Music Reviews
The Jan Michael Vincents
Never say the Wild Goose crowd can't rock, and that includes the bartenders. I frankly never expected to see Dennis headbanging, but last Thursday night the Jan Michael Vincents brought the surf punk out in him. I lived in LA during the days when Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, the Dickies, Suicidal Tendencies, and all those bad boys were learning how to crank out irresistible noise, and the melodic hardcore JMVs took me right back to those days when I used to snuggle behind the wheel of my turquoise-blue Dodge Swinger, listening to KXLU radio in the West LA sun, waiting for the Starbucks to invigorate my eyebrows. Talk about power chords, the JMVs were pluckin' 'em out of the smoke-smeared air, commanding hearty ovations from the normally-sedate denizens of the Goose. Guitarist and singer-songwriter Corey Christensen's voice patiently ascends the gentle dissonance of a monolithic heap of minor chords, working his way up one Sisyphean crescendo after another. He encapsulates emotion, then hangs it all on a closing chord rich with decaying crunch. Just how it's s'pozed to be done. Bass player Pat Harris McClellan plays the fretless bass sensistively, fattening up the sound without stealing thunder from the lead. Drummer Dave Hampton, usually seen peeling licks elegantly off the neck of his snakeskin-covered Stratocaster behind the wheel of the always-wildly-careening New Autonomous Folksingers, pulled a Tommy Ramone and learned to play drums just to become, for a few nights, one of the Van Michael Vincents. At one point, Pat passed Dave the mike because he needed to say something. Once he had the mike, Dave said “Something.” We may not see this band again for awhile, because Corey's off to Evergreen College for a year, but wish real hard, and maybe they'll be back for Christmas.
The Bluesdusters
I caught the Bluesdusters show on August 19th at Alex's and was glad I did. The Bluesdusters are John O. Nelson and Leonard “Grif” Griffie, two remarkable axe-men with piano and drums delivered by a variety of artists who are all listed on the band's website at Bluesdusters.com. John, a big, tall rugged-faced guy I knew only as the man behind the counter at Silk Road, is one hell of a musician. John's voice is warm and rich, and he softens the edges of many songs with skillful slidework on his guitar. Grif unreels sustained blues riffs with ease and precision. The two work together smoothly, trading off rhythm and lead so easily that they had me studying fingers to figure who was playing what. Then I realized it didn't matter, and I just had to get up and dance. Our next chance to catch the Bluesdusters live is October 21st, 9 p.m. at the “A” Street Marketplace (at the junction of Pioneer and “A” streets). There's no cover, and if I know these guys, no limits on how hot the dance floor will get. — Carlos Ramone
Never say the Wild Goose crowd can't rock, and that includes the bartenders. I frankly never expected to see Dennis headbanging, but last Thursday night the Jan Michael Vincents brought the surf punk out in him. I lived in LA during the days when Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, the Dickies, Suicidal Tendencies, and all those bad boys were learning how to crank out irresistible noise, and the melodic hardcore JMVs took me right back to those days when I used to snuggle behind the wheel of my turquoise-blue Dodge Swinger, listening to KXLU radio in the West LA sun, waiting for the Starbucks to invigorate my eyebrows. Talk about power chords, the JMVs were pluckin' 'em out of the smoke-smeared air, commanding hearty ovations from the normally-sedate denizens of the Goose. Guitarist and singer-songwriter Corey Christensen's voice patiently ascends the gentle dissonance of a monolithic heap of minor chords, working his way up one Sisyphean crescendo after another. He encapsulates emotion, then hangs it all on a closing chord rich with decaying crunch. Just how it's s'pozed to be done. Bass player Pat Harris McClellan plays the fretless bass sensistively, fattening up the sound without stealing thunder from the lead. Drummer Dave Hampton, usually seen peeling licks elegantly off the neck of his snakeskin-covered Stratocaster behind the wheel of the always-wildly-careening New Autonomous Folksingers, pulled a Tommy Ramone and learned to play drums just to become, for a few nights, one of the Van Michael Vincents. At one point, Pat passed Dave the mike because he needed to say something. Once he had the mike, Dave said “Something.” We may not see this band again for awhile, because Corey's off to Evergreen College for a year, but wish real hard, and maybe they'll be back for Christmas.
The Bluesdusters
I caught the Bluesdusters show on August 19th at Alex's and was glad I did. The Bluesdusters are John O. Nelson and Leonard “Grif” Griffie, two remarkable axe-men with piano and drums delivered by a variety of artists who are all listed on the band's website at Bluesdusters.com. John, a big, tall rugged-faced guy I knew only as the man behind the counter at Silk Road, is one hell of a musician. John's voice is warm and rich, and he softens the edges of many songs with skillful slidework on his guitar. Grif unreels sustained blues riffs with ease and precision. The two work together smoothly, trading off rhythm and lead so easily that they had me studying fingers to figure who was playing what. Then I realized it didn't matter, and I just had to get up and dance. Our next chance to catch the Bluesdusters live is October 21st, 9 p.m. at the “A” Street Marketplace (at the junction of Pioneer and “A” streets). There's no cover, and if I know these guys, no limits on how hot the dance floor will get. — Carlos Ramone