Friday, March
5
@ CLUB LAGA
Thirty-five years ago, the MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges
crawled out of the industrial despair of gray town Detroit and plastered
their anger and enthusiasm onto vinyl. More recently a renaissance of
fiery rock and roll, owing much to those earlier influences, has appeared
there. Among the best of these bands are the Von Bondies. Formed around
the turn of the century, they combine the classic elements of blues, punk
and rock and roll with an energy and viewpoint all their own. While their
initial performances were a hit with audiences, they came to prominence
with their inclusion on the Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit
compilation, produced by Jack White of White Stripes fame. This led to a
deal with Sympathy for the Record Industry and in 2001 their first
full-length CD was released. Lack of Communication, produced by
White, was recorded in only two days. The sound is raw and immediate,
appealing in a primal way that transcends current trends and tastes. In
2003 they released Raw and Rare, a compilation of BBC recordings
and live tracks on Warner Brothers. In December, lead singer/guitarist
Jason Stollsteimer was involved in a very public altercation with Jack
White. The details vary depending on whose point of view is read, but
White was arrested and charged with assault. He pleaded innocent, but the
results are still pending. In the meantime, the Von Bondies are attempting
to move beyond the press and get on with their music and their career.
This month marks the release of their third full-length CD, Pawn Shoppe
Heart, produced by Jerry Harrison, formerly of the Modern Lovers and
the Talking Heads. "We tried to capture a vintage feel," bassist Carrie
Smith recently told BBC's Radio One. "Our influences aren't from the '80s
or '90s. You won't hear us sounding like Linkin Park."
-- WAYNE WISE
With the Modey Lemon, Camera, Black Tie Review. All
ages. 7 p.m. $10. Oakland. 412.682.2050
JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER
Friday, March 5
@ ANDY
WARHOL MUSEUM
Had the last 100 years of folk music been an automobile,
and if said vehicle had done a Yosemite Sam with a wall, and if
there had been someone on hand to record the aural residue strewn about
the wreckage, it'd sound like mapless sonic wanderers Jackie-o
Motherfucker. This wobbly Portland, Oregon-based band, part of whose name
conjures folk-poet supreme Rudy Ray Moore, has been advocating trust and
intuition over firm musical plans for 10 or so years and just as many
releases. 2001's The Magick Fire Music, originally issued on double
vinyl in a limited run of 400 but now on CD, is a particularly focused
album, showing that with patience comes a payoff. Co-leaders Tom Greenwood
(guitar, turntable, sax, banjo, etc.) and Jef Brown (guitar, oboe,
percussion, etc) have presided ever-so-loosely over a constantly revolving
collective where, despite the various influences its members bring, the
unhurried development of a particular theme repeated to ecstasy is key. On
the journey there's room for bobbing sax work, free fiddling and aimless
noodling. Yet 80 percent of the time, the fragments coalesce and skate on
the cracked sidewalks of whatever's left of bona fide Americana. JOMF are
at the top of my list of bands most likely to save the planet, healing by
suggestion rather than with stern advice or unwelcome force. It might take
them 30 minutes to get where they're going and, like a 1972 Plymouth
Duster with a leaky head gasket, they might not get there at all; but the
scenery along the way more than makes up for the lack of haste.
-- BRUCE MILLER
With Daniel Conrad & Ian Nagoski. 7 p.m. $7. North
Side. 412.237.8300
DOMU
Friday, March 5
@
CASABLANCA
Dominic Stanton, otherwise known as Domu, will be
Pittsburgh's second exposure to London's broken beat sound in the past six
months. This past November, Bugz in the Attic, friends and compatriots of
Domu, played to a boggled audience at the Andy Warhol Museum. The mixture
of house, techno, jungle, dancehall, jazz and contemporary R&B has
been popular in the United Kingdom for several years, but is only starting
to grab hold of ears in the States. Domu, who started out as a jungle DJ
and had several releases under the moniker of Sonar Circle, released his
first broken beat record in 1999. Since then, he has had several major
releases on record labels like Archive, 2000 Black, Residual, Bitasweet,
Compost and Skindeep. Many of his recent singles, like "Body Electric" and
"Sail Away," utilize the soulfulness of house and jazz to make his
shuffling drum beats an exercise in sexiness. "Body Electric" transitions
smoothly from a sample of a saxophone layered over a somewhat complicated
drumbeat to a psychedelic wave. "Sail Away" combines a dreamy female vocal
with large, swollen synthesizer sounds and an infectious break beat. The
results are highly danceable experiments in electronic music. It is truly
representative of the current spirit of London and Bedfordshire, Domu's
home base, which is that musical artists need not limit themselves to one
genre because combinations usually produce something worth pondering.
Those who missed broken beat's previous invasion of Pittsburgh should be
sure to attend Domu's performance this Friday.
-- KELLY DELANEY
With Edgar Um, Jwan, Kerem. 10:30 p.m. $5. Downtown.
412.765.2223
EARLY DAY MINERS
Saturday, March
6
@ QUIET STORM
Whether intentional or not, the first four songs on Early
Day Miners' latest release, Jefferson at Rest, share the names of
small, old country towns and counties with pastoral landscapes and
industrial and agricultural pasts. It's an appropriate connection, since
the songs themselves reflect strong imagery of these kinds of natural
areas in their sound -- one can imagine the band passing through such
places and writing songs instead of postcards, capturing the sleepy mood
and scenery for the sake of nostalgia. The lyrics almost become an
afterthought behind the rich instrumentation, but they tell stories of the
past through cinematic portraiture: bridges and railroad tracks, gravel
roads leading to rivers, the story of a Confederate soldier after the war.
All place the listener among the vivid scenery of the music. Their third
full-length release, the album represents a slight departure from their
previous slow-core, more experimental tendencies. Both drummer Rory Leitch
and guitarist/vocalist Daniel Burton played in Ativin, an instrumental
math-rock group in the mid 1990s, which explains their dedication and
attention to the arrangement and intricacies of the songs. This time
Burton intended to write music with a more structured, traditional rock
feel. Though the songs follow a more standard route, that doesn't restrict
them from bathing in ornate production and complex instrumentation. The
narratives they create have no set paths, but they'll lead you somewhere
that feels like home.
-- CINDY YOGMAS
With Vale and Year, One Star Hotel, Architecture. 8
p.m. All ages. Friendship. 412.661.9355
MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD
Saturday, March 6
@ MR. SMALL'S THEATRE
With vapid lyrics conquering the airwaves, it can be
difficult to find smart, socially conscious music for the liberal-minded.
Michael Franti and Spearhead offer the perfect solution to such a
predicament. As an adamant advocate for a peaceful world, Franti continues
in the direction of his work with the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy,
with the eclectic musical influences, including reggae, dancehall,
hip-hop, funk and Motown combining with rock guitar, to produce a
collection of politically and personally conscious songs. The affirming
lyrics on his latest album, Everyone Deserves Music, don't fail to
speak boldly and directly to social issues facing people on a global and
personal basis. Franti takes the serious issues and presents them against
a background of bouncy, soul-rock music, blending music styles to achieve
a unique, energy charged sound. Tackling the war on drugs, President Bush
and the war in Iraq, songs like "Bomb the World" chant, "We can bomb the
world to pieces but we can't bomb it into peace." Themes of human equality
are present in tunes like "Crazy Crazy Crazy" where Franti realizes, "No
life's worth more than any other, no sister works less than any brother."
Franti and Spearhead now lead the way for an outspoken, modern generation
of peace crusaders, using their profound songwriting to lift spirits
amidst a world of chaos. As proof of his devotion to such issues, Franti
will donate 50 cents from each of tonight's tickets to the 911 Power to
the Peaceful Fund. Headliner Ziggy Marley will do the same for U.R.G.E.
(Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment).
-- NATALIE SWEET
With Ziggy Marley. All ages. $31-$35. 8 p.m. Millvale.
1.800.594.TIXX
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