Links:
The Blood Brothers

The first band I saw tonight was from Vancouver, B.C., called Red Light String. They reminded me of X-Ray Spec without Polystyrene on vocals. Red Light String played a brand of hardcore with keyboards which added a full richness to their sound. Their sound was a quirky almost free jazz hardcore--very good. Next up where True North from Florida, who said that they drove 51 hours to get here. Well, True North's sound, a mix of bass driven chaotic hardcore with vocal sound bytes, was very flat, slow and lethargic. The Chromatics from Capital Hill Seattle came on and I could not describe their music if I wanted to. Very rhythmic and hiding under the guise of hardcore, that is about the best I can do for my first listen from the Chromatics.

Headlining this show were The Blood Brothers, who have a very big following in town. This was also my first time seeing this band and I was pleasantly surprised by their tight energy. The Blood Brothers have two singers that banter back and forth with their hardcore screaming and shrieking. The music was hardcore with slower rhythmic middle sections. The band played with great focus and determination, driving the crowd into a frenzy. The Blood Brothers' brand of music is a tight, wildly driven, smack-in-the-face sound that the young crowd just gobbled up. I had read from others is that The Blood Brothers are the best band in town right now, and after their performance tonight, I can see what all the good press is about.

-Steve Weatherholt
[ top of page ]

Links:
Indigenous
The Eric Gales Band

Gales' interpretation of Hendrix's otherworldly gift was far more literal: a gorgeous acoustic version of "May This Be Love," a sultry, pulsing "Foxy Lady," and a customary attempt at "Voodoo Child" were revealed by the slender, left-handed, African-American guitarist. On his original songs, Gales unfortunately shied away from the classic tones of the blues, channeling notes through a powerful stack and a variety of foot pedals that crowded what were otherwise decent creations with much overdriven clutter. Still, the unabashed showman did his job, whetting the audience's appetite for some fiery blues-rock.

Indigenous, who've built a reputation as a touring machine with a near ceaseless schedule of shows across the country, took the stage like noble workhorses, tearing into three straight blues numbers without a breather. It was clear that the four blood relations were ardently focused on laying down a solid base of familiar originals and blues-rock hybrids before cutting loose with any extended jamming. Only after establishing an impenetrable wave of rhythm that supported Mato's semi-astonishing guitar runs on originals such as "Now That You're Gone," "Things We Do" and "Little Time," did the band make its way towards a looser, jamming vibe. It didn't take long to recognize bassist Pte's Rage-like bass line that shadowed the now-defunct rap-rock pioneers' change-up take on Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Rather than attempt recreating Tom Morello's guitar pyrotechnics alongside his brother's bumping bass, Mato chose his own route, wailing through his wah pedal and setting fire to pentatonic scales in a ritualistic frenzy.

Sister Wandbi and cousin Horse, a staid percussion duo, were kinetic throughout the night, pounding and rolling out a mixture of tribal and salsa beats that saturated the packed club. Their interplay is vital to the band's identity inside a genre that houses such a multitude of guitar heroes. Indigenous' undulating rhythm section brings dimension to the intoxicating, blues-soaked sound generated by Mato's guitar and deep, passionate vocals. The spotlight is still undeniably focused on the budding guitar virtuoso, but Indigenous is by all means a unified band rocking out in the great tradition of such roots-embracing outfits as the Allman Brothers Band, Double Trouble, and Santana.

After calling Gales up on stage to end the night, Mato and members of both bands engaged in a celebration of the music on which their teeth were cut, first bringing the Hendrix tribute full circle with a fine retelling of "Red House" and then stepping a bit off the beaten path with a boisterous version of the Stevie Wonder by way of Stevie Ray's barn-burner "Superstitious." With an insatiable appetite for playing live and a collective talent that has been nurtured and developed from the time the four jammed together as children in South Dakota, Indigenous appear to be traveling a road that might eventually bring them into the realm of the legends they honored at the Paradise.

-Dan Cullity
[ top of page ]

Links:
Karrin Allyson

Not that I want cynicism to prevail, it just isn't anything new to hear a jazz singer do songs like "Say It (Over and Over Again)" or "What's New." On this recording Allyson's vocals, as lovely as they are, come across as staid. Not that I'm asking for singers to emulate the masters, but where's the soul of Sarah, the melancholy of Billie, the sweetness of Ella? Where's Karrin Allyson's real voice? I know that it's there. She shows it, in the Coltrane composition "Naima," which is breathtaking. But that's only one of the tracks on the album. Unfortunately, the recording doesn't do her much justice.

Thank God for live performances. Not only did Allyson prove to be more than a competent singer, she displayed character. She was charismatic, her phrasing was perfect and her band provided a solid background to what she was doing. I admit that I went into this show with the sentiments as expressed above; so, to say that I wasn't expecting much wasn't an understatement. There was a line wrapped across Jazz Alley from the parking lot running parallel to Lenora. The crowd was mostly middle-aged, established business folks--obvious KPLU listeners. One man behind me in line was ranting about how beautiful Karrin was and how much he loved her to his wife's dismay. She sang the National Anthem the night before at the Mariners' game thus drawing in the mainstream crowd which didn't seem to help alleviate my disinterest in the show.

Allyson came onstage wearing a simple but elegant red sheath dress. Her long, golden bangs brushed against her often-shut eyes. Opening the set with "It Might As Well Be Spring," she shuffled her feet in time to the rumba spin that she put to the song. Her skat in Wes Montgomery's "I Got A Baby On the East Coast" was so dazzling that you felt the bluesy West Coast groove stir your soul. "Azure Té" came next. Her vocals came across very similar to Ella's, but definitely as an influence and not a mere rip-off. With a pink spotlight on her, she sang this tune in a cool way, making you feel like a bohemian in Paris. She showed her sassy side as she hopped onto the piano for her own, "Sweet Home Cookin'." The tune, a brazen number, rousing the women in the audience, is about how great it is to have a man who cooks the bacon, so to speak. She didn't do "Naima," but she proved me wrong. Thanks Karrin, for your true voice.

-Hope Lopez
[ top of page ]

Khan/Julee Cruise/Faith and Disease
@
Graceland
Seattle, WA
August 21, 2001

Yes, local band Faith and Disease are musically gifted. Those singers had pipes that could soothe the edges off a saw blade, but there's something to be said about right place, right time. Maybe it's perfect music for a massage but not at a DJ show at Graceland. After the flute solo and another song, the mellifluous, atmospheric musical landscapes grew a bit drudgerous. I couldn't wait for Khan to get his ass on stage.

And that's exactly what he did. Tall and lean, Khan hovered above the audience, shaking his butt as he hopped onto the amps lining the front of the stage. With a hand-held electronic device, he controlled his MIDI sampler as it burped out a series of phat, funky beats. "Get up mother fucker or get out," Khan sang in a talk-singing vocalization to a Faith and Disease groupie who was practicing shivasana on the dirty dance floor. There wasn't a response from the passed out dude. Khan seemed a bit irked which prompted him to mount the supine gentleman. Although porn beats are a bit cliched, Khan, a.k.a. Can Oral, was the originator and is one of the most, if not the most prolific, producers in electronic music today. Tonight, he started off with "The Wolf" off his current Matador release No Comprendo. "This was originally done by Andre Williams, the biggest pig on earth and I'm his disciple, " Khan said as the intro to "In the Heat of the Night." Somehow, a woman volunteered to bump and grind with him as he stripped down to his underwear (which read KHAN on the rear). Another willing audience member rode his back during a song about a horny pony.

Khan toned the set down by providing the beats and background vocals for Julee Cruise. Beautiful and eccentric, Cruise had an effortless hypnotic feel to her vocals, be it on the sentimental "Say Goodbye" or the campy "Fever." As a crowd pleaser, Cruise did "Falling" (from Twin Peaks). Together, the detached, mostly lofty Cruise and the reactive Khan create a perfect combo to appeal to the somnolent Seattle crowd. Khan, especially, had just the right amount of edginess to keep the evening from becoming an endless drone.

-Hope Lopez
[ top of page ]

Links:
X
Supersuckers

This week was new venue exploration for me. I had never been in the artistic metal behemoth that is Experience Music Project and Sky Church, the hall that houses main shows is an oddly shaped room for music. Sky Church is a good name for this space because the ceiling is about 50 feet up. I would bet there is more distance going up then there is depth for the crowd to stand in. In other words the room is narrow with a rather tall ceiling. I think this is a very odd design for a music hall, but then again Paul Allen has a different set of sensory receptors then I.

My traveling and drinking companion for the night was my friend Steve, who kept a close eye on both my bottle and me. I started drinking at home and was feeling real well by the time we got to the show. The Supersuckers always put on a good show, playing to the crowd. For me, the Supersuckers create a rocking' sound and performance that always leaves me anticipating more or expecting them to take it over the top. The band are very good musicians and sound great, but they could not stir this crowd that wanted the headlining act to get up on stage and bring the house down.

After many more beers and a high level of anticipation from the crowd, X finally came up to the stage. I do not know who was more drunk, Exene or me.It seemed like every time Exene went to speak into the microphone, John Doe would beat her to the punch in an attempt to stop her from embarrassing herself. I have never seen X play a bad show and tonight was not going to be an exception, even with the overly tinny sound of the Sky Church's equipment. X came right out packing a punch, leaving younger bands to eat their flames. I do not remember a bad part of X's performance. Billy Zoom stood there and played every note without looking at his guitar. I think he was actually bored with this show, John Doe, on the other hand, seemed to be running in place the way he was playing and moving about. Exene was playing the coy shy singer. I'm not sure if she could belt it out, but she performed like a queen. D.J. was blistering the skins, working himself into a lather, all the while a huge smile was spread across his face.

X played for almost two hours, including two encore appearances covering all their classic hits that they continued to produce throughout their career. "Nausea" was the best song of the night, with the song continuing reverberated throughout my head for quite awhile after the show. A great performance by a great band!

-Steve Weatherholt
[ top of page ]