Lively up yourself
Saturday, November 27
Devin the Dude with Natti (of Cunninlynguists) and Nemo
Buster’s, 9 P.M.
It has been suggested that Devin’s beats and rhymes, but especially his beats, are so chill that you must be stoned to truly enjoy them. This is probably true, because Devin was almost certainly stoned when he cut whichever of his records you’re trying to enjoy. In fact, I’ll lay even odds that Devin will be stoned at his show at Buster’s this Saturday, during which he will rap lyrics that mostly involve being stoned.
Here are the conflicted comments of two anonymous posters on a well-known music message board, when confronted with Devin’s last release, Suite 420 (released this past April 20):
“His beats are extra west coast now. Iono, I may smoke out and give it another shot.”
“Joint out this week? Fuck, I just ran out of trees today.”
It should be noted that Devin also raps about having sex, and every once in a while you can kind of read in between the lines and figure out that at certain points in the narrative flow he’s rapping about having sex while being stoned; it’s just a subtext, but it’s there.
Please remember that marijuana is classified in Kentucky as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, and its possession is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by law.
Sunday, November 28
Jessie Laine Powell
Natasha’s, 7 P.M.
In the ’80s, you, like most people, had long-pile carpet in your living room and a glass-doored stereo cabinet along one wall.
The bottom of this cabinet was filled with records, because although CD was out, you didn’t have it yet, but you knew someone who did have it and already owned a few CDs that you bought specifically to play at his house. Topping the cabinet was a turntable—a big, wood-sided model with an elaborate record changer and an illuminated oscilloscope—not the low-profile, rugged DJ tables or the $10,000 Scandinavian designs that are all the rage today.
Remember, after work you took off your shoes, spread out on the sectional, mixed up something strong, put on a record, and relaxed. For months there that record was Anita Baker, wasn’t it? Caught up in the rapture of yooouuuu… Mmm. Yeah.
Ha ha, we know you listened to DeBarge too! But nobody holds that against you anymore.
Now it’s all Blu-ray and iPods and Pergo, and that’s fine, but what you really miss isn’t the carpet or the sectional or the illuminated oscilloscope but the mood. The mood created by gold-wood strings, bedroom percussion, and caramel melodies. You don’t even know what that means, but that’s what you want. And if you take a little Jesus into your heart along the way, well, that’s fine too.
Saturday, December 4
Same As It Ever Was
Cosmic Charlie’s, 9 P.M.
If you Google “how to review tribute bands,” the first result is a site called Tribute Bands for Hire. There, as you’d imagine, tribute bands are for hire, including one billed as “one of the most popular Beatles tribute bands in the UK today.” Not number one, then, but pretty darn popular—it’s a competitive market.
What makes them so popular? Their “attention to detail is extraordinary,” according to their online press bio, and “they got the look, the sound, the mannerisms and authentic instruments.” Furthermore, “the costumes cover the early Cavern days right through to Beatlemania, Sgt Pepper and beyond.” No word as to whether John begins to seem distant toward the end of the show.
So to review tribute bands, you ought to evaluate attention to detail in the areas of look, sound, and mannerisms. Now, to the ersatz Talking Heads known as Same As It Ever Was. Are they, in fact, the same as it ever was?
Look: better, actually. David Byrne is kind of a freaky dude to look at. Not looking exactly like him is a good thing.
Sound: Close enough, man, close enough. If we were in the car and you put them on and told me it was a late-period bootleg I’d fall for it, for a while at least.
Mannerisms: David Byrne is Shatner-like in his openness to caricature, but here’s the question: if someone took the time to learn all of Jerry Harrison’s onstage mannerisms, then reproduced them inaccurately during a show, would anyone in the audience really notice? Like some guy yells, “no, no, no! Jerry never tilts his head to the left after a solo—only to the right!” Nah, just have the singer put on the big suit and we’re happy.
Man, it’s a Talking Heads tribute band. They sound a lot like the Talking Heads. The Talking Heads were awesome. Ergo, Talking Heads tribute band = awesome.
Mondays
Tee Dee Young and the Scandalous Band
Tee Dee’s, 10 P.M.
It’s just that we haven’t mentioned Tee Dee in these pages in some time, and that just feels wrong. So, to recap: blues played every which way you can play blues: upbeat, downtown, right side up, inside out, fast, faster, sinfully slow, mad, sad, glad, and baaaaaaaaad, and all delivered with a great big smile. Come on. When’s the last time you dropped in?
Sharon Davidson
The Talking Heads tribute band, ( Same As It Ever Was ) from Knoxville Tn, does a great job and are AWESOME, certainly worth going to see. They work very hard to entertain people. So if they come to your town, GO SEE Them, and see for your self !