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Coolsville
for a Day It's been a long time since we've heard anything new from Rickie Lee Jones. In the decade of grunge and the following trend toward hip hop, this '70s hipster is decidedly out of sync. But her newest three-disc release revisiting the highlights of her entire career, The Duchess of Coolsville, more than makes up for the long hiatus.
For decades Jones lived a restless and unrooted life full of passion and drama. She was recognized in Europe as a major force in music long before the American public caught on, but ultimately she altered the landscape of pop the way a lone tree juts up from a ridgeline. Is it something about the blending of her sweet, feminine voice juxtaposed against the poetic brilliance of her powerful lyrics that has made her a legend? Or is it the enigmatic quality of her songs with their cool, luscious feel — like a tall drink of water on a steamy day? It is the mystery or the vague hints in her lyrics, the illusions wrapped in delicate prose that twist and curl around melodies thick with emotion? Or is it the brightness of her energy that pours out of every song, even, sparkling and warm? As an anthology, The Duchess of Coolsville does more than simply reprise Jones' hits. Brilliantly remastered sound on earlier recordings breathes new life into tunes from the earlier part of her career. An alphabetical song order, rather than chronological, creates a collage of eras with songs from the '70s followed by songs from the following three decades and vice versa. Deeply sensitive as an artist, interviews with Jones reveal a thoughtful, passionate woman who finally, now in her 50s, has found a sense of place and stability living in Tacoma, Wash., with her dogs and partner. Over the years, she's done her own thing, gone her own way, regardless of current trends or industry pressure. "I still do what I do regardless of whatever crap any other folks put out, so why should I compete with them?" she told writer Timothy White in 2000. And as she continues to carve out her own path, she'll be making her way to Eugene on tour supporting Duchess. This week's show at the Jaqua Concert Hall is an extremely rare opportunity to see one of pop music's most influential female musicians in a setting that is, acoustically, a perfect match.
Side
Project No More Raise your hand if you've heard of Portastatic before. OK. Hands down. All three of them.
Raise your hand if you've heard of Superchunk. OK, a few more, not bad. What do you know about them? Yes, they're from Chapel Hill. Yes, the singer does kind of sound like a Muppet. And yes, their heyday was in the '90s, and they were a band confined chiefly to minor success in the grand scheme of things. The kind of band that you saw on "120 Minutes" sometimes or knew about if you lived in a city that was a hotbed of indie goodness. Here's the thing about Portastatic: They've never been quite as much pure fun as Superchunk. In the past, Mac McCaughan, who sings for both bands and basically is Portastatic, let his demons out — at least the noisy ones — with Superchunk, and turned to other explorations with his side project. The album covers had birds and the songs were pretty — though they could sometimes rock, like "San Andreas," one of my favorite songs from either band. But Superchunk's on hiatus now, and Portastatic's new album, Bright Ideas, shows it: From energetic guitars to vaguely tropical ballads, Mac's thrown in all his hats for this one. The second song, "White Wave," well, it's a Superchunk song, rumbling energetically forward, goofy lyrics ("'Yellow Brick Road' on the jukebox / That was cool") shaken together with a catchy chorus, crashing cymbals and a guitar melody that could have come from Superchunk's fantastic 1995 album Here's Where the Strings Come In. "White Wave" is followed by the classic-rocky "I Wanna Know Girls," for which Mac pushes his voice into arena-rock registers that almost make me giggle, except that he does it so sincerely. That's the thing: Even when Mac's singing about sticking his bright ideas up his ass, or about loving a girl's feet and legs "And everything ... going up from there," he never sounds like a cynical, overly-ironic hipster. He sounds like a guy who's been doing this so long he's going to have some fun with it, dammit, and if that means turning his malleable former side project into a real rock band, catchy songs intact, he's just going to do it. And if that's not enough for you, how's this: The Bright Ideas press release was written by Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, who claims that while there are few pleasant things a person can count on in the world, one of those things is "the relentless integrity and consistently stellar output of Mac McCaughan." He ain't wrong. Portastatic plays with fellow Merge Records recording artists The Rosebuds, a husband-and-wife duo whose jaunty new album, Birds Make Good Neighbors, offers plenty of reasons to put off your own cynicism and actually get to the WOW Hall in time to see the opening band.
Exploring
the Tiny Universe As tiny ones go, Karl Denson's universe is pretty big. Yep, there's more to the amply-goateed sax player's world than meets the eye.
Raised in southern California, the second youngest of six kids, Denson developed his love for various styles of music early on in his childhood. By the time he was 5 or 6, his oldest brother's preference for Motown, soul and funk records had mingled with another older brother's affinity for jazz. The lil' Denson picked up the saxophone and started blowing notes that blew minds. By 1988 or so, his talent landed him in a studio with Lenny Kravitz. Denson left the Kravitz crew in the early '90s, embarking on a more jazz-focused path that led him to becoming one of the Greyboy Allstars' (GBA) founding members in 1994. His latest CD, The Bridge, is an exercise in easygoing eclecticism, spinning the rock, jazz, funk, hip hop and soul threads of Denson's broad career into a colorful tapestry of horns, keys, guitars and dance-friendly drumbeats that's as apt to resemble the GBA or Parliament/Funkadelic as the old rockin' boss, Kravitz. But lyrics zoom out from contentious issues and seek a more universal angle. "There's not that much about politics [in my lyrics]," Denson said, talking by phone. "I think people need to be studying politics instead of just being led by some guy whose music they like. I like to look at the whole political process as more of a give and take — we gain information from each other, and we're not so interested in being right that we miss what [someone] has to say." Reprinted with permission from the Source Weekly.
St. Patrick's Day in September
Even though it's almost autumn, you no longer need a lame excuse to get as drunk and rowdy as you do on St. Patrick's Day. You only need The Kissers. This Irish-steeped, punk-influenced band will have you downing pints of Guinness and dancing like mad with people you've never met before, but claim are "your best friends ever" in that drunken camaraderie common to pubs and rock shows. Though The Kissers definitely bring the rock, they also know how to slow it down a bit with banjo and violin-tinged ballads that are reminiscent of a folk-based Decemberists show. While the slower songs are worth a listen, The Kissers' fast and rowdy songs will more than likely be the highlight of the show. With their eclectic sound that mixes authentic Irish folk with rocking rhythms and guitar, you won't know whether to do a jig or thrash around the floor á la Ramones. Some combination of the two would probably be most appropriate because while incredibly funny to watch, it would also best represent The Kissers' diverse and unique brand of whiskey-soaked rock. The Kissers play 9:30 at Sam Bond's, Saturday, Sept. 24. $7. — Emily Freeman
Portland Band Makes Eugene Debut You know a band with a glockenspiel is going to be an interesting one, and Heroes and Villains lives up to my hopes. The unique instrument lends a surreal carnival air to some of their tunes, but there's also an Eastern European feel thanks to the two guitarists, one of whom plays in a gypsy jazz way. The five-piece all share vocal duties and pack an amazing array of tones and textures into their newly finished but not yet packaged five-song EP. The band uses its many talents producing warped but strangely enchanting pop tunes that could easily be the soundtrack for a modern-day silent movie. There's an inexplicable vaudevillian feel to the band, but they cover so much ground musically that it's more like a shifting sand than a shelter. It opens like a spooky sideshow carnival, then gains a dust-in-your-eye feeling like an old Clint Eastwood western. The third track's sultry and relaxed vocal style reminds me of Portishead. I can do without the plodding six-minute version of "Waltzing Matilda," but for a band with this aesthetic, a well-known waltz is an obvious choice. I look forward to more from this talented new band, which will be appearing with The Glorious Bride. Heroes and Villains plays 10 pm at Luckey's, Saturday, Sept. 24. $3-5. — Vanessa Salvia
A New Kind of Hip Hop Beat Heiruspecs doesn't subject itself to the standards that dominate mainstream hip hop. This isn't a posse-backed 50 Cent MTV beach party act or some old-school turntablism straight off a Beastie Boys record. No, Heiruspecs takes the stage this week with a soul-filled aural assault straight out of Minneapolis that defies the traditions of the hip hop genre by delivering their music without any sort of DJ or sampler whatsoever. That's right; this group does everything with live instruments, as Twinkie Jiggles thumps the bass guitar, dVRG works the keyboards and Peter Leggett throws down on the drum set. MC Felix is the vocal anchor, spitting out venomous verses on each song while Muad'Dib backs him up with beat-boxing and ever-present lyrical support.
"We're influenced by sampler-based production, old-school rhyming and real life," says Felix, "but we do everything live. Nothing is sampled and we like to keep it song-oriented to give equal space to the lyrics and the music." While their latest CD, A Tiger Dancing, has been out for nearly a year, its appeal has remained fresh and the style and presentation of the album as funky as ever. Songs like "Intro" and "First" feature a rap-battle lyrical format reminiscent of movies like 8 Mile and hardcore rap groups like Jedi Mind Tricks and the Wu-Tang Clan, while "Something For Nothing," "Two Fold," "Dollar" and "5ves" channel a more old-school beat with flickers of everything from early '80s rap to jazz, sounding like Run DMC, The Roots and even Jurassic 5. The sheer depth of the album allows for a wide-spectrum appeal to any type of rap fan, from those seeking an edgier beat for a cruise down a city block late at night to those who want to kick back on a sunny day, relax and feel the beat pulse through their entire body. Heiruspecs is teaming up with Enzyme for the show, so grab your friends, get up as close to the stage as possible, put a fist in the air and get ready to nod your head over a thousand times, because this is one hip hop event that'll shake down the WOW Hall in style. Heiruspecs play with Enzyme 9:30 pm Saturday, Sept. 24. at the WOW Hall, $8 adv/$10 dos. — Dan Hoyt
Queerest of the Queer
It's been a long time since The Queers were one of punk rock's most adored bands, the genre having morphed and split into countless popular styles during the past decade. But it's hard to forget the bubblegum punk band that pioneered pop-punk with its simple, almost childish love songs and smart-alecky rants. Formed in 1982, the veteran New Hampshire trio kick-started the pop-punk genre by mixing '70s punk influences like the Ramones with slower, shiny, bright sounds like the Beach Boys. Their early albums were mostly cute songs about crushes that spoke and rhymed in the same simple, juvenile manner of a junior high love note. The band's three 1993 releases, Love Songs for the Retarded, Beat Off and Grow Up, set the stage for over a decade of touring and recording success. Although the band hasn't released an album since 2002's Pleasant Screams, The Queers have toured regularly and still have an itch to get on stage and relive those lovesick years. The band plans to record a new album this fall and is sure to preview some of the new material. The Queers play 9 pm Monday, Sept. 26 at the WOW Hall. $8 adv/ 10 dos. — Danny Cross
AX BILLY GRILL & SPORTS BAR BADA BING'S
BLACK FOREST BLUE LUNA CLUB CLUB ROCK CLUB TSUNAMI CORNUCOPIA • COUNTRY SIDE BAR & GRILL COUNTRYSIDE PiZZA & GRILL COZMIC PIZZA@THE STRAND• DIABLO'S DOWNTOWN LOUNGE EMBERS SUPPER CLUB GOOD TIMES JAXX THE JAZZ STATION JO FEDERIGO'S JOE'S BAR & GRILLE
JOGGER'S BAR & GRILL JOHN HENRY'S THE JUNGLE
LAVELLE'S WINE BAR & BISTRO LUCKEY'S CLUB CIGAR LUNA
MAC'S AT THE VET'S MCDONALD THEATRE MCSHANE'S BAR & GRILL MULLIGAN'S PUB O'DONNELL'S IRISH PUB OVERTIME GRILL PEABODY'S PERUGINO QUACKER'S RICK'S PUB ROCK 'N' RODEO SAM BOND'S GARAGE SAM'S PLACE SAMURAI DUCK STACY'S COVERED BRIDGE TAP 'N' KEG TAYLOR'S BAR AND GRILL TINY TAVERN VET'S CLUB BALLROOM WETLANDS WORLD CAFÉ
WOW HALL • YUKON JACK'S CORVALLIS BOMBS AWAY CAFE INTERZONE CAFÉ IOVINO'S RISTORANTE PLATINUM karaoke TH: The Cooler, Countryside Pizza (River Rd.),
Da Houze, Duck Inn, Joggers, Sam's Place
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