January 2010 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

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... friend and bandmate James Hayes for giving me the RZA's The Tao of Wu this past ...... her feet—and back to performing her one-of-a-kind badass burlesque!
jan.’10

vol.7 no.3 your new orleans music and culture alternative

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PHOTO BY MANTARAY PHOTOGRAPHY

STAFF PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF: Leo McGovern [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dan Fox [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Zachary Anderson [email protected] Michael Bateman [email protected] Emily Elhaj [email protected] Erin Hall [email protected] Nancy Kang, M.D. [email protected] Dan Mitchell [email protected] Sara Pic [email protected] Mike Rodgers [email protected] Brett Schwaner [email protected] Nathan Tempey [email protected] Mallory Whitfield [email protected] Derek Zimmer [email protected]

AD SALES: [email protected] 504-881-7508

COVER: Art by Ratty Scurvics; Design by Dan Fox Table of Contents Photo by Zack Smith

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FEATURES: ANTI-News_page 6

Have listings? Send them to:

events@antigravity magazine.com ANTIGRAVITY is a publication of ANTIGRAVITY, INC.

RESOURCES: Homepage: antigravitymagazine.com

Some of the news that’s fit to print.

Quintron buddies up with NOMA_page 16

Twitter:

twitter.com/antigravitymag

MySpace:

myspace.com/antigravitymagazine

No More Fiction_page 19

“Slingshots, Anyone?”_page 13 That sneaky, sneaky Derek...

Dr. Feelgood_page 17 Books can do a body good.

Photo Review_page 30

Where everyone’s allowed.

The month in photos.

Ratty Scurvics_page 20

REVIEWS (pg. 22):

A Singularity no more.

COLUMNS:

Albums by Animal Collective, Wolfmother, B.G. and more...

Homefield Advantage_page 10

EVENTS (pg. 24)

Who Dats, check yourselves.

January listings for the NOLA area...

The Goods_page 11 Branching out to sustainability.

COMICS (pg. 28):

Splash Zone_page 12

Egad!, How To Be Happy, K Chronicles, Firesquito.

A look at the month in theatre.

INTRO

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appy New Year! We’re going to start things off weird this month, in case you didn’t get that from our Ratty Scurvics-designed cover (sweet dreams, y’all!). The features we’re bringing you couldn’t be more perfect for the start of a fresh decade, whether it’s Bobby Liebling of the seminal metal band Pentagram finding new life in old work, or longtime NOLA ex-pat Paul Caporino and his MOTO music returning to the city that forged him. We also have a freshly-unleashed Chris Rose answering our advice column and Quintron & Miss Pussycat teaming up with the New Orleans Museum of Art. Weird, wild stuff! A special thanks goes to my friend and bandmate James Hayes for giving me the RZA’s The Tao of Wu this past Christmas. The RZA has been a hero of mine for a long time and even to a seasoned fan such as myself, there were still a ton of surprises in this supremely worded meditation, including a very heart-felt and intense account of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s last hours. If it’s ever possible to read a hip-hop album, this is it. And for anyone who thinks this is some rapper playing author for a quick buck, let me just quote the man himself: “I’ve been blessed by wise men my whole life—whether it was my cousin GZA, who first taught me Mathematics, my Chinese brother Sifu, who teaches me kung fu, or the philosophy students I met in Athens, the villagers I shared mud huts with in Africa, the audio inventors I worked with in Switzerland, the film directors in Hollywood, the mullahs of Egypt. The kind of artist that I am, I tend to meet people who want to show me something, and I’m always down to learn.” Amen. With all of this “culture” swirling around us, some of it suspect in its ultimate value, it’s nice to be reminded that, like the RZA, we can draw the most profound lessons and inspiration from old kung fu flicks, comic books, punk rock bands, metal ’zines, bounce rap, whatever—and apply them to our own life and our hunger to explore. So, please, “Get the knowledge” of this issue, then put it down and get out into the world. Have a peaceful 2010! —Dan Fox, Associate Editor

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ANTI-NEWS JAZZFEST ANNOUNCES ITS 2010 LINEUP—WHO ARE THE MUST-SEES? by erin hall

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ut what everyone really wants to talk about is the headliners. So let’s get down to it. The top line of headliners this year is really a mixed bag. Leading off is iconic grunge outfit Pearl Jam. Now, I always preferred them to Nirvana, but grunge was just a bit before my time so I don’t possess the sentimental attachment to Eddie Vedder & Co. that some others have. I’m sure I’ll pass by to check out the show, but it doesn’t light any fires for me. Following them is the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The lady has morphed into quite the large character these last few years (pun possibly intended). But I’m glad to see she’s been able to take a break from wearing ridiculous hats and dissing Beyonce (she pounced on the popular singer after she introduced Tina Turner as “The Queen” at the 2008 Grammys) to make an appearance. Next up is the most intriguing bit of the whole lineup – TBA. One of the very top spots (the main headliner for the opening weekend, in fact) is still open. Last year this spot was revealed to belong to one Mr. Neil Young, who put on one of the best, if not the best, shows of the entire festival. In discussing options with friends and family, I’ve come up with a few possibilities for who this spot might end up going to. With the festival missing a large country act, it could go to one of country’s leading starlets—maybe Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood? But is either big enough to shoulder the lineup’s third largest slot? Alternately, it could go to one of the biggest “reunion” bands of recent years— Phish. The cult-like following those guys enjoy would certainly assure high attendance numbers for the festival. But with a good handful of jam bands (including Widespread Panic) already on the bill, is there any chance? I always assumed if you gathered those two bands and their collective fans in one place, the world might very well implode. So don’t place your bets on Trey coming to town. Another stab in the dark is John Mayer. Despite his high level of public douche-ness, he has played with some venerable bluesmen in his time and his popular appeal might be just what the doctor ordered. Or could it be the boss man himself, Bruce Springsteen? He played a few years ago, but not with The E Street Band. I say it’s high time they paid us a visit. The second tier of the lineup is, to me, both wonderful and hilarious. The first name that jumped out at me when I saw the lineup was Van Morrison. I love me some Van. I have a strong tendency to play Tupelo Honey and Moondance in their entireties on my turntable at least once a week. I had the pleasure of seeing him once at Austin City Limits and look massively forward to seeing him again. Unlike some other performers of his age (ahemBOBDYLANahem) he still has both the vocal chops and style to pull off a satisfying show. The other two artists on this line, however, give me the giggles: Lionel Ritchie and Anita Baker. That might really rock the house for the Hawaiian-shirt-sporting crowd that parks in their chairs every year at 1pm and barks at me to not even think about walking in front of them, but I have literally zero interest in seeing either of these people perform…ever. So…moving right along. The next few tiers of performers hold some real gems, the most exciting for me being My Morning Jacket. They are the quintessential modern southern rock band. Their live show is a sight to be seen and I have never seen thousands of people propelled to such fits of joy and pure rockin’ out as I have at their shows. It’s been far too long since I’ve gone nuts to the sound of Jim James’ quirky, untamed voice. I literally cannot wait. Some more standouts among the crowd are blues legend B.B. King, whose truncated show at this summer’s Domino Effect concert gave me a taste that I can’t wait to satiate at Jazzfest, along with guitar legend Jeff Beck and the most recent incarnation of Elvis Costello’s outfit (he’s billed here with “The Sugarcanes”). Also in the mix is Jack White’s latest experiment, The Dead Weather. If you read my review of their debut album a few months ago, you’ll remember it was no particular thrill to me. But I still look forward to seeing them live in the hopes that what felt slightly disconnected and overwrought on the album will translate better in person. In the land of jam, we have the aforementioned juggernaut that is Widespread Panic along with Old Crow Medicine Show and the faux-Allman Brothers. Now, I’ve seen them live before and it’s not too shabby (Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks do a great job of bringing some life to the ranks) but it’s also not the Allman Brothers. As least there are some vestiges left of what was once a great southern rock band (I’m looking at you, crappy collection of musicians who are calling yourselves “Lynrd Skynrd”). On the indie front, we have critical darlings Band of Horses, whom I look forward to seeing live if only to confirm the hype. There is also up-and-coming outfit Elvis Perkins in Dearland, who I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about, but who, when I saw them open for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, were entertaining but not really compelling. Lastly for me is an artist I discovered almost a decade ago—Martin Sexton. He has never been very popular, but I just fell in love with his work. His voice is smoky and broken and his melodies are simple but deeply rooted. I’ve seen him live only once, at a poorly attended show in the Parish at House of Blues. I encourage you to check him out if you have time in your schedule. He’s well worth a listen.

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That’s all the space I have, but it’s really just a scratch on the surface. Go check out the lineup for yourself at jazzfest.com and make sure to email with any ideas of who that TBA spot will go to. If you guess right, I might make you some cookies or something. Audience participation for the win! Pictured: Band of Horses by Christopher Wilson

PARANOIZE RADIO SPOTLIGHTS NOLA PUNK & METAL

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n 2009, local music writer Bobby Bergeron marked twenty years of self-publishing with the release of Paranoize #30, a black and white paste-punk ’zine featuring local artists including Outlaw Order, Lowdrag, and Toxic Rott. Although Bergeron began writing about the harder side of New Orleans rock music in 1989 with the first issue of Thrashcore, Paranoize made its official debut in 1993. Since then, new issues of Paranoize have been released every few months, making it the longest-running music ’zine in the history of New Orleans. More importantly, Paranoize also serves as an archive for some of the more obscure local artists whose work pre-dates the Myspace or even the compact disc eras. In late November, Bergeron began a series of online broadcasts entitled “Paranoize Radio,” bringing the past and present sounds of Paranoize to the internet for the first time. Initial broadcasts have included new material from bands such as the Necro-Hippies, Hawg Jaw, Pacifist, Flesh Parade, and The Pallbearers. Other local artists in regular rotation throughout the web cast’s first month have included Die Rotzz, Thou, Rat In A Bucket, Shell Shock, Haarp, Suplecs, We’re Only In It For The Honey, Abuse, and material from Acid Bath dating back to 1985. Bergeron also occasionally hosts call-in interviews from artists such as Beneath the Basement and Annie Christ. For more information on the Paranoize publication, check out paranoizenola. com. To stream Paranoize Radio, log on to blogtalkradio.com/paranoize. —Brett Schwaner.

ANTI-NEWS JEALOUS MONK FREESTYLES FROM SUN UP TO MOON DOWN by michael patrick welch

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ull disclosure: MC Intelligence (aka Kerry Gibson) of local funk-rap group Jealous Monk, was my partner during summer 2009, teaching a rap music class for kids on the West Bank. Over the course of the summer I came to realize Gibson was the best freestyle rapper I’d ever heard. Whereas I’d struggled over the years trying to explain to the kids how raps are written, Intelligence would just look at the kids and instantaneously rap about them—what they were wearing, their physical features and other in-the-moment topics—on and on and on and on, never running out of funny or clever things to say, until finally the kids just rapped back at him. Leading by example, that’s called. While Gibson is a decidedly off-the-cuff artist, his partner, turntabalist/rapper/singer Nick Pino (stagename Jermaine Quiz), gives Jealous Monk a more solid conceptual foundation from which to jump off. Citing influences from Dr. Dre to Lou Reed (the band’s name comes from Bob Dylan’s song “Desolation Row”) Pino strives, like so many other local musicians, to carry the torch for New Orleans music while simultaneously helping it find new audiences. Following three years of gigging with a backup band that intermittently includes members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Trombone Shorty’s Orleans Avenue, this month, Gibson, 26, and Pino, 24, release the first album of their career, Sun Up, to Moon Down. ANTIGRAVITY sat down with the duo to discuss their band, music, and the art of making it up as you go along. ANTIGRAVITY: So where did y’all grow up? Nick Pino: I moved here from 2002 from Jersey and studied music business at Loyola. Intelligence: I am from Marrero, the West Bank. Are all the raps on the new album freestyle? I: I think I have one written verse on there, but the majority is freestyle. Same with the live shows, it’s freestyle. But, like the song “Black Magic,” I used to just freestyle but I realized I liked the verse on the record, so I’ve started repeating it, and refining it.

You don’t ever try and write or compose anything beforehand? I: A lot of my close people, whose opinion I take, they’ve been like, “You need to write something. Freestyle is cool but you need something people can repeat.” Just to give it a little more structure. But freestyle is what I do. ’Cause, especially in the studio, I don’t think there are too many people who go in there and do one whole freestyle take without cut and paste. If I do three takes, it’s three different verses. NP: Improvisation is huge in New Orleans. Yeah, but I still challenge the notion that a person’s first idea is their best, or that the thing you come up with off the cuff is better than if you took that and revised it to maximize every word or note. NP: You gotta trust your gut. At the shows, the band does tons of stuff they’ve never done before, and that captures the mood of the moment. And then maybe those improvisations become songs later—songs the audiences sort of helped to write. Kerry, how did you decide that improvising would be your thing. I: I started rapping at like 13, being around a lot of people in my neighborhood. There was this old dude who used to come around, Buddy, and he’d say, “If y’all such good rappers then rap about McDonalds and Manwich.” Just crazy stuff. But I’d go along with it until I realized that’s where it’s at. And I tell my students that now: anyone can say they’re freestylin’, but to rap, “You got on a white T with a yellow…” that’s when you blow people’s minds. Yeah, it’s like a magic trick. I know you’ve won a lot of freestyle competitions, but did you ever end up winning that Off the Dome local MC battle you entered last summer? I: To me I won. [Laughs] Because I remember you coming into school the next day really mad…

I & NP: [Hard Laughter] I: Yeah, winning is cool, but I hate to lose more than I like to win. I guess I’m just a prideful person. But I keep going back. I been back, lost, spazzed out a couple times. It’s a love/hate thing. So, Nick, you also DJ a lot, and when you do you hook guitar pedals up to your turntables? NP: Yeah, I hook up to a wah-wah pedal, distortion, delay. With Monk I do mostly turntablism stuff, scratching, or I make some little keyboard line and I scratch that into the music, just making the tables another instrument. I also rap, and sing on most of the hooks. Who will be in your band for the CD release party? NP: Dave Hyman on bass, plus Greg Smith, Kyle Sharamitaro. It’s at Café Prytania, my favorite new place, just across from Touro Hospital, on January 30th.

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ANTI-NEWS MOTO MOVES BACK HOME by michael bateman, MOTO’s no.1 fan

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or the uninitiated, MOTO (aka Masters Of The Obvious) is a New Orleans-born man/band (fronted by Paul Caporino) that has been crafting some of the finest in underground Pop/Rock and Roll/Punk/“Indie” music for nearly three decades now. After a brief stay in Boston and then a good twenty years in Chicago (with a revolving cast of live-band members), Caporino—and hence MOTO—is back home. This is a big deal! All you need is to hear “Magic Words,” one of the greatest pop songs of all time, to understand why. ANTIGRAVITY: So, MOTO is moving back to New Orleans in February and your homecoming show will happen on a Mardi Gras float—with the original ’80s lineup, no less. Tell us a little bit about the early days of MOTO, and alleged proto-MOTO connections to Bag Of Donuts. Paul Caporino: I met Mike Tomeny at SLU in Hammond. We both played guitar and we liked a lot of the same stuff. Then I met his brother Jeff [bass]; and then Don Ward, the drummer. And we formed a band. We played some gigs, but mostly we just wrote songs and taped them on 4-tracks. We used to study Beatles songs and stuff by the Kinks. We weren’t very big locally—we weren’t quite in on the scene. It used to bug me a bit, because there were quite a few bands that were popular locally that I didn’t think were as good as we were. Mike played with Bag Of Donuts in their very early days. They opened for Mike’s band, Bunch Of Cucumbers. I think Mike may have also taught the guitar player some stuff. I understand they were pretty green when they started.

photo by gary loverde Was it not until you’d moved to Boston that more people started to take notice? When I moved to Boston, there was a guy named David Greene who was playing our tapes on WMBR in Cambridge; and it turned out that he was kind of a tastemaker in that town. So that kind of gave us a head start as far as getting good gigs in Boston. For example, we opened for the Pixies, Big Dipper, Volcano Suns, Christmas, bands like that. Plus we did our first two 7”s while we were there, on Tulpa Records in Connecticut. We also did “Crystallize My Penis” on a 7” comp for that label, and that got us a lot of attention.

And the reunion float? The float thing is up in the air right now. We have to get in touch with the guy with the generator and all that stuff. And it’ll probably happen in Metairie, and we may play in more than one parade. Anyway, it’s up in the air. What year was it that MOTO first started writing and recording as a band? Probably around 1983-’84 when the Tomenys got a 4-track. We did a bunch of stuff during that period. Before that, we used to borrow my sister’s Sharp double-cassette boom box. Did MOTO share the stage with any good bands early on? The Shit Dogs? We played with Dash Rip Rock a couple times. They were good. Never played with the Shit Dogs. Played with Flaming Lips in 1987, when they sounded like Blue Cheer. Over the years we played with Redd Kross, Buzzcocks, Alternative TV, Vibrators, Half Japanese, Jesus Lizard... An Elvis impersonator in St. Bernard. There’s a bunch of others that I can’t remember right now. What made you decide to move on out of New Orleans? I was getting restless and I also felt I was getting old... I was 26. I had the chance to move to Boston and I took it. It was kinda sad to leave NOLA, but I had to do it. And I’m glad I did, ’cause I got a lot done and did a lot of touring in other parts of the country and the world.

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How’d you react to John Peel repeatedly playing your first 7” on the BBC? That was very cool. I’ve still got the cassette somewhere of him introducing the song [“Rot Rot Rot”—now available on the Single File CD]. I got royalty checks from when he played our songs. That was extra special. I wish he was still alive. Are you prepared for the local MOTO fandom that’s sprung up over the past few years and the healthy number of folks that will want to join MOTO? The demand may call for multiple lineups! We’re looking forward to getting back together, writing, recording and playing shows. We’re definitely going to do all kinds of recording. I’m mainly gonna play with the original MOTOs, but I certainly wouldn’t mind jamming—or even recording— with other people. My favorite thing about MOTO is how any given song can bring to mind the best parts about the Beatles, Kinks, Slade, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road”... even The Misfits (“Catamaran”). Am I missing any big influences here? Thin Lizzy?! Hmmmmm. You pretty much nailed a bunch of the influences. Funny you should mention “Holiday Road”, ’cause I like that song. I like Thin Lizzy, but I don’t think we sound like them in particular. “Catamaran” is pretty much a mish-mash of “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals and “Anyway You Want It” by Journey. “Dick About It” is what made me think “Holiday Road”. With the new old-lineup, can we expect to hear most of the hits at shows? We’re gonna do as many of the hits as possible. We’re also gonna have some new tunes we’ve been working on, and also old stuff that we haven’t played since the ’80s. It’s gonna be a big-ass MOTO gumbo. And Jeff Tomeny is gonna do some singing, and that’s good cuz it’ll give me a breather here and there. What local bands are you looking forward to playing with? Have you kept up with the New Orleans rock/punk scene at all? I haven’t really kept up with all the NOLA bands, but I do try to keep track with what King Louie’s doing, and Die Rotzz and stuff. Currently I’m listening to a lot of pub rock on YouTube. But pretty much I’ve been in touch with Mike and Jeff and going over the tunes and other band-related stuff. We’re looking to tour in Europe soon. Do you think you’ll return to releasing your one-man home recordings? You can bet on it. I’ll be recording stuff on my own, with the original MOTOs, and anyone else I can drag into the room. I got a cassette 4-track and a song in my heart! Check out (a portion of) MOTO’s extensive discography at myspace. com/MOTO or garageband.com.

ANTI-NEWS WAR, ORGIES...YEP, IT’S PENTAGRAM by zachary anderson

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n January 21st, Pentagram will perform in New Orleans for the first time ever. Pentagram’s blood and soul is Bobby Liebling, a long fallen but recently resurrected rock soldier whose voice was built for the melancholy of his era, honed hard and long in decades of fire for the screaming tumult of ours. He found his voice in a time of great and horrible questions, and as those same terrors are once again among us he has risen from the death to remind us once again, this time as a learned veteran, why it matters that we feel the way we do. Pentagram began recording and playing in the early ’70s, but no form of the band or its various mutations (like the semi-actual Bedemon) has trudged below the swamp to perform for the children of Southern Metal, just one of the many forms of music the band has had a a steady, subtle hand in shaping. Bobby knows how important this show is. Pentagram fans old and new are the reason he pushes forward and will at long last grace these three shores. Doom metal, psychedelic rock, whatever you call it—heavy will be the last word in any sentence when talking about Pentagram after the show. Nobody will be listening anyway: it’s hard to hold a conversation when your ears are clogged with blood. ANTIGRAVITY: This being your first time in New Orleans, there are a good many people waiting with years of baited breath to see Pentagram. And of course, some aren’t aware of where their music came from, and for these people you’re really going to come out of the blue. Bobby Liebling: Yeah, unless they’re into that early underground scene, most aren’t going to know who the hell I am. But yeah, if you do trace the origins of the music it leads back there, certainly. My followers have been so devoted to me for so long. I’m well acquainted with Phil Anselmo and Pepper Keenan and those people, because when Down played Philadelphia he actually brought them to Allentown just to meet me. It was a shock because there was Pepper Keenan bowing on his knees to me, me saying, “What’s wrong with this picture?” It’s backwards. And there’s Anselmo and I’m dumbstruck. Jesus, this is a guy whose first album went platinum fifteen times. It was an honor. That’s what it’s all about, here. One stroke to another. Now, metal as it formed really took two directions as it diverged from the psychedelia movement. You have the classically trained symphonic side—the logic and the math—and then you have the blues side—the devil and the emotional expanse that drives the guitar and its solo. You and Pentagram are certainly a perfect representation of those two worlds separating and coming back together. First Daze Here is canon and isn’t going away. Those were old demo tapes. My baby is Sub-Basement. Exactly. It’s that very progression that I’m talking about. When you were younger there were things you felt; and now,

as a veteran there are other things you know. Your personal life and influences are very representational of the music you paved the way for. I never hid any of my demons that I had active at the time. I never hid the fact I had a forty-year heroin addiction, a thirtyyear methadone addiction and a thirty-year cocaine addiction, all of them together. The underbelly of life. The tail of the devil. Well, how are you doing now? I am completely one hundred percent straight. Totally. Three years clear of heroin, two of methadone, over a year off cocaine. And I don’t drink at all. Was it the methadone that cleaned you or was it you that cleaned you? It was God that cleaned me. And I’m not trying to push the born-again thing up people’s rear ends, because I am certainly not of that ilk, but there was definitely a spiritual awakening that took place. I became aware of those two sides that I had always told people about, sang about—to review their choices, as it were. I became aware of that myself and said, “Hey, you’re not going to be here, you know, if you don’t acknowledge that you’re fucking up.” You’re going to go down fighting like Dickie Peterson and all the greats that I loved. Those people’s deaths bring tears to my eyes, the Johnny Thunders and all the other rock casualties starting out with Brian Jonesy, back in the Jimmy days. I had to do something about it. Plus, meeting my now wife, Hallie. We got very close very fast, but after a brief breakup with her and my humpteenth-dumpteenth stint in prison, I finally got out of there. But my wife, Hallie, she was the biggest turning point in my entire life. And we’re expecting. Congratulations, man. This all certainly follows with the progression of Pentagram through the years. Listening to your discography, each new album is not simply a reflection of the things you felt years ago. Because you still feel these things, the years have changed but not the times, the old songs are made new, and not just re-recordings. That said, when people go to see you, are they still going to hear the Pentagram that matters to them? Absolutely. As a matter of fact, on the last two tours, eight of the thirteen songs on the set list were all First Daze era. We’re really refining the act, too. Instead of an hour and a half we’re going to do just an hour. You have one of the greatest rock faces ever. I was going to call you a metal demon, but clearly angel is more appropriate— but that ’stache. It’s a thing of beauty. Are you still rocking it? Yeah, I still have the mustache. You can thank my wife for that. She told me real early that I had to grow it real long. Well thank you, Hallie. That’s a warrior ’stache, no doubt.

It’s one of the all time greats, sir, and I want to encourage its existence as long as you still care to rock. The mustache will stay. I will stay. I’m in the best health I’ve been in forty years. The disillusionment that arose from the psychedelic enlightenment and the rise of the American witchcraft movement was all simultaneous with being immersed in a war we had long come to the conclusion we had no business being in. Blue Cheer, Aorta, Pentagram, Sabbath: all honed in different ways from this great worldwide pain that was culturally inescapable. That’s right. I started playing during Vietnam. All my friends were ten or more years older than me when I was a kid. I’d see them all of a sudden get called for ’Nam and never come home. I was exposed to those bullets very early. My manager at the time was a sergeant in the army, so I had access to the whole lot very early on. He got us to play a lot of these places and we became a very popular local band in the Arlington, VA/Washington DC area. I’m sure it had an influence on the aggressive edge when I started writing my own songs. The inner conflict of running away and just getting high, and also my friends keep getting sent away and not showing up again, ever. It’s hard to accept responsibility when everyone who comes before you to take it dies. Exactly. These were the people I followed in the path of, good or bad. I thought it was neat going to big pot parties, doing orgies and the hippie stuff, you know. Then the Summer of Love came along and I was hanging on the streets of Georgetown every day. Landlubber bellbottoms and Gator shirts, medallions, smoking incense from all the head shops—which has now come full circle. It’s happening again. I go to this place in Philadelphia where I live now, South St.. It’s the tourism grade equivalent of ’68 Georgetown. I walk there alone, not even with my wife and I go, “Look! There’s me! There’s me again!” The kids have the tattoos and piercings now, and of course we didn’t do that back in my days. But we all had a dirty shirt, strange long hair and blue jeans. And we thought we were all different, too. So you have this new leash on life. Has it given you a new lightning for the stage? Are we going to see the rock? Oh yeah. In fact, in the old days I’d scare the shit out of people with the demonic look and long stares. But then I realized it’s not fun to finish your set to a room of four people because you scared the shit out of everyone else and they left. Now I eat the love, even joke around a bit on stage. The face hasn’t changed; I was born with it and this is the way I’ll go out, I’m quite certain. Pentagram plays the Howlin’ Wolf on Thursday, January 21st with Gates of Slumber, Thou, Mars and the Oggin. For more information on Pentagram, check out Myspace.com/livefreeandburn.

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COLUMNS

SPORTS

HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE by leo mcgovern [email protected]

WHO DAT MANNERS MATTER

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ell, we’re in a much different place than we were the last time I wrote about the Saints. Going into last month’s column the Saints were undefeated and gearing up for a game against the vaunted New England Patriots, and coming into this column it feels like that Monday Night Football matchup against Tom Brady and company was the last time anyone’s seen the Saints we’d grown accustomed to seeing in 2009. In the four games since that shellacking of the Pats the Saints are 2-2, having struggled to beat the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons and having laid horrible, depressing, stinky eggs in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Struggling against the Redskins was a forgivable offense, as the Redskins are quite familiar with Saints defense coordinator Gregg Williams’ defense from his days in D.C., and there were enough “effort” plays (here’s looking at Robert Meachem for his forced fumble on an interception that went for an offensive touchdown) to make up for it (and a missed “gimme” field goal always helps). Games against the Falcons are always close, so no one should’ve been surprised that game was decided by three points. In the two losses, however, little has gone right for the black and gold. The Cowboys game was a travesty of sloppy play and in the Bucs game the Saints saw all emotion and want stripped away midway through the second quarter. It looked as if the Saints, up by 17, thought, “Oh, that’s enough—these guys’ll lay down now,” and then proceeded to not score another point and lose by a field goal in overtime. All’s not lost, though. We’re at the point of the season where, oddly enough, emotion and want favor the underdogs and those with nothing to play for play the best. The Saints, having secured everything but a second home playoff game, haven’t had anything to really play for since they captured the NFC South title. It’s one of the drawbacks to being 13-0—winning so much so early makes games later in the season nearly meaningless, and as much as talent and coaching and matchups means when it comes to winning football games, none of that means as much as being hungry. And at 13-0 the Saints were quite full. That doesn’t mean they were lazy, arrogant or complacent, they just didn’t have any strong motivation at that time—the winning had become easy, and that takes its toll; particularly the expectation of winning creates tension. That’s why losing teams (like the Bucs and Redskins) or teams with their backs against the wall (like the Cowboys) can win or at least play well in these situations. When you can just let go, have fun and play football, you can compete with a superior team whose excitement has disappeared. This issue will be at the printer before the game against the Panthers in Carolina, so I won’t go into detail about my thoughts going into that game. But, going into the playoffs, I think the Saints need to play well and that means getting the deep pass on offense and stopping the run on defense—with the Vikings losing to the Bears on December 28th, the Saints clinched the first seed in the NFC and have nothing to play for—but I’d still like to see our starters dominate for at least a half. “WHO DAT NATION” NEEDS TO TAKE A LONG LOOK IN THE MIRROR There are many side effects that present themselves when a team begins to win, particularly when it’s a team that hasn’t won a lot before. It’s no big surprise, then, that the Saints bandwagon is a lot heavier than it was back in August. Hell, in a lot of ways it’s heavier than it was back in 2006, when the Saints were 10-6 and made a trip to the NFC Championship game. Unfortunately, a side effect of all this winning is that some Saints fans have become horrible fucking assholes. Or that wonderful selection of fans simply gained a few new members with all the bandwagon jumping, members who have shown their true colors after a couple of Saints losses. Either way, it’s a problem. We’ve been disappointed by the Saints so many times and have dealt with so many tough, hard-to-believe-it-could-happen losses that it was utterly disappointing to feel the misplaced anger and stupidity emanating from so many seats during the Saturday night game against the Cowboys. We actually left the Superdome about halfway through the 3rd quarter, not due to frustration with the team (though there was some of that, for sure) but because it had virtually become uncomfortable to stay. One season ticket holder two rows in front of us yelled at a Cowboys fan so hard that he was visibly shaking afterwards. Another got into no fewer than three altercations with that same Cowboys fan before a cop came up and nearly kicked the Cowboys fan out (which would’ve been a damn shame, considering the only reason he was being obnoxious was because he was being taunted and yelled at by Saints fans). The general feeling was that everyone expected us to win. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when it didn’t look like that was going to happen, too many fans got bent out of shape because they somehow felt entitled to a win. On our way out from the game, we saw a full-fledged fistfight between two Saints fans in one of the smoking sections outside the dome. I’d have hated to see the reaction after we actually lost. The Dallas game wasn’t the first instance of Saints fans acting out. Jeffrey (from the awesome Library Chronicles—visit him at librarychronicles.blogspot.com—and host of the sports panel at the 2009 Rising Tide) relayed this story, from the Patriots game: “After the New England game, we were walking down the ramp talking to a couple of Patriots fans who had come to New Orleans to see this game but also to get engaged and celebrate. They were nice people… But the conversation started to get uncomfortable when a very loud and obnoxious Saints fan noticed their jerseys and just started bellowing into the guy’s ear the whole rest of the way down. ‘Patriots are losers! Go back to Boston! You suck!’ Now, most of the Saints fans around us were kind of embarrassed at this and tried to politely intervene but the guy was kind of relentless. We would say, ‘Thank you for visiting our city. Sorry this guy is an idiot.’ And he would just scream louder, ‘I’m an idiot! I’m an 11-0 idiot!’” I’ve been known to throw a fit at a game before (I’ve broken a radio or two, and some headphones), but I’ve never felt entitled to win—I mean, what are we becoming, Yankees fans without the championships? There are still too many real fans in the city to get disillusioned about our fan base, but hopefully this loss dumps some of those bandwagon jumpers who showed up in droves just to see something “undefeated.” To put it succinctly—we can be better, New Orleans. And we should be better sports.

10_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

COLUMNS

THE GOODS by miss malaprop

FASHION

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BRANCHING OUT A BIT GREENER

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hen Lauren Beshel and Thiri DeVoe opened their new eco-boutique Branch Out at 2022 Magazine Street in September, they became leaders in the local green movement. As the first clothing boutique in the Crescent City to specialize in sustainable, eco-friendly clothing and accessories, Branch Out is setting trends and another eco-minded home and lifestyle boutique has already popped up on the same block. Branch Out is making waves with their carefully curated mix of sustainable goods for men and women, including wallets and bags made from old billboards and recycled bike tires, locally made clothing and accessories, vintage garb, and clothing from eco-brands Prairie Underground, She Bible, Alternative Apparel, Vicarious by Nature, Global Girlfriend, Suburban Riot and more. I recently caught up with Lauren Beshel to learn more about how Branch Out got its start and what these trendsetters are doing to keep their business green. Miss Malaprop: What inspired you to open Branch Out? Lauren Beshel: I think that we were inspired to open Branch Out because of our love of vintage. Both Thiri and I worked in retail forever but our favorite was working with the vintage clothing. Vintage is so unique, it has such a great history and best of all, it’s the greenest type of clothing—it’s already been produced! While we were thinking of a way to incorporate vintage clothing into a new boutique, we were inspired by the green movement that was taking shape everywhere. Both of us love fashion and thought that we could show New Orleans that eco-friendly, green clothing doesn’t have to be “hippie” or have that stigma. We knew that there were tons of great designers that were not only fashion forward but eco-conscious; companies that recognized that green fashion has to be that, fashionable. So we found designers that were contemporary, stylish, comfortable and used organic materials, sustainable and ethical practices, recycled products whenever possible and used environmentally conscience production. We also thought it would be great to include local designers because locally sourced goods help keep the profits within the community while supporting local artisans and designers. And last but not least we really wanted to carry men’s clothes. As Thiri pointed out, there really aren’t enough options for men’s clothing out there and if we were gonna dress them, we were going to dress them green! How do you go about seeking out new lines to carry? We are always looking for new designers and lines, so we are constantly researching the Internet, reading blogs and trying to scope out new designers. We also will travel to different fashion markets and trade shows to check out all the new styles for the different seasons and there we will often discover something new. We also get some great tips from our customers and friends, especially when it comes to the local designers. We are always looking for new locals to carry, so we encourage people to contact us! How do you find the vintage pieces you carry in the shop? We buy all our vintage from wholesale dealers. We like to hand select each piece so it’s up to our standards and taste. But on occasion we have dipped into our own vast personal collections: “Wear it, love it and pass it on when you’re done,” says Thiri. Other than the products you’re selling, how else are you making your business green? Before we even got into the space we were searching for pre-owned retail fixtures. We were able to find just about everything we needed from looking through Craigslist and the classifieds. One of my favorite features is our fitting rooms; we used reclaimed wood from old floor boards to construct the walls and it provides a one-of-a-kind beauty that new wood can’t beat. All of our retail tags are made out recycled cardboard from old cereal boxes and the like. All of our shopping bags that we give to the customers are 100% recycled paper or plastic, though we do encourage you to bring your own reusable bag. We request that we only get electronic billing statements as to cut down on our paper waste, and we try to reuse or recycle whenever we can. We are active in conserving our water and electricity and use CFL bulbs whenever possible. What are your plans for the future? Any upcoming lines we should know about? I think we would love to expand in the future, stock some more beauty products, more accessories and gifts to help people live a more green lifestyle. We also hope to keep finding new lines for men and women that are affordable and the more eco-friendly the better. As for new lines we will carry Simple Shoes, great flip flops made from organic cotton, hemp, recycled inner tube rubber and natural crepe rubber. We will also have Elroy for the ladies, a super cute designer that uses all organic materials including vegan silk (they naturally harvest the silk without killing the worm) to make handmade dresses, rompers and skirts. And as always we hope to add to our collection of local designers, so if you’re out there, please feel free to contact us!

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COLUMNS

THEATER

THE SPLASH ZONE by sara pic

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MUSINGS FROM THE SPLASH ZONE “And so the arts are encroaching one upon another, and from a proper use of this encroachment will rise the art that is truly monumental.” – Wassily Kandinski

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anuary brings us two incredible performance pieces—The Pomology of Sweetness and Light and Some Times at the All Ways—that break all performance genre boundaries and defy the conventional wisdom about what can and cannot be performed on (or off) stage. New Orleans’ theatre and performance art scene just keeps encroaching, encroaching…

BIGGER, BETTER, MORE...PUPPETS! If you missed The Pomology of Sweetness and Light by the Black Forest Fancies last year, you are blessed with an opportunity for theatre salvation. Pomology is a large-scale puppet operetta that explores the co-development of the apple and American identity, told through the eyes of the would-be child bride of Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman. (You can read a longer review of Pomology in last November’s AG.) This production will be somewhat pared down in preparation for their upcoming national tour but the Fancies promise that the new puppets, which are larger and more intricate, will be well worth it for both people who missed the show and those who have seen it before (or even twice before, like me). In fact, the Fancies were recently awarded a project grant from the Jim Henson Foundation for excellence in puppet arts. Pomology was a hit at the Fringe Fest and one of the best theatrical shows last year. Pomology can be seen at the Candle Factory, 4537 N. Robertson (at Japonica St.), Thursday 1/21 through Saturday 1/23 at 8pm, Sunday 1/24 at 2pm and 8pm, Thursday 1/28 (pay what you can night) through Saturday 1/30 at 8pm and Sunday 1/31 at 2pm and 8pm. Tickets are $10. REVEL IN ILLOGIC AND FOLLOW THE DREAM-RIDE THROUGH THE ALL WAYS Scott Heron’s Some Times at the All Ways is not for people who want to just sit and silently watch performers on stage who are separated from the audience by an invisible wall. Described as a show of “site-specific dances and situations,” Heron and his entourage of dancers will pull you into the world of queer New Orleans by first knocking down that wall. Heron explains that in his shows he wants to relate to the audience in real time, not just from the stage. To accomplish that goal, Heron and his dance crew perform for and lead the audience from outside on the neutral ground to inside the AllWays Lounge, then on to the box office for the Marigny Theatre and ending in the theater itself, which will be completely empty. The show originated when the Marigny Theatre received a grant from the Theater Offensive, a queer theatre group in Boston, and Heron was asked to create a show. Heron, a movement-based performance artist, has lived in New Orleans for seven years and acknowledges that the culture here seeps into his work. In Some Times Heron embraces that culture by creating his first full-length performance that is rooted in the crazy and unique culture that is queer New Orleans. Heron is working with a stellar team of performers, including Nari Tomassetti, clown extraordinaire; Kettye Voltz, choreographer and dancer with Tsunami Dance; Altercation, a dancer with Big Freeda; Dennis Monn, from Boylesque and artistic director of the Fringe Fest; and Ratty Scurvics providing musical accompaniment. Heron describes the show as “gravely serious in its ridiculousness.” However, Heron emphasizes if “someone wants to know what this show is about, I think, ‘Oh no, that’s the wrong question.’ Because I ask them to come with me to a different state of mind.” What can the audience expect? You can expect lots of feathers, a live rock band on the roof of a mini-van, a country line dance, Cher, drag, glitter, high heels, molasses, bagpipes and the Venus of Willendorf. Some Times runs 1/14-1/17, 9pm, at the Marigny Theatre, 2249 St. Claude Ave. $10, $8 on Thursday for students and artists. SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION—BUT FOR A REALLY GOOD CAUSE! Dorian Faust, afropunk neo-burlesque scream queen and a very dear friend, recently suffered a house fire which destroyed everything she owned, including all her clothes, burlesque costumes and accoutrements and computer. She has been out of her home for over a month. With insurance money tied up, she doesn’t know when she will return or if anything will ever be replaced. I’m organizing a benefit for Dorian called Hellbillies on Fire, an all-burlesque show featuring performers from all over the New Orleans burlesque community, including Fleur de Tease, Bustout Burlesque, Rev. Spooky and Her Billion Dollar Babydolls, Slow Burn Burlesque and the Storyville Starlets. The burlesque community has joined together for one night to support one of their own with a show like no other at Rubyfruit Jungle, 1135 Decatur, Friday 1/8, 10 pm, $7. 100% of proceeds to help get Dorian back on her feet—and back to performing her one-of-a-kind badass burlesque! Send me press releases, vague info on shows, or theatre/performance art news or gossip! Holla at [email protected].

12_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

COLUMNS

LOCAL CULTURE

“SLINGSHOTS, ANYONE?” by derek zimmer [email protected]

[Editors’ note: We love Derek for keeping it so real and we’re happy to have his insight-- the kid does get around-- but his opinions are clearly his own and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, who are far too submerged in the politics and back-alley dealings of the, uh, scene to speak poorly of anyone whose cooperation we depend on. For anybody whose skin feels a little thin after reading his monthly take, just remember these are HIS thoughts and we publish them uncensored (the young master demands it) because he’s out there taking it in for us and doing all the dirty work, while we’re at home watching OnDemand. Got problems with anything he says? Email him about it. He’d love to hear from you.]

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ith the recent addition of selectress and rocksteady queen Maddie Ruthless to the Nowe Miasto clan—bringing the tally of DJ residents up to more than half the household, might I add!—my musical horizons are slowly beginning to widen. The nightly kitchen stereo parties—once dominated by my boundless catalog of ’90s pop and hardcore—are now peppered with the “big tunes” of the reggae champion sound! In fact, so tender has my respect for the reggae massive been that I have even adopted a highly annoying (if not slightly offensive?) alter-ego known as “Ras Derek,” with a steadily growing vernacular of what I like to call “Jamaica-speak.” Ever-advising readers, I’m curious as to your opinions: Can a white boy pretending to be Rasta constitute cultural appropriation? Well, okay, let me rephrase that: Even more so than white kids with dreadlocks?! Now before you go ringing the PC police, just consider this: What if my verbal flauntings represent not a xenophobic tendency masking itself with the veneer of light-hearted derision, but rather a deeply sensitive reverence for Jamaican people! Not cultural appropriation, certainly not—but cultural appreciation! Yah mon! With such a newfound Positive Mental Attitude, I decided to make a foray into the shantytown of Fat City to set up the Iron Rail Book Collective distro table at the ska show my friends Fatter Than Albert were playing with The Toasters and Voodoo Glow Skulls. Apparently, as I was informed at my mobile Iron Rail “desk” early in the evening, The High Ground (known in its heyday as Cypress Hall), the venue where the show was taking place, will soon be closing its doors. And to this I say: Almighty Jah Rastafari, thank you for finally bestowing this blessing ‘pon your humble children! I mean, I won’t diss so hard, considering at age fourteen Cypress Hall was my gateway into the world of house shows and radical ideas. In this regard, I suppose hypothetically then that any all-ages venue closing down is never grand news—even if this one in particular does always charge $10-and-up covers and happens to be run by a bunch of ignorant bald-heads. But in speaking thus, I’m also trying to attune myself to the positive vibrations, you know? My naive hope is that, with the demise of a such a superficial social sphere like High Ground, the kids who truly have discovered something meaningful in the shows they’ve attended—whether they’re of the third-wave ska, punk rock, or (as in my case as an adolescent) “metalcore” variety—will once and for all escape the insular suburbs of Metairie (or “Ghettairie”, as I’ve taken to calling it) and venture to more subversive DIY events... In any case, if there’s anyone giving these kids a nudge in the right direction—at least with far greater success than any efforts peddling radical propaganda by yours truly—it’s surely Fatter Than Albert, who—in my humble opinion— stole the show from both the Toasters and Voodoo Glow Skulls that night! Unrefined though it is, any regard I bear for ska is a direct result of witnessing time and again the passion these kids bring to the stage, the incredible DIY scene they and their accompanying label Community Records have anchored in New Orleans, and the friendships I have forged with individuals in this band. Which is why, despite a previous vendetta with the club’s security, I went out to support both them and friend-roomie Maddie Ruthless sharing the stage at One Eyed Jacks. Firstly, let me state that I do not doubt the fact that Miss Maddie Ruthless will one day be famous. That charismatic presence she exudes on stage, the complete confidence and lack of inhibition, her ability to just wile the fuck out like nobody’s business...Noting her year-or-two progression from playing solo-acoustic matinee shows at Ducbo for ten people to opening for—not to mention completely upstaging!—a “legendary” act like The Slackers and fronting an equally awesome backing band, I could only beam with pride. Watching her boogie down and hearing her voice rage through those enormous PA speakers, I thought to myself, “Man! Maddie is making it happen! She’s really seizing her rudie dreams!” For this I truly do admire her. Nay, “admire” isn’t the right word...I envy her. Not envy in any kind of jealous way or anything, but in the way one might gaze awe-filled at a wallaby or bumblebee simply for being who they are, you know? Kind of like the lyrics to that one Ghost Mice song... But my excitement for my friends soon gave way, unfortunately, to more morose, introspective (or perhaps narcissistic?) musings. Watching the band make massive up on stage, I began to ponder—of all subjects—death. Yes, dear friends, you heard me correctly—death. I mean, what can I say? Such is my hatred for upstrokes and brass instruments! Cha rasta! Ha ha! I jest! No, but on a serious tip...You see, I live with this very real, nightmarish fear that—on my way home from tabling a show late one night, for instance—I may be run down by a drunk driver or murdered. But believe it or not, this isn’t what most scares me; the thing that actually keeps me awake at night is the thought that—lying in the street, inches from death and choking on my own gurgling blood (or perhaps in forty-plus years, old and decrepit on my deathbed...)—I will look back upon my fast-expiring life and say, “I wish I would have done that...” It terrifies me to think that the episodes of my existence will, as some claim, “flash before my eyes” and— rather than meeting a tranquil end to a life of utterly fulfilling experiences—I will go to my grave with this nagging sense of regret, this haunting incompleteness. I am reminded of the lines by John Greenleaf Whittier (which I first read quoted by another fanzine columnist and Trial vocalist, Greg Bennick): “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” I’m not exactly sure what triggered such intense emotion—perhaps it could be partially attributed to my initial downtroddenness when the counter-revolutionaries at One Eyed Jacks effectively thwarted me in my efforts to spread subversive literature (courtesy of Iron Rail) to the masses earlier in the evening...But standing behind the FTA merch table as they and Maddie played—like arthritis suddenly emerging from its cavernous dormancy—a similar despair crept over me: the thought that perhaps I am doomed to forever remain a spectator, leaching off of others’ creativity, destined to eternally wander in limbo between “tabling for the Iron Rail” and being “with the band.” You may think I’m being facetious, but for real...Exploiting these avenues for as long as I already have without giving back what I perceive as a sufficient offering is beginning to take its toll. The band’s performance—along with, of course, all the joy it evoked—led me to lament not utilizing my own fullest creative potential. I began to feel as though, like the prodigal son, I am

squandering my youthful inheritance; that the means and abilities presently enabling me to accomplish the things I want are slipping by each day I allow excuses and lack of self-esteem to hinder me from getting the most out of life. That possibly the reason it’s difficult to articulate what it is I actually want to do with myself all the time is because I condition myself to limitations of just what can be done. That said, the next little diddle I wish to thrill you with is the Reclaim the Streets party that took over Canal Street and connecting downtown intersections the previous Monday. For more in-depth accounts of what went down, please visit here: nolaRTS.wordpress.com. Suffice to say, an assortment of approximately forty people (consisting of all genders, contrary to media reports)—equipped with banners with slogans reading “FREE ALL PRISONERS” and “TAKE BACK THE CITY” and accompanied by a bike-cart sound system blasting bounce rap—occupied and barricaded the streets of downtown for several blocks. And what for?! you ask, my precious little fauns...This “street-party-as-protest,” which ostensibly was organized to dissent the racist targeting/imprisonment of local rappers Lil Wayne and Lil Boosie, was also held in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Seattle’s infamous WTO protest as well as to—as the RTS website states—”disrupt business as usual” and highlight on a larger scale “how the police and prison industrial complex do not work.” Thus, with dutiful purpose and festivity, the group took to the street, halting traffic to dance, liberate space, and spread the word about what’s up with prisons. However, they quickly encountered some obstacles. One motorist, who in his yuppie haste to reach the country club, attempted to plow through participants in his Lexus—soon speeding across Canal Street with one fellow hanging on for dear life on the hood of the car! Not altogether surprisingly, immediately following the incident an arriving NOPD officer not only overlooked this “respectable” motorist’s wantonly dangerous shenanigans, but proceeded to arrest the member of the party who’d been ridden down the street! Meanwhile another cop, in the midst of the revelry, soon showed up to order people to stop “littering” police barricades and traffic cones they’d dragged in the street. Frustrated at the lack of cooperation from the group (duh!), he lurched at one individual, and in the process of chasing after him this bumbling cop managed to...um...trip himself—audibly colliding face first with the pavement! Golly! That’s gonna leave a mark! Slowly picking himself up after such a vicious tumble, and now even more vexed by his own stupidity and—I dare say—clumsiness, a minute or so later this roguish cop then saw fit to physically assault an unresisting—and unexpecting—participant! Not long before socking his unfortunate victim in the face, this burly police officer himself was quoted as stating, “I’m breaking the fucking law!” Perhaps realizing he’d committed a gross violation, immediately following the incident he departed in his unmarked car. So there you have it, folks. Need more proof of how the police, far from “protecting” people and upholding the law, actually in their inevitable corruption do quite the opposite?! That’s why I and I say: Mash down Babylon, mon! Sensing that their small numbers couldn’t hold the large street for too much longer with the arrival of yet more police, a section of the party broke off into the French Quarter, where they continued to barricade streets and bump the booty jams. With the dwindled number of remaining participants, however, the party officially ended near the police station in the Quarter when a couple cops—tearing themselves away from the Saints game and finally indulging their unfulfilled fantasies of becoming linebackers—attempted to tackle individuals, rounding up six poor souls condemned to spend the night in the cold dungeons of OPP. The rest of the fleeing band managed to escape...

“Perhaps I am doomed to forever remain a spectator, leaching off of others’ creativity, destined to eternally wander in limbo between “tabling for the Iron Rail” and being “with the band.”

And the reason I wished to tell this tale, in conjunction with the rest of my stream-of-consciousness babble, is because I believe it may offer valuable insight. I am of the opinion that we must not only recognize our potential to fulfill our own unique, individual desires but that we must also—in order to make life truly worth living on any personal level—recognize our collective potential to directly overthrow the forces that oppress us. In fact, I see these not as dichotomies at all but as one in the same: the personal is the political, and vice versa. Everything is everything, as Lauryn Hill once so succinctly put it...As I alluded to before, I admit that I suffer from all sorts of taunting feelings of discontent and despair, of inertia and internalized suppression, on a constant basis. The best I can hope to do to break these shackles, for starters, is to share these feelings as openly and honestly as possible with those I care about, as well as hopefully facilitate a discussion with others willing to share what they are experiencing. Because the truth is, more often than I’d like to admit, I am unhappy: I do not wish to live in this sometimes fucking unbearable culture of power dynamics, unattainable (read: inhuman) standards of beauty and behavior, pervasive suffering, etc etc...But far from devastating me into paralysis, being faced with such an empowering community of friends and musicians—like, for example, on the night of Maddie and FTA’s show—only inspires within me a sense of urgency to go out and pursue my own passions! There is nothing I want more than for us as punks or radicals or whatever we choose to identify as—and I’m most certainly addressing myself here—to quit acting as though each moment isn’t precious, to not pour our entire beings into what we love. Our mortality is both terrifying and liberating to imagine: after all, if we can never know how much time we have to spend on this Earth, than we must live as though it could end at any moment—which of course it could! So here’s to that urgency, to that potential, and always attempting to remain as thoroughly engaged as possible! For anything less is simply not enough! Jah bless, mon! “Instead of being a reality prisoner, I am fiercely committed to being a reality maker.” —Bonfire Madigan Shive (P.S. This is intended as more than just a passive “scene column,” ceasing to mean anything once the week or month is over. I implore you: please, if any of these words resonate with you, feel free to interact and share any time: [email protected]. Communication is vital. xxx —Derek)

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antigravitymagazine.com_

COLUMNS

ADVICE

GUIDANCE COUNSELING this month’s trusted advisors: chris rose ON CIGS, COLLEGE AFFAIRS & MORE

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ometimes it’s best to take advice from folks who have, you know, been there. For the longest time, Chris Rose was the been there guy for The Times-Picayune, writing and conducting 60-second interviews weekly. You may remember 1 Dead in Attic, a collection of his immediately post-Katrina columns, in which he gnashed his teeth and went crazy with the rest of us. You may have also read about his recent departure from the TP, which seems another sure sign of the coming Printocalypse. Well, we were lucky enough to snag him while we are still in print and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Gearing up for the 10th anniversary of “The Asshole Monologues,” his own take on that other genital-honoring performance geared more towards the ladies, he seems primed and ready to dish some advice on those sorry enough to seek it. I’m trying to quit smoking, and everyone’s been going around talking about this “smokeless cigarette” and I’m wondering if it works at all? It sounds kind of stupid and complicated to me but I really want to quit smoking and let’s just say I like quitting so much I keep doing it—(corny joke my dad used to make). Should I go out and buy this fake electric cigarette or do you have any other good suggestions for quitting? Your question raises myriad concerns and conundrums. First of all, I obviously don’t get out enough; if this is what “everyone” is talking about, then I am seriously out of the loop. That, or I don’t spend enough time at Cure. The social milieu within which I percolate tends toward the more parochial concerns of, say, politics, literature and art. And the Saints. That said, I believe I can help you here. This one’s a no-brainer. Let me paint a picture for you: You are joining your likewise nicotine-addicted friends as they congregate in the smoking section out on the fringes of a bustling social affair. They all tap out their cigarettes—don’t ask me why, but I’m thinking you run with the Virginia Slim crowd—and they light up and draw in that first lung-full and the glassine reflections in their eyes can be compared only to the glazed-over look of post-coital reverie. It shows you why smoking was invented in the first place. And then there’s you. You and your smokeless cigarette. Of course, you could have stayed inside to partake of this novelty since it produces no second-hand smoke, but at least you realize that half the joy of smoking is the communal gregariousness that develops among fellow smokers—the Darwinian bond of pariahs, misfits and outcasts. Thus, while everyone’s senses return them to the material world after that first puff, their attention falls on you, as you finger and caress your smokeless cigarette and— though your intentions are admirable, and who doesn’t want to live?—the group consensus is that you look like an absolute moron. A total dipshit. A Class-1 buzzkiller. At this moment, quickly take a look in the mirror and reflect—literally—upon what it is you are doing and why you are doing it. And then quit dicking around and either smoke or don’t, but please: quit making everyone else wonder just what the fuck is wrong with you. If you “suspend” your relationship with your partner over a semester break, are you required to tell that person about any extra-curricular activity? It was an idea we both had because we won’t be seeing each other so soon and we’re not that serious. But I don’t want to tell this person about whatever happens (or maybe happened already) because I don’t think they’d take it well (in all honesty I don’t think this person is going to take advantage of our agreement). I guess we should’ve covered that when we talked but we didn’t. And I’d rather just not talk about whatever happens over break at all. So what do you think? Full disclosure or can I just lie or take the Fifth and be okay with it? Tiger? Tiger Woods? Is that you? All right, let’s start at the beginning. First of all, what kind of person writes to a periodical designed for geriatric skateboarders who play bass in punk rock cover bands to get advice on whether or not to tell your girlfriend that you just cheated on her? Or him. Or whomever. Your parsing of vocabulary—your Clintonian disregard for semantic certitude—barely conceals the fact that you’re a weasel. Just because your “partner” did not specifically say to you: “don’t fuck around while we’re apart,” it is generally accepted in conventional social circles that if there is someone in our life whom you call your “partner” then, unless you’re talking about someone who rounds out your foursome every Sunday morning at English Turn, the right thing to do is honor your relationship to said partner or dispense with the sexual gamesmanship so rampant among youth today. “Suspension” is what happens when a football player gets caught using steroids. It has no place in romance. Then again, you never did say this was love, did you? It sounds more like what kids these days call, hmm, what’s that term—mad play? But fuck all that. Life is short, it’s 2010 and the Socialist Revolution has begun and the Jihad’s gonna take us all out in a matter of decades. I say: Grab all you can and keep your mouth shut about it. And, if you’re still on break when you read this, text me immediately. Got any good New Year’s resolutions? I’m a simple man with simple needs. I resolve to offer advice only to those who ask for it. And the rest of the time, if I cannot improve upon the silence, I shall not speak. The Asshole Monologues runs through the month of January: 9th and 10th at the Hi-Ho Lounge, the 15th at the Howlin’ Wolf and the 21st and 28th at Monkey Hill Bar. For more information, call 504-352-2535.

14_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

COLUMNS

MEDICINE

DR. FEELGOOD by nancy kang, m.d.

[email protected]

BOOK BOWL!!!

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appy 2010. This being a medical column, you may expect me to usher in the New Year by preaching useless pap. Stop smoking. Drink less. Exercise more. Ten healthy changes to make your life wonderful. Frankly, I became a pathologist just so I would not have to tell people what to do. My sister is a psychiatrist and she specializes in just that. My brother is a surgeon, so he will never preach to you about anything. He will just remove it, put it in a bucket and send it to me. It is embarrassing to admit that all three of my siblings are physicians. We are bona fide Chinaman-type dorks. We are overachievers, we are pathetic, but I kind of love us. My family has a holiday tradition I will share, as I think it illustrates our genetically embedded dorkiness and may actually be something you adopt as a tradition in your own home: Book Bowl 2009. I read books. Not fancy books, not high literature. But I read a lot. One of my favorite books is called Serial Killers: the Methods and Madness of Monsters. All my siblings read books to varying degrees of seriousness and complexity. We read books over and over and over again. Ashamedly, I have worn out several copies of Stephen King’s The Stand. (I cannot believe I just admitted that here.) Every year, each of my siblings chooses a book, so we have a list of four books. Over the next year we frantically read these books as many times as we can bear and write questions about each book. Then on Christmas Eve, BOOK BOWL. Over many drinks and good food, we grill each other around a game board. There is subtle strategy involved, especially in the choosing of one’s book. If you miss a question about the book you chose, you must go backwards on the board. So if you pick a really long or horrendously boring book, you disadvantage your siblings—but you disadvantage yourself even more. The nerd who makes it all the way around the board is named “Book Bowl Champion” for that year. For the next 365 days, the champion possesses the coveted Book Bowl trophy, an inflatable plastic basketball perched atop a Styrofoam food container that once contained haggis (another story for another day). I have only won this game once. I don’t know if I ever will again. But it is fun. There are two other Book Bowls that I know of in the world, both spin offs of our original Chinaman version. One takes place in Canada! The Chinaman Book Bowl 2009 Reading List: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs Lord of the Flies (my pick) by William Golding Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick My humble readers, I beseech you. Suggest a book for next year so that I may crush my competition. Just email it to me. I will announce my choice in the next column. The winning question this year: In the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, what was in John Isadore’s refrigerator? Answer: A cube of margarine. Have a very intelligent 2010, full of useless facts, and come see Glorybee, my band, at The Circle Bar with The Lucks, Friday, January 16th.

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FEATURE

MUSIC

QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT ENTER THE ART SCENE interview by michael patrick welch photos by zack smith

16_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

FEATURE

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he words “Quintron” and “art” perhaps haven’t been used together in too many of the same sentences (not nearly as often as “Quintron” and “dancing,” “Quintron” and “party,” or “Quintron” and “man, I got way too drunk last night”). But that might all change soon when the famous New Orleans one-man-band and his puppeteer wife Miss Pussycat (aka Panacea) unveil their January show at New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). ANTIGRAVITY interviewed Q&P on one recent afternoon just after they’d finished hosting a second line stop at Spellcaster Lodge. Meaning we were all a little tipsy—not a bad scenario for any interviewer pit against Q’s renowned mysteriousness. Not wanting to spoil the surprise, Miss Pussycat remained reticent about spilling the red beans regarding their first museum show. But after sharing a few more Guinnesses with the couple, AG got them rambling about the NOMA exhibit, Drum Buddies, jamming with Lou Reed, ten-turn 10k potentiometers, and why Quintron suddenly digs New Orleans’ art scene. So, how did you two get approached by NOMA to do an exhibit? Quintron: NOMA’s new curator Miranda Lash contacted Miss Pussycat about a year ago. They kind of offered for us to do whatever we wanted, really. Miss Pussycat: Miranda Lash is awesome. She’s relatively new in town. She worked for the Menil in Houston before this, and for the Dallas Museum. She just wants to look at weird stuff and talk about it—and not just art, per say, she’ll talk about like, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. So what did you come up with for the museum? MP: You have to wait and see! Oh c’mon! We’re doing an interview! You have to tell me something about the show. MP: It’s in the contemporary art wing of the Wiseman Gallery. Quintron has two rooms and a hallway. Q: And she has one giant room. There will be a room devoted to puppetry, a room devoted to the history of Drum Buddies—a Drum Buddy retrospective, with examples from each series. I just

MUSIC finished the newest series. In the other room I will install my entire recording studio and myself for eight hours a day for three months, and make a new recorded work. Essentially, it will be like I work at the museum. AG: Meaning, if you leave for too long for lunch you’ll get fired? MP: [Laughs] Q: No, because I’m not getting paid. It’s a self-imposed work schedule. Is three months how long it usually takes you to make a record? Q: I don’t have any usuals. Well, you’ve made like a dozen albums, there aren’t any similarities in the way you work or the time it takes? I was under the impression that you always perform and record everything live, EQ it and that’s that. Q: Most of them I make at home by myself and they take hundreds of hours of experimenting. I like to invent my own sounds and avenues, and I write as I record. Recording and editing is part of writing for me. You record a live version of a song then listen to it and say, “We need another chorus here, we need more bass here, we need to back off the mic here,” then you go back and do it again. It’s just like they used to do at Stax or Sun studios. Do you have songs ready to record at NOMA? Q: As far as recording in the museum I have no idea, no plans, no songs written. I don’t know what that environment will do to me, or inspire me to do. My motto is: clean slate. I’m not taking any offers for anyone to put it out; I don’t want to have any preconceived ideas about this record whatsoever before I start. It could be one long fart noise for all I know. It’s such a weird environment to record that, it could just end up being nothing -- I also want the freedom to fail. But you do know what equipment you’ll be using, right? Q: Yes, I record on a series one Neotech board, live to hard drive— meaning, not a Pro-Tools situation, but like a digital version of twoinch tape. No multi-tracking, it’s left, right, input, record, done. You

can’t fade anything in; you can’t turn the vocals down. It’s done. And what that does is it really makes you think about how you play. If you wish a part was quieter, you can only play quieter, you hit the keys lighter or you back off the mic. It makes you work the mic, and think about the relationship between the human being and mic, and the person and the instrument. Especially with the Hammond B-3 there are the draw bars, they’re part of the instrument and you EQ it as you go, back the treble off as you’re playing or whatever. Recording that way has definitely made me a better player, because the only way I can change the parameters is while I’m playing. I am interested in this way of doing it because of how it makes you emerge as a musician. Haven’t you recorded a couple the regular, modern way in a studio? Q: Yes, and I hated it. We recorded two in studios. I only have regrets about the one record we did in Austin, Are You Ready For An Organ Solo?, which was a straight-up overdub, studio record. A lot of people like it, it’s good songs, but I think it’s tepid, lame, and lacks energy. The other ones sound better. I take it this NOMA show is the first time your work has been presented in a museum context? MP: Well we did play once in the Dallas Museum of Art, but that was pretty horrible… Q: This is really the first time we’re doing something in a museum. We’re not part of the gallery scene or any of that, and this is the first time we’ll be surrounded by like Picasso and Warhol and Giacometti. Quintron, since you’re mainly a musician, how are you going to represent yourself visually for this exhibit? Q: The Drum Buddies, especially the new ones, are beautiful objects, and I want them to be respected, and featured, as works of art. Aesthetically, instead of primary colored painted regions the ones I built for the museum exhibit have mirrored regions. In the museum I want them to have a glowing shining light on them, and they’re all going to be on pedestals and they have to be under glass—it’s a museum rule. So I’m also building a clever interactive

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FEATURE Drum Buddy that’s almost like a video game: it’s going to be behind glass, surrounded by mirrors so it looks like Drum Buddy Infinity, but there’ll be a remote panel you can play, and a foot pedal so you can control the speed, and headphones to listen. It’s the museum, so it should be museum-like. Also, since I don’t make art and I wanted to have something on the walls, they let me curate a collection to be surrounded by while I’m recording. I’ve been going to NOMA once a week to go through the vaults with Miranda. And I decided I wanted to have only portraits, because I wanted to have a sort of audience, people around me. What type of portraits did you pick? Q: Great portrait painters who can really paint and capture the soul of a person. Nothing abstract; people that look like people. I spent a lot of time looking in people’s eyes and deciding whether I could hang out with this person. There were some that were great and weird and creepy that I was drawn to but…can I really be with that person for three months? Though you do not consider yourself an artist, I do remember you once telling me that you were planning to open a business complimentary to all the new art galleries in your neighborhood… Q: Yes, I was going to open a pornography bookstore and jack-shack next to every new gallery on St. Claude. “Mr. Q’s Jackshack.”

MUSIC were married to them. And now there are fresh ideas, and I actually care. Panacea, what about your part in the exhibit? You’ve gotta tell me somethin’. MP: Okay. I am going to have a whole room full of my parallel universe. The theme and title of the show is “Parallel Universe”. Quintron has his parallel universe, and I have mine, and those two universes run parallel too. Mine will be all puppets with Plexiglass boxes over them, and lots of puppet movies running on a loop. There will be a new episode of Trixie and the Treetrunks I made for this exhibit, about Marsha, who works in a hair salon. What’s up with Fred Armisen’s (SNL comedian who plays Obama) address tacked on your wall over there? P&Q: [silence] Aw, cmon. Q: I guess it’s after Christmas, so… A Drum Buddy was sold to Fred Armisen’s fiancé, Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men. Loooooove that show. And I know Fred Armisen from Chicago; he was in punk bands, played drums in Trenchmouth. Elizabeth Moss emailed me wanting to buy him a Drum Buddy as a Christmas present, so I made one and mailed it out two days ago. I’ve been wanting to tell people but… You’ve sold them to a few other famous people including Nels

And the purpose of that would be to…? Q: Just to keep it real. Maybe someone might need some release… But I do love [the new St Claude art scene] and think it’s very vital. New Orleans’ visual art scene has obviously been revitalized and become important since Katrina for whatever reason. Not because of the tragedy but because of the influx of insanely creative young people who’ve come here since the storm. Visual art and openings and galleries in New Orleans now feel like an event I want to go to, and not like something I have to go to. Or not something you just go to for free wine. The St Claude scene also brought back the free drink tradition! Which, I don’t mean to debase it all as just free drinks, but I do believe free drinks equal a more down-home, fun community event, and when it becomes “stand in one line to buy expensive drink tickets, then go stand in another line for drinks…” Q: I can get free wine at the fuckin’ Saturn Bar. No, something has happened to the visual arts community. For the first time since the ’70s, which was the heyday for visual arts in the French Quarter, art now has an importance in this city. And as much as I will bitch about the St. Claude gallery scene—which is just me being an old curmudgeon—it’s amazing. It’s always been rock bands that have had that power. Now in the last four or five years, people are having art shows that people flock to like they’re rock concerts. And there are rock shows the same nights, and it’s the people who are in rock bands going to the art shows! [New Orleans art] is now a real communication with people on the streets of New Orleans, working class people. The whole graffiti conversation with the Grey Ghost. Art became street, it became plebian. And there’s a new energy about people needing to absorb information in a different way. I dunno, Morgana [King, Arts Council of New Orleans] took me to plenty of cool shit before Katrina. That’s how I met all the Good Children people. So, I actually think it was just a matter of time before all these people who’ve lived here for quite a while joined forces to open galleries that are more about creativity and fun than just another money thing. And I think if these St. Claude places had been here before Katrina, it would have had the same energy. Q: No, there was a psychic shift, a moment when it became important. Prospect.1 [recent art biennial] would not have happened without Katrina. And all those galleries opened for that. Then there was something about the catastrophe that made visual art valid to people who aren’t visual artists. Before that, the only people who went to art openings were visual artists, and people who knew or

How long now have you been making the Drum Buddies? Q: I started developing them in the mid ’90s. The first for sale version was 1999, and there have been three editions since then. At first I just made it for me, then realized it was an original invention and got a patent. Somehow the validation of a government patent made me pursue the idea. By now I could have moved on to some other wacky invention but inventions really improve and progress and develop through repetition, trial and error and learning through failure. And dude it’s like [opens the top of a Drum Buddy] look how clean the electronics are now. The original one was just a mess. How much is this new series of Drum Buddies going for? Q: The new ones, they cost like $800 just to make, and I’m spending like twelve hours a day for three months to make one. They’re special. Mirrored tops are never going to happen again; some girl made them for me. The furniture maker who made the cabinets is not going to do that for me again. The new ones have a speed pedal; before you would control the speed with a knob. So I want them to be priced and sold as art objects. I want [large amount he does not want the general public to know] apiece for them. And that’s nothing! Old ones have gone for $10,000 on eBay. And you know, I could have sold the patent, and they would make a plastic simplified version, and it would probably sound cleaner and better. But I want it to be an art object. Can’t you do both? Q: No, I don’t want it to be that, I want it to be this! I want this to be my legacy. Did you teach yourself how to do all this electronics stuff? Q: Books. Books are college. What everybody learned from college I learned the exact same things from the same textbooks. My consultants are my father—an electrical engineer—and my uncle who owns over a dozen patents in electro-luminescence and solar conductivity devices. They’re geniuses. What do they think about your invention? Q: My dad is really proud of me. He’s not a musical guy, he’s an Army guy. Does he come and see you play? Q: Yes.

Cline from WILCO, and also the performance artist/musician Laurie Anderson—can you tell our readers that amazing little story? Q: Yes. Laurie Anderson’s bass player used to live here, and got her one for Christmas. I went to New York to deliver it to her and show her how to play it. And I got to meet and hang out with her and Lou Reed who, I think she’s now married to. And we played music together for about an hour—me and Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson had a jam session. Did it sound good? Q: It did, once Lou Reed got his distortion pedal out and stopped being a dick. He was being a dick? Q: He’s a notorious asshole. Laurie Anderson was delightful. Lou Reed at the end of the day, though, was awesome. He’s a crazy noisy feedback motherfucker and I love him for that. We were jamming and he was feeding back through the drum buddy and I was tweaking and effecting his guitar and Laurie Anderson was playing the violin. It was fun. It was noise. I like drony, organic noise, and they’re both into that. I could tell from Lou Reed’s records he was super into feedback, but playing with him it was obvious he likes overtones and harmonics and noise. He was cool to play with. He was good. His sensitivity was on point, as far as what I’m into.

18_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

I am interested in this because my dad saw me play a couple times this year and only now am I sort of meeting his expectations. Before, he just wondered why I was screaming. Did your dad see the first more abstract incarnations of the Quintron music? Q: He did see the drum version [of my one-man-band]. My mom cried the first time I played. She thought I was really mentally unstable and needed help of some sort. My dad was really into the inventiveness of the one-man-band setup and the instruments and started offering me advice. He’s very, very into the Drum Buddy and the design of it. He has helped me a lot, a lot with sourcing parts—a lot of these are sourced through government wholesalers that sell industrial switches and stuff. ’Cause Radio Shack sells consumer stuff, and then there’s like, “Dad I want a ten-turn 10k potentiometer that’s not going to break in ten years, where do you get it from the government?” ’Cause they still use switches and knobs because they don’t break; they don’t use digital push buttons. But now, when your dad sees you play and you’re doing the pumpin’ dance music, is he like, “Wow it’s really good now!”? Q: He likes it now. My mom died the night of Katrina, actually, and he got remarried and now he’s got these teenage daughters who are fans—they already were fans. So he’s really into it now because he wants to impress them. When his new teenage daughters had heard of their new brother-in-law, that improved our relationship big time. [Laughs] That was a great day. I was validated through my new sisters! Quintron and Miss Pusscat’s opening reception for Parallel Universe: Quintron and Miss Pussycat Live at City Park will be on Friday, January 29th from 5:30pm-9pm at the New Orleans Museum of Art. The exhibit will be open until May 2nd, 2010. For more information, go to quintronandmisspussycat.com or noma.org.

FEATURE

MUSIC

NO MORE FICTION ROLLS OUT THE WELCOME MAT by nathan tempey

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ne recent Sunday evening a wholesome gaggle of DIY devotees gathered inside the hulking corrugated tin warehouse that is posi-DIY superlair Nowe Miasto for another go at that age-old ritual, the punk show. Ixnay (which features The Nose Knows ‘zine team) opened with their brand of so-twee-there’s-pennywhistle punk under dangling construction lamps and in front of a bundle of tarps and a pile of roofing tin. Kicktease broke the spell of fidgeting and socializing with twenty minutes of buzzing garage guitar and boom-bap, overlaid with vocals delivered like a swaggering schizophrenic Tina Turner-cum-Iggy Pop. And Deny It, that elusive local/ migratory back-to-the-future post-punk band, complete with sax, harmonies and instrument swapping closed it out. They ran through their change-ups earnest and smiling, and the audience smiled back. And then it was over. By ten. The little fight was won, a night of entertainment and togetherness done right, by the people for the people, a few dollars for gas back to Baton Rouge and no complaints from the neighbors. What set that show apart is that all three bands featured mostly ladies (Alan of Strugglebear was odd man out, but even he was just filling in on drums). We have Osa and Candice of Deny It to thank for booking shows—under the No More Fiction banner—that feature all-girl and queer bands. ANTIGRAVITY caught up with them after the show to discuss NMF’s origins, ideas and future plans.

you feel like you can make stuff happen, and Portland is a place where I learned to do that, like I learned to be in bands and put on shows and make things. And New Orleans feels like a place that’s really receptive to that: just doing your own thing, making things happen. People seem really receptive to new things. What’s behind the name No More Fiction? O: It’s the title of an Essential Logic song. I just knew that they had song names that lent themselves to titles, so I looked down the list of their song names and chose one. But I kind of wanted it to be a reference to women playing music, and a style that I like. They’re a post-punk band from England, they’re the saxophone player from X-Ray Spex’s [Lora Logic] band.

C: I’m reading a book about bands called Our Band Could Be Your Life, which is about punk bands doing their own thing, and how things change when you’re not doing your own thing anymore. It was really inspiring for me, to know that that kind of thing still goes on. Although it might seem like a thing of the past, it’s always there, it’ll always be there. O: I’ve been reading Maximum Rock ‘n Roll a lot lately, and I know that kind of sounds like, whatever, but I wasn’t reading it for years and when I did used to read it, it was just a superficial scan, like I didn’t feel super connected to that ‘zine. I just wanted to talk about it, even though it’s not a book, because I feel like it’s totally changed recently. People have called it a “feminist takeover” of MRR. They have

“New Orleans feels like a place that’s really receptive to that: just doing your own thing, making things happen.”

ANTIGRAVITY: Where did you come from? Candice: Born in Louisiana, raised in Arizona, back in Louisiana. Osa: I just moved here from Portland. And what brought you down? O: I had a bunch of friends and all these connections to New Orleans, like bandmates and friends and I wanted to live somewhere warm. And I just love New Orleans. It’s kind of similar to Portland in certain weird ways. And I fell in love with somebody who lives here too, P.S. You said it was similar to Portland. Could you elaborate a little? O: It’s inexpensive. For me, that’s really, really important to be able to have affordable rent. And, it’s just a beautiful place. Portland has a lot of nice houses—the houses aren’t as nice as New Orleans, architecturally, but a lot of nice houses, a lot of trees and parks and stuff like that. I just really like living in places that are laid back and beautiful, you know? So in that way they’re very similar. Culturally they’re completely opposite, I’d say. And you prefer the New Orleans way? O: Well... that’s just where I’m at right now. I feel like they’re just both so different. I loved Portland, you know? There’s just a lot of women who play music there. It’s very DIY, there’s a lot of stuff going on there, musically, artistically... I like places where

So on your Myspace page it says you “exist to create space for women, queers and people of color in punk rock in New Orleans.” Do you have anything to add to that definition? O: I just want to say that our shows are definitely inclusive; all types of people are definitely welcome. But I feel like it’s really important to put that out there and say that this is a place and these are shows that are welcoming to queer people and women and people of color. But that’s the tip of the iceberg, too. There’s just so many types of people that don’t often come to punk shows for whatever reason, and I’m really into knowing all kinds of people and not being super stuck in a very specific scene, so I just wanted to create a space in punk that was at least a little more diverse than the typical punk show. That’s the point of writing that. But obviously it’s open to everybody. I talk to people all the time who say, “I used to be punk, but I had to deal with all of these dudes who were super sexist in my town. Now I’m not punk anymore because I just felt pushed out.” So it’s all about creating a space where people feel like they can be there and it’s for them, you know?

different coordinators and editors and people who work on it, way more women and feminist-oriented people, so the whole feel of the magazine has totally changed in the last couple years, I would say since Golnar was the coordinator. So, I just want to put that out there, MRR’s different now.

And you’ve been doing it for about six months now? What’s the response been like? C: I think that some bands that have played No More Fiction shows are spreading the word around the country, about New Orleans, and bringing more bands here.

One last question: what do you do when you’re not rocking? C: Sleep. Eat. Work. O: I write. I relax, a lot. I chill out a lot. That’s why I live in relaxing places.

Do you have anything you’ve been reading lately that you’d like to tell people about?

For more information on No More Fiction, go to myspace.com/ nomorefictionshows

What can the fair readers of ANTIGRAVITY watch out for in the near future? C: I think I’m going to be putting on a show for a band called Little Lungs, from Brooklyn, with Saint Dad and the Shreds. It’s not a No More Fiction show, but the show features women. It’s not set up yet... Possibly Necro Hippies will play. O: Basically, we rely on out of town bands to tell us they’re coming through, and Myspace has been a way to network with bands all over the place. At least once a month a band from somewhere contacts us and wants a show, so at least once a month we have shows for bands that have women as front-people or all girl bands or queer members or whatever, so that’s what’s going to keep happening.

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BIG BANG: RATTY SCURVICS REINVENTS HIS UNIVERSE by sara pic

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atty Scurvics, a veteran of the New Orleans music scene who’s toured across the world, recently experienced a death—the death of his static musical frame of mind. As he now begins his new musical journey, ANTIGRAVITY spoke with him and his partner in life and art, Ooops the Clown, about incorporating performance art and theatre into his shows, bringing thousands of unseen songs to life, and one possessed sex doll.

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FEATURE ANTIGRAVITY: Since Singularity, your last project, ended, you have been working on a new project which is in a different style for you. What is it about? Ratty Scurvics: The name of the project is The Black Market Butchers. We have two shows coming up—one on January 22nd at the All-Ways Lounge and the second on February 10th in the Marigny Theatre. The first show will be mostly a musical ensemble; there won’t be as much of the theatrical production. I like to do shows from time to time that just focus on the music, that are about the band experience. The band members are all friends of mine. We have all wanted to play together for years, some of us for as long as a decade, and now we finally are. All together, with everyone involved, it’s about fifteen to seventeen people not counting the performers, who are Ooops, Nari Tomassetti and possibly another performer. Is there a new sound you are going for with this new project? RS: I have a tremendous backlog of music but I haven’t worked in a band format since the ’90s. I literally have thousands of songs that have never been performed live. There’s not a particular sound I’m going for with this new music. I don’t have an end in mind; there’s not a template or a pattern. What I do want is for the music to be moving, full, orchestrated and powerful. I want the stage shows to be individually fascinating as well. There are also themes running throughout the shows, like ghost stories. Why did you start incorporating performance art and theatre into your shows? RS: The performance aspects were always there, but I had this certain approach—really since the beginning—which was to create an environment where nothing was staged or choreographed. I wouldn’t allow it. Singularity was expression of individuality. It was about individuals in a moment, captured in a frame of mind, all spontaneous and on the spot. What I wanted to see was the sincerity of seeing the wheels click in someone’s mind right then. With the death of Singularity, I wanted to do things differently. It wasn’t just the end of a project, it was also the end of a frame of mind. I thought about music the same way for almost twenty years. I wanted to switch the way I thought about things, to be more expansive in concepts. That’s why I now have this enormous band and I’m working on a more purposeful theatrical level. I want the shows to be visually interesting while the music is good too. Singularity was raging aggressive dance music. For so many years, I didn’t feel like I had good show unless people passed out because they danced themselves to death. This is different because this is the kind of show where you can really get into the music but you can also just sit back and take it in as a piece of theatre. Ooops the Clown: The performances are constantly changing and

MUSIC evolving. In the show, I am a clown and Nari is in a giant bunny rabbit costume. The clown I am based on is what I call the Victorian version of a crack whore. She looks like the life of the party that she stumbled into, with runs in her stockings, missing a few teeth, gin in her garter, wearing make-up to cover that she doesn’t bathe. But I bathe; I do bathe! Nari and I have a lot of fun working together. There is one part in the show that is based on what I thought of when I first heard the phrase “Spaghetti Western.” We actually have gun holsters full of spaghetti. And we’re still in costume but with cowboy hats. As Ratty sings epic songs with cymbals crashing in dramatic place, we’re having spaghetti fight. We also have numbers where we dance together and I do silks at one point. It’s chaotic but not so much that you can’t read the situation and understand what is going on. Is there a narrative arc to the show? RS: I did a play for Fringe Fest last summer called The Legend of Suzie Sidesaddle. Some of the songs from Suzie will be performed but this show will not be a narrative play—there’s not a story arc. I didn’t want to be stuck in a story. There was so much potential in the music and if I stuck to a story it put too many perimeters on it. I wanted it to explode. For this show, I’m taking it song by song and dealing with the individual themes in each song rather than create a story throughout. Right now it’s just about getting it all out of my system, all this music that has never seen the light of day. The stories that underlie the songs are being expressed in other ways. The only thing stringing it all together is me. I’ve made a point of this project to take my time and to explore it as I come. There are so many approaches to make an idea happen. I want to keep lots of open ends so the show can evolve. OTC: There are choreographed moments in the show but there are still open moments where spontaneity is allowed. We have a lot of dance and hulu hoop and some is choreographed but some is also spontaneous. Sometimes, where the story is important, something has to be conveyed, but there are other parts where it’s about where ever it takes you. I’m challenged by this kind of performance because it’s either ridiculous and absurd and I’m in a child-like mindframe where anything is possible or it is something so meaningful that is being conveyed that you put everything you have into it. There is not a part where I’m not challenged in every direction. What do your fans or other people who have seen your show think of this new style? RS: I’m really encouraged by the project so far. We’ve done three shows with the orchestra but we haven’t been in an ideal venue yet, which can incorporate every aspect. For instance, we haven’t started showing the film yet. I think the February 10th show at the Marigny

Theatre will have almost everything, including the film. One guy did tell me at a past show that he had a religious experience. That feels weird to say out loud! It was so out of the blue. I want the shows to be intense beautiful experiences but I’m not necessarily shooting for a religious experience. I definitely want people to have an ecstatic experience. It’s a huge risk, what we’re doing. Singularity was a format, always set up a certain way. To end that and do something so different was so risky. I didn’t know if it would work out and it is. It gives me optimism about my ideas as an artist. It seems like I might have a few good ideas from time to time. But you just never know what effect your art will have on anyone else. Where do you see yourself and this project going in the future? RS: I want it to be more and more elaborate. There are so many open ends but I want each aspect to be fully developed. I didn’t want to bite off this immense project and to allow any aspect of it to be sophomoric. I wanted it all to be really well done so I can keep building on it. I want to leave room for optimism, crazy ideas. I feel untethered as an artist. Do you plan to take the show on the road? RS: I want there to always be a lot of people involved in this project, so it will be difficult to take on the road because I don’t want to do a pared down version. Maybe eventually, with natural progression, but there’s so much I want to do here in New Orleans. Suzie, the play, may go on the road as it is relatively manageable. I’ve done so much touring as a musician, it would be interesting to tour as a play. You’ve mentioned Suzie a few times. Tell us more about the play. RS: I don’t currently have any shows scheduled for Suzie but we do plan to stage it again in New Orleans. The Legend of Suzie Sidesaddle is about Petey, a lonely fellow, who doesn’t leave his house much. Petey is a puppet that I control. He orders a really expensive sex doll. It’s very human-like, with a voice box. Ooops plays Suzie, wearing a full fetishtard, with spandex covering her entire face. When he turns her on, she has a mind of her own and he can’t get her to shut up. She is actually possessed by the ghost of a woman with whom he was enamored. She fell down the stairs and died when he was chasing her, just trying to get her attention. He wanted to just ask her out and break the ice. Though the death was an accident, he feels he killed her and hasn’t recovered. He withdraws from humanity. The ghost then inhabits Suzie to shake Petey out of himself, to tell him to get out of his house and back to life. It’s really a story about forgiveness. Ratty Scurvics with The Black Market Butchers performs at the AllWays Lounge on January 22nd and at the Marigny Theatre on February 10th, 2249 St. Claude Ave.

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REVIEWS ANIMAL COLLECTIVE FALL BE KIND EP (DOMINO)

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ith each successive album, Animal Collective has moved ever closer to a sound that could be embraced by wider audiences. On the blissfully easy to love Merriweather Post Pavilion, they hit upon a breakthrough formula, grafting their psychedelic sing-alongs with electro beats and smooth melodies. The Fall Be Kind EP is similar but divergent enough to maintain an identity of its own. The bottom of the album is comprised of the less inviting sound collages and tone poems that fill up the tail ends of many Animal Collective records. “Bleed” is a slight song movement, more tones undulating beneath a sea of overdubs than a song, while “On a Highway” drapes a staccato production wave over skeletal tribal drumming. Fall Be Kind isn’t as melody-driven as their previous album, nor is it as “artificial” sounding, favoring organic sounds crowded together over smoothness. The opening half of the EP thrives on the moments when Animal Collective’s haze of atmospherics dissipate and marvelous rhythms and melodies appear. “Graze” spends its first few minutes drifting within a shifting cloud of layered chorals, softly meandering piano and wood fire crackle before its density gives way to a wholly unexpected oscillating flute and a celebratory Renn-Fair hoedown. Likewise, “What Would I Want? Sky,” is a jumble of vocals echoing just out of reach supported by a heartbeat of mashed drums and cymbals until the chaos melts into a gentle lope with Avey Tare’s lead verse countered by Panda Bear’s backing vocals. Both tracks bristle with the kind of supremely joyous energy that Animal Collective has codified within their music. Somehow they’ve again managed to combine avant-garde with infinitely catchy, perfecting a style that no matter how it reinvents itself always seems to exist on the cutting edge. —Mike Rodgers

B.G.

TOO HOOD TO BE HOLLYWOOD (KOCH)

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f all the Cash Money alumni, B.G. seems to be the one with the highest quality control and proves once again on Too Hood to be Hollywood that he’s the Hot Boy with the most fire still in his belly. Despite a title and artwork that suggests a stark, gritty album, Too Hood... has a huge sound with heavy atmospherics and a handful of standout tracks. “Like Yeah” is a love letter to all kinds of drugs and the deep-synth groove of “Keep it 100” carries B.G.’s flow right into the stratosphere. “Ya Heard Me” brings back original Hot Boys Juvenile and Lil Wayne, used most effectively as hypemen and hook delivery for B.G.’s heavier verse. A lot of rappers at B.G.’s stage can easily mail it in (and it feels like most often do), but something is keeping him hungry, and it’s working for the music. Wahhhhh. —Dan Fox

Ultimately, V.3 is a victim of its format; the songs here aren’t bad, but they suffer from a lack of support. “16:47:52” is breezy at best, a simple afternoon daydream with minor guitar strumming, light percussion and guitarist Wata’s hushed voice. Balanced by meatier tracks it might provide a sweet piece of relief, but here it falters. It’s no help that the second cut, “…And Hear Nothing” is a feedback drone, monotonous and slow. Boris specializes in making these songs interesting and massive, but “…And Hear Nothing” isn’t their best work. Again, it’s not a bad song, but coupled with another slow jam, there’s no sense of anticipation or payoff here. V.1 and V.2 were successful because they allowed Boris to stretch their wings a bit and create songs that buoyed each other while still expanding on the kinds of genres the band were capable of exploring. But V.3 is far less successful in that it’s simply a two-song collection of solid if not notable songs. After listening to all three records, I have to say that they do work better as a cohesive whole; start off with “… And Hear Nothing,” put “16:47:52” somewhere in the middle and you’ve got a pretty good Boris album. —Mike Rodgers

DAVID BOWIE

SPACE ODDITY (40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) (EMI UK)

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owie is oft regarded as a hipster touchstone, but I believe his legacy is sold severely short. Let me be concise—I think David Bowie is the most important recording artist since The Beatles. Everyone is familiar with Space Oddity’s title track—a singer-songwriter epic for the space age, its mix of acoustic strum and achingly human story with cold, alien themes and faux orchestration is a crown jewel in Bowie’s catalogue. The rest of the record is far less known, but still solid. “Cygnet Committee” is a mid-tempo, proto-glam ballad, the kind of song whose powerful guitars and sweeping emotion Bowie would later perfect with “Life on Mars.” The rough, stomping rock of “Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed” show Bowie was more than just a Dylan devotee by this point, and his caterwauling, nasal voice and mix of the arch with the vulgar is in effect even here. Space Oddity finds itself trapped between styles, if not times. It’s not as crunchy as the forthcoming The Man Who Sold the World, but tracks like the pseudo-country rock of “Janine” is too straightforward for the glammy Hunky Dory. The album proper ends with the interesting “Memory of A Free Fair,” which displays Bowie’s attraction to the avant-garde, building from a simple accordion melody and spoken word vocals to a bustling mess of noise that erupts in a rapturous chorus of “Sun machine is coming down and we’re gonna have a party.” It’s as grand as anything David Bowie has recorded. This edition adds a sizable chunk of material, from demos to BBC sessions, all of it interesting, some of it a revelation—the “Space Oddity” demo is even more alien, trading its orchestral arrangements for buzzing Moogs and a sparse, lonely sound, while the single version of “Memory of a Free Fair” is recast as a rock opera fit for Ziggy himself. A sometimesoverlooked record, Space Oddity can rightly be placed in the upper echelon of Bowie’s repertoire. —Mike Rodgers

BORIS

JAPANESE HEAVY ROCK HITS V.3

(SOUTHERN LORD) o this is how it ends—not with a bang, but with a whimper? After the pleasures of the first two volumes in this series, I had high hopes for the final, but V.3 just doesn’t deliver.

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DUMMY DUMPSTER BIG BEAUTIFUL HEAD (INDEPENDENT)

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ou don’t hear stuff like this every day. Especially these days. This band has been around for years, rotating members around guitarist/ mad-rocker Mike Schadwell. Dummy Dumpster, in its current incarnation

and on this EP, reminds me a lot of FYP and that great Recess Records sound, with an especially lo-fi recording that brings it all back to the days of skateboarding and gas-huffing. Quirky, tight, fast and simple punk rock-- what else do you need? A bunch of effects pedals? Not these guys. They don’t need mic stands either: live, Schadwell mounts his mic to the football-issue pads on his chest, freeing him up to shred across and beyond the stage. You’ll have to see them out to get a copy of the EP. The insert alone is worth deciphering over some fumes. --Dan Fox

THE FLYING CHANGE PAIN IS A RELIABLE SIGNAL (SCARLET SHAME)

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he Flying Change is NYC-based singer-songwriter Sam Jacobs. Pain Is A Reliable Signal is Jacobs’s first album under The Flying Change moniker. Pain chronicles Jacobs’s journey after his wife, Erica, first complains of sciatic nerve pain, leading to two failed experimental surgeries and, in hopes of a “Hail Mary” cure, a trip to a specialized clinic where she is told there is no cure for her debilitating pain. Though the ten songs on Pain unfold the agonizing struggles that Jacobs and his wife suffered, it is not a narrow concept album. Jacobs’ lyrics evoke the despair experienced by anyone who was helpless to ease the pain suffered by her/his beloved. Laced through detailed visual imagery of hospitals, doctors and other patients is an arresting emotional rawness exemplified by a line from “Dirty White Coats”—”so when you finally get to sleep / just a gray place in the deep / another pattern for your skein / and they can never find a vein / hold on tight / we’re here all night.” The instrumental music is equally as powerful. Multi-layered instruments, including piano, strings and brass, performed by several accomplished indie musicians, support Jacobs’ lyrical poetry. As Jacobs says, he also uses “random” instruments throughout the album but the result is always tightly woven and richly textured, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Jacobs describes the genre of music as “landscape pop,” which to him is like “a range of mountains against the early sunrise in the desert. The scratchy vocals sitting on top of a bed of rich, earthen music.” Jacobs reveals that during the recording of the final song on the album, “The Northern Bay,” which ends by repeating the line, “I will take your pain away,” he was crying. I also cried the first time I heard this album, which can be downloaded for free at theflyingchange.com/piars. —Sara Pic

HUDSON MOHAWKE BUTTER

(WARP) he Glaswegian producer Hudson Mohawke has created the most maddening record in my recent memory. Sometimes coming across as the heir-apparent to Aphex Twin’s brand of quirky, creepy IDM and sometimes more annoyingly schizo than a crack-addled three-year-old, Butter is a scattershot record that hides its intense nuggets of big bass thump amongst bits of sugar high noise. “Joy Fantastic” slaps a buttery flow onto a workmanlike midtempo beat, but the track is drowned in overdubbed vocals, synth bass growls, glitter, preschool electro blips and the continuation of a syrupy fantasy skit involving a parallel universe. It’s like an ADD nightmare and your level of enjoyment rests solely on your tolerance for overload. Some of the more pleasant tracks, like “FUSE,” seem like psycho doppelgangers of pop production, dragging mainstream hip-hop’s grand keyboard melodies and clacking, snare-snap beats through an iced out paradise dimension of cartoons and coke.

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MUSIC REVIEWS SPONSORED BY THE OFFICIAL RECORD STORE OF ANTIGRAVITY

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REVIEWS Other bits are more frustrating than revelatory, like the Speak N’ Spell goof-off that distracts from the disjointed percussion and looming bass danger of “Fruit Touch.” After a series of listens, Butter begins to take a slightly more cohesive shape, and method is glimpsed within the madness. And that method is incredible when it has room to breath. The digital stutter and horned buzz of “ZOo00OOm” is mighty. “Twistclip Loop’s” 808 and analog-led, plastic-gilded gangsta’ bounce is as heavy as any Dre beat. And the old school-cum-Eastern smash of “Rising 5” is proof enough that Hudson Mohawke’s heart is in the right place—it’s just his head that seems to get sidetracked along the way. —Mike Rodgers

METRONOME THE CITY OBJECT TO BE DESTROYED

(INDEPENDENT) f Metronome the City’s music falls under the “soundtrack-for-a-movieyet-to-be-made” genre, then Object to Be Destroyed is a sequel that improves the concepts and narratives of the band’s first album, Electric Elements Exposed. Released in late summer of 2006, Electric Elements was ten years in the making and sounds like the sprawling space-view as seen from a seriously hot-boxed rocket ship. Object to Be Destroyed feels far more terrestrial, with a warmer, relatively mellower tone to it. Maybe the Martians on the planet they landed on have stranger and wilder drugs, something that chills you out but still lets you see wavelengths. Surprises lurk around every intricately-rendered corner and the songs titles make it hard to say Metronome has matured (see “Nard on Feet” and the no-fine-print-needed “Surfdubsludge”). But who has time to mature when you’re evolving altogether? For Metronome the City, the future is now, and it’s also a lot of fun. —Dan Fox

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REV. LOUIS OVERSTREET

AN EVENING WITH REV. LOUIS OVERSTREET

(MISSISSIPPI RECORDS) orn in DeQuincy, Louisiana, Reverend Louis Overstreet began his singing career in the church, but ended up working in a secular position at a turpentine plant. Later in his life, Overstreet got the call the be a minister, left his job and did not skip a beat in leading a congregation in some of the most raucous religious music you will ever hear in your life. Thereby, this album contains all the necessary elements to make this collection of praise songs, in theory, Gospel music. However, the songs are supported by the rhythmic pounding of churchgoers’ hands and feet, a choir, and Overstreet’s four sons armed with electric guitars and other “rock” instruments. The chunking and snarl of the guitar alongside the power of the Reverend’s voice leaves no question why Arhoolie Records sent Chris Strachwitz to record Overstreet’s boys and the congregation at St. Luke Powerhouse Church Of God In Christ in Phoenix, Arizona in 1961. Mississippi Records has been on a roll, reissuing Arhoolie’s out-of-print back catalog (see albums by Fred McDowell and Joseph Spence). An Evening With Rev. Louis Overstreet marks the third Arhoolie album reissue in a row. If you are looking for something comparable, Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir (he gets points alone for founding something called the “Prayer Palace”), Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the charismatic services of the House of God (Which Is the Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Without Controversy) and Keith Dominion are prime examples of passionate Gospel music complete with fits, sweat, and tears. There are traditions in church

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services, particularly the musical aspect, which have been handed down from generation to generation. With documents like this, it is safe to say the music will not be lost and others can experience the spirit of the devout. —Emily Elhaj

THEM CROOKED VULTURES SELF-TITLED

(DGC/INTERSCOPE) he inherent flaw of the supergroup lies within the appeal such a combo generates. The very thought of some of the most talented artists combining their skills in one group is enough to make fanboys drool, but that kind of anticipation can never be equaled by the result. Great bands are created through chemistry, not simple addition. So it was this way that I approached Them Crooked Vultures, with an ear towards their music, not their histories. And I came away more than surprised. The band combines Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme with Dave Grohl behind the kit and Led Zep legend John Paul Jones on bass. With that kind of pedigree it’s difficult not to let your expectations run high and, contrary to many supergroup experiments, Them Crooked Vultures is highly successful. Honestly, this shouldn’t come as a shock—Homme and Grohl have worked together numerous times. The only wildcard is Jones; and whether or not his touch is evident, the result is a great rock and roll record. From the sleazy disco march of “Gunman” to the spinning riffs of “Dead End Friends,” the record just oozes rock—not the power pop clogging up radios, but old fashioned rock, free of pretense and bursting with energy. “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I” transmogrifies from a slinky, cowbell jukebox jam to a grinding jam that chomps at its backbeat. Them Crooked Vultures is more energetic than the last few albums from its contributors and stands up as an example of what a supergroup with chemistry is capable of, as well as a slice of perfect American rock. —Mike Rodgers

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TOM WAITS

GLITTER AND DOOM LIVE (ANTI)

Waits is somewhat of a Tom polarizing musician. The results

of a totally unscientific and informal poll I once conducted proved that people either love or hate him. There is very little in-between. Me? I’m a lover. So when Waits announced he would be embarking upon a tour that would snake across the South, I counted myself in that number. Unfortunately for me, I am a writer, and therefore, a poor person. My plans to see him in Dallas fell through, even while friends from places as far strewn as Los Angeles and Dublin managed to make it happen. So listening to this album is a binary experience for me. On one hand, it gives me the chance to tangibly experience the show I missed. On the other, it makes me nauseated that I missed the chance to experience it in person. The first disc of Glitter and Doom Live is composed of live cuts culled from nine stops on the tour and plays like an evening with the man himself. It scorches open with a mash-up of “Lucinda” and “Ain’t Goin’ Down To The Well,” where Waits growls in his most devilish tone that “they call me William the Pleaser”. The cuts from Tulsa, “Get Behind the Mule” and “Goin’ Out West,” have an earthy, bluesy feel but, as always, with a dash of edge. In Paris, he treated the crowd to gorgeous cuts of “Falling Down” and “I’ll Shoot the Moon.” The latter is perfectly apropos for Paris, with its sweeping romanticism and utterly European flavor. Milan got a bit of soul courtesy of “Such a Scream,” along with a dash

of haunting guitar on “Dirt in the Ground.” Knoxville had the pleasure of hearing the beautiful and aching “Fannin Street” and one of Waits’ biggest hits, “Metropolitan Glide.” Atlanta gets album closer “Lucky Day” and a filthy version of “Make it Rain”—very well-suited for the Dirty South. Edinburgh seems to have gotten a large dose of the weird and that city’s version of “Singapore” just doesn’t do it for me. I didn’t think it possible, but it’s too growly. The album version is sinister and slimy and undeniably attractive. The “character voice” he uses on this cut, however, robs it of all its swagger and step. It stands out as the only disappointing track on the album. The other Edinburgh selection more than makes up for it, though. This take on “Green Grass” is stunning and evokes a cabaret as Waits croons “lay your head where my heart used to be / hold the earth above me / lay down in the green grass / remember when you loved me.” On the tracks “Live Circus” and “Story,” we get just a taste of Tom Waits—Storyteller. He regales the crowd with tales of loveable circus freaks and of the time he bought the last dying breath of Henry Ford on eBay. It was trapped in a coke bottle with a cork in it. The second disc of the set is titled “Tom Tales” and consists of Waits’ musing on subjects from the eating habits of vultures to the observation that shrimp never donate to charity to the meaning behind the term “dead ringer” to the size of animal penises to Spam museums and strange Oklahoma laws. It’s just like listening to your eccentric uncle talk about the time he romanced a woman with a wooden leg. If you’ve got a long road trip ahead of you, I suggest buying this album and settling in for a couple hours of great music and even greater theater. —Erin Hall

WASHED OUT

LIFE OF LEISURE

(MEXICAN SUMMER) he much-anticipated Life of Leisure EP from Washed Out is a thesis in synth-grooves and atmosphere. Ernest Greene, hailing from America’s South, has crafted a collection of tracks that rivals songs from The Knife’s Silent Shout (see the B side track “Lately”), imitates Kraftwerk and pays homage to the Gary Low single “I Want You” (which is sampled for “Feel It All Around”). Life of Leisure’s dream-like soundscapes forge ahead into a blessed mixture of pop, dance, and lo-fi tunes, making it a force to be reckoned with. Following a mysterious (and out of print) cassette titled High Times on Mirror Universe Tapes, Greene’s new 12” has been released courtesy of Mexican Summer Records (home to such luminaries as Real Estate, Wooden Shjips, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, and many others). Unlike other home recordings (like Ariel Pink or John Maus) the fidelity is excellent and the songs themselves become musical accompaniment to crystal blue waters and equally blue skies with tracks like the aforementioned “Feel It All Around” and “New Theory.” Similar to Bradford Cox’s (of Atlas Sound and Deerhunter) earnest crooning, Greene cranks out unstoppable samples that yield only to his sincere vocal melodies. —Emily Elhaj

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MORE REVIEWS ON PAGE 27

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EVENTS NEW ORLEANS VENUES

NEW ORLEANS (Cont.)

45 Tchoup, 4529 Tchoupitoulas (504) 891-9066

MVC, 9800 Westbank Expressway, (504) 2342331, www.themvc.net

Banks St. Bar And Grill, 4401 Banks St., (504) 486-0258, www.banksstreetbar.com Barrister’s Art Gallery, 2331 St. Claude Ave.

Neutral Ground Coffee House, 5110 Danneel St., (504) 891-3381, www.neutralground.org

MONDAY 1/4

Schatzy, Circle Bar

The Kirk Nasty, Liquid Peace Revolution, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm White Widow w/ Thunderhole, Circle Bar Zoso: The Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin, House Of Blues

TUESDAY 1/12

The Big Top, 1638 Clio St., (504) 569-2700, www.3ringcircusproductions.com

Nowe Miasto, 223 Jane Pl., (504) 821-6721 Ogden Museum, 925 Camp St., (504) 539-9600

TUESDAY 1/5

The Blue Nile, 534 Frenchmen St., (504) 948-2583

One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St., (504) 5698361, www.oneeyedjacks.net

Nighty Night, Circle Bar

Carrollton Station, 8140 Willow St., (504) 8659190, www.carrolltonstation.com

Outer Banks, 2401 Palmyra (at S. Tonti), (504) 628-5976, www.myspace.com/ outerbanksmidcity

WEDNESDAY 1/6

Checkpoint Charlie’s, 501 Esplanade Ave., (504) 947-0979

Republic, 828 S. Peters St., (504) 528-8282, www.republicnola.com

Chickie Wah Wah, 2828 Canal Street (504) 304-4714, www.chickiewahwah.com

Rusty Nail, 1100 Constance Street (504) 5255515, www.therustynail.org/

Circle Bar, 1032 St. Charles Ave., (504) 5882616, www.circlebar.net

The Saturn Bar, 3067 St. Claude Ave., www. myspace.com/saturnbar

Club 300, 300 Decatur Street, www. neworleansjazzbistro.com

Side Arm Gallery, 1122 St. Roch Ave., (504) 218-8379, www.sidearmgallery.org

Coach’s Haus, 616 N. Solomon

Southport Hall, 200 Monticello Ave., (504) 8352903, www.newsouthport.com

Broadmoor House, 4127 Walmsley, (504) 8212434

The Country Club, 634 Louisa St., (504) 9450742, www.countryclubneworleans.com d.b.a., 618 Frenchmen St., (504) 942-373, www. drinkgoodstuff.com/no Der Rathskeller (Tulane’s Campus), McAlister Dr., http://wtul.fm

The Spellcaster Lodge, 3052 St. Claude Avenue, www.quintonandmisspussycat.com/ tourdates.html St. Roch Taverne, 1200 St. Roch Ave., (504) 945-0194

Dragon’s Den, 435 Esplanade Ave., http:// myspace.com/dragonsdennola

Tipitina’s, (Uptown) 501 Napoleon Ave., (504) 895-8477 (Downtown) 233 N. Peters, www. tipitinas.com

Eldon’s House, 3055 Royal Street, [email protected]

The Zeitgeist, 1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., (504) 827-5858, www.zeitgeistinc.net

Ernie K-Doe’s Mother-in-Law Lounge, 1500 N. Claiborne Ave.

Vintage Uptown, 4523 Magazine St., [email protected]

Fair Grinds Coffee House, 3133 Ponce de Leon, (504) 913-9072, www.fairgrinds.com Fuel Coffee House, 4807 Magazine St. (504) 895-5757 Goldmine Saloon, 701 Dauphine St., (504) 5860745, www.goldminesaloon.net The Green Space, 2831 Marais Street (504) 9450240, www.thegreenproject.org Handsome Willy’s, 218 S. Robertson St., (504) 525-0377, http://handsomewillys.com The Hangar, 1511 S. Rendon. (504) 827-7419 Hi-Ho Lounge, 2239 St. Claude Ave. (504) 9454446, www.myspace.com/hiholounge Hostel, 329 Decatur St. (504-587-0036), hostelnola.com Hot Iron Press Plant, 1420 Kentucky Ave., [email protected] House Of Blues / The Parish, 225 Decatur, (504)310-4999, www.hob.com/neworleans The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 S. Peters, (504) 522WOLF, www.thehowlinwolf.com Kajun’s Pub, 2256 St. Claude Avenue (504) 9473735, www.myspace.com/kajunspub Kim’s 940, 940 Elysian Fields, (504) 844-4888

METAIRIE VENUES Airline Lion’s Home, 3110 Division St. Badabing’s, 3515 Hessmer, (504) 454-1120 The Bar, 3224 Edenborn, myspace.com/ thebarrocks Hammerhead’s, 1300 N Causeway Blvd, (504) 834-6474 The High Ground, 3612 Hessmer Ave., Metairie, (504) 525-0377, www. thehighgroundvenue.com

BATON ROUGE VENUES The Caterie, 3617 Perkins Rd., www.thecaterie.com Chelsea’s Café, 2857 Perkins Rd., (225) 3873679, www.chelseascafe.com The Darkroom, 10450 Florida Blvd., (225) 2741111, www.darkroombatonrouge.com Government St., 3864 Government St., www. myspace.com/rcpzine North Gate Tavern, 136 W. Chimes St. (225)346-6784, www.northgatetavern.com

WEDNESDAY 1/13 The Spooks, The Bellys, The Way, Circle Bar THURSDAY 1/7 Dharma Bums, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 George Stathakes, Natalie Mae, Carrollton Station The Listening Party (Singer/Songwriter Series), Tipitina’s, 8pm We’re Into Survival, Kelly Carlyle, John Wilkes Booth, The Black Toothe, Circle Bar FRIDAY 1/8 2 Floors of Drum & Bass, Dragon’s Den, 10pm The Dead Kenny Gs, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 Eric Lindell, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $10 Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Circle Bar Ingrid Lucia, d.b.a., 6pm Lynn Drury’s Grit & Groove Showcase, The Parishoners, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 8pm Soul Sister’s Right On ’80s Dance Party, One Eyed Jacks Soul Sister, Brice Nice, The Saint, LATE Susan Cowsill Band, Carrollton Station Touching the Absolute, Allyria, The Bar, 9pm SATURDAY 1/9 Brawla’s B-Day Bash f/ T.U.C. w/ Throughwhatwas, Savius, The Bar The Fabulous Bobby Lounge: 1st Farewell Iron Lung Tour, The Louse Marbles, House Of Blues Gov’t Majik Album Release Party, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $8 High in One Eye Indie Showcase, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 10pm Otra, d.b.a., 11pm, $5 Rules of Cultures, Ribs Knuggs, Dragon’s Den, 10pm The Swingin’ Haymakers Reunion, Carrollton Station Terranova, Makeshift Lover, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 11pm, FREE White Colla Crimes, Spickle, Metronome the City, Giant Cloud, One Eyed Jacks

The Kingpin, 1307 Lyons St., (504) 891-2373

Red Star Bar, 222 Laurel St., (225) 346-8454, www.redstarbar.com

SUNDAY 1/10

Le Bon Temps Roule, 4801 Magazine St., (504) 895-8117

Rotolos, 1125 Bob Pettit Blvd. (225) 761-1999, www.myspace.com/rotolosallages

Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., (504) 5815812, www.cabaretlechatnoir.com

The Spanish Moon, 1109 Highland Rd., (225) 383-MOON, www.thespanishmoon.com

Lyceum Central, 618 City Park Ave., (410) 5234182, http://lyceumproject.com

The Varsity, 3353 Highland Rd., (225)383-7018, www.varsitytheatre.com

Maple Leaf, 8316 Oak St., (504) 866-9359

Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, Devin Townsend, Scale the Summit, House Of Blues Fleur de Tease Burlesque, One Eyed Jacks, 8pm, 10:30pm Mas Mamones, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 Toy Soldiers, The Right Now, Tim Be Told, Circle Bar Typical Stereo, Jak Locke, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm Zebras, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 8:30pm

Marlene’s Place, 3715 Tchoupitoulas, (504) 897-3415, www.myspace.com/marlenesplace

MONDAY 1/11

Lyon’s Club, 2920 Arlington St. Mama’s Blues, 616 N. Rampart St., (504) 453-9290

McKeown’s Books, 4737 Tchoupitoulas, (504) 895-1954, http://mckeownsbooks.net Melvin’s, 2112 St. Claude Ave.

24_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

Groove-O Cats, Sci-Fi Zeros, Asbestos, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm Mr. Mustachio’s Winter Gala f/ The Local Skank, Maddie Ruthless, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Ruby and Suki, Circle Bar

Rebirth Brass Band, Howlin’ Wolf The Returners, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 10pm, FREE Synthetic Elements, Circle Bar Willie Nelson, House Of Blues THURSDAY 1/14 Big Chief Bo’s 60th Birthday Jam f/ Bo Dollis Jr. and The Wild Magnolias, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. & various artists, Howlin’ Wolf Brass Band Blowout f/ Soul Rebels, To Be Continued Brass Band, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $10 Country Fried, Carrollton Station Easy Company, City Zoo, Circle Bar Mayhem String Band, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 Willie Nelson, House Of Blues FRIDAY 1/15 Alynda Lee, Samuel Doores, Circle Bar Aquarium Drunkard Presents: Mynameisjohnmichael, Big Rock Candy Mountain, Long Walk Home, One Eyed Jacks The Chilluns, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $15 Courtland Burke Band, Carrollton Station Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 10pm Guitar Lightning Lee, The Saint Hot Club of New Orleans, d.b.a., 6pm The Iguanas, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 Outlaw Nation, Chase Long Beach, The Parish @ House Of Blues Russian Mafia Band, Slow Burn Burlesque, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Slow Burn Burlesque’s Hatter’s Ball, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm, $10 ($7 w/ hat) Union Nation Presents: Goodie Mob Reunion, House Of Blues SATURDAY 1/16 Good Enough for Good Times, d.b.a., 11pm, $5 John Scofield and The Piety St. Band, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $20 The Local Skank Album/Calendar Release Party, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 9pm The Lucks, Circle Bar The Machine (performs Pink Floyd), House Of Blues Obsession: Dance Revolution, The Saint The Other Planets, A Living Soundtrack, Bionica Album Release Party, Dragon’s Den, 10pm Sam Sarah, Silent Cinema, Pumpkin, One Eyed Jacks Thinkenstein, Kris Royal and Dark Matter, Carrollton Station The Unnaturals, Buddha Belly, 10pm, FREE The Woods Brothers, The Parish @ House Of Blues SUNDAY 1/17

Illuminasti Trio f/ Mike Dillon, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Matt Muscle Show, The Saint

Asylum Street Spankers, One Eyed Jacks, 8pm, $12 Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands, Howlin’ Wolf

EVENTS Lynn Drury, d.b.a., 10pm Sunday Service w/ Sissy Nobby & DJ Rusty Lazer, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm Thomas Johnson, Circle Bar

TUESDAY 1/19

Juniper Row, The Patrick Godbey Band, Carrollton Station “The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman,” The Marigny Theatre, 8pm, $15 Kenny Brown, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 Offbeat’s Best of the Beat Awards f/ Galactic, Anders Osborne, Bonerama & Various Artists, House Of Blues The Revivalists, New Grass Country Club, Howlin’ Wolf

Wazozo, Circle Bar

SATURDAY 1/23

WEDNESDAY 1/20

Caddywhompus, Smiley With a Knife, Blackbelt, One Eyed Jacks Cuttin’ Up Dance Party, The Saint “The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman,” The Marigny Theatre, 8pm, $15 Louisiana D&B, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm The Lovie Dovies, Circle Bar Mike Darby and The House of Cards, Mojo Triage, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 9pm MVVP, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $10 Shamarr Allen and The Underdawgs, d.b.a., 11pm, $5 The Tangle, Strawberry Presents, Carrollton Station

MONDAY 1/18 The Bottoms Up Blues Gang, Circle Bar

The Nightmare River Band, Circle Bar THURSDAY 1/21 “The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman,” The Marigny Theatre, 8pm, $15 Pentagram, The Gates of Slumber, Thou, Mars, The Oggin, Howlin’ Wolf R. Scully & The Rough Seven, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 The Walrus, Carrollton Station FRIDAY 1/22 6th Annual Cameltoe Lady Steppers TowDown Fundraiser, One Eyed Jacks AM Conspiracy, My Evolution, Sustenance, The Bar, 9pm Bonerama, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $10 DJ Mike Fedussia, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Ingrid Lucia, d.b.a., 6pm Jock Se Bloque!, Circle Bar, 10pm, FREE Juice!, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 10pm

SUNDAY 1/24 Irene Sage, d.b.a., 10pm Joanna Barbera, The Skids, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 9pm “The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman,” The Marigny Theatre, 6pm, $15 MONDAY 1/25 Iskra, The Faeries, Thou, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 9pm TUESDAY 1/26 Imperial Can, Small Bones, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm Mobile Death Camp, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Mower, The Bar The Sword, Woodgrain, One Eyed Jacks, $12 WEDNESDAY 1/27 Badfish, Scotty Don’t, Full Service, House Of Blues THURSDAY 1/28 Alex McMurray, d.b.a., 10pm, $5 The Craft Bros., Leo DeJesus, Amanda Wuerstlin, Carrollton Station Yonder Mountain (An Evening With), House Of Blues FRIDAY 1/29 Ben Labat and The Happy Devil, Carrollton Station Iskra, Thou, The Faeries, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs) MC Chris, The Hangar, 9pm The N’awlins Johnnies, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 10pm New Orleans Musicians Clinic Benefit w/ King Louie’s Band, Ballzack, Generationals, plus DJs Matty and Kristin, One Eyed Jacks The Radiators 32nd Anniversary, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $15 Turley Band, Les Honky More Tonkies, Red River Revival, The Bar

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EVENTS SATURDAY 1/30

THURSDAYS

Andrew Duhon and The Lonesome Crows, The Alexis Marceaux Band, Star and Micey, Carrollton Station The Fiery Furnaces, One Eyed Jacks, 11pm, $16 Five Finger Death Punch—Ladies Five Finger Discount Tour w/ Shadows Fall, Throwdown, 2Cents, House Of Blues Jonathan Richman, One Eyed Jacks, 8pm, $12 Krewe du Vieux Parade w/ The New Orleans Moonshiners, d.b.a., 6pm The Radiators 32nd Anniversary, Tipitina’s, 10pm, $15 The Tin Men, d.b.a., 11pm, $5

Billy Iuso, The Box Office, 7pm Come Drink with Matt Vaughn, R Bar Dave Jordan and Guests Acoustic Showcase, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 9pm DJ Frenzi, DJ Daniel Steel, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), 10pm DJ Kemistry, LePhare DJ Matic, Hostel DJ Proppa Bear Presents: Bassbin Safari, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Fast Times ‘80s Dance Night, One Eyed Jacks The Fens w/ Sneaky Pete, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 10pm Hap Pardo Jazz Trio, All-Ways Lounge Jeremy Davenport, The Davenport Lounge @ Ritz-Carlton New Orleans Karaoke Fury, La Nuit Comedy Theater, 10pm Mixture, Republic, 10pm, $7 Ovis, The Box Office, 10pm Pure Soul, House Of Blues, Midnight Rabbit Hole, La Nuit Comedy Theater, 8:30 Sam and Boone, Circle Bar, 6pm Soul Rebels, Les Bon Temps Roule, 11pm Stinging Caterpillar Soundsystem, All-Ways Lounge

SUNDAY 1/31 Dex Romweber, Exene Cervenka, The Parish @ House Of Blues Terrence McManus, Aurora Nealand, Matt Rhody, Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, 8pm Terrence McManus, Tim Green, Helen Gillet, Hi-Ho Lounge, 10:30pm MONDAY 2/1 Terrence McManus, James Singleton, Rick Trolsen, Zeitgeist, 9:30pm WEEKLIES & DANCE NIGHTS MONDAYS Blue Grass Pickin’ Party, Hi-Ho Lounge, 8pm Glen David Andrews, d.b.a., 9pm Jak Locke, The Box Office, 8pm Mad Mike, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 8pm Missy Meatlocker, Circle Bar, 5pm Noxious Noize’s Punk and Metal Night, Dragon’s Den (Downstairs) Smooth Jazz w/ Cory Parker and First Take, Banks Street Bar & Grill, 9pm Trivia Night, Circle Bar, 8pm

FRIDAYS DJ Bees Knees, R Bar DJ Kemistry, Metro God’s Been Drinking, La Nuit Comedy Theater, 8:30pm, $10 Jeremy Davenport, The Davenport Lounge @ Ritz-Carlton New Orleans Jim O. and The Sporadic Fanatics, Circle, 6pm Olga, The Box Office, 6pm Open Mic Stand-Up, La Nuit Comedy Theater, 10pm, $5 Ratty Scurvics Lounge, All-Ways Lounge Rites of Swing, The Box Office, 9pm Throwback, Republic Tipitina’s Foundation Free Friday!, Tipitina’s, 10pm

TUESDAYS SATURDAYS The Abney Effect, Hostel Acoustic Open Mic, Carrollton Station, 9pm Acoustic Open Mic w/ Jim Smith, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 10pm Cottenmouth Kings of New Orleans, d.b.a., 9pm Open Mic w/ Whiskey T., Rusty Nail, 8pm Reggae Nite w/ Big, Fat & Delicious, Banks Street Bar & Grill The Tom Paines, Circle Bar, 6pm WEDNESDAYS Dan Wallace Quartet, The Box Office, 7pm DJ Lefty Parker, R Bar DJ T-Roy Presents: Dancehall Classics, Dragon’s Den, 10pm, $5 Gravity A, Banks St. Bar and Grill, 10pm Jim O. and The No Shows w/ Mama GoGo, Circle Bar, 6pm Kenny Holiday and the Rolling Blackouts, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 9pm Marygoround & The Tiptoe Stampede, AllWays Lounge Mojotoro Tango Trio, Yuki (525 Frenchmen St.), 8pm Musician Appreciation Night, The Bar, 7pm Standup Comedy Open Mic, Carrollton Station, 9pm Tin Men, d.b.a., 7pm Walter Wolfman Washington and The Roadmasters, d.b.a., 10pm, $5

26_antigravity: your new orleans music and culture alternative

DJ Damion Yancy, Republic, 11pm DJ Jive, LePhare DJ Kemistry, Metro The Drive In w/ DJ Pasta, R Bar Javier Drada, Hostel The Jazzholes (1st & 3rd Saturdays), Circle Bar, 6pm Jeremy Davenport, The Davenport Lounge @ Ritz-Carlton New Orleans John Boutte’, d.b.a., 7pm Ladies Night, The Hangar Louisiana Hellbenders, The Box Office, 7pm SUNDAYS Acoustic Open Mic w/ Jim Smith, Checkpoint Charlie’s, 7pm Attrition, Dragon’s Den (Upstairs), 10pm Cajun Fais Do Do f/ Bruce Danigerpoint, Tipitina’s, 5:30pm, $7 Cocktails & Crafts, Circle Bar, 3pm Free Swing Dance Lessons w/ Amy Chance, d.b.a., 4:30pm Micah McKee and Friends w/ Food by Bryan, Circle Bar, 6pm Mojo Triage Jam, Banks Street Bar & Grill, After Saints Game Music Workshop Series, Tipitina’s, 12:30pm The Palmetto Bug Stompers, d.b.a., 6pm The Sunday Gospel Brunch, House Of Blues

CONT... WOLFMOTHER

S

incerity seems to be very important (MODULAR) in certain genres of music—pop is usually spared such purges, but anything approaching “indie” rock is scrutinized like a Hawaiian-born president. Even the best of us are guilty of it and, with Wolfmother, I am guilty of it. Their debut seemed like such a tightly cribbed impression of ‘70s stoner rock that it felt as much like Cliff ’s Notes as it did a rawk record. Now we have Cosmic Egg, which arrives with an awful title and an all-new band behind wailing frontman Andrew Stockdale. For good or ill, not much has changed. Again the record is an all-toofamiliar best-of for fans of 1970s rock and roll—opening track “California Queen” chugs along nicely and “Sundial” apes Sabbath so hard I thought the opening bass riff was a sample. Stockdale indulges in some Jack White impressions as well, with his simpler songs lying somewhere between De Stijl and Thin Lizzy. The songs aren’t lacking, per se—they’re fairly energetic and the riffs pound when called upon, but Cosmic Egg just feels hollow. Everything’s in its proper place, from mountainous guitar chords to spacy lyrics. It knows what notes it has to hit to ride the nostalgia factor of classic metal while still sounding modern enough to sell cars on TV or hit the Top 40. Wolfmother’s not a bad band and Cosmic Egg (God, that title sucks) isn’t a bad record. In the pantheon of revivalist rock they’re not so awful, but I can’t help but feel like I’m supposed to like this record simply because I like its inspirations. —Mike Rodgers

COSMIC EGG

YACHT

SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS (DFA)

A

ll pop music stems from dance music; what better way to reach the masses than to get them dancing? It’s only been the past couple of decades that dance music has branched out and a rift between the electrodominated dance world and pop has formed, with pop artists appropriating dance beats and grooves without the inherent programmed soullessness. So, with See Mystery Lights we see a shift in the opposite direction, a conceptual and electronic music artist imbuing dance music with the organic trapping of pop. The music is unmistakably electronic, even when it’s trying to blur those boundaries by altering guitars or live drum kits into something closer to a sound bank sample. The bubbling “The Afterlife” is a chipper two-step built on chugging production and a mantralike refrain, but its friendliness gives way to the bounce beat of “I’m in Love with a Ripper,” whose hyperactive snare and cymbal taps encircle and deadpan auto-tune

hook. There’s a theme of over-the-shoulder casualness to the vocals, whether it’s Jona Bechtolt’s monotone chant or Claire Evans’ ironic detachedness that keeps the cheerful and optimistic harmonies from sounding too sugary. See Mystery Lights is nothing if not self-aware, whether it’s following up a minimalist disco marathon like “It’s Boring/ You Can Live Anywhere You Want,” with the lazy, laid back bass riffs and sweetly inviting chorus of “Psychic City (Voodoo City).” Even its more straight-up dance tracks, like “Summer Song” and its dark bass march, sound built up as opposed to conjured from a computer. More than most electro-pop groups, YACHT feels like a fully realized band with instruments instead of lines of programming and a real dynamic between the melodies, rhythms, riffs and harmonies. It’s almost too simple to call this a “feel good” album but, again, what better way to reach the masses? —Mike Rodgers

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COMICS

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COMICS

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PHOTOS

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PHOTOS

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