Concert Review: The Church, Arts at the Armory, April 21

A funny thing happened on the road to nostalgia for the Church. They took a detour and became relevant.

The initial route was a familiar one. After slowly building an audience, they scored a Top 30 hit, "Under the Milky Way," several albums into their career. The pressure to repeat their success nearly destroyed the band. Last summer they played Showcase Live, a venue at a football stadium's complex whose main selling point to suburban audiences is vast amounts of free parking, key for acts that are just trading on their long-past glories. The typical chain of events for such bands is that, if they even bother to record new material, it is at best forgettable but provides an excuse to tour. At worst, it squanders their legacy.

But that isn't what happened to the Church. The band is celebrating it 30th anniversary with a special tour. They deserved better than the nostalgia circuit room they played in Foxboro last year and got it with Somerville's Arts at the Armory on April 21. The gimmick of the tour is that they play one song from each album in reverse chronological order, starting with 2009's Untitled #23. The surprise to casual fans is that their newer material is worthy of both the band and the audience. Admittedly, the group have winnowed their following, but this was a crowd who was in it for the long haul, not the ones who would be disappointed that they didn't faithfully recreate "Reptile" from its Starfish incarnation.

In honor of the occasion, they provided a program highlighting their career, including a page devoted to each album and concluding with an inventory of their career, cataloging everything from the number of concerts played to the number of overdoses. Combining  their between-song banter, mostly from Steve Kilbey but with the others chiming in, and the written materials about their releases, the full narrative emerged. Their label largely ignored them in the early '80s in favor of acts like Loverboy. They eventually hit pay dirt and sold a bunch of albums, but that same success tore the band apart. They eventually regained their footing as the '90s progressed, with guitarist Peter Koppes rejoining the band, Tim Fowles settling in behind drums and the band finding a new creative freedom, in part from shedding expectations. They've weathered the failure of several indie labels by ultimately creating their own imprint.

It was a journey through their history, but they chose to not necessarily retrace their steps. They billed it as an intimate space, which manifested itself as a very casual atmosphere with no electric guitars. Since two of their albums were built around reinterpretations of their own songs, they were hardly married to their past. For example, they stripped away the layers of "Almost Yesterday." "The Unguarded Moment" felt like a Velvet Underground cover song. "Invisible" took the train theme of its lyrics as the basis for its tempo variations, speeding up then slowing down like a training pulling into the station.

They broke the proceedings into two sets then returned for two encores. For their first encore, they offered up the Smashing Pumpkins song "Disarm" as a thank you and response to their cover of "Reptile." They followed it up with "Space Saviour" from Untitled #23 that was so hypnotic it practically induced seizures and left audience drowning in puddles of their own drool. They wrapped up the evening with "Grind;" Marty Willson-Piper peppered it with Led Zeppelin-worthy fat riffs, but the rendition also lived up the song's own lyrics of "jangled decay." The band proved themselves worthy of the 30th anniversary celebration.

Concert Review: Alejandro Escovedo, Somerville Theater, April 6

Alejandro Escovedo came to town with a just a buddy to upend expectations. Yes, it was just two guys with acoustic guitars, but this was not evening of polite, gentle strumming; it's surprising they only broke one string in the course of the evening. Ecovedo's lyrics suggest that he's a singer/songwriter, but he knows how to rock. To put it another way, he knows how to make a lot of noise, but his lyrics convey genuine emotional complexity. He hits you in the heart, the feet and the brain. I frequently found myself with an irrepressible smile on my face.

The pair were previewing songs from Escovedo's upcoming album, due in June. Although he described it as a rock album with a full band, he was touring unplugged with fellow guitarist David Pulkingham. Their interaction was a paradox, effortlessly spontaneous and organic as a result of lots of practice. They had worked hard to make it look that easy. With a quick exchange of glances they could alter the tempo or intensity, and both clearly enjoyed the freedom they had in working together to make something so beautiful or so raucous.

Boston just isn't showing Escovedo the love he deserves, with the 900-seat venue maybe a third full. Rather than lamenting the poor turn-out (and he didn't mince words about another nearby venue where he'd played earlier in his career), he used the intimacy to his advantage. Especially since no one was in the balcony, the pair stepped down from the stage, away from the microphones, to perform a handful of songs in the aisles among the audience.

Escovedo peppered the set with stories about his family, taking great pride in their musical accomplishments. His father was a musician who bore 12 children, eight of whom went on to become professional musicians themselves. His 17-year-old son Paris is a punk rocker, and Alejandro is amused that Paris dismisses his father's current output at old man music for old people.

Escovedo was once a young punk rocker himself as a member of the Nuns in the mid-'70s. That band is now most famous as the launching point of his eventual solo career. Ironically, he emerged from a genre that disparaged virtuosity through his virtuosity, but the punk spirit still lives in this "old man."

Concert Review: A Place to Bury Strangers, Paradise Rock Club, March 27

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Reconsidering Peaches

From the first time I saw Peaches, I reached the conclusion that she was trading exclusively in shock value in the absence of any other discernible talent, that she had nothing going for her other than sexual provocation. If she didn't exist, someone would have to invent her if only as fodder for gender studies academics.

My basis for this opinion was established by my initial exposure to her, opening for Elastica at the Park West in Chicago in 2000. But I have been forced recently to rethink my assessment. Peaches was interviewed on the January 29 episode of Sound Opinions. Jim DeRogatis starts off by calling the performance "infamous." Peaches responds that it was her "worst show ever." DeRogatis continues by explaining that the venue has been around since the days of Al Capone, and they still talk about it as the single worst show in its history. She recalls that it was the fourth show of her first tour ever and she was experimenting on stage to develop her new persona.

In other words, to say that I caught her on an off night is an understatement. I'll have to be a little more open-minded about her work, although I'll stick with Patti Smith for upending expectations of female performers.

Concert Review: The Magnetic Fields, Wilbur Theatre, February 11

Oh, Stephin Merritt, you are so droll. You are so witty. Your songs are so exquisite. If only you were so lively. Please, can Magnetic Fields concerts be inspired by your opening number, "Kiss Me Like You Mean It"? The band takes the notion of chamber pop too seriously in the live setting. The material was perfectly presented except for a few bum notes caused by laryngitis going through the tour bus, but it was staid. The band's performance was pleasant enough but hardly vital. As a songwriter, Merritt mines so many nuances of emotion, but the band didn't convey that emotion. They replicated the recordings but didn't bring the songs to life. Apart from some awkwardly amusing repartee between Merritt and Claudia Gonson, there was little to recommend for their concert over their albums.

There was are recurring theme of songs about vampires, surprising considering they never played the Future Bible Heroes song, "I'm a Vampire," even though they played songs by Merritt's other outfits, the Sixths and the Gothic Archies.

Opener Laura Barrett's main accompaniment was the kalimba, a thumb piano that sounds like a music box. Her quirkiness would have worn thin quickly if she had just tried to coast on her charms, the way too much '90s indie pop relied on the mistaken belief that cuteness compensates for ineptitude. But she and her accompanist were fully competent of their hodge podge of instruments, and she never sang a bum note, making her odd songs were appealing.

Magnetic Fields set list:

Kiss Me Like You Mean It
You Must Be Out of Your Mind
The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side
We Are Having a Hootenanny
Walk a Lonely Road
Shipwrecked
When Will You Love Me Again
All I Want To Know
I Have the Moon
Looking for Love [In the Hall of Mirrors]

[Intermission]

Xylophone Track
Interlude
Long Vermont Roads
You You You You You
The Nun's Litany
I'm Sorry I Love You
Don't Look Away
The Little Hebrew Girl
The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent
Better Things
Fear of Trains
The Dolls' Tea Party
Always Already Gone
100,000 Fireflies

[Encore]
I Die
From a Sinking Ship

Concert Recommendation: That Petrol Emotion, The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY, December 12

I usually limit my concert recommendations to those in and around Boston, but I'm making an exception for That Petrol Emotion playing tonight in Brooklyn. The band arose from the remnants of the Undertones in the late '80s then went dormant after a few albums; they showed great promise and got critical praise, but their clattering rock never found a big audience. Still, they hold a place near and dear in my heart. I ripped off their look from 1987's Babble of writing on sunglasses with correction fluid; photos of me made the college paper and yearbook, but no one recognized the inspiration. 1988's End Of The Millennium Psychosis Blues captured how I was feeling at that time. The first time I saw them live, I knew all the words to their songs even more than the words to a Beatles song they covered; it's not as if "Hey, Bulldog" was ever ubiquitous like other parts of the Beatles catalog, but I certainly listened to TPE far more. I got to interview drummer Ciaran McLaughlin for B-Side Magazine; that I could cover them was a reason I loved writing for B-Side; that I had to battle another writer for the chance was why I loved our staff (The other writer got to interview the Chills, so we were even.)

Anyway, the Undertones reunited and toured a few years ago, so it was almost inevitable that That Petrol Emotion would follow suit. They were never hugely beloved, so I hope they find enough of an audience to warrant another U.S. tour that includes Boston.

That Petrol Emotion play with the Mad Scene at 7:30 tonight at the Bell House, 149 7th St, Brooklyn, NY 718-643-6510.

Concert Recommendation: Ted Leo/Pharmacists, UMass Lowell, December 4

As someone who has promoted campus concerts, I know how hard it is to spread the word beyond campus. I only found out that Ted Leo/Pharmacists are playing a charity benefit show at UMass Lowell because I'm taking a continuing education class there and flyers were posted in the music building. I saw the band open for Dismemberment plan about 8 years ago, and they made a bigger impression than the headliners, partially because "The Ballad of the Sin Eater" has rightfully become a college radio standard.

Ted Leo/Pharmacists headline Rock for Tots 2009 at Cumnock Hall, UMass Lowell on Friday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. More information at www.wuml.org. Public tickets at www.umltickets.com.

Concert Recommendation: Nitzer Ebb, Paradise Rock Club, December 3

It's been long enough to ride the nostalgia train. Some industrial bands of the late '80s and early '90s such as KMFDM and Nine Inch Nails have just kept chugging along to varying degrees of fame. Nitzer Ebb took a long breather after interest in the genre waned, but they're back, and they're on tour, still with Bon Harris, Douglas McCarthy and Some Other Guy on percussion. Their Teutonic name and sound implied that they're German, but they're British; their moniker is the equivalent of Häagen-Dazs, foreign-sounding but meaningless. But that Teutonic sound was great, taking the spareness of synth-pop but adding an aggressive edge with hits like "Control I'm Here," (but not "Strike to the Body" by sound-alike Chicago duo Die Warzau). They honed their live act opening for the likes of Depeche Mode and working the summer festival circuit.

Catch them now before they relive the old days, opening for Depeche Mode in Europe early next year.

Nitzer Ebb play with Provocateur, DJ Chris Ewen at the Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617-562-8800 at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 3.

Concert Review: Art Brut, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA, October 16, 2009

I'd initially written off Art Brut for their bedsit preciousness but was finally starting to embrace them for embodying the spirit of late '70s/early '80s British punk, the inept rather than the angry strain. My interest was rewarded by their energetic performance at the Middle East last Friday. What they lack in technical competence they more than make up for in enthusiasm and bravado. Their absolute commitment to the material and the performance outweighed any bum notes.

In nod to the show's location, they opened with a cover the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner," and kept on running. These are no poets, and their songs were very literal with a focus on the mundane, an everyday existence that includes love of music and comics. Both the subject matter and the style of the backing vocals was reminiscent of the Undertones. Had they done a straight cover of "Mars Bars," those unfamiliar with the original would easily assume it was their own next to songs like "D.C. Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes."

Freddy Feedback's bass lines gave a nod to the Fall, although Eddie Argos's voice suggested sinus infection rather than dentist's drill, as does Fall frontman Mark E. Smith's. It was an exuberant rhythm section. Mikey Breyer played his drum set standing up because he appeared too excited to ever sit down. Feedback looked like she'd developed muscle tone in her cheeks from grinning so much at the shear delight in playing in her band.

They already have their own version of "Hey, Ho, Let's Go!" in "Art Brut. Top of the Pops," which the crowd started chanting until the band returned for an encore. They obliged with "Slap Dash for No Cash," in which they self-referentially praised their own brand of ramshackle rock and roll and made a convincing argument for its value.

Get Rid of Your Stupid Band Name

A word of advice to up-and-coming bands. If your group aspires to anything greater than being a means to picking up girls at frat parties, change your stupid band name. How can you tell if your band name is stupid? If it includes reference to a living person, particularly a celebrity, it's stupid. Yes, I'm talking to you, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head and the House that Gloria Vanderbilt. If it contains words that are likely to be blocked by the most rudimentary internet filters, it's stupid. Yes, I'm talking to you, Fuck Buttons. If you are overly amused by its novelty value, it's stupid. There have been plenty of bands through the years called Free Beer, and you see how far they've all gotten. If you're convinced that changing your stupid band name will make you lose your following, you are stupider than your band name and don't have much of a following to squander.

Anvil Coda

I'm not a big metal fan and usually treat the press releases that hit my inbox with indifference, but this one sent shivers up my spine. It is a heartwarming epilogue to the documentary Anvil: the Story of Anvil. The film chronicled the aborted rise of little-known but well-regarded Canadian metal band Anvil. They were on brink of stardom in the early '80s, and while their contemporaries went on to great fame, that next step eluded Anvil. Bad luck, bad circumstances and bad decisions kept them from ever making it big, but founders and brothers-in-spirit Lips and Robb Reiner have kept the band going all these years. The film ends with Lips' endless optimism finally paying off as they play before thousands of rabid fans in Japan.

Well, it gets better. The interest in the band generated by the film has them opening for AC/DC on a few stadium dates, and their latest album is getting wider release. The mere fact that they have an experienced, competent publicist spreading the word is a sign that things are finally heading in the right direction for them.

ANVIL CONTINUES EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACK
WITH AC/DC DATES AND NATIONAL RELEASE OF 'THIS IS THIRTEEN'

Los Angeles, CA - July 22, 2009 -- Certainly one of the most feel-good rock n' roll comeback stories of recent times is that of Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. The band, considered a major influence for a generation of hard rockers including Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Guns N' Roses, was the subject of a critically acclaimed, must-see rock-doc, 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil,' directed by Sacha Gervasi. And in the process, the film has made the group (led by singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner - both founding members) a household name. But the group's story will certainly not end with the film.

First up for Anvil are U.S. shows opening for Aussie rock legends AC/DC - in football stadiums. We're really excited about these shows, we've only heard awesome things about playing in football stadiums. I was with the Green Day guys last night, and they were telling me, 'Man, it's probably going to be the gig of your life'!"

And then on September 15, This is Thirteen will finally see proper national distribution on CD and vinyl via VH1 Classic Records. The CD will feature the newly recorded, never-before released bonus track "Thumb Hang." The collectible double vinyl LP boasts newly re-recorded versions of Anvil classics "Metal on Metal" and "666." The album, originally recorded in 2007 and produced by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy), was primarily available directly from the band via their website and at their concerts.

"'This is Thirteen' is more like our first three albums," says Lips, "which represent our real identity. For many of our albums, we went on an 'integrity hunt' instead of on a 'commercial/radio hunt,' so we became extremely inaccessible to radio. This time, we stepped back and said, 'What were we originally?' And we rediscovered ourselves, I suppose." Reiner adds, "There are three tracks that in my opinion, are definitely, 100% AOR/hard rock/commercial radio tracks - 'American Refuge,' 'Flying Blind,' and 'Feed the Greed.' Catchy melodies, incredible drum feels - they just all rock."

The title track is about as classic Anvil as you can get - that slow, powerful, heavy backbeat with cool changes. The violent-sounding "Bombs Away" is, according to Reiner, "the almightiest metal track on the entire record," "Ready to Fight" is pure speed rock 'n roll - Nugent on steroids - that boasts super-heavy drumming, and "Big Business" is akin, musically-speaking, to Cream's classic "Sunshine of Your Love." And then there's the true classic, Anvil near-anthem, "Shoulda' Woulda' Coulda'," that's about living life with no regrets.

Reiner points out that the input from acclaimed producer Tsangarides (who produced early Anvil albums) was a major reason for This is Thirteen turning out the way it did. "The last four or five albums, material-wise, were all similar. We had been trying to find the direction back to the classic Anvil style and sound - it's just that the production hadn't been up to scratch. Chris was a big missing part on our past albums."

Despite some zany Spinal Tap-like parallels between Anvil and David St. Hubbins and company in the film, Anvil has always been taken seriously by metalheads, including some very well known rock stars, who praise the band in the film. "Anvil was one of those bands that just put on this really amazing live performance," said Velvet Revolver/ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, while Motorhead singer/bassist Lemmy added, "They were a great band - I always liked Anvil," and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich gushed, "These guys were going to turn the music world upside down."

So, the AC/DC dates, the release of This is Thirteen, what else can fans expect from Anvil in the future? Lips was willing to provide a hint: "Working. More recording. More gigs. More - more than ever!"


AC/DC DATES:
JULY
28 Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
31 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

AUGUST
6 Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick CANADA

Quadrophenia Musical

Cold on the heels of the Tommy stage musical in the mid '90s, there is now a stage musical version another Who rock opera, Quadrophenia. The show is currently touring England with hopes of landing on the West End. (I'm assuming this is the British equivalent of playing Madison and Buffalo to fine tune and road test a show on its way to Broadway.) Here's a trailer for it:



The fact that the characters sing will distinguish this from the outstanding movie. The only obvious shortcoming is "Lover Reign O'er Me." I'm a fan of the Who because I'm a fan of Pete Townshend, but "Love Reign O'er Me" is my favorite song in part because it is such a grand showcase of Roger Daltrey's vocal talents. No one can match his towering majesty on that song, and the star of this show has no option but to pale in comparison.

Concert Review: The Church, Showcase Live, Foxborough, MA, July 2, 2009

Steve Kilbey was in particularly good spirits. He praised the venue, noting that the green room was nicer than the whole gig in Detroit. And the place was swell, but it's also a little sad that the Church are playing a club specializing in nostalgia acts and tribute bands, on the far outskirts of Boston with plenty of free parking to appeal to suburb parents like me. Yes, the band got the biggest response to their '80s hits, but the newer material holds its own, especially the enthralling "Space Saviour" off their latest release, Untitled #23. Marty Willson-Piper fingers are just as nimble as ever, and he remains a psychedelic guitar demon.

They opened with "Tantalized," and its swells and delirium magically transported me back to the first time I saw them, touring in support of Heyday in 1986. I felt like I was about to lose control of my bowels. The set bridged their career although was heaviest on #23 and their U.S. commercial peak Starfish.

Steve Kilbey was fit and tanned. While Marty Willson-Piper's long hair made him look like a romantic goth in the '80s, its uniform length, flecks of frizzy gray and his beard have transformed him into an aging hippie. Peter Koppes is merely aging gracefully. The three traded duties and instruments throughout the evening. Koppes and Willson-Piper swapped lead guitar. Willson-Piper and Kilbey swapped their bass and, for some songs, a battered acoustic guitar that looked as though it were held together with electrical tape.

When they exited the stage, someone in the audience yelled out, "You're still beautiful!" While it probably was a request rather than an effort to inveigle the band to return for an encore, especially since he subsequently called out other song titles, it was appropriate sentiment. They were clearly having fun, especially churning out feedback during the two encores.

The Church continued their tradition of having the former frontman of a '90s shoegazer band open for them. In 2006, it was Rob Dickinson of the Catherine Wheel. This time it was Adam Franklin of Swervedriver. The difference is that the Catherine Wheel were rather distinctive in the movement. But, quick, think of a Swervedriver song. Yeah, I couldn't either. Or maybe that one was by Chapterhouse. Franklin and his band built up quite a guitar-based din at times bur rather lacked for well-structured songs.

Stephin Merritt Off-Broadway

As a logical extension of his creating music for the audiobooks of dark-themed children's literature, Stephin Merritt is the composer and lyricist for a stage production of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, now playing in New York. Merritt is best known for his band the Magnetic Fields, but he's got zillions of off-shoot projects. (He's like a nerdy Al Jourgensen.) Under the Gothic Archies header, he performed theme songs for each of the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events audiobooks, compiled as A Tragic Treasury when the series was complete, as well as music for the Coraline audiobook. Now the book has been turned into a full fledged off-Broadway musical, so who else but Merritt could provide the music.

Coraline plays at the MCC Theater at The Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014, (212) 279-4200, through July 5.

Concert Review: Nine Inch Nails, NINJA2009 tour, Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA, June 3

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Nine Inch Nails' debut album Pretty Hate Machine, but Trent Reznor and his current henchmen were hardly trading on nostalgia. They all but ignored that first album yet still had the audience enrapt. But also gone were the trappings of more recent tours, namely the heavy use of visual images as part of the overall presentation. The visuals were limited to occasional seizure-inducing strobes. They even eschewed video close-ups on the Jumbotrons flanking the stage.

Somewhat Damaged
Reznor is screaming, "Too fucked up to care anymore." I'm pondering whether Nine Inch Nails has received the academic examination it so clearly merits, and whether filling that possible void is why I should be heading back to grad school.

1,000,000

Discipline
Appropriately addictive.

March of the Pigs
It makes fantastic use of dramatic pause. The band is in a total frenzy, especially the wild-haired drummer with primitive style resembling Lori Barbero of Babes in Toyland (thank you to my husband for that comparison). They come to a dead stop, then resume the frenzy.

Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
They manage to be both visceral and precise.

Metal
A Gary Numan cover. The staccato bass that dominates differentiated it from the band's own compositions, but they make it their own. For the first time in decades, I feel cool for having bought The Pleasure Principle in 8th grade. As the song winds down, the rest of the band backs away from their instruments to leave Reznor alone on keyboards.

The Becoming

Echoplex
The synthesized beats and heavy bass resemble New Order.

Burn
Reznor alternately attacks and retreats from the microphone.

Gave Up
Reznor turns "Feels" into a polysyllabic word.

La Mer
The typically taciturn Reznor hasn't uttered a spoken word to the audience but suddenly turns confessional. He gives an extended introduction about locking himself away 10 years, writing only one song and trying to kill himself. He acknowledges it is hard to go back there because it still feels haunted. While it sounds like he is only talking about the song as a metaphorical place, his explanation ends on a happier note; he is returning there to get married. The arrangement features an upright bass and Reznor on marimba.

The Fragile

Gone, Still

The Way Out Is Through
Reznor swaggers.

Wish
Reznor brings out friend-of-the-bad Dan for extra guitar punch.

The Hand That Feeds

Head Like a Hole
It took 1 hour and 20 minutes to finally get to something from Pretty Hate Machine for their traditional set closer.

Hurt
This follows a brief ceremonial retreat to the wings to designate this an an encore. Even after 15 years, Reznor still makes this song sound like an open wound. It ends the set on an unexpectedly somber note.

I had incorrectly assumed that Jane's Addiction were the opening band for the tour, not co-headliners. When NIN took the stage first, my gut reaction was, "Oh, good, I can go home early." NIN and Jane's Addiction may have emerged almost concurrently, just as the awkward moniker "college rock" was giving way to alternative as a music and marketing force, and both both bands are loud, but the similarities soon end. Jane's is loud and merely busy, whereas NIN is loud and intense. With two ostentatious guitar solos and a drum solo in just their first song, JA clearly weren't drawing on punk's appreciation of brevity. NIN's early '80s antecedent was Gary Numan while Jane's Addiction's was Van Halen. I'll give Perry Farrell credit for rockin' the form-fitting gold satin jumpsuit as he strutted like a peacock around the stage. But beating the traffic backup exiting the parking lot was far more appealing than a whole set of this.

Traffic delays caused me to miss all but the last song by opener Street Sweeper Social Club, aka Tom Morello's new band. Morello used his tremendous charisma to exhort the whole audience onto their feet, even alluding to Rage Against the Machine lyrics, acknowledging, "There's always someone saying, 'Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me.'" Once everyone had arisen, the guitar-heavy band used their chops to earn the response. Morello is unlikely to match the heights of Rage again, but he is still impressive in working up a crowd. It's always good to see someone use their intelligence and talent for good, not evil.

So Long, Jimmy Sturr

The New York Times just reported that the polka category is being cut from the Grammy Awards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/arts/music/05polk.html

The main outcome is that I and anyone else who follows the Grammy Awards closely while be forced to find a new punchline to replace Jimmy Sturr. The category has only been awarded since 1986, but polka "star" Sturr has won 18 times. In the presentations I have given on how to buy music for libraries, he was the prime and comedic example of why buying every winner in every category isn't necessarily a good idea. I'll need to find some new material before my next talk.

Concert Review: Lady Sovereign, Paradise Rock Club, May 3

Lady Sovereign has been upstaged quite a bit since being dubbed "Feminem" and making a splash with Vertically Challenged just four years ago. M.I.A. has come to the forefront for British female hip-hop. Other female British artists have become more newsworthy for some combination of blue-eyed retro soul, MySpace success or substance abuse problems. Still, she drew a sizable crowd to the Paradise on Sunday night.

DJ Annalyze worked the crowd for an extended stretch before Lady Sov and her drummer took the stage. The petite rapper worked the stage, striding from one end to the other and occasionally mugging for the many fans armed with cameras and camera phones. However, she did chide one person near the stage, "Would you please stop texting." She didn't mind the technology as long it was focused on her.

While a few of her songs are undeniably great -- "Love Me or Hate Me" and "Random" were fun for riling up the crowd -- there was nothing to suggest that she's an artist for the ages. For all her energy, she didn't bring enough to her performance or material that was truly outstanding.

Concert Recommendation: Sickidz Tribute to Lux Interior, Triton, Philadelphia, April 26

It was obvious from watching Mick Cancer when he fronted Pink Slip Daddy that he owed a debt of gratitude to Lux Interior. I have only fond memories of a New Year's Eve bloody nose when my face got in the way of his boot as he went airborne during a Pink Slip Daddy performance at the Khyber Pass. As I learned more Philly music history, I found out that Mick and his first band, Sickidz were friends, not just fans of the Cramps, which Mick documented so beautifully shortly after Lux's death:

http://nextbigthing.blogspot.com/search?q=mick+cancer

Sickidz will be honoring the late Mr. Interior in Philly on Sunday. The event will feature the music of the Cramps, a showing of their infamous concert at Napa State Mental Institute, never before seen video footage and shared recollections.
 
A memorial service of Crampsong will be performed by The Sickidz.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to http://www.bestfriends.org in Lux's memory.

Sickidz play Tritone, 1508 South St., Philadelphia, 215–545–0475, at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 26.

The A's: Back in Print

Back when radio stations reflected local tastes and interests, there were regional hits. Philly had a string of them, acts who made waves nationally but made a huge splash locally. Before Tommy Conwell, the Hooters and Robert Hazard, there were the A's. Their albums just predated the birth of the CD, and they have never been on CD until now. Get your fix of "A Woman's Got the Power."

Not Just What I Needed

Greg Hawkes, keyboardist of the Cars, has released a solo album, The Beatles Uke. It is exactly what the title suggests, Beatles songs played on the ukulele. I recognize that the Beatles are the most important band in the history of rock and roll, but I really wish he'd performed Cars songs instead. I have nothing against the Beatles, but I've had enough of them. There is far worse music that could be overexposed, but their music is ubiquitous, and novelty interpretations have, quite simply, lost their novelty. Among the collection at the library where I worked were Beatles songs performed as jazz, reggae, lullabies and children's music, on cello, by German heavy metal and classical choral groups and even by Looney Tunes characters. Give it a rest.