Saturday, April 22. 2006
 Les Claypool, sometime bassist and frontman for the band Primus as well as bands such as Oysterhead, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, Sausage, Frog Brigade, and Holy Mackerel, will roll through Austin in July supporting the release of Of Whales And Woe on Prawn Song.
Hard to peg in terms of genre, one word keeps consistently popping up in reviews of his works; that word is WEIRD, and it's accurate, although other adjectives such as bizarre, sick and twisted have merit. Kind of a rural version of S.F.'s late 70s experimental band The Residents, Les has a streak of dark humor that runs through his soul, appearing in his music with songs about things like fishing, beavers, and burying your dead buddy.
Some of his songs are so basic and annoying that they immediately grate on the ear ("Barrington Hall"), others are ethereal and engaging and take the listener on a weird audio voyage of musical exploration. It's no doubt that his work with the bass guitar is some of the best and his ability to transcend genres is amazing. On "Capt. Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade Live Vol 1" he slides from a cover of King Crimson's "Thela Hun Gingeet" with an almost superhuman bass riff, to his own cryptic "Riddles are abound tonight," to a tremendous cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Amazingly. Vol. 2 is a cover of Pink Floyd's album Animals.
Incredibly talented, and musically more prolific than a rabbit, Les Claypool will be at La Zona Rosa in Austin on June 21.
Tuesday, April 18. 2006
 Austin being the music capital of Texas, we see our share of good roadshows. Shows I'll be covering in the Austin area:
Additional shows will be added as appropriate and this list does not include shows seen while "clubbing" locally. If you are in the Austin area I hope to see you there.
Wednesday, April 12. 2006
 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Hometown: NYC
http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/
Monday, April 10, 2006
The Kool Haus (Toronto, Canada)
also: The Liars
It's always equally exciting and nerve wracking to see a band I would put in my top five, especially when their popularity has sky-rocketed since they were last in town and they're all over the radio. Surely nothing could compare to their bursting energy at the small intimate club I saw them at a couple years ago, with other fans who loved their single five song EP as much as I did? Yet even playing a bigger, sold-out venue, with a bigger fan base and a killer new album with a very different style, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's charmed me as much as ever.
Touring with longtime friends The Liars, who opened with a good set, Karen, Nick, Brian and the newly added Imaad hit the stage after a bit of a wait, and kicked off with the latest single, "Gold Lion."
They hadn't changed a bit. Karen O was prancing around the stage and doing her classic foot-shuffling-leg-bending-everywhere dance that I used to imitate in the mirror (OK, OK, and maybe still do). She dominated the stage and crowd, saying halfway through the show that she was "being pretty shy" but still radiating her I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude. From the schoolgirlish "doot, doot, doot" refrain in "Art Star" to the growling scream that comes out of her in "Miles Away," it was obvious her love of what she does hasn't faded. The rest of the band has always somewhat been in her shadow, but Nick still played his role well, with a great squealing solo on "Mysteries," while Brian played nonstop and hard. The set had more downtime than in the past, since the new album has a much folkier relaxed vibe, so there was more swaying than dancing. Still, it was a good progressive route for the band to take; they managed to change their style drastically but still sound edgy and full of emotion.
Hearing the songs and watching the band and crowd, seeing kids dance like no one was watching, reminded me of the energy that seems to have slowly leaked out of the Toronto scene. The band was as humble as ever, frequently reminding us between songs, "Thanks a lot, we're the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!" as if we didn't know. Karen O, known just as well for her outrageous costumes and style as her raging voice, came out for the encore dressed in what looked like a skeleton Halloween costume. After taking off the mask, she serenaded the crowd with the YYY's self-proclaimed love song, "Maps."
One thing this show proved for sure: Once a band breaks out of the "indie" scene and really starts getting the recognition they deserve, they can still stay true to their roots.
Monday, April 10. 2006
The Original Sinners w/Exene Cervenka
Hometown: Pacific Palisades, Ca.
http://www.exenecervenka.com/
Saturday, April 8 2006
Emos (Austin, Texas)
also: Punkaroos, Pink Swords, and 7 Shot Screamers
This was an old fashioned punk rock show in a small bar with an unbelievable $10.50 cover charge and plenty of good music. The crowds were thinner than expected, workers at Emo's attributing it to the festivities for the Texas Relays that had shut down 6th Street and eaten up all the spare parking.
When I first arrived I almost tripped over Exene Cervenka at the bar. I got to talk to her for a few minutes. She was waiting for Austin's Punkaroos to start, a favorite local band she follows. The Punkaroos are fronted by the vivacious Dotty Farrell who is backed up by longtime punk locals and former members of Austin's legendary Dick's, a punk rock band that dates back to the days the punk scene was dominated by clubs such as Raul's and Duke's Royal Coach. A good band with a dark punk humor to their lyrics, they blazed through a tight set.
Austin's Pink Swords followed. Like a Green Day without training wheels, they are definitely a band influenced by the faster pure punk sounds of bands like the Sex Pistols and 999, and is a band I am sure I will be writing about more in the future.
The stand-up bass was a dead giveaway that the 7 Shot Screamers from St. Louis would be playing some hardcore punk-a-billy and seemed to draw their own crowd of supporters. They are a fun band with a lot and I mean a LOT of tattoos.
To call The Original Sinners too derivitive of X would be a cop-out. I have loved X since Los Angeles was released in 1980 and caused thousands of women across the country to dye their hair black and adopt the goth punk maven lifestyle. With members of the 7 Shot Screamers providing the rythym section, The Original Sinners set smoked, sating my need for a live X fix. With a slight country trailer-park twang, distressed vocals and a hardcore punk edge provided by some slashing guitar work, this show evokes the spirit of what punk in the early 80s was all about. This is a can't-miss tour for anyone who wasn't born when Los Angeles was released and thinks that the pablum being pushed as "punk" by the mainstream is too slick, corporate and over-produced.
Thursday, April 6. 2006
 The Pretenders
Hometown: London UK
http://www.pretendersband.com/
Saturday, March 18
Stubb's (Austin, Texas)
When I first saw the Pretenders, both Chrissy Hynde and I were much younger. Chrissy has aged much better than I have.
This tour is supporting her new box set and covers a lot of the classics from the first albums, like Tattooed Love Boys and Kid. Playing to a packed house at the world famous Stubb's in Austin, Chrissy has lost none of the verve or punkiness of her youth. She blew through her extensive catalog and dusted off long-unheard gems for an appreciative crowd. The music has lost none of its luster after an eight-year hiatus.
A punk rock icon and "founding mother" (she taught Sid Vicious how to play, kind of), she has lost none of her ability to excite her audiences, although she might not be able to shock them anymore. She really appeared to be enjoying herslf onstage and this was pretty apparent as the night wore on. This was truly
a show for diehard Pretenders fans, and not an oldies show at all.
Tuesday, April 4. 2006
The Zico Chain
Hometown: Brighton UK
http://www.TheZicoChain.com
Wednesday, March 15 2006
Flamingo Cantina (Austin, Texas)
I caught the last four songs of The Zico Chain's set, which included "Rohypnol" and "Social Suicide," and these guys really made the place throb. This must be what it was like to watch Nirvana before "Nevermind" and "Teen Spirit." These guys are raw, loud, unpolished, and, of the 40+ showcases I checked out, by far the best.
They claim to be heavily influenced by Motörhead and the great god Lemmy does seem to have graced their songs with a frantic pacing. Don't expect to slow dance to these guys, and I don't see many acoustic guitar solos in their near future.
This has to be one of SXSW 2006's breakout bands and if they don't get signed to a major U.S. label soon, I would be surprised. I would also be happy. Much as I would like to see them become successful, I must admit that a greedy part of myself would like to see them stay small and unpolished, because I fear that the music industry would just smooth out all the rough edges, make them corporate, and I like them just the way the are, thank you.
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