FRIDAY/FEBRUARY/18
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR AT MUSIC BOX
Marnie Stern. See Friday.
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[See Music feature]
BUN B AT THE ROXY
The Lone Star State has a history of producing gangsters who blaze trails and don't care if anyone follows — George W. Bush, citizen border patrols, UGK. Unlike the first two, however, the duo UGK ("Underground Kingz") ultimately convinced the country of the truth of their ways. Formed around the same time Compton was crackling, hard-core rappers Bun B and the late Pimp C covered much of the same territory N.W.A did. Despite, or maybe due to, controversial lyrics on their major-label debut, Too Hard to Swallow, the duo remained below the radar for the better half of the 1990s. But after appearing on Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin' " and Three 6 Mafia's ode to the Houston-originated cough syrup cocktail, "Sipping on Some Syrup," UGK properly blew up, even garnering a Grammy nomination. Bun B saw his solo career take off in 2005, with all three of his albums receiving positive reviews; the last, Trill O.G., was the first album in five years to get a 5 Mic rating from The Source. Ever keeping to the UGK-coined standard, "trill" (true + real), lately Bun B has been keeping company with a new underground king, Freddie Gibbs [See Wednesday], appearing on the gangsta rapper's aptly titled single, "Oil Money." Don't mess with Texas. (Rebecca Haithcoat)
MARNIE STERN, TERA MELOSAT THE ECHO
Tera Melos is a wondrously strange trio from Sacramento, whose complex math-rock rambles are distinguished by unusual sonic juxtapositions and flurries of wacked-out guitar squiggles on their third album, Patagonian Rats. Bassist Nathan Latona and drummer John Clardy shift tempos from free-jazz noise to psychedelic dreaminess, as guitarist-programmer-vocalist Nick Reinhart unreels elaborate, intricate whorls of notes. Early songs like the eight-minute epic "40 Rods to the Hog's Head" alternate between dense prog-rock tangles and more open-ended passages that float away into space. Tera Melos is well matched with headliner Marnie Stern, who, like Reinhart, also employs finger-tapping trickery to conjure febrile riffs from her ax. Far more than just a flashy guitarist, the New York singer combines art-rock melodies and banshee wailing with bizarre, cryptic lyrics on her recent self-titled album on Kill Rock Stars. Producer Zach Hill (who also drums with Hella) anchors frantically busy tracks like "For Ash" and "Female Guitar Players Are the New Black" with a heavy sound that still finds room for shards of Stern's subversive wit and playfulness. And check out her crazy version of the theme from Hawaii Five-0, which is the weirdest remake of that TV jingle since Radio Birdman recast the melody as "Aloha Steve & Danno" back in the late 1970s. (Falling James)
CAKE AT THE TROUBADOUR
You've likely heard that Cake's new Showroom of Compassion scored a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 last month with then–record low sales of 44,000 copies. (Two weeks later, Philadelphia soul-folkie Amos Lee bumped Cake's benchmark, topping the chart by moving 40,000 copies of his Mission Bell.) What you might not have heard is what Showroom of Compassion sounds like. Wee're here to tell you that it sounds exactly like the Sacramento band's previous five studio discs, with frontman John McCrea's deadpan vocals laid over goofy white-funk grooves perked up by Vince DiFiore's fake-mariachi trumpet lines. (If these guys hadn't used the title Prolonging the Magic in 1998, they could have safely utilized it here.) That's no knock, by the way — more bands could do with Cake's strong sense of self. And, hey, shit's paying off at a moment of widespread record-biz instability: Tonight they play the first gig of a sold-out four-night stand. Also Sat., Sun. and Mon. (Mikael Wood)
VANESSA PARADIS AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
Vanessa Paradis might be best known in this country as the paramour of Johnny Depp, but the French singer-model-actor has had a long musical career, starting with her 1987 European hit "Joe le Taxi," which was released when she was still a precocious teenager. She's since acted in numerous films alongside such icons of French cinema as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jeanne Moreau. Championed by none other than Serge Gainsbourg, she coos sweetly charming pop songs in both French and English, and her recent 20-track Best Of compilation features most of her career highlights, including her early work with Lenny Kravitz and such brightly perky songs as "Be My Baby" (not to be confused with the Ronettes classic). Paradis is similarly delightful on her new live DVD, Une Nuit à Versailles, reveling in romanticized evocations of "Chet Baker" and "Marilyn & John." Despite her popularity overseas, she's only now making her live debut in North America. (Falling James)
TROY WALKER at Viva Cantina
Legendary cult phenom Troy Walker may be in his mid-70s, but the little weirdo can still out-sing and out-entertain just about everybody else in the business. The androgynous dynamo first began flipping wigs at the Crescendo Club in the early 1960s, routinely pulling SRO crowds that included Elvis Presley, Phil Spector and Ethel Merman, and was soon collaborating with the likes of Timi Yuro, Brian and Dennis Wilson, Jerry Cole and Leon Russell. By the 1970s, Walker, with his flowing tresses, unbelievably tight pants and dangerously high heels, was a fixture at C&W shrine the Palomino, winning over the stone redneck crowd with supernatural ease. A showstopping wild thing who mixes biting satire, gorgeous balladry, outrageous self-deprecating humor ("Look at me. I'm just a wrinkle — in heat!") and a second-to-none repertoire of freewheeling pop, country, soul and rock & roll numbers, Walker remains an unpredictable, artistically genuine, one-of-a-kind thriller. Life-changing. (Jonny Whiteside)
