Rocco, April 12th
A boiling sonic liquid sprays out of Zony Mash’s amplifiers, drums, and cymbals - the wide coverage afforded by the low viscosity of a quick and power-assisted sound, the sear by the edginess of distorted overtones.
The band blends instrument outputs like fluids, and the mix becomes an often indistinguishable combination of instrumental tones: the blazing whir of Horvitz’s Hammond B-3 organ, coupled with Andy Roth’s atmospherically roaring ride patterns played on a china cymbal, bleeds into crashing guitar riffs by Timothy Young, which layer on Keith Lowe’s bass buzz.
Unfamiliar sounds from the familiar instruments embellish and extend the sonic cooperation. Keys, strings, drum heads, and cymbal bronze all freely swap in both spreading ambiance and producing percussion.
This experimentation with instrumental roles ferments the ingredient jazz, rock, and classical genres into a potent cocktail of complex taste - to drink in a shot.
- Nick Burns, photo by Jay Matsueda

music notes
by Scott Dudleson


The Last Waltz News
Martin Scorcese’s seminal rockumentary The Last Waltz has recently been re-released, in select Los Angeles theaters, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The movie, which covers The Band’s final concert, has been re-mastered with new color prints and the soundtrack has been beautifully re-mixed by Band guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson. To coincide with the release, Rhino is compiling a 4-CD box set to feature 24 previously unreleased tracks, including rehearsal takes and unreleased jams that were not included on the original pressing.

The film is a fascinating look into the dynamics, on and off stage, of one of rocks most influential groups. While the movie primarily focuses on the concert, which features guest performances by Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton and others, the interviews, which were conducted by Scorcese, provide the fodder that Rob Reiner used in his spoof This is Spinal Tap. In a seemingly drug induced haze, it is difficult to take these characters seriously off stage, but impossible not to awe at their talent when they perform. The film is an essential document in the history of rock and roll and its influence is seen in every concert film that was to follow.
The focal point of the new box set is the all-star jam session, featuring Ringo Starr, Steven Stills, Neil Young, Ronnie Wood, Clapton and Dylan, which was recently uncovered, but not included in the re-mastered film The Eagles/Lebowski/Barnoy Connection?
Rock and Roll Veterans The Eagles have recently announced dates for their upcoming tour, their first as a quartet, but, suspiciously, have yet to set a Los Angeles date. Many Angelenos have not objected to the recent slight by the Eagles, as they have adopted new views on the band that, apparently, stem directly from the film The Big Lebowski. According to noted Toronto based musicologist Ron Barnoy, sales from the Eagles’ extensive back catalog have been slightly lower since the release of The Big Lebowski in 1998. Barnoy cites the film’s popularity and cult following as the cause of the stagnate sales. In the film, the Dude, portrayed by Jeff Bridges, is vehemently opposed to the Eagles’ music, preferring, instead to listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival. During a recent lecture, Mr. Barnoy noted that, “We are seeing a trend where pop culture is hindering the progress of pop music, with ‘Lebowski connection’ being the prime example.” He further explains, “We live in a multilateral, media oriented society and we are continually seeing ideas from one (film) directly affecting others (music).” To solidify his argument, Barnoy points to former CCR front-man John Fogerty’s new record contract with Dreamworks as a result of the ‘Lebowski connection.’ Fogerty last released a record in 1997 to little fanfare one year prior to the release of the Big Lebowski .........hum........

Around LA
Elvis Costello’s tenure as UCLA’s artist in residence officially ended last week. Costello, who performed with the Charles Mingus Orchestra at Royce Hall earlier in his tenure, will fulfill his obligation by performing a show at UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom. UCLA’s Royce Hall’s artistic director David Sefton, who is looking to fill the now vacant slot, has been reportedly eyeing former Velvet Underground bassit/keyboardist John Cale for the position. Since becoming director of Royce Hall last year, Sefton has turned it into one of the hippest concert venues in LA by bringing in hot attractions like the recent indie-fest All Tomorrow’s Parties featuring Sonic Youth, Steve Malkmus and Wilco.
Former Grateful Dead bassist, Phil Lesh is returning to the Greek Theater with his Phil and Friends project. Lesh, who is a regular performer at the Greek, will make a one night appearance on May 25 before heading up to San Francisco to perform a few gigs. The 25th will also see the return of fellow jamband rockers Rusted Root, who will perform at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. The band, who is expected to release a new record this year, is returning from a brief sabbatical after a decade of relentless touring.
On the LA music scene front, All Rise will perform their return show on May 10th at the Viper Room with guests H is Orange. Be on the lookout for singer/songwriter Jared Burton who has the song-writing ability and charisma to take over the world. Jared, who recently completed his residency at the Canyon Club in Agoura, has been garnering a buzz by many of the music industry’s head honchos and is quickly becoming the go-to guy by concert bookers around town.

…And You Will Know Us by the
Trail of the Dead
Source Tags & Codes – Interscope 2002
Not even hitting the halfway point of the year yet, I already know this album will be in my top ten come 2002’s end. Not many albums manage to hit one with such force from start to finish so consistently from the very first listen, and increase with each go. A perfect blend of guitar rock along with complex orchestrations, its energy is contagious (their drummer must have arms of steel) yet fully grasps melodic melancholy with equal ease. Listening to the music is indistinguishable from marveling at the beauty of a passionate painting, and indeed, Source Tags & Codes is, to put it simply, a masterpiece.
Formed in 1994 in Hawaii by Jason Reece and Conrad Keely, they soon moved to Olympia, WA, then finally relocated permanently to Austin, TX. Over the years they’ve released two full albums on various independent labels before their most recent successful switch to a major with Source Tags & Codes. Capitalizing on the increased production value without succumbing to the usual pitfalls, they’ve managed to capture their much-talked-about live energy on cd – yet another difficult feat. Even the artwork is intricate and beautifully done, along with lyrics that are as much of a necessity as everything else in the Trail of the Dead ‘package’ (“Millions of people/All of you people/Dream of the sandman/But the sandman has turned to mud”). This is a band that’s had a steadily growing buzz of appreciation over the years, that will only continue to grow, I doubt with even a faltering step.
www.trailofdead.com - Megan Gaynes



John Oswald
Plunderphonics 69/96
John Oswald is pop music’s venerable mad scientist, and thanks to the brave souls at the Negativland record label, the past 15 years of his trailblazing experimentation have finally been compiled and arranged into an attractive two CD box entitled Plunderphonics 69/96. Long the pariah of recording artists and industry executives, Mr. Oswald’s expansive sonic canvass resembles what it might sound like if John Cage were to play the music of Britney Spears. In other words, this isn’t your little sister’s bubble-gum pop. Mr. Oswald’s modus operandi is a type of compositional revisionism, where famous songs are mined for their essential hooks, and than
reduced into easily recognizable snippets ranging in length from milliseconds to three-second intervals. Using computers and keyboards,
these bite sized “electroquotes” are rearranged into a musical house of mirrors that is at once familiar and unsettling, leaving the listener grasping for metaphors with which to describe this otherworldly concoction.
Everyone from Metallica, Dolly Parton, the Doors, Michael Jackson, and Giuseppe Verde gets a turn having their music go through Oswald’s crafty postmodern filter. Be advised, however, this music is definitely not for everyone. While each song has a fittingly unique logic, very few of these pieces “groove” in the traditional sense. But if you are looking for some good subversive fun, and you’re the type that is just as likely to blast Thriller as you are The Rite of Spring, Plunderphonics 69/96 may just be your feel good hit of the season.
- Ron Leshem


Neil Young
Are You Passionate? - Reprise Records 2002
For over four decades, Neil Young has made a career recording brilliantly unpredictable records. So when, at age 57, Young decided to record a Memphis-soul album, the prospect did not seem wholly unreasonable. Recruiting the legendary Stax/Volt house band Booker T & the MGs to provide a solid grove in back, Young set out to add some doo-wop and boogie to his eclectic resume. The resulting album, Are You Passionate? is an erratic collection of 11 songs that reconstruct classic 60's soul melodies. Lyrically, Are You Passionate? follows Young’s acoustic folk output, relating simple tales about love and faith that are presented in a nonthreatening manner. The central flaw with the record is not Neil’s ragged voice but rather, the weakly constructed melodies which are often unfocused, in part, due to each song’s extreme running length. Each cut on the record runs over the 5 minute mark, with the albums final soul track “She’s a Healer” running a whopping 9 minutes. Sadly, Young does not produce any revelation, lyrically or musically, to warrant an extension of his melodies past the standard 3 or 4 minute mark that is traditionally common within the genre he is tackling. Notably the album contains Young’s “Ohio” for the 21st century, in the form of “Let’s Roll,” a Sept 11 inspired anthem about flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania. “Let’s Roll,” the album’s first single, is Young’s strongest call to action since his 1989 classic “Rocking in the Free World” and would have fit perfectly in the recently released “Tribute to Heros” collection. The most exciting, in addition to being the most misplaced, song on the album is the garage rock masterpiece “Goin’ Home.” The sole track recorded with long time collaborators “Crazy Horse,” is an epic 9-minute gem, complete with dirty guitar riffs and incoherent lead solos that rank up there with “Powderfinger” and “Cowgirl in the Sand,” as Young’s hard-rocking best. Young proves that, at age 57, he can still use bursts of feedback and distortion as an effective tool to destroy his melodies. “Goin’ Home” ultimately serves as a cathartic release from the doo-wop influence that characterizes the rest of the record and hints at Young’s direction for the future.
-Scott Dudelson


Sophie’s Timbre Will Rise (and Fall)
by Vincent Jeffries
If the proportions of adult contemporary make the genre unfit for extreme poetic ambition, nobody told Sophie B. Hawkins. On the reissue of the singer/songwriter’s 1999 release Timbre (packaged with some extra demo and B-side material) Hawkins’ artistry collides spectacularly with her chosen musical style. Timbre is an up and down affair, but a real sense of daring and purpose sustains this release, allowing Hawkins a wide creative berth, and with it, the opportunity to succeed and fail righteously.
After the prolix of “No Connection” punishes the song’s melody, there’s redemption in the sexual candor of “32 Lines.” Just when the ghetto-inflected beat poetry of “The Darkest Child” begins to wilt, a perfect chorus swells like the fulfillment of an implied promise. And while overwrought numbers like “Help Me Breath” are excessive, tracks like “Nocturne” transcend the poetic trappings with their lush arrangements and breathy whispers.
During Timbre’s best moments, Hawkins skillfully details wanderlust and the complexities of adult relationships in an age of glorified adolescence. It all culminates as the sublime closer “The One You Have Not Seen” sets into a cathartic rock blast, delivering the record’s ironic epilogue sans vocals. Having avoided disaster, Hawkins doesn’t emerge a sanctified woman, but she never bends herself out of shape, and she makes no apologies. Apparently, nobody told Sophie B. about things like demographics and pop formula. If they did, she wasn’t listening.
Rykodisc © 2001


Halcyon Blues

The first half of this exposition of versatility seems compulsory in its series of compositions. Though these tracks cover all the bases in exemplifying Calypso, rock, Spanish, Blues, and funk guitar sounds, and do so while demonstrating rhythmic diversity using common, waltz, and odd meters, the deeper groundwork of the convincing artistic capability lies not in the stylistic breadth, but in the sturdy but deceptively delicate technique demonstrated.
The latter songs speak freely enough to express an artist having fun with potentially strict abilities. "Antoine La Blanc" literally communicates via a carefree voice; "Palm Wine" further relaxes an island-song feel with a comfortable and personal Southwestern drawl; and the competency in performance of the bluegrass jig "Mudpie" dispels any implicit irony the tune could have earned because of its placement as the disc's final number.
Halcyon Blues progresses to forge an individual sound out of many component styles. For a copy of your own, call 818-761-8823. $12 + shipping. - Nick Burns

Joe Lima
Let Go and Let Joe
After about a year’s absence on the NoHo>LA scene, Joe Lima returns to us with his highly entertaining first CD release, Let Go and Let Joe. He delivers some of the curious fare that he performed live last year, when I reviewed his live show at Jennifer’s Coffee House and some hilarious new delicacies like “Trophy Wife,” about the opportunistic woman searching for 401Ks and husbands on their way out. “Poor Cousin Ira” takes us down South through the post WWII plight of a man who isn’t the same since his army days, broke and in hot water, complete with frogs and crickets chirping. Joe Lima has an affinity for classic folk and country western fusing guitars, harmonica, accordion, upbeat drums, shakers, handclaps, and tambourines to thrill us with his own brand of clichés, never taking himself too seriously. The lyric that stood out most in the tune, “You’re Not Allowed to Fall in Love” is “Her eyes lit up like crack pipes.” How could you not dig it? For more information about Joe’s CD, check out his site at www.joelima.com.
- Michelle Malik


Neil Halstead
– at the Knitting Factory
This early evening show featured a well-rounded presentation of relaxed toe-tapping and gentle head-swaying ‘til before you least expect it, you find yourself pining for a nice piece of straw to chew on, and a nice field to lay back upon. Alas, there was neither provided for the performance, so the packed audience made do with such a pleasantly sedating atmosphere crammed against one another, on their feet for a good hour or two. But we weren’t complaining.
Neil Halstead, former frontman of Creation legend Slowdive and later project Mojave 3, has gone solo with January’s Beggars Banquet release of Sleeping on Roads. An English take on American folk rock, complete with Bob Dylan-esque raspy vocals with a tinge of accent, Halstead charmed the audience with his warm smile and sweet but brief explanation of each musical joy-ride he’d take us on.
Complete with harmonica and lap-steel to accompany his gentle guitar strumming, as well as the brief addition of back-up vocals from opener Sid Hillman, this evening proved a welcome relief from the usual high-energy of the average night out. Halstead is one of those people whose happiness is so genuine, so uncontainable, that one can’t help but smile at the mere sight of him. And his music is much the same. www.4ad.com/artists/halstead_neil.
- Megan Gaynes


Sebastian Tellier
Incroyable Verite: Unbearable Truth
– Record Makers 2001
In this first release for Air’s fledgling label Record Makers, this 25 year old Parisian takes you to a land reminiscent of Air’s aural locale of their acclaimed work on the Virgin Suicides soundtrack. Tellier even accompanied the duo for their sold-out US tour this past summer, where he was accompanied by Pamalia Kirsten (The Kirstens, Cibo Matto), one of the foremost theremin players in the world (known for her unique approach to playing the instrument, as if it were a stand-up bass).
As described by Tellier himself, on this album “you can hear a dog singing, a woman screaming, and legs growing.” And if you listen close enough, you’ll see he isn’t lying. Highly quirky, yet with all the dramatic flair of a Parisian melodrama, this could well be the soundtrack to a classic French film, or to your own life, when you just happen to be wearing a red beret, or feel as if you should be. http://source.astralwerks.com/tellier/
- Megan Gaynes

Black Box Recorder
The Worst Of Black Box Recorder – Jet Set 2001
One day in England, 1998, the Labour Party came to power. That very same day, three very pleasantly macabre individuals began recording their first album. The trio which together make up the notorious Black Box Recorder were (and still are) Sara Nixey, Auteurs’ Luke Haines and the Jesus and Mary Chains’ John Moore. With their brutally honest observations on the harshest aspects of life (expressed one and the same as if they were discussing nothing more than the weather, courtesy of Nixey’s brilliantly cavalier vocals) the band could easily be compared to a female-fronted Pulp.
With their very first single, “Child Psychology” being banned from British radio due to its’ chorus of “Life is unfair/Kill yourself or get over it” Black Box Recorder continued on unphased with ever more controversial subjects, tackled as suitable subject material for their already distinct music. Two albums later, they’ve now released a collection of b-sides and rarities (as well as a previously unreleased Jarvis Cocker/Pulp remix of “The Facts of Life”) for the disadvantaged American who suffers from the general lack of straight-faced wickedness that should be a part of everyone’s everyday life.
This collection features such fine moments as a haunting cover of “Seasons in the Sun” (Sara Nixey’s voice was born for this song) that can’t help but make you melancholy in nothing but the loveliest of ways. Black Box Recorder has a sly observational eye on all of modern society’s ‘ethical hedonism,’ forever taking a subversive jab at what we like to believe (or ignore) is fine and ‘normal.’ If you enjoy living in denial, this isn’t the album for you. http://jetset.sinner.com/
- Megan Gaynes

On the Verge: The Band F

The Players - F (Guitars, Vocals),
Jon Mattox (Drums), Dan Silver (Keys, Loops), and Steve Luxenberg (Bass).

Songs Worth Checking Out - “Worst Year
Ever,” “It’s a Dying Thing”and “This.”

Website - everythingagirlcouldcatch.com.
In front of a
crowd of over 200, LA hipsters F recently took the stage for their highly anticipated debut performance at Hollywood’s
Swing House
Studios. After 8
months of rehearsing and recording, the quartet took the stage and energetically ripped through several cuts from their self titled debut record.
Sonically influenced by British favorites, New Order and The Cure, F creates a retro pop sound that has, in recent years, been wrongfully ignored within the confines of modern rock. Instead of hindering their prospects, this fact places the quartet in a unique position to fill a heavily needed void within the LA music scene, and more broadly, within the stagnant modern rock genre. Led by their charismatic front man “F,” whom exudes all the pain and brooding that typifies retro pop, the quartet crafts dense soundscapes around melodic hooks. The bands rhythm section, which is spearheaded by Jon Mattox and Steve Luxenberg, create an aggressive unit, that prevent the gloomy songs from dragging by breathing energy into the moody keyboard loops and guitar fills. Chief songwriter F, creates four minute pop gems that have enough energy to keep your head bobbing and enough sharp hooks to keep you humming. The bands remarkable talent for keeping their lyrics playful, while never abandoning the gloom, is a distinctive factor which separates F from, say, Orgy, and others in the current crop of retro poppers.
Currently they are scheduling some upcoming gigs, check the website, which is fun in itself, for updates.