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Monday, November 12, 2007
Weekend Review: The Evens
If there’s one thing that characterizes Ian MacKaye’s career, it’s an ongoing quest for greater and greater independence from whatever he sees as a constriction, be it financial, cultural or otherwise.
His record label, Dischord, is one of the most famous independent rock labels in the world. His first well-known band, Minor Threat, was considered by many the definitive hardcore punk band, defining a sound and vision that is copied to this day.
His former band, Fugazi, had a reputation as the punkest of the punk, if you define punk as a lifelong devotion to maximum self-determination. Their shows were all ages and had low door prices. The albums were cheap and they had no manager or booking agent. They didn’t truck with jerks at their shows and occasionally kicked the truly obnoxious out with a refund. It helped Fugazi’s success that it was one of the best live bands that ever lived.
These days, MacKaye is playing in the Evens, a duo with his partner, drummer Amy Farina, known in underground rock circles for her time in the D.C. band the Warmers.
With this act, MacKaye continues to hammer away at underground rock’s conventions. The duo brings its own PA and acts as its own sound person (“If you can’t hear us, don’t yell at someone in the back,” MacKaye said.) They prefer non-conventional spaces to rock clubs. (This show was at the Compound, an open lot a few doors down from the Scoot Inn.) They play sitting down, MacKaye on baritone guitar and Farina on a full drum kit. The songs are usually played at middling volume, so the audience is forced to pay attention. It looks like a folk duo, but it isn’t, really.
The funny part is that MacKaye’s writing hasn’t changed that much from Fugazi’s endpoint. He still has a way with blocky riffs that resolve into surprisingly potent hooks. Were these songs louder and the players jumping around, they would be mid-tempo (if mellow) rock tunes, not unlike Fugazi. MacKaye’s concerns are still the same — institutions and the damage they do.
“Dinner With the President” takes aim at rewards from those you don’t respect: “I don’t exist in their worldview/ But if I went, I know what I’d like to do/ Stand up and scream while the food is served.”
‘You Won’t Feel A Thing” equates the state of our nation to a trip to the dentist (“It’s only when you’re numb does the real violence take place.”) MacKaye requested an epic rock fadeout on the final lines, “until you wake up.” Everyone sang along, quietly, then quieter, then out.
“That was really great,” MacKaye said. One has the feeling this was a level of crowd participation (and control) he been after for a long, long time.
Patoski’s Willie book set for April release
“Willie Nelson: An Epic Life” by Wimberley writer Joe Nick Patoski looks to be an epic biography. Publisher Little Brown lists the book, set for release the week before Nelson’s 75th birthday, April 30, at a whopping 480 pages. Patoski conducted more than 100 interviews for the book, which looks to be Willie’s “legacy” biography.
“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had working on a project,” Patoski said in August, soon after he turned in the first draft. He said he was actually a bit sad when he was done. The book not only chronicles Willie’s amazing career and humble upbringing, but it delves into the characters that make up the icon’s extended family.
You can pre-order the hardcover at amazon.com for $27.99.
Duran Duran to play rebooted Austin Music Hall.
Mix 94.7 announced today that Duran Duran will play the renovated Austin Music Hall Dec.11.
Tickets will be $45 plus service charge and go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. at all GetTix outlets including Waterloo Records, RunTex and the UT Co-op. They can also be charged by phone 1-866-I-GET-TIX (1-866-443-8849).
Weekend review: Tito Puente Jr.
“Bienvenidos! My name is Enrique Iglesias,” joked Tito Puente Jr.
The fans packing the dance floor laughed, and Puente added a rueful “I wish!”
But while Iglesias is undoubtedly hunkier, and sells a lot of records, the poor lad always appears to be brooding about something. Puente, on the other hand, looked to be having nothing but fun Saturday night at the Monarch Event Center as he celebrated his late father’s musical legacy of mambos, cha-chas, salsa and fiery Latin jazz.
The younger Puente enjoyed some success recording Latin house music a few years back, scoring a Billboard Dance chart hit with a remake of his father’s “Oye Como Va.” His last album, however, was the 2004 tribute “In My Father’s Shoes/En los Pasos de mi Padre.” These days he’s playing timbales — his father’s instrument — and singing Palladium Ballroom classics.
Puente, 36, shares his father’s ebullient personality, as well as his sense of rhythm. He and musical director/vocalist Louis Shati ribbed each other all night, and Puente traded quips with fans in Spanish and English. When someone up front requested the inevitable “Oye Como Va,” he replied “It’s coming! That’s the money tune!”
Puente seemed to savor each solo from the members of Shati’s terrific 12-piece San Antonio-based band, flashing a wide grin like his father’s. He showed off his own chops in lively solos in the classic “Ran Kan Kan” and, of course, the set-closing “Oye Como Va.” He may be fueling his career with nostalgia, but between his own high energy and the finesse of the band, it all sounded a lot fresher than the latest Enrique Iglesias hit.
Opening acts Cienfuegos, from Austin, and Salsa del Rio, from Texas State University in San Marcos, also kept the dance floor sizzling. The student group dazzled like consummate pros. Singer Leo Rodriguez was particularly impressive, not just for his bright, supple baritone, but also for the natural elegance of his phrasing and ease of his improvisations.
