November 27, 1992

Other Arts & Review

the Other Press

 

Sugar fails to sweeten sour

What makes a good gig? Does it
really matter what the band does, or
is it the crowd that makes the
difference?

Sugar with Throwing Muses and Boo
Radleys

Commodore Ballroom

November 18

reviewed by Tim Crumley

There really wasn’tan adequate
answer provided atlast Wednesday's
show. Although! know the majority
of the people who attended the
Commodore were pleased with the

rmance, I know it most likely
wasn ttheirall-timefavouriteconcert
either. Whether that was the bands’
or crowd's fault, is another story.

I had the misfortune to be
hideously late, so I missed the Boo
Radleysentirely. They may havebeen
superstars. They could have been
monkey turds. 7 never know.

 

 

gig

After a cold beer and deep
thought, the Throwing Musesstarted
their set with a competent cover of
Jimi Hendrix’s Manic Depression. I
say competent because Ive heard it
covered better before (NoMeansNo
is an excellent example). But they
played some marvelous music -
things I know I want to hear again,
even if it sounds the same on record.
They play really heavy music, but
slower than you might expect, and a
surprising amount of it was in 3/4
time.

But as wonderful as the music
was, the band itself was rather...
dull. The lighting didn’t for
the entire set from its original pale ecg
blue, and no one moved, either. The
crowd acted accordingl ey, swaying
back and forth instead of dancing. It
was like watching people on heroin
play music for people on heroin.

Bob Mold’s new project, Sugar,

alleviated the problem somewhat.
Playing songs from what would be
one of my favourite albums of 1992,
the former lead singer of Hiisker Dii
definitely made the crowd happy.
The songs were melodic, catchy, and
(of course) loud. The crowd even got
a bit livelier, a small pit in
front of the stage. But 95% of the
crowd wasstill doing the sway of the
stoned, and the only difference
between Sugar and the Throwing
Musesinterms of stage mce was
they had changed the lighting from
blue to white.

I hope I’m not being a party
pooper. I really liked the show,

because 90% of a concertis themusic,
and the music was definitely there.
It’s just that the other 10% is what
makesashow unforgettable,and that
10% was missing on Wednesday.

Under the Influence of Sven Gali

 

Concert Preview by Angus Adair

in 1894, George du Maurier’s novel,
Trilby wasreleased. Initthe heroine,
Trilby, is transformed by a man’s
hypnotic power into a great singer of
unmatched prowess. While few can
readily up this information,
thenameof themanwhotransformed
Trilby has found it’s way into our
language. Svengali.

There is also, now, a band who
have taken the name Sven Gali and
iftheirfirstsingle, Underthe Influence,
is any indication of things to come
they may indeed enjoy the levels of
sucess Tribly reached induMaurier’s
novel, without any smoke and
mirrors, and soley on talent alone.

 

The video for Under the Influence,
is stunning. It shows the band’s
hypnotic effect ina surreal world of
hard rock. Ordinarily, the words
surreal and hard rock do not appear
in the same sentence, as few ds
accomplish both at once, but Sven
Gali is no o} band.

I often dismiss many bands as
pretenders whoemulate thelook that
Sven Galiseems to posess. However,
there is a key difference with Sven
Gali.Itis perhaps thereason| cranked
the volume on my TV the first time I
saw Under the Influence instead of
switching the channel. Sven Gali is
not pretending to be anyone else;
they are their own band with their
own sound and entrancing look.

[have beenawaiting Sven Gali’s
arrival in town for awhile now, and
am pleased toreport they havefinally
arrived-just down the street. This
saturday, atCalifornia Dreaming, just
underneath The Old Spaghetti
Factory, Sven Gali is playing. No,
you'renotunder hypnosis, Sven Gali
is playing a local gig right next to
Douglas College.

They'll ony be there for one
night though and given the size of
California Dreaming and the
powerful draw of theband, it would
be wise to get tickets fast before the
club sells out. You wouldn’t want to
bestandinginalongcoldlinelistening
to Sven Gali outside.

Tricks are for Kids

This record tricked me. That's
nota bad thing in this case, but it did
trick me.

Soul Asylum

Grave Dancers Union
Columbia/ Sony Music
reviewed by Tim Crumley

The oj cut is “Someone

To Shove”, a er in the tradition
of Dinosaur Jr., and I of course
thatthealbum would remain

on that kind of volume and intensity
level. I was pleasantly surprised to

be wrong, however. Oncethe grungy
rock wasoutof the way,Soul Asylum
settled right down into more
straightforward pop-rock, notunlike
the Replacements. They definitely
have a country influence, and I
couldn't help but think that this was
a harder Blue Rodeo, which is cool,
considering I like Blue Rodeo.

The cuts are really listenable,
even if they follow a standard AOR
format, and it actually seems that

i David Pirner really believes
the words he’s singing. Among the

standoutcutsare “Homesick”, which
is pretty much straight ahead rock ‘n
roll,and “Someone ToShove”, which
I find myself whistling whenever I
drift off to Planet X.

But my favourite songs are the
slower ones, like “Black Gold” and
“The Sun Maid”. They have that
certain something... they push all the
rightbuttons and give thatbittersweet
flavour I just can’t avoid.

Greatrecord from Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Hope they make more,
and Prince makes less.

Nice and Miserable Blossoms

 

New Miserable Experience
Gin Blossoms

AM Records

by Linda Wainman

Folk/Rock/Country sings
the blues. Gin Blossom’s Robin
Wilson, Jesse Wilson, Phillip
Rhodes, Bill Leen and Scott
Johnson sing songs about life,
lovers, and emotions.

This is really nice
listening if you like nice listening.

There’s a slight reminder of Blue
Rodeo as country flavor is brought
to life with a lively beat. The
album is alive with electric guitar
riffs, and up-beat drumming. Lost
Horizons is a song that talks about
making the world go away with
booze. Gin Blossoms have the
uncanny ability to talk about
emotions and life’s ups and downs
without sounding melancholy.

As the album continues to
play, I pick up the overall picture

of the life of an alcoholic. Just
when they start to sound
consistent, and you’ve had enough
of guitar and drums, they spice it
up with an accordion. For those
whose musical taste expands, and
appreciate classic sounds, the
album is worth a listen.

On a scale of 1-10 I give
Gin Blossoms 7-8.

* THE FABULOUS >

ee eye ar

870 GRANVILLE MALL * 681-7838
In the Heart of Downtown Vancouver * Fully Air Conditioned

Presents FRE/CAPITOL Recording Artists

SKYDIGGERS

ae can Than special fone

Pasi
TICKETS
3018S
eh call eal a

HARD ROCK
lus RICK COLBOURNE ay HARD D POETRY

DAY NOVEMBER 27 -

¢ Doors: 8:00PM

TCL s:t a ns arate

ae (oy voltae OYO) | a

and THE SUPER STARS BAND from Dakar
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 - Doors: 8:30pm

ONE NIGHT ONLY!!!

MUDHONEY

@ |

SUI special guests SUPERSUCKERS & EUGENIUS
DAY NOVEMBER 29 « 8:00PM

izeex] Province

i 26-73 Ba

BLUE RODEO Wana witians

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT ¢ THE ORPHEUM « TUES. DEC. 1

 

CANADA'S
PREMIERE WITH
ACAPELLA yun SPECIAL
ARTISTS SUES

FRIDAY ae 4 DOORS: 8:30PM

Cyn

FESTIVAL DE

“ PRESENTS

LA SALSA ‘92

¢ A REAL LATIN AMERICAN DANCE PARTY ¢
STARRING © ORQUESTA B.C. SALSA ¢

ORQUESTA LATIN CONNECTION e ORQUESTA
LA MAYOR SALSA (from Portland Oregon) ®
SATURDAY DECEMBER 5 -« poors 8:00pm

  

TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE @ BLACK SWAN, TRACK, ZULU & HIGHLIFE RECORDS
ee COMMUNITY COLLEGE FASHION SHOW ’92

Let tl
4 Fiat Mode V1
(si) DECEMEBER rn ¢ DOORS:

    

  

Gath
7:30PM

cl SI 14 ee FWES ;

TIN OLN ACOA eld Te H eoleess

“Hollow Bodies Tour”

with special guests THE WALTONS
FRIDAY « DECEMBER 11 * DOORS e 8:00pm
SATURDAY # DECEMBER 12 e DOORS ¢ 8:00pm
SPECIAL ALL AGES SHOW SAT. DEC. 12 ¢ 3:30pm
TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE @ BLACK SWAN, TRACK, ZULU & HIGHLIFE RECORDS

 

 

Plt AR

AES Tinsask
ed CV

A Much Needed Benefit for the Vancouver Food Bank

Tickets only $12 advance plus 8 non-perishable food

Sunday, December 13

© Wailin’ Al Welker » Willie
Meche ° & Friends © Cathi
McDonald * Denise McCann © Rand
i Jim Byrnes ¢ Gail Bowen
¢ ROB Alletars ° Dowder Blues
= The Dies Shadows wilh Daly Covell acd
Jeffery Hatcher -Doors 6.30 pm

 

 

   

item at the door.

Monday, December 14

the © Mud Bay Blues Band
> bwoat Dik * Date © Sneaks ©
Harp Dog Brown ¢ Blue Planet Band °
due Leonard * Doc Fingers © Seeds of
Time ¢ Incognito © Nite Train Revue -
Doors 7:00 pm

COAST Presents Sony Recording Artists

| SOUL ASYLUM

with special guests The Lemonheads & The Jayhawks
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16 :- poors 8:30pm

— ae

y

Tickets: At all TICKETMASTER locations.
all Eaton's and Infocenters in Major Malls,
Lower Mainland.

—_ Charge By Phone: 280-4444

 

Salvador Ferras is a Visionary Who Can Cook

Welcome to planet drum... or is
that gong, or cowbell, or shaker...?
Hell, it’s anything that relates to
percussion. This is a planet to make
tracks to visit.

Salvador Ferreras
Invisible Minority
Aural Tradition

 

Reviewed by Haroon A. Khan

 

Salvador Ferreras’ genealogy is
rooted in the Latin American
tradition. But don’t let that fool you
into the idea that all latin music is
centred around flemenco guitar

players. Therange Ferrerasexpresses
in his cd, Invisible Minority, is an
auditory cornucopia of sound and
vision with rhythms to keep you up
at night.

The cd is a mix of traditional
standards and new music. In the

excellent liner notes, Ferreras relates
music to cookin: just “add your
favourite musical friends, bake for
about one good night and you have
the makings of this taste of Coast
Hispanic Afro-Latin Jazz.” The
results are tasty in this chock-full-of-

musical-goodnesscd. Unfortunately,
my copy tended to hiss and crackle
after the fifth track, an idiosyncrasy
thawt tended to distract.

Regardless, Salvador Ferreras is a
visionary and hey, he’s local - check
it out, ya won’t regret it.

 

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