Everyone’s favorite fake queer band is back. 
Tip of the hat to British gossip thread Popbitch for alerting us to the new Tatu video, “Beliy Plaschik” (White Robe). It features one half of the duo, Lena Katina, ordering the execution of her seven months pregnant cohort, Julia Volkova. Cuz you know, those pregnant chicks are just asking for it.
Is it a comment on the Iraq War? Life under Stalin? Population control? Who knows. Enjoy the weirdness.
–Elina Shatkin
Sometime last week, relations between Stephen Paul Morrissey and NME devolved to John Kerry vs. the Swiftboaters levels of mud-slinging. The reason: A cover story titled “Bigmouth Strikes Again,”1 which pitches Moz as an aging, dangerously out-of-touch racist pining for the culturally homogeneous England of his youth.
The western-shirt contingent was in full force downtown last night for the coming of Sam Beam of Nazareth, the honey-voiced and well-bearded leader of Iron & Wine. And while there may be no better setting for his seven-piece band’s gilded and wistful roots-folk than the stately, lovingly restored Orpheum, the show certainly could’ve benefited for a little bit of the raw edge and ugliness found outside the theater.
While it’s tough to really complain about a show for being “too pretty,” such nitpicking is inevitable when an evening’s worth of exquisitely crafted, often adventurous songwriting somehow winds up feeling not all that memorable. Maybe it’s a problem of context — how beautiful can one song sound when it is no more or less beautiful than the one before? The night’s best moments were courtesy of the band’s many dub-infused instrumental excursions, but something more was needed. Beam needs to recapture some of the frayed edges and venom that made last year’s “Woman King” EP so fantastic, or even grab Calexico for another session or two given how the their past collaboration–particularly onstage–gave Beam’s lovely sense of storytelling a jolt of cross-cultural rock ‘n roll swagger.
Openers Califone offered an interesting contrast with their own skewed take on roots music, with clattering electronics and junkyard percussion giving each song an engaging and unpredictable sense of decay. Their set ended abruptly when the house lights came up between songs, but not before collaborating with an endearingly awkward Sam and Sarah Beam on a rustic and rusty cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Everything wasn’t in its right place, but that’s sometimes the point.
– Chris Barton
"May we rock you gently?"
singer-songwriter Buddy asks on his MySpace page. Well, yes, since you asked so
nicely.
On his debut album, "Alterations and Repairs," Buddy — Humberston is the
last name, "but that’s kind of a mouthful," he allows — delivers crisp,
date-movie pop in a tenor so gossamer you fear the next finger-picked note might
puncture it, though it never does. His on-the-beat vocals allude to life-changing
events, reflecting the period after he moved to Los Angeles from Portland, Ore., and
wrote much of the material.
"It was a time I was breaking free of a few things," he says.
And, as it turns out, attaching himself to others. When he played his first show at
the Hotel Cafe in 2004, he befriended the doorman and sound guy — both of whom now play
in his band. He cites the venue’s fraternal feel in helping build his confidence.
"When I did finally work up the courage to get out and do the solo thing, it was
amazing to be welcomed like I was," Buddy says. "It means a lot when people
you respect come up to you after a show. … There are so many people, and so many
talented ones, it can be kind of overwhelming and intimidating."
Buddy, with band mates Will Golden, Percy Haverson, Al Sgro, Fil Krohnengold and
Michael Jerome, celebrates the release of "Alterations and Repairs" with a
show tonight at the Hotel Cafe. Also on the bill are Greg Laswell, Emily Wells and Brian Wright and the Waco
Tragedies.
◊ ◊ ◊
Speaking of the Hotel Cafe, Tom Morello (as the Nightwatchman) returned Thursday
night (with Perry Farrell and Jill Sobule among the guests). He’ll also do the next two
Thursdays at the venue.
||| Download Buddy’s "Westgate."
Photo of Buddy and band by Melissa Castro
– Mel C. AKA Sporty Spice AKA the one without a baby is playing a solo show at… (wait for it) The Mint. Is that a comedown or an upgrade? For $20 you can find out.
Some good stuff perking up the Will Call ticket corral this week and it’s all over the place:
There’s traditional country with Willie Nelson at the Nokia Theatre on Feb. 13 (on sale Monday), and faux country with Ryan Adams playing a bunch of venues (check the column for details).
There’s hip-hop with Snoop Dogg at House of Blues on Dec. 15 (on sale Saturday) and trip-hop with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist at the Anaheim House of Blues on Valentine’s Day and the Wiltern on Feb. 15 (both on sale Saturday).
And there’s rock from both far–Sweden’s the Sounds on Dec. 9 at the Avalon (on sale Thursday) and France’s Keren Ann on Feb. 19 at the El Rey (on sale Saturday )–and near with L.A.’s own the Deadly Syndrome on Jan. 7 at the Viper Room (on sale now).
But the winner? Clearly it’s Celtic Woman at the Greek, May 17.
Okay seriously, it’s American woman, Gwendolyn, who will play the Echoplex this Saturday, Dec. 1, with her backing band the Good Time Gang. Why? It’s a children’s show full of Christmukwanzukkah songs. What’s not to love?
[Late with a post today, sorry; here are some news bits:]
The band is no longer on an indie label, but Interpol today released a six-song live EP,
"Interpol Live," that’s available only at independent music stores. You mean
there’s some of those left? Yes, indeed. The retail outlets, listed at Think Indie, include North Hollywood’s Miles of Music and Long Beach’s Fingerprints, along with that cozy hole in the wall at Sunset and Ivar. The EP,
by the way, is heavily weighted toward new material — four songs off this year’s
"Our Love to Admire."
◊ ◊ ◊
The Plug Independent Music Awards nominees include a
healthy number of major-label artists too, but who’s counting? What’s indie? I’ve
watched this
video five times and I’m still befuddled. The Plugs do appear to be an emo-free
zone, however, even though there’s a lot of indie emo. L.A.’s very own No Age and Sea Wolf (that’s Alex Church at left) are
among nominees for new artist of the year. Even if you don’t vote, the Plug list offers
the chance to test your cool quotient — how many discs on the album-of-the-year list
have you heard? Or how many do you own? And did you really make it all the way through
the Beirut album? And why can’t this Beirut get any love? So many questions.
◊ ◊ ◊
Highlights for Tuesday, Nov. 27
If I were in the mood for some serious, thoughtful music tonight, I would see Johnette Napolitano at the Roxy.
The ex-Concrete Blonde singer-bassist’s solo album “Scarred” is powerful stuff — plus
she has a reputation for delivering the goods live. … If I were in the mood to dance
my legs off and hear the Cure recycled, I’d hit Cinespace for its Tuesday party — War Tapes is playing, along with local
rockers Policy. … With only an EP on their
resume, there’s a buzz surrounding the indie pop of Los Campesinos!, who are from Wales but
sound like they should be from Canada and are touring with another of our northern
neighbor’s government-supported indie outfits, the Most Serene Republic. That
show is at the Echoplex. … Maybe coolest of all, one of the Quannum Projects heroes,
Honeycut, is down from San Francisco
for a show at the Knitting Factory.
Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow, 52, was found dead at his Las Vegas home on Sunday. The news of the death was reported by several news sources as well as the personal website of the band’s drummer, Frankie Banali.
The official cause of death has yet to be determined.
5 Things You Might Not Know About Kevin DuBrow
–Elina Shatkin
Their name has been mumbled, mangled and maybe even mocked — not that the four guys
in Voxhaul Broadcast can
blame anybody. “Every name we’d pick would be taken,” singer-guitarist David Dennis
says, “so we thought, ‘Let’s make up some words and hope it’s not taken.’ ”
In a way, the Orange County quartet set about making their music in similar fashion.
“If it sounds too reminiscent of anything, we kind of [rough] it up,” Dennis says. “It’s
really easy to be cliché; you have to be picky about what you do.”
Voxhaul Broadcast’s twitchy, soul-infused rock isn’t exactly new — but the work of
Dennis, guitarist-keyboardist Anthony Aguiar, bassist Phillip Munset II and drummer Kurt
Allen is distinctive, if only because it originated on an O.C. landscape populated by
harder-edged bands. “It used to be a band like us could not play a show without being
booked with a hard-core band,” Dennis says. “Now there is a lot of other music coming
out of Orange County.”
Indeed, the band’s “Rotten Apples” EP, out on Retone Records, recalls the Charlatans
UK or the Strokes more than any suburban thrashers. The quartet, now based in L.A., has
spent much of the fall on tour. “Right now, we’re just trying to get our name out
there,” Dennis says.
||| Voxhaul Broadcast plays the Indie 103.1 show tonight at the Viper Room with Last American Buffalo, Saint Motel and Le Switch.
||| Download: "Rotten Apples."
Other highlights for Monday, Nov. 26
The final
night of the Softlightes residency
has been moved from Spaceland to the Echoplex. The dreamy quartet spread some serious
feel-good pop over the first three weeks of its stand. … The Airborne Toxic Event ends
its four-week stand at the Detroit Bar, with Orange County’s Cavil at Rest. … Restaurant winds up its residency at
the Echo. … And I See Hawks in LA holds forth
at Bordello.
[Correspondent Jeff Miller reports from the Sunday night festivities at the
Echoplex:]
Beck — the Silver Lake icon whose recent tours have found him banging out drum parts
on a kitchen table and dancing along with a puppet version of himself — isn’t exactly
predictable. One thing for sure, though: Before embarking on a tour with a new band,
he’ll give them a test run in front of a smallish sea of rabid fans at a local venue,
rather than testing their might in a packed arena.
Such was the impetus for his last-minute, back-to-basics show at the Echoplex on
Sunday night — a warmup for a short international stadium stint opening for the Police.
Beck ditched his recent shtick for a guitar-based set that spanned his career, backed by
a band that may be the best he’s found yet: on-again, off-again collaborators Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Joey Waronker on bass and drums,
respectively; singer-songwriter Jason
Falkner picking up guitar duties; and, on keys, producer/legend Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Beck,
Travis, among others).
Beck claimed this show was Godrich’s U.S. stage debut, and, per his repuation,
Godrich added electronic whooshes and keyboard fills to everything from the "Mellow
Gold"-era album cut "[Messin’] With My Head" to recent hits like
"Nausea." When the front man eschewed an encore, insisting the band had
played all the songs it knew, Meldal-Johnsen showed them the chords to
"Odelay’s" "Lord Only Knows." Once they tore into it, the results
were shambolic and loose — perhaps not quite stadium-ready, but certainly a ramshackle
fit for an audience rabidly hanging on every chord.
