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TWANG TIMES TWO: Fans of alt-country will face a pretty dire dilemma this week, as two excellent bands will compete for your attention at two different clubs on the same night.
Three songs on The Sadies' Bloodshot Records debut, Tremendous Efforts (2001), are covers, and the disparity of the sources speaks volumes about what makes the band so great: "Wearin' That Loved On Look," made famous by Elvis Presley; The Gun Club's "Mother of Earth;" and the Goffin-King chestnut, "I Wasn't Born to Follow," which The Byrds covered for the Easy Rider soundtrack. In other words, these well-dressed Canucks can tackle about anything and put their indelible stamp on it. And just as Calexico is so good at what they do that they've been rallied innumerable times as rhythm-section-for-hire, The Sadies have also been called into action to aid and abet recordings by the likes of the Pernice Brothers, Neko Case, Andre Williams, and Jad Fair. The band's last local appearance, in July 2001, was as much a gritty backwoods tent revival as it was a country-rock show, and at least one convert standing next to me proclaimed it to be "the best show (he'd) seen in a long time." The Sadies, along with Caliche Con Carne and Libre de Grasa, perform at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission is $5. Call 622-8848 for more info. Alt-country revivalists Uncle Tupelo are often cited as largely influential on nearly every current singer-songwriter or band with even the slightest twang. While that may or may not be true, the thing people seem to forget about UT is that its first two albums, No Depression and Still Feel Gone, are at least as informed by punk rock as they are by country traditions. Before Tupelo came along, they called it cowpunk (think Rank and File, Jason and the Scorchers, etc.), and the members of Portland, Ore., band Richmond Fontaine obviously remember. Along with the fact that RF's singer, Willie Vlauten, sounds uncannily like UT's Jay Farrar, Richmond Fontaine, like Uncle Tupelo, understands the power that a weepy ballad can have sandwiched between slices of drawled punk energy. Richmond Fontaine performs at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at 7 Black Cats, 260 E. Congress St. For further details, call 670-9202.
Who can blame him? With his recent inclusion on reliable UK music rag Uncut's annual compilation CD of the best Americana music of the year, as well as on noted music-phile Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky soundtrack, Rouse's star is certainly rising quickly, and with good reason. Backed by a full band, which includes former Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jessee and jack-of-all-instruments Pat Sansone, Rouse's songs are craftily written snapshots of, alternately, love's labor and an innocent Midwestern upbringing (Rouse grew up in Nebraska), little jewels mounted to provocative and evocative settings. Don't let the singer-songwriter tag scare you away; Rouse is better suited to those who appreciate Freedy Johnston than James Taylor. Josh Rouse appears at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St. For further details call 798-1298.
The Kingsbury Manx performs, along with La Cerca and the De Ludes, at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission is $5. For more info call 622-8848.
First there's the lyrics. Let's sample from "Jubilation," the opening track on the co-ed five-piece's latest LP, Decline of Day (2001, Fortune Records): "A torn up napkin, uneaten meat/A bloody steak knife, bunions cut off the feet/A crippled Arab, face in the street/Searching the asphalt for her missing teeth." Like I said, creepy, huh? Then there's the sound, which is nearly indescribable. The creepiness manifests itself in the same way the Pixies can scare you, but the only real sonic consistency is the complexity of the arrangements (which utilize flute, xylophone, samples and a '70s-era toy synthesizer known as the Optigan, along with the standard guitar/drums/bass configuration), rather than a particular genre. Quirky, creepy, spooky, kooky: welcome to 20 Minute Loop's world. 20 Minute Loop performs with Merrick at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, at Solar Culture, 31 E. Toole Ave. Admission is $5, and all ages are welcome. For more information call 884-0874.
Tora! Tora! Torrance! performs, along with Albuquerque's Persona Projector and Tucson's The Ficas, at 9 p.m. on Friday, March 15, at Vaudeville, 110 E. Congress St. Questions? Call 622-3535 for answers.
Katie MacLeod, along with local Irish band, Trim the Velvet, performs at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 15, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 525 S. Fifth Ave. Advance tickets are available for $8 ($7 for members of TKMA, TFTM, or KXCI) at the Folk Shop, Guitars, Etc., and Antigone Books. They'll be $2 more at the door. For more info call 544-0401.
Jalan Crossland appears at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at the Red Room at the Grill, 100 E. Congress St. (623-7621); and, along with Tucson's Alana Sweetwater, at 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, at Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St. (622-3535).
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