The 2002 Smiths/Morrissey Convention
The Palace, 29 April
How long can a star’s persona hold fans’ interest? Only the obsessed may find out, and they came out in droves to The 2002 Smiths/Morrissey Convention at Hollywood’s Palace
to celebrate their remaining ignorance of the answer.
Sure, there’s the music. But who needs sound when you’ve got image? And image was in full supply. Greased locks, cuffed jeans; a cigarette couldn’t hurt.
Morrissey posters hung from the performance
hall ceiling; many close-ups of that face; often of a poet’s furrowed brow and a model’s jutted chin; sometimes of a sated secret-keeper’s pursed lips and smiling eyes.
Ya, it was pretty gay, but by no default; everyone is a welcome fan. Hence the beauty of the man, band, and fandom: Between the tunes and attitude, there’s something to hook almost anyone’s intrigue.
Take the diversity of the karaoke contest, for example. Some Morrissey look-alike won the thing despite my heavier applause going to the runner-up, who I maintain had more spirit; it wasn't his fault the winner was Moz-relevantly white and angular, and he fat and Mexican. The contestants (if not the audience/judges) proved the invisibility of Moz-appeal, which the star’s physical features can merely imply.
Later, These Charming Men covered Smiths tunes with reflexive precision. Helped by the crisp mix of sound blended by the venue’s sound crew, the group persuasively invited the crowd to suspend disbelief. It felt like the real thing. - Nick Burns

VNV Nation by Megan Gaynes
photo by Stephi Ann
The inspired VNV Nation, one of
Europe’s favorite techno-industrial duos, have come to the States once more to promote their latest release, Futureperfect. More synth-pop than industrial (their EuroPop dance feel is most likely one of the main elements keeping them from truly breaking into the American market), all manage to work well with Ronan Harris’s cont’d on pg. 23
VNV Nation cont’d from pg. 20
charismatic stage presence, as he smoothly belts out each and every passionate tune with the utmost conviction. The finest part of VNV Nation’s live show are their two screens with their synchronized DVD of breathtaking imagery, from a digital metropolis to flashing nebulae, to a rolling track of an endless sea and sky. With such songs as “Further,” one can’t help but get goose-bumps as Harris commands the audience to sing along with one of the finest choruses in music: “The Sun was born, so it shall die/so only shadows comfort me/I know in darkness I will find you giving up inside like me.” With their torch song “Carbon,” images of factories and barren trees are superimposed with facts of global warming, something we hear about all the time, but combined with VNV’s intense, melancholy music, the message hits home. For yet another crowd favorite, “Fearless,” Harris broke into an impromptu “Born Slippy” much to everyone’s glee. With several encores given to their eager fans, they made this a memorable night for their final North American date, going well into the early morning hours (not a common occurance at most Palace shows). www.vnvnation.com.
Interview with VNV next issue – MG

music notes
by Scott Dudelson
Blink Set to Meet Homer
Blink-182 is set to share the small screen with Homer and co, as the punk-poppers are to appear on the Simpson’s 300th episode special. Blink-182 will join the ranks of The Who, Phish and Aerosmith as music personalities dropping in to cause trouble in Springfield. There is no word, as of yet, as to the content to the upcoming show, but expect some fun tasteless humor.......
Blink’s drummer Travis Barker has also recently completed an album with several members of the punk outfit Rancid. The side project, called The Transplants, is planning a short West Coast tour later in the fall, but no dates have been announced as of yet. Barker describes the Transplants sound as, “the bigness of Quicksand guitars, the grooviness of Fugazi and the break beats of a retarded drummer.” So essentially it sounds like Blink minus the poop and booby jokes.........
Wilco “Yankee Foxtrot Hotel” Documentry to be Released
Filmaker Sam Jones, who spent a year filming the band Wilco, is releasing his film titled I Am Trying to Break your Heart this summer. The film is a documentary on the making of Wilco’s latest record Yankee Foxtrot Hotel which was released two weeks ago. The album, which critics are hailing as a masterpiece, has been the subject of much attention over the past year. The troubled project saw the loss of Wilco’s longtime guitarist/keyboardist Jay Bennett, who decided to pursue a solo career, and an eventual dispute with Reprise about the completed project. Ultimately Reprise dropped the band from their roster, believing the album was too uncommercial.
Creed Tour Scrapped
In an unfortunate turn of events, Creed has cancelled their upcoming Southern California appearances, which includes a stop at the Staples Center. Creed front-man Scott Stapp was involved in an automobile accident in Florida this past week and has been suffering from neck and back pains as a result of the collision. Needless to say, Creed’s two dozen or so fans were sorely disappointed upon hearing about the cancellation of their heros’ LA stopover. Tickets will be refunded at the place of purchase and at the present time there are no make up dates scheduled.
Around LA
The next two months are shaping up nicely with several more tour stopovers expected to hit LA. Former Van Halen singers David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar are co-headlining their self congratulating “Song for Song, Heavyweight Campions of Rock and Roll Tour” which marks the first time Diamond Dave and Sammy have performed together. The tour is to hit the Blockbuster Pavilion on May 22 and Universal Amphi-theater on May 24. Although Eddie Van Halen will not be joining the fun, Van Halen guitarist Michael Anthony is expected to make several appearances with the band.
Garbage is making an appearance in LA, with two shows scheduled at the Wiltern Theater on June 1st and 2nd. This is the first time the quartet has hit LA in over a year, and they are said to be debuting new material on the new tour.
LA band, F, who was the subject of last weeks “On the Verge” column will be making their first public performance on Wednesday, May 22 at the Dragonfly in Hollywood. The band will be co-headlining the show with the hard rock outfit Bomber.

Betsyann Faiella No Ordinary Thing is a show excavating the unusual in life, love, and song, at The Gardenia in Hollywood. Faiella describes her one-hour show as “an idiosyncratic woman’s search for the meaning of life in songs that haven’t been sung by every jackass within 100 miles of a microphone.”
Shelly Markham serves as Music Director/Pianist and Mark Arthur Miller directs.
The Gardenia 7066 Santa Monica Blvd (E of La Brea), limited engagement on Mondays, May 6- June 24 at 9pm, $10 per person with an additional $10 food/drink minimum. –VR


CD Reviews
Sex With Lurch
For a group with such a memorable name, I’ve been wanting to see what this crazy little quintet was all about for what seems like years. It’s a shame I never got around to doing this before, as what I’ve found are some fantastic tunes. The Kim Fowley endorsed Sex With Lurch, best described as “transvestite surf/punk,” have quality tunes to back up their theatrical stage persona. The first song, “Friendship,” features Paul Roessler of The Screamers and Nina Hagen, and this three song sampler on tape (dubbed over a Sandi Patty and Peabo Bryson’s “It’s Christmas” (featuring the Ambrosian Singers and the London Symphony Orchestra, no less), was amusing at the end of my few minutes of glitter madness to find myself in the middle of an unintentionally camp “It’s Beginning to Feel Like Christmas.” I wasn’t sure if it was part of the gag and kept waiting for another song to start crashing through. (Alas, it never did.) It is a definite mid-70s Bowie/Hedwig. I look forward to discovering more by this band, and their many gigs throughout town.
www.ihadsexwithlurch.com/swl.html.
- Megan Gaynes

Medication
– Locomotive Records
This Los Angeles based five-piece’s debut on new-to-the-US Locomotive Records features former members of Machinehead, Ugly Kid Joe, Soulfly and Life of Agony. Formed originally in 1999 under the name Pale Demons, they found a niche for themselves in the smaller clubs throughout town before landing themselves a deal with Locomotive. This 5 song EP released April 2 is a preview of what’s to come with their upcoming full-length release, Prince Valium, out on June 22. Although aspects of nu-metal are apparent, there are elements of the powerful rock ballads that haven’t really been seen since the early ‘90s (Whit Crane’s voice quite likely being the main component in this). Opening track “Something New” has a deep, heartfelt melody that manages to temper this normally abrasive genre. The song is a surefire hit, and if it doesn’t become one, blame that on their PR and not the music. The rest of the tracks fail to find such a perfect musical formula, but they’re still pleasing, passionate numbers.
- Megan Gaynes


KMFDM
Attak – Metropolis 2002
After a lengthy hiatus amongst sideproject MDFMK, figurehead Sascha Konietzko is back. Although without original members Gunter Schulz or En Esch (who have released an album recently with their own project, Slick Idiot) missing, the contributions of Tim Skold, Raymond "Pig" Watts, Lucia Cifarelli, Bill Rieflin (Ministry, REVCO) and Dorona Alberti along with Sascha manage to create trademark KMFDM once more. The downfall is that this band known for it’s constant reinvention has mostly re-hashed their tried and true formula of heavy-hitting industrial. But then, reinvention for the sake of it alone is hardly something to be commended, and without question they do indeed have a flair for this formula. With well-orchestrated synths weaving their way through angry yet satiric political mantras used without any hint of self-doubt, this album gets better with each listen. It’s a diverse piece of work, with something for everyone. It’s still difficult for me to narrow down which are my favorites, each number being so enchanting that one forgets that there’s anything else before or after. A mature, well-executed effort. www.kmfdm.com.
- Megan Gaynes


Maktub
Khronos -Ossia 2002
This Seattle jam band, begun in 1996 as a collective of musicians from the city’s underground music scene, takes as much from Al Green and Marvin Gaye as Soundgarden. Featuring classically trained Reggie Watts, lead singer of Maktub (pronounced ‘mock-tube’, Arabic for ‘it is written’) , they’ve found much success throughout the Pacific Northwest, and, the internet (reaching number two on London-based internet radio station Soul-24-7 without having released an album in the UK). With a line-up of musicians who’ve worked with everyone from Dan the Automator to Saul Williams (and produced by Geraldine Fibber and Steve Fisk) all help to create a well-balanced example of Seattle’s “new soul.” With such role models as Bobby McFerrin, Siouxie Sioux and Peter Murphy, Reggie Watts has a voice that is well-suited to the relaxed yet up-beat sensuality of the music. And with such stand-out tracks as the opener “You Can’t Hide” and “Just Like Murder” (as well as an unexpected cover of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter”) I found this to be a good, solid effort, albeit slightly stale (they warn they have the tendency to over-produce, and it was no lie). A good dosage of their much-hyped live energy wouldn’t hurt here. www.maktub.com.
- Megan Gaynes

Cream of the Crop
by Scott Dudelson
Dave Matthews Band Staples Center-May 15, Verizen Wireless Amphitheater May 16; Dave and Co. are heading back to LA to play some tracks from there upcoming record Where are You Going. If you don’t mind hearing 25,000 Abercrombie and Fitch wearing, ganja smoking, Dave heads singing every note along with Dave, then this will be the concert destination for you. He still puts on a killer live show, and seeing him at the Staples is admittedly better than seeing him at Dodger Stadium. Recent shows on the tour have seen Dave play an abundance of “Lillywhite Material” and a curious lack of Everyday tracks. For the Dave faithful this is a good sign.
Adam Werner Michael Hedges Tribute- Crooked Bar - May 12, Rainbow Room-May 14; One of the killer guitar players on the LA music scene, Adam has fashioned a one man show interpreting the late new age artist Michael Hedges work. With a variety of different guitars and sounds, his instrumental shows have been receiving much publicity around the local clubs. Another local favorite, Drawing Down’s talented bassist Kentaro Otsuka is scheduled to join Werner for several songs on his latest club tour.
KRS-One Keyclub May 14
Not that I have to tell you all this, but KRS-One is a hip hop legend. He has been busting fat rhymes over tight beats since Eminem was a tot. Great opportunity to see one of the most influential hip hop artists (he is still making great music these days too) at the swank Keyclub. (see pg 16)
Brian Wilson Roxy-May 11
Wilson will be performing two shows on this date at the intimate Roxy on the strip. His last show at the Roxy was a star-studded event and was perhaps the best show the strip has seen in years. While his voice is a little ragged, Wilson is an oddly charismatic figure and it is always a pleasure to listen to him sing and, more importantly, awe at his legend.

ON THE VERGE
Jared Burton
Songs Worth Checking Out:
“My Brother Said I Should Write a Happy Song,” “Everybody Looked But Him,” and “Video Nation.”
The Deal: Injecting life into the singer/songwriter genre, Jared Burton has been gaining industry attention with his well crafted pop songs that transcend the pop genre. Crafting melodies that are both infectious and moving, Jared is a master songwriter which could only be described as Saul Williams lyrical poetry with Springsteen’s confident attitude.
Burton recently completed a residency at the Canyon Club’s “Storyteller Series” and now is in the preliminary stages of recording his first LP, as well as shooting a music video for his politically charged “Video Nation.” His charismatic performance and stage presence prompted the Cal Lutheran Echo to call him a “grungier Dave Matthews” with the talent to take over the world.
Burton can be seen playing Molly Malone’s on Fairfax, the night of May 22.
- Scott Dudelson


Blackalicious is the ish
There was an industry buzz and curious layer that fell over the new Blackalicious album titled Blazing Arrow. Very few independent underground artists have garnered enough success or attention to be swooped up by a major label. When an independent hip hop group does sign with a major label, they are usually forced to adhere to the label’s philosophy of glam and gleam over substance. Thankfully, Blackalicious used their past independent music as a catalyst to deliver a well polished, soulful and coherent album which should make all music heads recognize.
Blackalicious part of the hip hop collective sole sides with such affiliates as Latyrix and D.J. Shadow are known for their positive vibes and tight live shows. With Blazing Arrow Blackalicious unleashes their passion on the listener with pure hip hop that feels good to the soul. Gift of Gab, a sick lyricist who has delivered memorable songs on their first E.P. such as the awe inspiring “A2G,” which is also found on their full length album titled NIA. With this project Gift of Gab delivers heat-seeking missiles targeted to hit your mind and take away all that bling-bling hype to get down to what truly matters, tight lyrics. His phrasing, rhyme patterns, and delivery shine throughout this album. His cohort Chief Excel creates head bobbing beats with interesting textures and clean sounds that take flight like arrows which blaze through the listeners’ eardrums.
This album hosts a few notable guest stars that, rather than hinder this project, promote it to even tighter levels of musical bliss. Saul Williams, Charlie 2na, Rakaa of Dialated People fame, Gil Scott-heron, Questlove, and the super out there cut chemist reach the next plateau of hip hop with the blazing, syncopated track: “Chemical Calisthenics.” Listen to this and get ready to feel Gift of Gab’s rhyming prowess connected with the beat to get you to that next level of musical understanding, taking you where major label stagnate hip-hop has been scared to go.
Happily MCA understood who Blackalicious are and capitalized on what was already good. This is more polished than the average underground hip hop CD however, it will still hit the underground backpackers, mainstream music listeners, as well as those people who think all hip hop is the same. Listen to Blazing Arrows with an open mind, heart, and soul. In turn Blackalicious will hit you with positive vibrations that delve into what pure music should sound like as well as get your body moving and your head bobbing.
- Dave Weinberger


A Woman’s Voice
Various Artists – New World Music 2001
This compilation, which features some of the finest New Age female artists from Europe and Australia today, was compiled as a means of introducing North America to all it’s missed out on up until now. Influences taken from a wide variety of styles varying from Aboriginal to Celtic, Native American to Gregorian/Latin, nearly all the songs on this collection are stand-out tracks.
New Age being an often forgotten genre, this serves as the perfect reminder as to how influential it can and has been on the rest of music. Although the compilation starts out weakly with awkward Juliana on the first and third tracks, the rest of the artists featured well make up for it. Most successful at this include Sally Oldfield, sister to “Tubular Bells” composer Mike Oldfield and film composer Terry Oldfield, as well as her being a young singing companion to Marianne Faithful. Her songs show their roots in her early success with several international dance hits in the early ‘80s, its energetic beat mixed with her commanding soprano voice, along with an intensely hypnotic chant to back it all up.
Other fine moments include Susanna’s “Free Yourself,” where she collaborates with composer Asha on “Music For Love.” It features absolutely heart-wrenching melodies mixed with her sweet, lush voice, producing yet another fantastic track. This compilation succeeds at what it set out to do, peaking my interest in more than a few artists I’d previously not heard of. www.newworldmusic.com.
- Megan Gaynes


Nina Nastasia
The Blackened Air – Touch and Go 2002
This second release (first on the Touch and Go label) from the well-traveled singer/songwriter Nina Nastasia, is a truly exceptional effort. Upon first sampling this I had to overcome fears of having to endure yet another whimsical girl armed with a full arsenal of memorized ‘young love’ clichés (and without a drop of irony for even the slightest relief), but fortunately, The Blackened Air is anything but. Stark, yet hauntingly beautiful, Nastasia could best be described as a female Elliott Smith meets Hank Williams… in the back of a cemetery… on a pleasant spring day. Produced by the legendary Steve Albini (who also worked on her first effort, Dogs, out on the micro-indie Socialist Records), the two make a wonderful combination. With complex instrumentation hidden in these deceptively simple songs, it features everything from accordions to the viola, mandolin to the guitar, and most impressive, the saw, along with Nastasia’s fine but unpretentious voice.
It’s quite difficult to describe what exactly makes this album so special. Perhaps it’s the inherent integrity of the music, with the strength maintained that fought the all-too-common urge to tamper and meddle, leaving these beautiful pieces to unfold themselves… but whatever it is, it works. Rainy day, sunny day, any day where you need to un-knot the web of confusion we weave through our stressful daily life, The Blackened Air makes the perfect companion.
www.southern.com/southern/band/NASTA/
- Megan Gaynes


Ramones Forever
Various Artists: An International Tribute – Radical Records
A year after Joey Ramone’s passing, New York’s Radical Records, on May 28, will release a compilation of covers of many of the Ramones finest. From an international assortment of bands, Belgian (they must have quite the following there, as nearly half the artists featured come from said country) to Peruvian, in a ridiculous array of genre tampering. As the press release states, “Like The Ramones took the sweetness of The Beach Boys and ravaged them with power chords, these interpretations tear apart Ramones’ songs and breathe new life into them.” And that they do.
I can’t help but smile at nearly every track, from the muzak rendition of “I Wanna Be Sedated“ courtesy of Belgium’s Neven, to yet another Belgian, JMXW, and their surreal new-wave inspired take on “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You,” as well as a intensely ethereal “Here Today Gone Tomorrow” by The Dutch Club Diana featuring Neef.
My absolute personal favorite being from, surprise, yet another Belgian, this time KPW and their lo-fi near-Super Furry Animal take on “I Wanna Be Well.” There are really so many more with not enough room in this review to give attention to. All I can say is, it’s well worth the average price of a new CD. If you need any reminder as to why the Ramones were as loved as they were (and still are), this is a wonderful way to get cracking.
www.radicalrecords.com/pages/ramones.html
- Megan Gaynes


VNV Nation by Megan Gaynes
photo by Stephi Ann
The inspired VNV Nation, one of
Europe’s favorite techno-industrial duos, have come to the States once more to promote their latest release, Futureperfect. More synth-pop than industrial (their EuroPop dance feel is most likely one of the main elements keeping them from truly breaking into the American market), all manage to work well with Ronan Harris’s cont’d on pg. 23
VNV Nation cont’d from pg. 20
charismatic stage presence, as he smoothly belts out each and every passionate tune with the utmost conviction. The finest part of VNV Nation’s live show are their two screens with their synchronized DVD of breathtaking imagery, from a digital metropolis to flashing nebulae, to a rolling track of an endless sea and sky. With such songs as “Further,” one can’t help but get goose-bumps as Harris commands the audience to sing along with one of the finest choruses in music: “The Sun was born, so it shall die/so only shadows comfort me/I know in darkness I will find you giving up inside like me.” With their torch song “Carbon,” images of factories and barren trees are superimposed with facts of global warming, something we hear about all the time, but combined with VNV’s intense, melancholy music, the message hits home. For yet another crowd favorite, “Fearless,” Harris broke into an impromptu “Born Slippy” much to everyone’s glee. With several encores given to their eager fans, they made this a memorable night for their final North American date, going well into the early morning hours (not a common occurance at most Palace shows). www.vnvnation.com.
Interview with VNV next issue – MG

Rockin
with
St.Teresa
May 9
Carlos Guitarlos, Double Naught Spy Car, Amesela at The Alterknit Lounge (Knitting Factory). Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs were a Hollywood staple back in the raucous days of early LA punk rock. Straddling both worlds between pop met’lers like Van Halen and the alt-indie scene, the Pigs held court on beer drenched nights somewhere at the crossroads of obscure debauchery and underground celebrity. Don’t miss fabulous spy hotrodders Double Naught Spy Car, either.
The Melvins at Amoeba Music, 7pm. FREE!
Fear, Crank Williams, Downshift, 40 Cycle Hum, others at The Key Club
Big City Rock at Spaceland
Silver Lake Rant (“Comedy & Commentary,” 6:30pm), Brazzaville, Gwendolyn, Los Super Elegantes (8pm) at The Knitting Factory
Keith Morris’ (Circle Jerks) Midget Handjob at The Knit Bar (Knitting Factory)
Samantha Toby, The Citizens Band, Cedeno at Zen
The Insect Surfers at The Lava Lounge
Sophie B. Hawkins, others at
Safehouse Benefit (El Rey)
World Without Sundays, PopbandAlice, Moxie, Bratty Jackass at Rudolpho’s
Club Jam at Fais Do Do
“Drinking With Frank Booth”
at Bigfoot Lodge
May 10
No. 13 Baby (Pixies Tribute) at Spaceland
Pill Shovel, Stud Dogs, Denied at
The Garage
Mandala at Amoeba Music, 7pm. FREE!
Diatribe, DJ Doc Martin’s “Sound You Can Feel” CD Release Party at Martini Lounge
Fischer P. Old Sol, Kandace Lindsey, Chris Pierce at Temple Bar
Rick James & Chaka Khan at The Super Player’s Soul Night (Greek Theater)
Chris Whitley, Darden Smith at The Mint
Face To Face at The House of Blues
The Weakerthans at The Knitting Factory
Left Alone, Chencha Berrinches, Viernes 13, Ciril, Los Creepers, Skamatik at
The Roxy
Kokopellila, Woodshed at
Canter’s Kibbitz Room
Poncho Sanchez at The Conga Room
May 11
Brian Wilson at The Roxy. Catch this rare chance to So. Cal’s own musical genius, before he jets off to perform this show for Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.
The Knitters, Orchestra Superstring at El Rey. As one of the only bands left standing from the original small niche wave of alt-country bands, The Knitters showed those uptight Nashville record execs that real country can come out of punk rock LA. Just as punk percolated its influence up to pop culture, how do you think the retro country thang got started…
Dr. L. Subramaniam, Anindo Chatterjee at The Wadsworth Theatre, 7:30pm. Dr. L Subramanium is the grand master of Indian classical violin. Don’t let the classical rubric scare you off, if your only initiation into Indian music is “Tomorrow Never Knows” – this music rocks.
Lydia Lunch & Andrew Gould’s “Unhappy Hour” at The Parlour Club (7 – 9pm), 323.650.7968. Here’s your chance to drown sorrows with the Queen of Siam.
The Delphines (with Kathy Valentine from the GoGo’s), Bebo, Ripchord at
14 Below.
Over The Rhine, Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops at The Knitting Factory
Green & Yellow TV at Spaceland
Bottom, Super Bees, Tadpole at The Garage
The Bobs at McCabe’s
Jars of Clay, Jennifer Knapp, Shaun Groves at The Greek Theatre
Moshau, This Thing, Liz Foster,
Gabe Lopez at The Mint
Face To Face at The House of Blues
Three Bad Jacks (CD Release Party),
The Lord of Altamont at The Troubadour
The Adicts at Head Line Records, 5pm. FREE! (headlinerecords.com), then a live video taping at The Whisky, 8pm.
Rick Whitfield Band at Harvelle’s
May 12
Ozomatli, Wanda Coleman, Blackalicious, Dilated Peoples, Mystic, The Coup, Saul Williams, Jerry Quickley, Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, Ugmaa, East LA Sabor Factory, more at Not In Our Name: Arspeaks! Against The War - The Palace, 6pm. Artistsnetwork.org
Skip Heller Quintet at Bigfoot Lodge
Shiner at Spaceland
Cris Williamson at McCabe’s
Mikel Erentxum at The El Rey
Temple Bhajan Band at The Sivanayanda Yoga Center, 6:30pm
Robbie Hardkiss, David Quick, DJ Bighead, MC Violent Peace at Xpansion (8430 Sunset)
May 13
Mason Jennings, Tim Easton, Think of England at The Knitting Factory
Blackalicious at Amoeba Music, 7pm FREE!
Orange Goblin, Alabama Thunder Pussy at The Troubadour
Creekbird, Rebecca Lynn, The Article
at Club Snack Sac (Zen Sushi)
May 14
The French Kicks at Spaceland
David Sylvian at The Wiltern
De La Soul, Swollen Members & Fredalba at The House of Blues
Sunstorm at Club Sunset Station
(Bigfoot Lodge)
May 15
The Groovy Rednecks at Bigfoot Lodge. The rockinest country band you’ll ever pass out with, or as Tex says, “we play country music for those who hate country.”
Pastilla, Voz De Mano, Nino Astronauta at The Knitting Factory
The Cranes at Amoeba Music, 8pm. FREE!
Brad Meldhau at The Knitting Factory
Gregory Isaacs, The Mighty Diamonds at The House of Blues
May 16
Nancy Sinatra at Amoeba Music, 7pm. The gogo babe who empowered boot wearin’ mamas to be bitchy with abandon, gives retro lovers a treat by doing a free show at the ever rockin’ Amoeba.
Candye Kane at Harvelle’s. Big, bawdy, busty and original, Ms. Kane writes her own songs and belts it like nobody’s business.
Kleckley Sweet, The Black Watch, Angie Hart (Frente), George Sarah, Steve McDonald at Rudolpho’s
The Dave Matthews Band, Gov’t. Mule at The Staples Center
Moris Teper, Double Naught Spy Car in The Alterknit Lounge (Knitting Factory)
Carmen Electra’s Pussycat Dolls Live at The Roxy
May 17
Billy Bob Thornton, Randy Scruggs at The El Rey. While some wonder what a young, wild, drop dead gorgeous, could-have-any-guy-she-wants chick like Angelina Jolie sees in Billy Bob Thornton, some of us wild leaning chicks can actually relate. He’s talented, intelligent, refreshingly candid and real, with a grizzled sex appeal that’s just bad enough to be good.
The Ventures, Nancy Sinatra, The Neptunas at The Knitting Factory. A great bill, with surf gods The Ventures joining forces with aforementioned gogo babe!
Kelly Hogan, Danielle Howle
at Spaceland
The Casualties, A Global Threat,
The Deal, Clit-45 at The Palace
Laurie Lewis at McCabe’s
Mandala at Amoeba Music, 7pm. FREE!
Morris Day & The Time, Mother’s Finest at The House of Blues
May 18
The Kids in The Hall at The Wiltern
Fucking Champs at Spaceland
Prong, Diesel Machine, Glitch
at The Troubadour
Tom Rush
at McCabe’s
May 19
The Fold: Patrick Park, Aden, Green & Yellow TV
at The Derby
Playboy Latin Jazz Jam: Tierra, Rudy Salas at The Conga Room. FREE!
Big Head Todd & The Monsters, The Gabe Dixon Band at The Roxy
Justin Roberts at McCabe’s
Julieta at The Knitting Factory
David Sylvian at The Wiltern
Creed at The Staples Center
DJ Young, AJ Ramone at
Powered By Rock (Bigfoot Lodge)
May 20
Motorhead, Brand New Sin, Today Is The Day at The House of Blues. In this town of heavy metal has beens n’ wannabe’s, the real boys come to town.
Markus Stockhausen, Barre Bouman
at LA County Museum of Art, 8pm.
Vaz at Club Snack Sac (Zen Sushi)
May 21
El-P, Aesop Rock, Mr. Life, RJD2 & DJ Abilities at Amoeba Music, 7pm
May 22
Sense Field, Marc Copley, Crachcart
at The Troubadour
Tommyknockers, TNUC, The Alter Egos, The Excessories at Rich Coffee’s B-Day Party (Bigfoot Lodge)
May 23
The UnCabaret: Beth Lapides, Double Naught Spy Car, Weba Garrettson
at The Knitting Factory
Missing Persons at The Key Club

Email: rockin88@lycos.com

A Shallow Puddle
by Daria Benedict
Tuesday, April 16th - Headlining a sold-out show at the historic Hollywood Palladium as part of a tour promoting their debut album Come Clean, hardcore rock band Puddle of Mudd came to the small stage in the heart of Hollywood full-force and with nothing to hide. With their mix of catchy guitar licks and angry yet fun-to-yell chorus verses, POM played a loud, fiery and overall crowd-pleasing show.

Lead singer Wesley Scantlin's voice stood the test of the live performance, sounding both sweet and savage at the same time with songs like "Blurry," "Control," and "Drift and Die." Scantlin even brought out the acoustic guitar in the band's most ballad-like song, "Piss it All Away," proving his talents to stand firmly outside of the manipulative aids of the recording studio. The rest of the band backed up the bold lyricist with their just-as-unblushing and in-your-face fusion of musical sounds.

Although POM's mixture of punk, rock, and metal delivered on many levels in a cathartic manner and more than lived up to the sound and feel of the album, many of the songs tended to blend together into an indiscernible redundancy. The band's collective sound, however, was solid and enthusiastic enough, and the set list was mixed in such a way that the show as a whole came together and created promise for more depth and range in Puddle of Mudd's next album and tour. - Photo by Keith Leman


The Kofi Baker Band
28 April at the Baked Potato,
by Nick Burns

With no shortage of drums on stage poised to translate pounding into musical rhythms, Kofi Baker reminded the audience of his band-leadership by the grandiosity of his own instrument.

The nice feature of many tom-toms is the melodic platform they provide: The drummer may become more of tune-smith with increased intervalic division at his disposal. The problem: All those drums equally selfishly beg to sing. Playing quite constantly, a rhythm section member need know when to say when; and the difficulty of holding-back grows under band leadership.

Baker never went into hiding but did manage to prevent his own ubiquity in songs that well deserved the harmonic constructions that Brett Garsed sped from guitar strings and the more convincing metronomic foundation of Ric Fierabracci's bass.

Though ostensibly primarily about Baker, the band premised its best arguments with snippets of inspired role-playing. Admirable are the times when a group member hears and answers the call for modesty of interlude.
Photo by Jay Matsueda