John K Band - Elikeh -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Oct 13 2011

Elikeh - I have seen this local collective enough times to be impressed that they are a significant player in the local scene. They are also a significant part of the global West African blues-meets-rock scene. They have been a perfect match with Vieux Farka Toure in the past and are now tonight playing a co-headlining local bill. There was only one major item I really wanted to check on as I was pretty confident I would enjoy their set. And that was whether the Thursday night crowd would be sufficient for a club of this size. I was quite happy to see that it was a well filled house with only a bit of space in front and at the rear of the club (well they could have also squeezed people into sardines). The crowd was supportive early on and the band was hitting on all cylinders again. As the set went on, the dancing and enthusiasm picked up noticeably as this band can still pull people into their music each and every time they play. It is a similar line-up that they play with with Togo native Massama Dogo on vocals, guitar and percussion. I have written much about them before and you can see that here or on links at their site (which also features some music so go there). And again, I see a great core rock sound especially from the kit drums. Plenty of congas, gourds, and wood blocks add the African rhythms. The guitar work is excellent and the brass, keyboards and bass all add what is needed. There is a lot to absorb but the band plays so well as a unit, you can just drift away, dance and take it all in. Everyone should add some west-African music to their listening experiences and we are fortunate to have that right here in DC in Elikeh.

John K Band - John K is the guitarist and he is joined by bass, drums, keyboards, saxophone+, and percussion. I must admit I am less than thrilled at the choice of opener, a cover of James Taylor's "How Sweet it is Being Loved by You". In fact in my over a thousand reviews of live shows and CDs, this is the first mention of James Taylor, so that is about all I need to say on the subject. Of course it was better thereafter as these guys can play. At first they seemed like a really good bar band, but they got better than that even as they showed themselves as a quality jam band with great soloing on guitar, keyboards and sax. I am not a huge fan of the style, but if its well done, it works and it was working tonight for the still large crowd (thinned out a tad). And in doing my research after the show, indeed, jam bands are the appropriate discussion as John K was once in the Dark Star Orchestra. If you like this sort of music, this band does it well. Although it's not on my short list of favorite styles, they have enough quality that in future I will stick around for their set and watch their skillful playing.

Quote of the Night: Well kind of a quote. A guy came up during Elikeh's set as we were both swaying and bobbing to the music and turned around and started signing me. I shrugged and he moved on. So I am nagged by the mystery in both the message and the delivery system.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Xambuca - Kohoutek - Blue Sausage Infant -- Velvet Lounge - Oct 12 2011

Blue Sausage Infant - It has been a while since I have seen this one man electronica set. He has a few pieces of equipment and creates some nice murky pre-Halloween backing with some clean Tangerine Dream-like atmospherics on top. Very smooth and involving. As I often write, I'm not much for one guy on a computer, but this fellow has multiple things happening on his equipment (not just a Mac) and creates an interesting musical environment where listeners can easily join in. Or something like that, at any rate. I enjoyed it and he received a nice ovation from a really good crowd tonight.


Kohoutek - Busy line-up tonight, so one of my local favorites quickly get set up. It's only a four-piece tonight with the core trio of John (guitar), Scott (drums), and I believe Craig (bass). The fourth member has a pedal/electronica/effects set-up on the floor. The guitar and drums start things off in their usual quiet fashion as the others join in. It's a 20-minute continuous set with the usual dynamics, although they don't quite blow the doors down as often is the case. And that is not a criticism, as they establish a great groove where the core trio is completely locked in with all the melodic momentum I come to expect here. The percussion is deft, the bass an anchor, and the guitar dreamy. The electronics is fairly quiet with occasional skronks startling the moment. Lovely stuff here--you will never go wrong with this band.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius w/Xambuca - Xambuca is a solo electronica musician who started the set with dark spacey background sounds and ambient beats on top. This is a tad more out there than Blue Sausage Infant and it has its moments. I do hear a sample or recreation of TARDIS (of Doctor Who) landing. The video projections are much better than usual, so the effect is good and the audience is certainly into it. After a bit, Hans-Joachim Roedelius joins in on keyboard where they briefly play together before Xambuca leaves. Roedelius also has an electronica/synthesizer unit he additionally employs, although the created sound always has a lot of space. Roedelius is an important name in krautrock and experimental music as a founding member of Cluster. I am stunned to find that on my 52nd birthday (and feeling all of that), I am watching someone two weeks shy of their 77th birthday! I've done the math three times and am quite impressed at his abilities and desire to keep making music (especially overseas). It appears that an ATP show with Silver Apples may have gotten him over here for a brief US tour, but he's playing a lot of dates with Xambuca and it is a real treat that he included Washington DC on the tour. He plays an ambient style but with plenty of melody and dramatic tension. It was quite enchanting and the room was riveted. Well, aside from the group behind me where a guy was describing how he added some lo-fat cream cheese to something and added some mint... You know maybe that's ambient, too, but I really don't need full out ambience. But the crowd roared at set's end and coaxed a brief encore of more quiet meaningful piano tinkling. This was an entertaining show that was a nice offset to the heavy or the heartland which populates most clubs. And it was great to see one of the real pioneers on stage at the Velvet Lounge.

Quote of the Night: From one of the regulars standing near me when discussing how large the crowd was... "Wow, that's great. When was the last show here that had a large turnout?"

Good question. It has been a while. The Velvet Lounge has some really intriguing worldly acts like tonight and is also a showcase for a lot of excellent local bands. I was disappointed to see in a recent Washington Post article on the clubs, there was no mention of the Velvet Lounge. I will be doing my own take on that article where I agree with them (they did nail some clubs quite well) and where I depart, plus add a Velvet Lounge section.

Blue Oyster Cult - Midnight Hike -- State Theatre - Oct 9 2011

Midnight Hike - This still relatively new area band landed a nice gig opening up for one of my favorite legendary bands. Not only does it garner them a nice unique audience, but it is a pretty good fit as Midnight Hike exhibits quite a bit of classic rock amidst their more modern styled straight ahead indie rock. They played songs from their one CD (reviewed here previously) and delivered them quite well. The better songs worked well and the lesser ones were still decent. The next step is to keep writing and their set should sharpen up further. The crowd is of course older, with some young people (next generation) also present here as always, although there does not seem to be as many youngsters as I noted in previous visits. The crowd politely accepted the band and I sensed that several people enjoyed this set. Not the guy next to me however, but he did not elaborate nor did I really care. Good gig on a good stage and these guys sound like they still have plenty of energy and are having a good time playing. Who knows where they will turn up next, but it will be a rocking affair.

Blue Oyster Cult - Is this the ninth time for me? I could look up my notes and try to figure it out, but suffice it to say that this has been an important band for me since that first concert of mine where they opened for Rod Stewart and the Faces until the recent couple of times I have seen them on this stage. It's the usual band featuring two original members (Bloom, Dharma), drummer Jules Radino, and ace musician Richie Castellano. The only change is rotating bass position. Rudy Sarzo had been playing but was finishing a tour with Dio Disciples (didn't know that 'band' was still active), so Jon Rogers filled in (he was Joe Bouchard's first replacement). Nice to see Jon Rogers still likes to rock out as it sounds like he is a busy Emmy award winning director when he's not doing this. But on to the show. I was absolutely aghast at how awful the sound was for the first three songs. It really makes me wonder why you would bother with a sound check when it was this bad. Since the band didn't seem to complain about the monitors, I guess that is the answer. Still, the improvement was very slow in coming but I finally noticed it about the fourth song. I thought Ric Ocasek might have been at the Board and the PA under some invisible glass. By set's end I stopped trying to debate how bad the sound was early on or whether the band had lost a step. Since the songs were sounding pretty good for the most part ( only Cities on Flame seemed a bit lethargic), the blame goes to the sound. Buck Dharma is still a treat to watch as his fluid guitar style is unique and powerful. Richie Castellano has a modern style and it is fun to see them trading leads which did not happen in the old days with the rhythm players they had surrounding Dharma. Eric Bloom was amusing and sounds more thoughtful than most when chatting (he always seemed sharp) and drew a laugh from me and others when he said that the shoulder length gray haired Jon Rogers "was not Mick Box with a haircut". "Last Days of May" featured the excellent extended guitar work and "Buck's Boogie" still surprisingly delivers. If the end is coming, it is not due to these players as they still have plenty of life left. But thanks to the technical end, I wished I could have sensed that earlier in the set.

Set list: The Red and the Black/The Golden Age of Leather/ME 262/Burnin' for You/Harvest Moon/Cities on Flame/Black Blade/The Vigil/Buck's Boogie/Last Days of May/Godzilla/Buck solo/Don't Fear the Reaper  Encores: after an early Beatles cut (John Lennon would have been 70 today) they blasted out Hot Rails to Hell

Quote of the Night: Overheard at an unbelievably inane restaurant conversation.
"What country are you from?"
"South America."
"OK, but what country?"
"Africa."

Screaming Females - The Underground Railroad to Candyland -- Black Cat - Oct 6 2011

The Underground Railroad to Candyland - One of the more intriguing named bands that I have seen this year lines up with a couple of guitars, bass, drums, keyboards/percussion, and a trombonist. I did not quite predict the blast of fun power pop punk blasting rock that followed. It was akin to the Dickies and 999 but louder and looser. There is nothing apparently smart in this simple thumping rock, but that often belies the thought and skill in putting something like this together. I was smiling in spite of myself and the large crowd at the backstage of the Black Cat were having a good time as well. They did prove that their multi-vocalists work better with the volume as heard on Black Sabbath's "Changes". That was a good change of pace, though, making the next rocker all the sweeter. The band was full of energy with their steady jumping and the 34 minute set was a lot of fun.

Screaming Females - This was another one of my 'how did I not hear of this great band earlier' moments when I saw them open for Against Me! at the upstairs stage within the last year. This trio smoked that night and I am curious how many of this large crowd are here to see them for just the second time due to that great set. Or they were all quicker to discover that not only is Marissa Paternoster one of the best guitarists around, but the rhythm section of King Mike and Jarrett Dougherty bring the power to this power trio. The fat bass sounds and precise drumming keep these clever little songs moving and somehow Ms. Paternoster can shift between rhythm guitar and extraordinary lead runs while handling all vocal duties. They even have some snake charming psyche moves within these rock songs that have elements of classic, punk, and metal within. I would encourage you to get their records which are certainly good, but you really have to see these three play live to see the magic they make. And if you could only see how well this crowd responded and more importantly compare this response to other bands playing in front of 100 people or even some of them playing to several hundreds. I have rarely seen unanimous shouting and non-stop clapping throughout the set and for encore requests as I have tonight. Too often, it is cooler than thou people standing around waiting for the band to do an encore  (encores may be cliche, but either bring 'em back or hit the door as I sometimes do). It will be a stone cold lock that I will be at their next DC show contemplating how I can write up another rave review for the third time. There's no slowing this band down, they will bring it again and again.

Quote of the Night: From Ms. Paternoster and an excited fan...
"This is the first day of our tour."
"Rock out!!! Fuckin' rock star!"
"No, we're really down to earth."

A Hawk & a Hacksaw - Dark Dark Dark - Pillars & Tongues -- Red Palace - Oct 4th

Pillars & Tongues - One of my former home towns, Chicago, sends us this intriguing trio. With a line-up of Harmonium/vocals, Violin/vocals, and Bass/drums/vocals, there is a natural musical progression to follow--drone. They do employ some drum machine beats and there are thoughtful compositions and vocals here, so it is far from a simple drone experience. It has a dreary Americana at dusk feeling at times and a bit of a Velvet Underground without the striking Lou Reed compositional flair. This is creative music, arty yet accessible, and not easily comparable to many of the bands I listen to. A pretty awesome beginning for the first of three out of town bands tonight.


Dark Dark Dark - Of course they are not as dark as I was expecting. Instead, they provide quality singer songwriter material with another twisted take on the Velvet Underground meets rural America that was also explored earlier. But the sound is quite different here. Female vocals lead the way from the pianist. Some male vocals come in mostly from the clarinetist who also plays some banjo. Accordions, guitars, drums and more fill out the sound. This five-piece has three members switching positions, but the sound remains the same (aside from the instrument choices). There is a nice mix of good technical playing with careful soundscape construction which lifts the odd Americana indie folk-rock sound a bit higher than many bands manage. It still keeps a certain amount of roots and is not quite so weird as much of the New Weird America. The set might have been a tad long at 50 minutes both for this band and the headliners who lost a little bit of this large crowd due to it being a Tuesday night show.

A Hawk & a Hacksaw - It had been a long and successful night already and my legs and back are aching which is usual for me at this club, but I would soldier on for at least a half a set. Well, within a few songs that plan was abandoned and I played through the pain to get the full 55-minute set of this Albuquerque quartet (formally a duo with two guests on tour). One guy played bass drum and cymbal, another on accordion, while a third played trumpet, percussion and 2nd accordion. A woman did most of the vocal work when the work was to be done but also played a dazzling violin and a really cool horn-violin. She pulled strings through the strings of the latter instrument creating a really bizarre sound. It did not take long to realize that three of these players had dazzling abilities to play with pace and feeling. The drummer was fine as well but did not have as much to showcase his abilities aside from handling the uptempo beats. I would be curious how it would sound with a full kit, but if they are happy with this, it works just fine. They remind me of Boiled in Lead when BiL did the fast gypsy music, plus the instrumentation looked similar. Well, also one of the songs had the exact melody of BiL's "Rasputin" where it is probably some Russian folk melody. Gypsy music, klezmer, even some mariachi sounds worked its way into this fun mix. I would say this band has more dynamic shifts and control than Gogol Bordello who plays with far more abandon. This music was catchy and easily induced a bit of dancing and hand clapping and more smiles than the previous bands. Fun music and a nice ending on a great night of music at the Red Palace.

Quote of the Night:  Well actually this was from this morning's Washington Post...
Hank Williams III wondering why anyone bothered asking his dad, Hank Williams Jr. about politics.... "The only person out there worthy of mixing political views and music is Jello Biafra."

Bryan Ferry - Phenomenal Handclap Band -- Strathmore - Oct 3 2011

Phenomenal Handclap Band - It's always a worry that an little known or unknown opening band for a major act at a large venue will get lost in the big space, audience indifference and a crowd making their way to their seats. I worried a little bit for this band at first, but the crowd was more than half in place and was attentive. The two guitars, bass, drums, keys and vocals were able to create enough sound to fill this big concert hall nicely. What was more important was their confidence in the material. They had the musical chops and confidence to deliver a nice 35-minute set. There were three vocalists, although the two female vocalists (one on keyboards) had some great harmonies in the manner of Mellow Candle (although the music was not quite as wild as that). The music was rhythmic, dance-pop, and rocking. Some guy toward the back questioned why Bryan Ferry would have this band, even though the weren't bad and was happy to have his earplugs. You know, it really was not loud at all and I'll go more with the guy further back who heard the most rocking song and yelled "that was great!" for which the band thanked him as sound travels well in this hall.

Bryan Ferry - I was happy to finally see one of the classier and cooler than thou front men of all-time. With Bowie in semi-retirement, it is left to the former (and current) Roxy Music front man to both take us back to the cool glam days, but show us all some cool mature music from then and now. I am a bigger fan of the Roxy Music material, a mild fan of the recent studio album, but mostly unfamilar with what came in between. His set was nicely varied from different parts of his career including a Roxy number off of the first album. I think he only did a couple from the new one which was a bit surprising. He had four back-up singers, rhythm section, a couple guitarists and two on keys--one of which came forward with great sax solos and stole moments of the show (her Louise Brooks hair and black outfit didn't hurt the cause). Ferry was classy and in control all night. His voice is a bit soft, but evocative as ever. Aside from the sax solos, the band only transcended into brilliance a couple times with some sinewy guitar moves and intriguing rhythms. That was the only real let-down and perhaps I am unfairly comparing this to the band that Robert Plant put together (heck, any of his last three for that matter). Still this was a good show (although not terribly long) that the fans were happy with. I am glad to see Bryan Ferry once, but would be cautious if there is a next time. I hope I get the chance to make the choice and am glad to see him still creating music.

Set List? (I tried but failed, but it was very close to something like this--any experts out there can chime in with corrections)...  The Main Thing/I Put a Spell on You/Slave to Love/Just like Tom Thumb's Blues/If there is Something/Make You Feel My Love/Casanova/Alphaville/Reason or Rhyme/Tara or Bittersweet maybe?/Like a Hurricane.  (well, i have the opener and closer and some of the middle correct)

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "This is our smash hit that you may know... or at least your teenager."

Bonnie Prince Billy - Phantom Family Halo -- Birchmere - Oct 2 2011

Phantom Family Halo - Oh, I just knew it! Pardon my excitement for connecting the distant dots as well as I did tonight. This group is comprised of a two guitars, one keyboard and a rhythm section. Primarily one guitarist sang and both his vocals and the music were instantly haunting and fascinating in their originality. Of course, I always try to break it down and the fact that these guys were from Louisville, Kentucky had me thinking of the Terrastock Festival I attended there three years back. In addition to the fantastic bands from all over the world (Motorpsycho, United Bible Studies, etc), they featured a number of local bands. A band called Sapat hit the stage with something like 15 members. I rolled my eyes wondering what the heck could come out of this mess. After a couple songs, my eyes focused and my jaw dropped as they played some of the most amazing classical-psyche-folk-rock I would ever want to hear. Well, I was hearing some of the creativity of Sapat tonight as this band reminded me of the alternate universe where Joy Division joined Kyuss in the summer desert jam sessions and grabbed some of that magic. This 40 minute set was quite brilliant. They even had a Sapat moment by inviting a couple of singers to lead the way on a couple songs before they disappered. And of course I am pleased with myself as I learned the next day that this band formed out of Sapat and some other local musicians. And it is great to see that they are on the road. Do catch this band if anything about creative rock music in the psyce-folk world appeals to you. They can do heavy too, as they really let loose a roar with their final number. Some of the crowd was filtering in rather late, which I never understand on a Sunday night. That may be due to the somewhat younger crowd that were likely first time Birchmere patrons who expected a later start. The real latecomers missed out BIG.

Bonnie Prince Billy - Before Will Oldham hit the stage, he sent a rather raw comic on stage because, as she said 'Will Oldham wanted you to have a laugh'. Fortunately after a very long 3-4 minutes where there was some tittering in the back with many faces in front as frozen as mine, she exited. This was the worst entrance I have seen since I saw some duo at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel where the drunken leader and his partner were sound checking in front of the full audience and he made his perplexed partner walk off stage so they could immediately in full view turn around and walk on. His partner's WTF expression did actually make me laugh, so I guess maybe that entrance was better.

Will Oldham (BPB) played guitar and sang with a lead guitarist, stand-up bassist, female vocalist, drummer, and a guy on piano and harmonium. His music is interesting and his weird off-kilter songwriting, mostly lyrically but also musically at times is attractive. It is mostly sparse, rootsy folk with plenty of twists: Neil Young leads, Grateful Dead vocal feel, Gospel touches, etc. I think the more interesting and creative the song, the more I enjoyed seeing it. Otherwise, I kind of felt that sitting at home listening to the record would suffice. I was going back and forth with this a bit when the band cut into a gorgeous rondo. OK, he won me over. The highlights were well worth the attendance and certainly fans of his music got a lot out of this live set.

Quote of the Night: from Will Oldham as I paraphrase... "We played last night in a barn where the audience was supposed to be outside. Due to rain and cold, they all huddled in with us inside the barn with its freshly slaughtered hog's head over the door."

The Horrors - The Stepkids -- Black Cat Sep 30 2011

The Stepkids - This Connecticut trio is presented in Cinerama or rather the three guys play in front of a wide curved screen with lots of great psychedelic lighting projections. The early part of the set reminded me a lot of the Eno-Bowie collaborations, perhaps most like"Lodger". They featured deep, cool vocal work offset with some falsetto backing vocals. All of this was atop light, spacey music that chose not to go the safe harder psychedelic route. Instead they aimed for accessible pop and consistently hit the target. They reminded me a bit of the lighter side of Group 1850 and very quietly pulled me into their set. They even added some R&B rhythms in a way that still kept their overall flavor intact. Deceptively original with a conviction to their sound, they seemed awed that they went over as well as they did in this 45 minute set on their first trip to DC. They promised to be back and there will be some people here tonight that will be happy for that.

The Horrors - So what is all the buzz about this band? I decided to find out as I knew nothing about them up until a month ago. They have been rising steadily in the UK and are developing a US following as well. They start with some nice psyche-pop. It's very British and although I have one friend accuse me of being so terribly into all things British, the truth is I have a real problem trying to sort out all the really popular pop/rock bands over there from Oasis onwards. The Horrors do channel a lot of this... Teardrop Explodes, Smiths, and probably lots more. They have a full-time vocalist, keyboardist and the expected guitar-bass-drums line-up. The sound is good throughout the night with a lot of space for the vocals atop the rhythm section. The guitar and keyboards fire in and out in key moments before the occasional song where it all hits hard. I don't quite hear shoegaze, not quite psyche, but they do have a nice command of what they want to do. "Three Decades" was an absolute powerhouse that exploded out of nowhere and was the highlight for me. I am not sure they are the next big thing for me personally, but they lived up to the hype and delivered a crisp set that I ultimately enjoyed quite a bit. It was a little on the short side at 52 minutes prior to the two encores, but one of the encore numbers was pretty long, so they went one hour-five or ten or so.

Set List: Changing the Rain/Who Can Say/I Can See Through You/Scarlet Fields/Dive In/Three Decades/Endless Blue/Monica Gems/Sea Within a Sea/Still Life// And two songs in the encore that I don't have the titles of.

Quote of the Night: The nicest guy that ever stepped on my foot while dancing shared his enthusiasm... "How do they get away with that (recent album). It's sooo good, it's (Classic Italian two hand gesture with headbob)"

Viva Voce - The Parson Redheads -- Black Cat - Sep 29 2011

The Parson Redheads - From the vibrant Portland, Oregon scene comes this four-piece featuring a couple of guitars with all four on vocals including a female voice from the drummer. They start with a slow jangly rock tune that has shoegaze dynamics but keeps the Byrdsian jangle at the fore. As the songs are churned out, it continued in this jangly rock vein with traces of Americana folk. There was a lot of quality and they made a good connection with this crowd. In fact they thanked the crowd for being 'a great audience, so attentive and polite'. I thank my fellow audience members as well, but it helped that there was a lot to listen to. There was a Neil Young like screamer near the end and some four-part vocal harmonies that don't quite hit Byrds/Fleet Foxes territory but show a larger ambition than many other bands are willing or able to do. Thanks for making the long trip, Redheads.

Viva Voce - Also from the vibrant Portland, Oregon scene comes this male/female duo. She plays guitar and sings. He plays drums, guitar, and sings. I was expecting something sounding like maybe a too much stripped down version of the opening band (as I tend to get skeptical of two person electric groups), but as usual, it's better to let the music happen than spend a lot of time trying to predict. Immediately the sound is full. Although there were times when some samples were snuck into the mix, the guitar sound was thick and scrumptious and her playing was strong while she varied between light and heavy touches nicely. The drummer was solid and quickly switched to guitar, both between songs and sometimes back and forth within a song quite seamlessly. He kept a kick an high-hat going when playing at times, so these two know how to create a full sound. The songs were really spooky with psyche moves and really cool melodies and breaks. At times they invade the sonic space of other M/F psyche folk duos like Emtidi or Bread, Love & Dreams, but they invoke more spacey jams and rock touches depending on the song. The whole set was completely captivating and I quickly consider myself a serious fan of this band. The backstage was half full tonight yet the crowd was as responsive as if it were jam packed. Probably the only complaint was the desire for more song. These bands remind me of why Portland was on my short list of places to live after retirement along with Austin before settling here.

Quote of the Night: From The Viva Voce drummer... "We drove through a hailstorm in New Jersey just to get here. We risked our lives just being in New Jersey. I woke up this morning near New Jersey, but now I'm here and feel a little bit better about life."

Obituary for Gyn Cameron Stover, of Dementia Precox

A Modest Obituary for (Gyn) Cameron Stover

I learned yesterday that my friend of over thirty years passed on this past Saturday, September 24th 2011. Cameron was a fixture of the Dayton punk scene and as a fixture myself, we were bound to be close as the scene was plenty small. He and I first started talking as he liked my Nuns button and anyone who even knew the Nuns was going to be an instant friend. But Cameron (I believe his real middle name and what he went by in later years) and I really hit it off better than most as we shared a comfortable middle class upbringing (he in Beavercreek, OH) with plenty of personal difficulties to deal with and a view to searching out and participating in exciting and challenging high-art and low-art projects. He started an important and locally successful band called Dementia Precox. I released their first 12" ep and worked with them on various live shows over the years. Their industrial post-punk sound was ahead of its time, but due to the usual problems, did not come out quickly enough or complete enough to showcase it on a National scale. Cameron was the main songwriter, singer and keyboardist. He was supplemented with the usual other instruments, although percussion was often on industrial metal canisters and other found metal objects. The music was dark and throbbing or playful and soaring. They were one of the many great, yet mostly forgotten cult bands of that era. I have videos of a live show where the Mayor of Dayton introduced the band and said their set was one 'that we were all looking forward to very much.' Robert Pollard named them with Toxic Reasons as the two key bands of the Dayton scene when he was forming Guided by Voices. They opened for the Ramones once or twice and had several legendary shows in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Lexington, Kentucky.

Cameron and I loved psychotronic cinema and oddball things in life and the arts. We would have many mini-marathons of Dark Shadows watching on TV where our other friends would be constantly nodding off while we gleefully watched Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall battle it out in Collinwood at 3am. We hung out it Dayton, Chicago, Florida, wherever we could find each other in recent decades. As often is the case, I didn't see him enough toward the end, but the fun times are forever burned in the memory. And I still have the music.

His health did not appear to be at its best the last time I saw him a few years ago when I spent a weekend at his home in St. Petersburg, FL. But his spirit was in great shape. We hung out visited some of his friends and haunts, but mostly just watched loads of movies and talked. We were both stunned that Spiderman II seemed worse than Catwoman, and if even if few agree with me, it's nice to know he had my back on that one. He had pretty much given up on music then but through our talks, over the last ten years or so, he felt a little more invigorated by what he had accomplished. He mentioned that he liked having me in Florida to remind his local friends of his 'other' life in music. He had every right to feel proud of what he and Dementia Precox had done.

I believe he is survived by his parents and sister and her kids. I have not kept up with his family, but his Mother was always a dear. There is plenty more to say and but I'll just leave it here with the above random thoughts and stories.

And if you want to have a listen to the lead song on the ep I put out, check out Maladie d'esprit.

X -- Birchmere -- Sep 27 2011

X - Prior to the band's set, we were privileged to see "X: The Unheard Music", a documentary about the band from 1986. I had seen this before and recall the hilarious record company executive interview along with some good bits from Robert Biggs and some nice performances from the band. It was fine aside from the fact that when the Birchmere says this will be an all standing show in the Bandstand they mean it. Zero seats anywhere which meant a lot of us crashed on the floor to watch the film. After a short break, the original lineup hit the stage with Billy Zoom marching to his own beat as usual by going up a couple minutes early. They had promised to do two albums in their entirety and began with their debut. They usually play about half of those songs anyway, but it was nice to hear some of the obscure ones as there isn't a wrong note on that album. The sound was strong and the band did have a nice energy to it, particularly in the rhythm section. John and Exene blended well as usual, but something was a bit off with Billy Zoom. Normally he is wall to wall grins, but he was a bit more dour tonight. He mugged it up at times, but something seemed a bit off with his mood and the way the band usually meshes. They then went into songs from their second album and "Hungry Wolf" and pretty much eschewed the second album concept, which was fine by me as a lot of the songs were ones I enjoyed more anyway (note-The Birchmere site was updated to reflect this approach). "Back to the Base" almost sounded hardcore, the way these guys were working it. I was enjoying it. They ended up having three false starts which was a little startling, but I almost glad to see that as it confirmed my underlying feeling that something was a little off tonight. The songs are too good and the players are pros, so it was still a lot of fun. But I am also going to guess that maybe certain members did not want to do that other (4th?) album in entirety bit and perhaps there has not been much rehearsal lately. But I first marveled at this band 30 years ago when they had to do two sets and repeat some songs since they had not written enough at that time. I've seen them a few more times in recent years and I will see them again if they return. For the record, Exene looked in better shape than I expected and I hope she can continue to handle her MS so well (and I liked he 'Seventh Victim' haircut). They are a treasure and I think everyone should catch them while they can.

Quote of the Night:  From the That's What I Like about the Birchmere Dept....

I bumped into my buddie Zak from the excellent veteran hardcore punk band, The Mostly Dead and told him: "Glad to see you out for the old timers."
"Yeah, I was just saying to (my friend) that this is one of the few times I can actually feel young at a show."

Kink Ador - The Neon Rush - Cav Scout -- Velvet Lounge - Sep 25 2011

Cav Scout - This trio features Nathan and Chris from the Archivists on guitar/vocals with a drummer. Due to some new born children entering the Archivists world, these guys needed a side project and came up with a good one. It is always the correct move to try a different twist to what you did before and they have done that here similar to the twists of Rites of Spring into Happy Go Licky or my old buddy Ron House's switch from Great Plains to Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments. The guys have all new songs that had a nice garagey feel without being overly psychedelic. They allow space and slower tempos to give room for their solid vocal work and interesting guitar sounds. The drummer keeps things rooted nicely and the songs have their catchy melodic moments and their ethereal jam sections. Good stuff here, so keep this name in mind. Hopefully they will roll with this for  a while.


The Neon Rush - Hmmm... those X's on all four of the members are certainly a clue as to the band's age and level of experience. They are a two guitar four piece with one guitar on lead vocals and two of the other guys assisting. They begin with kind of a power-pop/indie rock hybrid, but steadily move into heavier territory. They did a couple of covers--as usual I knew just one of them, "With a Little Help from my Friends" which surprisingly sounded closer to Joe Cocker than the Beatles. They have some nice songs to work off of that rock out well and have good spacey moments and guitar work. Some of the elements do not always mesh (drum breaks at times) but these guys can make a go of it. They may not be Squirrel Bait, but they are better than Eater. Keep playing.

Kink Ador - Nashville? I would not have guess that as the origin of this gutsy little power trio. I was not at all sure what to expect but their power and control of their sound from the very first notes had me at full attention which lasted for their entire set. There was a bit of a power-pop/new wave kind of approach initially. The bass player's vocals were much stronger than Belinda Carlisle but didn't quite hit Poly Styrene range (who does?). The vocals were challenged by the intensity and guts of the three musicians underneath and she was up to the challenge. The drummer really pushed things forward with strength and that little extra surge that makes a good band into a great band. The guitar work was fiery with really cool reverb and other effects in play. Bass playing (and some cool trumpet) was solid and these songs cooked--maybe there was a bit of X-Ray Spex in here. Fun rocking stuff here. The small crowd was quite supportive (as they had been all night). They are doing a five-week tour and are likely picking up a few fans like me who did not on lick about them previously. This is a good reminder for me to continue to check out shows where I don't know anything about the headliner. You can discover some mighty interesting music that way.

Quote of the Night: From the 'with friends like these department', the Neon Rush singer and an audience member behind me had this exchange:
"I admit that we actually played here last night, too."
"I was here last night. Tonight's way better. Last night you sucked."

Kyuss Lives! - The Sword - Monstro -- 9:30 Club - Sep 24 2011

Monstro - My immediate comment as this 2-guitar four-man lineup started playing was "damn, forgot my earplugs". Unfortunately this band either did not get much of a sound check or was too busy drooling at the club's powerful PA and felt everything needed to be turned up to 11. A number of bands have made that mistake here, as it does take some skill to find the volume point where you can still be loud as hell but have everything sound great. That criticism aside, this was a really good opening band. I think they should win some fans on this tour as they have a strong and creative metal sound. The music is thick and powerful with good vocals similar to Dio, but without some of the histrionics (for better or worse). They played a little over a half hour and packed in a fair number of songs that varied enough in melody to sound like individual songs. This is an interesting band that I will keep my eye on as I like to find metal bands that avoid the cliches. Of course, tonight has two more examples of that.

The Sword - I've seen this band in Denver and at least one time here and always find their brand of metal highly enjoyable. The band looks pretty familiar with the two-guitar line-up featuring one of them on vocals. Maybe they could not fill this club by themselves, but a large number of the crowd would pony up some hard earned cash to check these guys out irrespective of anyone else on the bill. Again, these guys deliver some of the most balanced metal/hard rock out there. it is not a surprise that Metallica are fans as the Sword show off many of the regular guy features that Metallica did in the early years. Of course, that is if regular guys can play fast powerful music. These guys can and do. They even balance things further by not engage in an overdose of fretboard sprints during the solos. They more often do shorter creative runs and fills and quickly head back to the meaty rhythms. The vocals are clean and even the stage patter is a friendly guys next door style. The closer had a great moment where they all dropped to their pedals and created a whirlpool break before standing up and finishing off another verse. Great style, great substance and I continue to root for these guys.

Kyuss Lives! - Nick Oliveri is here on bass and I am not close enough to see if he's wearing an ankle bracelet but it seems that some of the dates (especially the Canadian dates) will have another former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder filling in. The singer and drummer are key members and they have a Belgian guitarist named Bruno Fevery in for Josh Homme's spot. Like many people, I discovered this band a little late, well actually quite late as they had already broken up and in researching Queens of the Stone Age, I eventually pursued the Kyuss back catalog. It took a few listens for me to really hear the magic these guys can make. It seems a little too simple at first with thick monstrous riffs and a high pitched vocalist delivering more of a classic hard rock lyric than that of modern metal bands. There aren't a lot of frills, but further listens show a band really locked into a grove and focusing on the overall thrust of the sound. It's a bit like Motorhead taking more of a Groundhogs approach. I was not at all surprised that they put on a solid set of just under 90 minutes tonight. They had the crowd grooving and the guitarist nailed the sound down perfectly and handled wah-wah moves with the necessary grace. A couple of the songs maybe droned on a bit too long, but that's what they do. They covered their catalog well with the songs from "Blues for the Red Sun" going over well with me and much of the crowd. They had the large crowd swaying and some were dancing pretty hard. Singer John Garcia was quite humbled as the lights went up on the crowd. The desert psyche groove is back, strong as ever and depending on who lines up at bass in the future, it appears these guys will be around a while. Based on their performance tonight, I will be along for the ride.

Quote of the Night: Deciding that I did not want my eardrums blown out by the openers, thus spoiling sets by the two excellent bands to follow, I opted to put on my portable earphones. So one of the newer 9:30 Club staff came over as he had little else to do...
"What are you listening to."
"Nothing."
"What's in your pocket."
I showed my IPOD and he looked at it and walked away.

It's always such a lovely time with the staff at this club. I also enjoyed having the guy look at me three times while studying my drivers license photo. Yes, I borrowed my 51-year old brother's ID to hide the fact that I was 47.

This club...

Renaissance - Birchmere - Sep 22 2011

Renaissance - Renaissance return to the Birchmere for the fist time in a couple of years, although they also played the State Theater once in between. This time around, they are playing both "Turn of the Cards" and "Scheherazade and other Stories" in their entirety. In all honesty, I am growing a little weary of this concept. I would rather be surprised at what songs a band chooses on a given night with recent compositions, classics, obscurities, cover songs, revisited oddities, or requests. But at least they picked my two favorite albums so I am not overly concerned. It appears to be mostly the same band with the two keyboard line-up that works really well at creating a full sound that still allows plenty of room for Annie Haslam's soaring vocals. She still has it and that is what most of this large crowd is likely happiest to see. They do the album in order with pretty much the same arrangements. I can see why they skip "I Think of You" during their previous tours, but everything else sounds excellent. They did three of these six songs last time, so it's clearly a favorite of theirs. "Cold is Being" was a nice change-up as Annie Haslam sings to a solo icy organ. The sound was really off in the beginning cut but it was righted by about the third song. The PA was shrill which was noticeable during the overly long entrance music. It thinned out the vocals and the rhythm section. Eventually Haslam sounded full and great and the rhythm section was balanced nicely with the keys and acoustic guitar. After a break, "Scheherazade" was next. I did enjoy hearing the full title cut and the other songs were solid. I learned  "The Vultures Fly High" is about music critics. Egad, at least I am flying high. They certainly had a point in the day as the gaggle of critics studiously avoided (at best) a lot of progressive bands in the 1970s. The title cut was great and the crowd was enthralled. I am not sure if it was better than last time's great show, but it wasn't much worse. They encored with "The Mystic and the Muse" which I would say was the only surprise, except I had it written in my notes before they even came back to the stage. Promises of live recordings and new albums were welcome with the crowd and I plan to check those out as well. A good night, but I look forward to next time with new material and an interesting mix of their back catalog.

Quote of the Night: Annie Haslam... "I used Frank's bells on the last tour and every night one would fall of and there were only five left at the end. Useless information, but now it's yours... a band thing."

Peter Hook and the Light present "Closer" -- 9:30 Club - Sep 21 2011

Peter Hook and the Light - I was a bit uncertain a year ago when Peter Hook came to town with this band who promised the first Joy Division album played in its entirety. Not to worry, as the music was authentic, well rehearsed and delivered with genuine quality. Hook's voice was fine and they dug deep into the catalog and even did songs by the pre-Joy Division band, Warsaw. It was a great show with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as an encore being the only song after the first album. So it was natural that Hook would return with the final Joy Division chapter, "Closer". The set up was the same with Hook singing and playing 2nd bass when not singing. The usual guitar, bass, and drums were assisted with a keyboardist. "Isolation" really cooked and this band really creates the unique Joy Division feeling well. Hook still does a credible Ian Curtis style singing by way of Jim Morrison, although I hope he does not carry his mini-Misfits haircut to the full Misfits extreme. "Closer" is a little deeper than the first album and is not as immediate. I enjoyed hearing it live, loud and complete as this helped navigate the dense forest of this album. And for an encore, the band treated us to "Digital", "Disorder", "She's Lost Control", "Day of the Lords", "Transmission", and "Love Will Tear Us Apart". With that kind of encore, maybe next time we will get the works in one big blow-out set. Although I note that he is touring both albums on this tour perhaps depending on if he did "Unknown Pleasures" previously in that city. This music will live a very long time and I am glad Peter Hook and his willing compatriots are breathing life into it so successfully on stage. Joy Division music is essential and this evening bore that out.

Quote of the Night: Peter Hook stuck to the basics tonight, so I had to venture further south of Manchester toward Birmingham to the city of Wolverhampton and their football manager Mick McCarthy... "Opinions are like backsides. We've all got one but it isn't always wise to air them in the public."

And as the Football365 writers note, it's the always that's slightly bothering us.

The Zombies - Acoustic Strawbs -- Ram's Head - Sep 19 2011

Acoustic Strawbs - This is my third time seeing this three-piece line-up after seeing the whole band one time. I would like to see Oliver Wakeman and Rod Coombes again some time for the full-band sound, but I understand the touring economics. And there is no keeping me away from the trio of Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk as long as they keep their voices. I always look for that with aging bands and the two Daves still were able to hit all the notes needed to bring out the strength of the wonderful Strawbs material. Cousins still showed the required flexibility on the challenging "New World". Lambert's guitar work again is strong with nice slide touches, finger picking and electric-like solos on his acoustic. Cronk plays synth pedals as usual which is a welcome cheat on the acoustic concept. He also switches easily between 12-sting guitar and acoustic bass. Cousins played some alt tunings which seemed a bit off in the beginning of Copenhagen, but was not too distracting once the song got going. The only complaint I might have is that it would be interesting to rotate in a few more songs as the set does seem to stay the same over the years (In a few words, I miss "Witchwood"). But they prove to me once again, that they still have the energy and skill in spite of their humorous request to buy Strawbs merchandise to give to your appreciative grandmothers for Christmas. The Strawbs are still one of the great bands that have a bit more respect from other musicians than the far ranging music fans of their era. Thankfully, they are still catering to us hardcore fans and have the ability to even pick up a few new ones.

Set List: Benedictus/Sheep?/New World/Oh How She Changed/Ghosts/Copenhagen/Autum/Lay Down


The Zombies - I mainly went to see these legends a few years back because they were touring with Love which was my first chance to see Arthur Lee (sadly, the last as he passed away shortly thereafter). I had been hopeful the Zombies would still be fresh, but I was wary with the vocal requirements of their excellent back catalog. They delivered big-time that night and still are going strong. Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent can still bring it and Argent's keyboard flair with its surprising amount of jazz is still brilliant. Argent must be drinking from the same well as Comus's Bobbie Watson as it is hard to believe you are not seeing Rod Argent's son on stage. Perhaps he is touring with a Dorian Gray portrait hidden away, but whatever the case, he looks great and plays even better. His cousin, Jim Rodford, is on bass and although the former Kinks bassist may show more of his age, his musical ability is still strong and he has been with the Zombies for many years now. There were new folks on guitar and drums and they may have even improved things a bit. The drummer was a good hitter and really showcased the odd beat of the Argent tune "Hold Your Head Up" with its 1-2-3-4 on kick and floor tom with a snare on a half-beat once a measure. Odd how it sometimes takes a live show for me to notice interesting things on songs I have heard hundreds of times. But that is just one more reason to continue seeing great older bands. Most of them do not relish looking like charity cases and they do work hard to maintain the quality. The Zombies are clearly one of the better older acts out there. And when they showcase five songs from Odessey and Oracle, even lukewarm Zombies fans can see why these guys were one of the great unsung bands of the sixties. Argent does explain part of the story of that album and its odd history that has it selling more copies even now than it did in the day (a fate shared by their former touring mates, Love with "Forever Changes" and the Velvet Underground's first album among a few others). The band played plenty of the earlier hits as well as several songs from their recent album. Although songs like "She's Not There" and "Tell her No" are always going to get a bigger pop from the crowd, it is great to see an older band have the desire to not only record new material, but work a lot of it in to their present show. That may be the real secret of staying young. This is the 50th anniversary of the start of the band (although recordings came three years after 1961) and the end appears to be well off in the horizon. I would think most all of the people in the sold-out show would come back again next year.

Quote of the Night: Overheard before the show... "I  was the last person to see the Electric Prunes... alive. Oh, and I bought their last purple t-shirt."

Tennis System - (the sound of) Kaleidoscope - Sight Seeing - Thomas Wyre -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Sep 17 20011

Thomas Wyre - This duo starts off at drums and keyboard and begins with an electronic throb that somehow bores right in to the annoying lobe of my brain. They start playing quietly but then up the volume which drowns out the electronica. The relief is there and I now notice that this is quite the nice pop song. The electronics do begin to work thereafter as they enhance the sound in a positive way. He can play some decent piano and the drum work is solid. The vocals are strong and they do manage to carry these well written modern pop songs. Being that my web search has nothing jumping out at me aside from this show, I am guessing that this is a fairly new act. If so, they got a nice foundation started. Hopefully they will stay with it, control their sound a bit, and keep writing.

Sight Seeing - All the dead give-aways are here showing that we have another young band getting their start. The stage patter is nervous, while the songs have some glitches and some very rough endings. This five-piece is from Brooklyn and they attempt to play swirling shoegaze rock. They have a decent enough sound with strong rock drumming keeping it up-tempo. The downer vocals don't seem to match the positive music. It is a bit of a disconnect akin to Peter Murphy singing for the Joy Formidable. From one set of comments, we learned a lot... "I totally messed that song up." "No you didn't, you totally jammed it out." The truth was in between. If they work on their parts, rethink their approach, find their voice, they may get there. Tonight was a lesson.

(The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope - Tonight it is just a solo presentation of this long running band. The singer/guitarist band leader has always done some excellent work in the past as the band got its start here before moving to Philadelphia. He played electric guitar tonight and sang. It was a nice acid folk style in a steadier Syd Barrett sort of way. It had that outsdier feel, but his songs are good enough to handle the solo treatment, even if one misses the full band psychedelic assault. But this is much more affordable for the tour he is on with his brother whose band is up next.

Tennis System - I have seen this band many times as a DC band, but now it is the first time as a touring band from Los Angeles. I believe there are two core members with a couple of newcomers for me. They still play that strong psyche-shoegaze rock that they did so well for a few years here. I did hear some growth in the songwriting. A few of the newer songs had better pop hooks with the guitars allowing the vocals to breathe a bit and the rhythm section to push forward nicely. The band is growing nicely. As much as I love the full frontal guitar assault, it is nice to hear the positive changes that can pull a large audience in while maintaining the basic sound. And the many friends and fans that have not seen them in a while seemed to agree as the energy was good tonight. The crowd was a little small as the late hour may have sent some home, but it was a successful return for this enjoyable band. Hopefully they will continue to grow and become a solid touring band for both coasts and the vast in-between.

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "Thanks a lot for sticking around and stick around for the other bands." At first I chuckled, yes you are welcome for my 'sticking around' for all of 20 minutes. But then, his point touched on classic themes where audiences are still a bit too divided at times with friends coming to see their friends play and then wandering upstairs to the DJ or down the street for more drinking or whatever. It is nice to see the same faces at the start of the opener to the end of the closer. My reviews are filled with countless surprises discovered in opening bands or late in someone's set. I don't always stay for every minute either, but it is more often worth the effort to give a thorough test drive with something new.

Savage Republic - Tone - Caspian -- Black Cat - Sep 16 2011

Caspian - From Boston comes this vibrant instrumental five-piece. It's all guitars with a rhythm section, aside from a brief glockenspiel moment. The pounding thump of the drums gives all the room needed for the guitars to shine and shimmer in splendid shoegaze glory. There are solid melodies reminding me of the prog stylings of Anekdoten and perhaps a bit of Mogwai here. This is not as twisted and varied as Boston mates, the Swirlies, but it is steady power that is quite involving. This is a high quality opener and they took their set to 45 minutes which flew by. This band is worth a headline show of its own.

Tone - I have lauded this band the previous two times I have seen them and will only try to throw a couple of exclamation points on top this time around. The band was celebrating 20 years together and in addition to the instrumental three guitar attack added some guest spots from former members during the last few songs culminating in a 9-man attack with two drummers working. I was reminded more this time that in addition to a great psychedelic swirl, they have powerful rock melodies working as well. They do not settle for introspective power, but really move their music along in ways that only the best bands of this style can do. This is a great band that we are priveleged to have here. Hopefully they will shoot for 30 years.

Savage Republic - This was a surprise. Making their DC debut 30 years after they began (in a newer lineup) is the mighty Savage Republic, a fascinating LA post-punk band. I bought some of their early music which I found dark, disturbing and powerful. So dark, I did not even listen to it often. They brought all of that and then some tonight as these four guys put together their incredible sound of post punk industrialism with a powerful furthering of the sound you heard on the first Public Image album (no doubt an inspiration to them). There was no shoegaze back then, but there was industrial and tonight they brought the oil barrel for metal on metal percussion (like an industrial band I worked with  in the early 80s called Dementia Precox). Sometimes when a band goes on late during the weekend, I start planning an early escape after I have heard enough of the set to get the gist of things. By the second song, I knew I would be here as long as they were willing to play no matter how late they went. They used mysterious modal patterns that seemed simple but activated more brain cells than usual. It seemed like one or two guys ground out the power while the other did intricate patterns. Fiery power and speed from the drummer laid the foundation for the other three to trade instruments from the oil can to a couple guitars and a bass. They all did some vocals which added to the intensity. It was a little late, so they drove a few people home early but everyone who stayed felt that extra quality on stage. OK Swans fans, where were you? These guys were here first and they do everything the Swans can do and maybe even a little bit more (and believe me, I really enjoyed the Swans show on this stage as well). I really wanted to do another show myself tonight, but am so happy that I chose this one to see a one-of-a-kind, somewhat forgotten classic post-punk band.

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "Thanks to Tone for this show, probably the only band that could get us to drive 12 hours for a show, but 20 years together? That's quite an achievement."

Tone's leader also gave a great intro to Savage Republic saying he saw them in Cleveland in the early 80s and that there would probably be no Tone without that experience. Well, thank you Tone and the Black Cat for putting together this spectacular show.