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HONEST FOLK: The last several years have given us more
folk-rock singer/songwriters than the mid-'70s California heyday
of James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, the Eagles and Warren
Zevon, not to mention those outside the L.A. vanguard: Canadians
Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, Easterners Carole King, Neil Diamond
and Paul Simon, and the occasional Brit like, say, Cat Stevens.
The social climate has certainly changed since the utter sincerity of most of those voices first rang out, and many of the very same eventually got restless. Young, Mitchell and Waits began experimenting; Taylor, Browne and especially Neil Diamond--who's made a latter-day living playing Vegas-sized live shows for middle-aged women--all went the adult contemporary route; and Cat Stevens, bless his heart, converted to Islam and wholeheartedly supported the death warrant on Salman Rushdie. And this from a guy who once wrote the lyrics, "Ride on the peace train." It's more ironic than a hit song by Alanis Morisette, doncha think?
But when it all comes down, Vic Chesnutt, Cat Power, Greg Brown, Richard Buckner, Smog, Lucinda Williams, Ani Difranco, Liz Phair, Beck, Elliott Smith, hell, even Alanis are all--albeit some more than others--folk-rock singer/songwriters. So it's kind of refreshing to come across someone who actually presents himself as an irony-free, contemporary folk-pop artist. David Wilcox, who has recorded for A&M and Fresh Baked/Koch Records, has just released his Vanguard Records debut Underneath, which is his seventh album to date. And there's no irony in the fact that Wilcox ended up on Vanguard, a label known for its folkie leanings. I'll be honest. I made the mistake of reading the lyrics before listening to the disc, and was instantly put off by their bold sincerity. But after hearing the heartfelt opening lines of the first song, "I know that compassion is all out of fashion/and anger is all the rage..."--a voice I can't help but compare to James Taylor's--I was a changed reviewer. Perhaps that's the ultimate difference between a poet and a singer/songwriter: for the poet it's all on the page, while song lyrics don't offer a complete picture without their musical accompaniment. Wilcox's music offers a perfect tandem. Using lots of open tunings--a trick he learned from Joni Mitchell--and a self-designed capo which covers only certain strings, there's a certain sadness underlying most of his songs (with the occasional upbeat anomaly like the R&B-influenced "Never Enough"). Wilcox is not a poet, but he's a damn fine singer/songwriter, who's earned his place on that esteemed post-'70s short list. Somehow he's escaped, even in the irony-drenched '90s, with a salable sincerity intact. Check out this fine performer at 8 p.m. Friday, April 30, at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway (west of I-10). All seating is reserved, and tickets are $15. Members of In Concert! and TKMA receive a $2 discount. Advance tickets are available at Hear's Music and Antigone Books, or by calling 327-4809.
And so to celebrate the release of their newest long-player Eeviac (Touch & Go), the real Man or Astro-Man? are headed our way as part of an actual triple bill, again featuring openers Twine, and with the venerable reverb-drenched Cabbagetown, Georgia, swamp-pop rockers, The Rock*A*Teens (who've just released their fourth album, Golden Time, on Merge Records). Whatever you do, don't miss this atmospheric assault. Blast-off is at 8 p.m. Monday, May 3, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $7, available in advance at the club. Madhouse Monday will follow the show. Call 622-8848 for more info. DANCE CARD: Prom is one of those spectacular rites of passage, an event many look forward to their whole high-school career. And with so many expectations placed on one solitary night, you're basically begging for some sort of let-down. Be honest: your prom sucked, didn't it? Well, guess what? The kind folks at Club Congress are giving you a second chance to do it right with their Second Annual Prom Night. Fittingly, the theme for this year's prom is Reminiscing; and even more fittingly, the house band is The Zsa-Zsa's, who'll once again don vintage tuxedoes to dress up every cheesy song you've ever heard.
MATHENY'S MAGIC: When I was a kid and knew absolutely nothing about jazz, I was often struck by the melancholy sound of the flugelhorn, usually as background music in films. The problem was that I didn't know what a flugelhorn was. I knew what a tuba sounded like, and a trumpet, and a trombone; but any horn that didn't fit one of those distinct sounds, I just figured was a saxophone. I searched and searched for a sax-dominated record to fit those melancholy moods, something with that distinctive, sad sound, but all to no avail. And while I discovered a lot of great jazz in the process, I didn't discover that dark, late-night record that would elevate my mood to something filmic. I've finally found it: Dmitri Matheny's Starlight Cafe (Monarch Records).
And to top it all off, Matheny originally hails from Tucson (though he now lives in more temperate San Francisco). It's difficult to blame him for leaving: since his relocation, Matheny has almost unanimously wowed critics, counting amongst his recent accolades being named one of four Best New Artists in the JazzTimes Magazine Readers' Poll, and Talent Deserving Wider Recognition in the Down Beat International Critics' Poll.
If you're looking for a night of amazingly beautiful music, take
your pick: the Dmitri Matheny Group plays on Friday, April 30,
and Saturday, May 1, at the Cottonwood Club, 60 N. Alvernon.
Both shows begin at 8 p.m., and you can call 326-6000 for ticket
information.
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Which brings me (finally, you say) to the point: In the '90s,
everything is ironic. Nobody wants to be a singer/songwriter anymore,
because the tag implies an earnestness that went out of style
long ago. Indeed, many of our most vital contemporary singer/songwriters
are cloaked in some other genres, both by their labels (who seem
to have determined that "singer/songwriter" spells instant
marketing death) and critics who simply can't vie up to actually
liking someone so obvious. It's just not cool anymore.
SPACE CASE: Several months back, there was a show at Club
Congress billed as Man or Astro-Man?, Clone Project: Gamma,
and Twine. It appeared to be a triple bill, headlined by
those wacky dark surf-rock spacemen from Atlanta known to the
people of Earth as Man or Astro-Man? But it turned out the show
was actually a showcase for the Man or Astro-Man? Clone Project:
Gamma (punctuation is everything, folks), a group of women dressed
like MOA-M?, playing MOA-M? songs, and if you believe everything
they tell you, actual clones of the original MOA-M? members. But
you know better. You know that virtually everything Man or Astro-Man?
does is one big joke--except for the music, of course.
So dress yourself to the nines (evening gowns and tuxes, of course),
and be there or be L7 at 9 p.m. Friday, April 30, at Club Congress,
311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $5 in advance at the club and
at Zip's University, $7 on the day of the event, and $10 for anyone
not decked out in prom duds. If you're really trying to win over
that special someone, the club is also offering the ultimate Prom
Night package for couples: a bottle of champagne, tickets to the
prom, a room at Hotel Congress, and breakfast for two at The Cup
Café for $100. Call 622-8848 for reservations and information.
This is the album I've spent a lifetime looking for. Playing
flugelhorn exclusively--a first cousin to the trumpet, but with
a mellower tone--Matheny is backed by Darrell Grant on
piano and Bill Douglass on bass. Their sound I can only
describe, in the best sense of the word, as pretty. Don't get
me wrong: nothing offends my musical sensibilities more than light
jazz (or smooth jazz, if you prefer). But this is no light jazz;
this is real jazz imbued with an increasingly rare beauty.
