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7/7/2005
EAR PLUGS
I spent half the weekend sitting in the river drinking and relaxing while SW
stayed home and recovered from a whirlwind business jaunt to NYC. By the time I
got home, sore and hungover, neither of us were motivated to get out much. We
didn't even see any fireworks for the fourth. When Tuesday rolled around SW had
friends from Texas playing at Smith's so we skipped the weekly trip to the drive
in and paid too much for drinks at one of Midtown's first yuppie establishments.
We skipped the opening act to get a bite, then headed up and got a seat right up
front for Fluffer's Union, SW's friends. They do an eclectic sort of Americana
with quirky lyrics and interesting melodies, not unlike Sun Volt or SW's other
friends from Texas, The Gourds. They're a bit more guitar-intensive than the
usual Americana stuff but even with the triple guitar attack it doesn't rock
hard like hard rock. It's still low key and downbeat for the most part. I
enjoyed it a lot more than many of the other Americana shows and CD's SW brings
into my life.
Next up, Casting Couch, on tour with Fluffer's Union, featuring a former
Atlantan. They were even more eclectic in sound, switching backing instruments
from xylophone to accordion to tuba to bells, making things sound unusual. They
held our attention for most of the set, but eventually we went downstairs to
plan a trip to Clermont Lounge, something we seem to do every time we have out
of town guests.
It was karaoke night, adding yet another layer of strangeness to Atlanta's
strangest club. The ragged strippers of Clermont Lounge each took turns at the
mike, mixed in with random people from the crowd. Even our Texas friends were
cajoled into a few numbers. We split sometime after 1:30, making what should've
been a short week at work seem awfully long.
Damn, I'm getting old!
We've got a stack of CD's to review, some stuff that arrived from labels wanting
our opinion, other stuff I bought with my hard-earned dollars.
First up, a Kate Campbell's CD Blues and Lamentations. For some reason I've been
getting a lot of acoustic, singer/songwriter stuff from labels lately despite my
repeated reviews that state this ain't my cup of tea. I suspect the folks that
send the stuff don't actually READ my reviews, which is fine with me 'cause
they'll keep sending free stuff and once in a while there's something good.
Kate Campbell does acoustic blues with a heavy southern accent. Combined with a
few more instruments than you'd normally associate in a mix of acoustic blues,
this gives the disc a very country music sound. I was reminded of gospel, even
before she started singing about Moses. Her voice reminds me of classic country
crooners, from Loretta to Dolly, and her light guitar picking lacks the slide
and chords I usually expect in something labeled "blues." It's closer to
bluegrass. But these aren't bad things, just different. If the disc had been
titled or labeled as country/bluegrass or singer/songwriter stuff I wouldn't
have gone into it expecting Lightnin' Hopkins. In fact, this could probably play
on modern country stations that play softer and pop-flavored country.
Kate's voice may be a bit too clean for the material. Again, maybe it's my
expectations, but when I think blues I think gravely voices that speak of their
pain in their sound alone. Kate can sing, has a good range, and the CD is well
mixed so it comes through clean. But even when there are horns added to the New
Orleans flavored tune New Blues, I can't help but feel like something is
missing. It lacks the upbeat moments that give light to counter the darkness in
bluegrass. It lacks the edge and beat that do the same for the blues. Instead,
it has that honesty and clarity of folk/singer/songwriter music that keeps me
away from venues like Eddie's Attic. But if you're a fan of acoustic music this
might be your new favorite CD.
Next up, Matt Sery's CD A More Perfect Union. This reminds me of a lot of late
90's rock music I didn't like. The band "Live" comes to mind, as well as Creed.
But hell, I shouldn't review this at all. He ain't from around here and we don't
usually review stuff from yankees. It's not that we think the South is all that
great, it's just that there's too much music to cover in our own back yard as it
is, never mind the rest of the planet. I got 4 tracks into this disc and ejected
it. It's well produced and there's some skilled singing and playing, I just
don't like what he's singing and playing. Ugh. Let's move on, shall we?
I picked up an EP from Dave Railey, Corndogorama organizer and lead singer of
Day Mars Ray. The disc is a sampler from an upcoming full length Day Mars Ray
record and if it's representative of the album in-process I'm looking forward to
it. It's got sort of an 80's sound in jangly guitar work, but there's more to it
than that. There's a layered richness I like without getting into overproduced
mush. Some tunes have sort of a rootsy Americana feel, yet melded with spacey,
trippy rock. Good stuff. The fact that he's a super nice guy (and nice looking,
according to SW), is only icing on the cake.
Speaking of Corndogorama, one of my favorite acts of said festival was Jet By
Day. I hopped over to the merch table after their set and was confounded by a
selection of CD's from them. How the heck am I supposed to chose from 5 or 6
titles based on a kick ass 45 minute set? So I picked up The Vulture because I
remembered them doing that tune in their set and the cover art looked cool.
Crap, remember twenty years ago when you'd buy records just because the cover
art was so fuckin' cool? I must have half a dozen ELO records just because of
that damn flying saucer on the cover.
I don't seem to be able to write a review this week without rambling off into
other subjects. What the hell?
Jet By Day's CD The Vulture starts off with some very ELO keyboards. Maybe
that's why I'm distracted and tripping back to regrettable childhood record
purchases. But after the spacey instrumental intro it comes crashing back to
earthy rock, heavy, often angry stuff with soaring, growling, groaning vocals
sort of reminiscent of Soundgarden. It shares some of the dark qualities of
Soundgarden too, making me wish they'd lighten up for a minute a la AC/DC, but I
suppose we don't really need any more hard rock party bands, do we? No, this is
serious stuff, speeding up to leg-shaking, head-bopping intensity from time to
time. Damn, I love me some electric guitar and this disc delivers!
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