Thursday, November 24, 2005
Bauhaus
Strathmore, Bethesda, MD
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Washington Post, Thursday, November 24, 2005; Page C04
Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy contracted pneumonia in 1983, limiting his contributions to the band's final studio album, "Burning From the Inside."
It looked like he might have had pneumonia again when the re-reunited Bauhaus (the group also toured in 1998) played Strathmore on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old lead singer can be riveting; in his younger days Murphy channeled the manic stage presence of Iggy Pop. But Murphy stood almost motionless throughout the band's 19-song set, from the plodding opener, "Burning From the Inside," to the first encore, "Bela Lugosi's Dead." The latter is one of the band's greatest songs, but a ready-to-leave Murphy performed it in what looked to be a dressy winter-coat-and-scarf combo.
Murphy's amazing baritone voice sounded fine, but his delivery was perfunctory at best, especially on two pieces that can showcase his intensity: the creepy Latin section of "Stigmata Martyr" and T. Rex's stomping "Telegram Sam." At least the rest of Bauhaus (guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist David J, drummer Kevin Haskins ) seemed to be fine, and the extremely loud band rocked the not-quite-full house -- even if the house is a beautiful classical music venue that can separate and project amplified instruments in awkward ways. (The bass was overwhelming.)
Bauhaus is cited as the progenitor of goth-rock, so it is often lumped in with such insignificant, pasty-pasted wretches as Fields of the Nephilim. But Bauhaus successfully mixed glam-rock and reggae, punk and the avant-garde in ways that have rarely been duplicated. The set list bore out this eclecticism, from the dub-steeped "She's in Parties" and the Chic-like funker "Kick in the Eye" to the new-wavy "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" and the final song of the second encore, David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust." By this time, Murphy had dropped the winter coat in favor of just the scarf, but his face was saying good night well before the song ended. --Christopher PorterPosted by CP | Link |
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The Dropkick Murphys
Washington Post, Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Page C07
The Dropkick Murphys' roadies were greeted with hockey-crowd chants of "Let's go, Murphys!" Sunday as they set up instruments at the sold-out 9:30 club. Soon afterward, the Irish traditional "The Foggy Dew" introduced a kilted pipes-and-drums corps that played the opening mournful melody of "Your Spirit's Alive" from the Murphys' recent CD, "The Warrior's Code."
Then all hell broke loose.
For the next 75 minutes the lower level of the club became a massive mosh pit, as the Murphys ripped through strident Irish-punk songs, barely pausing to catch their collective breath. The seven-piece group creates a massive but melodic roar, and the addition of bagpipes, mandolin, accordion, piano and pennywhistle added depth and contrasting textures to the songs. Al Barr's sandpaper roar always sounds on the verge of blowing out, but he kept up the massive vocal eruptions throughout, with bassist Ken Casey occasionally taking the lead.
The Dropkick Murphys formed 10 years ago but the group's roughneck style hasn't changed at all. Great new tunes ("The Warrior's Code," "The Walking Dead," "The Burden") slotted seamlessly next to "Boys on the Docks," "Barroom Hero," "Worker's Song" and other older numbers. The band slowed up only for "The Fields of Athenry," which was dedicated to Andrew Farrar, a Marine sergeant who died in Iraq and had the song played at his funeral.
The Boston crew finished with a trio of songs that began with women from the audience jumping onstage to dance "The Spicy McHaggis Jig," followed by guys screaming along to "Skinhead on the MBTA." Amid a crowded, rowdy stage the Murphys closed with a rousing, perfectly timed cover of the self-titled theme song by D.C.'s legendary Minor Threat. No need for an encore. --Christopher PorterPosted by CP | Link |
Monday, November 14, 2005
Broadcast, Losing the Subtle Details at the Black Cat
The Washington Post, Monday, November 14, 2005; Page C05
The English band Broadcast specializes in oompa-oompa bass lines and riffs that are perfect for head-bobbing and grimy analog-keyboard drones, which hold mysteries in the overtones and harmonics. But drones can lapse into mundane vagaries over the course of a 15-song set, and the rigid 1-2-1-2 rhythm can start to sound like avant-garde polka. That hazy similitude occasionally hampered Broadcast's otherwise pumping psychedelic rock show at the Black Cat on Saturday.
Vocalist-guitarist-keyboardist Trish Keenan and multi-instrumentalist James Cargill form the core of Broadcast, but the duo was joined by a drummer and another instrument-hopper for their live show, which was heavy with songs from Broadcast's quirky new CD, "Tender Buttons." The album versions of "America's Boy," "Michael A Grammar" and "Black Cat" (which initially sounds like Altered Images' new-wave classic "I Could Be Happy" run through faulty machinery) have an advantage: a fine mix that places the band's fizzy instruments, light robotic beats and Keenan's Nico-esque voice in a proper soundstage that reveals tiny details in the tunes. But live, the drums were much heavier, the grungy instruments tended to blend together, and Keenan's projection-free voice got lost in the mix. Even though Broadcast displayed a '60s-style light show, the best thing to do was close your eyes and let the hypnotic sameness of the band's music take you into deep listening mode, where the details could be picked out -- or imagined. --Christopher Porter
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Outtakes
Didn't have enough room to mention the opening bands, but one of them is definitely worth noting.
Gravenhurst, the middle act, is an English/Welsh guitar-rock trio fronted by the talented singer-songwriter Nick Talbot. While the group's earlier records consisted of dour U.K. folk rock in the style of Bert Jansch, Gravenhurst's fine new CD, Fires in Distant Buildings, adds shoegaze and Krautrock touches to its earlier delicate sound. The band focused on its new album, playing tunes like "Velvet Cell," "Down River," and "Cities Beneath the Sea" with verve and energy that belied the songs' depressive natures.
Opening act Tralala consisted of three guys on guitar, bass, and drums, along with four attractive female singers -- none of whom can really sing. The Brooklyn band is often described as the Ramones meets the Shangri-Las, but the former wrote great pop-punk songs and the latter were decent crooners. Tralala is more like the Shaggs meets the Shaggs.Posted by CP | Link |
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Solveig Slettahjell
Photo taken at Scene West Victoria in Oslo, Norway, August 16, 2005.
"Have a Little Faith in Me"
Pixiedust
(Curling Legs, 2005)
"Take It With Me"
Silver
(Curling Legs, 2004)
"My Heart Belongs to Daddy"
Slow Motion Orchestra
(Curling Legs, 2001)
One of the highlights of this summer's Oslo Jazz Festival was Solveig Slettahjell's Slow Motion Quintet, which features some of the best musicians in Norway, including In the Country's Morten Qvenild (formerly of Jaga Jazzist, Shining, and a bunch of other great bands).
Slettahjell's first CD, Slow Motion Orchestra, features her musicians on acoustic instruments playing radically revamped jazz standards at a gorgeous crawl, such as Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Her second CD, Silver, mixes in a couple of modern tunes, such as Tom Waits' "Take It With Me," with the standards. The acoustic instruments and molasses tempos are still present, but there's a greater emphasis on further tearing apart the song structures and harmonies. But it's Slettahjell's third CD, Pixiedust, that shows what her future may hold: an incredibly strong, classically trained jazz singer fronting a band of Bjork-loving jazztronica lads. The off-kilter songs still move at a snail's pace, but now they're colored with buzzing and blipping electronics. Plus, there are more originals (courtesy of Friko's Peder Kiellsby) mixed with the standards and pop songs, such as John Hiatt's lovely "Have a Little Faith in Me."
Silver won the Spellemannspris this year -- the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy -- for best jazz album of 2004; I imagine Pixiedust will be in the running next year. But don't let that scare you off. Slettahjell truly deserves the accolades.
Buy Solveig Slettahjell CDs / downloads from her label.
Or buy from iTunes:
Pixiedust
Silver
Slow Motion Orchestra
Oslo Jazz Festival
August 15, 2005 - August 21, 2005
Click here to read my review of the festival -- and of Slettahjell's performance.Posted by CP | Link |
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Daniela Mercury
"Santa Helena"
Sol da Liberdade
(RCA International, 2000)
Washington Post, Friday, October 21, 2005; Page C02 Brazil's carnival invaded Lisner Auditorium for two hours Wednesday -- and somehow the man next to me slept through most of it. Daniela Mercury, the queen of axe -- a high-energy blend of samba, house music and just about anything else funky -- boogied and sang for two hours, joined every hip-shaking step of the way by boisterous Brazilian nationals who helped sell out the room. Little Nemo missed quite a party while he was in slumberland. The 40-year-old Mercury looks like a petite version of Demi Moore, but her nonstop dancing recalled the young Madonna -- with a much better voice. Mercury ran around the stage for 120 minutes with only a handful of short breaks, yet her singing never faltered and she never sounded short of breath. Meanwhile, I became winded just standing up during the second song, "Maimbe Danda," which is when Mercury's Brazilian fans leapt out of their chairs and jammed the aisles to sing and dance to the Afro-Brazilian techno stomper. Security guards soon cleared the walkways, but there was no way to keep the audience in its seats; Mercury and her music wouldn't allow it. The persuasive performer often made eye contact with fans near the front, urging them to get off their keisters and shake it. Late in the concert she was even able to coax a late-term pregnant woman back on her achin' feet. By the time of the encore songs "Vide Gal," "Olha o Gandhi Ae" and a medley of "Rapunzel" and "Maimbe Danda," the audience had jammed the aisles again and security just let it go. You can't stop the Brazilians; you can only hope to contain them -- or not, because it was impossible to resist the ebullient mood Mercury and her 10-piece band created. Unless, of course, you're a narcoleptic. --Christopher Porter
Buy some Daniela Mercury. Posted by CP | Link |
Friday, November 04, 2005
Simple Plan at Nation: Kid Stuff
Washington Post, Friday, November 4, 2005; Page C04
It felt like rock-and-roll Romper Room at Nation on Tuesday. The MTV-friendly pop-punk band Simple Plan brought out the rugrats in droves -- with their parents, of course. A little girl who looked like Cindy Lou Who held onto her mom with one hand and used the other to throw out devil horns -- while wearing a pair of jeans that said "Angel" in sequins. Meanwhile, a little boy in an oversize Simple Plan hoodie sat on his dad's shoulders and screamed whenever nasally lead singer Pierre Bouvier asked the crowd to "Make some noise!" -- which felt like every other song. There were teenagers and adults at the concert, too, but considering the overall youthfulness of Simple Plan's audience, it was surprising to hear the band resort so often to a particular four-letter word and to see Bouvier do plenty of pelvic thrusts accompanied by a strategically placed microphone. While this Montreal quintet of early twenty-somethings probably never imagined that a large portion of its fans would be people who haven't had sex ed yet, it's pretty much the only audience that can hang with Bouvier's juvenile lyrics. The song titles are giveaways -- "I'm Just a Kid," "God Must Hate Me," "The Worst Day Ever" -- and even the titles that don't spell things out -- "Addicted," "I'd Do Anything," "Untitled" -- feature conversational lyrics that do. What Simple Plan does have going for it is a great way with pop-punk melodies and gigantic guitar hooks. Every one of the 19 tight songs the band played sounded like a hit -- and a good many of them have been, including the show-closing ballad "Perfect." The group's playful concerts are super-energetic and include an abundance of audience interaction, synchronized jumping, water-bottle splashing, guitar-pick throwing and other general rock-and-roll dumbness. The li'l squirts ate it up. --Christopher Porter
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