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Sisqo to join Barbie on the toy shelf
Welcome, fair readers,
to the first weekly lo
cal and national mu
sic news round-up,
which pays doting homage to
savvy former Rocket columnist
Johnny Renton, who, incidentally,
is welcome over at the house for a
drink anytime. The Rocket and
Renton’s col
umn sparked
my interest es
pecially in in
die and north
west rock
when I was a
wee lad.
This inaugu
ral voyage be
gins last
Thursday at
Built To Spill's
sans-set-list gig
The Be-In
at the WOW
Hall. The im
provised order
helped the band play inspired ren
ditions of songs such as “Car,”
“Carry the Zero,” and “The
Source,” along with Talking Heads
and George Harrison covers, be
fore closing with an obligatory 10
minute jam session. But the band’s
decision also prompted a pathetic
barrage of song requests from the
crowd, most of which the band pa
tiently, gracefully ignored — espe
cially the tired antics of one man
asking for “Free Bird” — in part
because so many song titles were
yelled at once, the rabble became
unintelligible. Eventually, one sar
castic fan yelled, “Please play
every song you’ve ever done,”
prompting a chuckle from the oth
erwise reserved band members.
But the verbal pounding contin
ued even after frontman Doug
Martsch announced the band
would devote the last 20 minutes
of its set to the songs “they had to
play,” finally causing one fan to
loudly announce he was amidst
the worst crowd ever. At times, the
claim was hard to refute. Crowd
antics aside, Built To Spill are still
the Rolling Stones of Northwest
indie rock and still the closest
thing to a jam band Mr. Lang can
tolerate, let alone love for an hour
and change.
Speaking of Rolling Stone, the
magazine’s Web site featured some
wonderful insights from the Ener
gizer Bunny of pop music herself,
Stevie Nicks, about her new al
bum, “Trouble in Shangri-La.”
“It’s a little less mystical and a
little more clear, because I was try
ing to be very clear. I wanted to
make sure this time around that
this was a very understood
record,” Nicks said, clearly.
A year has actually passed since
Sisqo rapped his way into our
hearts and souls with his anthem
to love at first sight, “Thong Song.”
His follow-up album and opportu
nity to escape one-hit-wonderdom
was released last week, and Mr.
Dragon revealed that a Sisqo doll
will also be unleashed on toy
stores soon, an idea he first consid
ered quite corny. “But think about
it,” he told Rolling Stone, “if some
body asked you, ‘Can we make a
doll out of you?’ would you really
say no?” Sadly, Mr. Lang would
have to. No word on whether the
doll will come with your choice of
thong color accessory.
The weekend brought a mass
pilgrimage up 1-5 and over to the
Gorge Amphitheater for Radio
head’s only Northwest appear
ance. Amid snubbing states like
Oregon with uncool venues, the
band took time out to lend their
voices to an episode of South Park,
airing July 11, in which the band
somehow becomes a linchpin in
Cartman’s plan to pass off some
one else’s pubic hair as his own.
The “Amnesiac” track “I Might Be
Wrong” will also appear on televi
sion promotions for the Winter
Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Other news from the Emerald
City area: Last week Jennifer J.Lo
Lopez turned Seattle upside down
with her visit to the fair town for a
movie shoot, resembling the
hoopla when Latin heartthrob
Benicio Del Toro stopped in Port
land and the local media lovingly
stopped the presses to cover his
every move and sighting in restau
rants and bars. The incident has
prompted Mr. J.La to question
when Eugene will get its celebrity
visitor. Maybe James Caan? A new
Mark Wahlberg movie, perhaps?
Or maybe a stop by from Go-Gos
leader Belinda Carlisle, as the
countdown continues to her nude
spread in August’s Playboy Maga
zine. Just goes to show what hap
pens when they let Fred Durst into
that place. Notice Carlisle not re
ferred to as “former leader.” The
band actually released an album in
May titled, “God Bless the Go
Gos.” If you also knew that little
tidbit, congrats; you also know too
much about music in general.
Finally, from the TV side of
things, MTV is still reeling from
the news that its show “Fear”
gained both zero fans and Emmy
nominations. Wanting to assure
that an MTV series doesn’t bomb
again, the network has signed up
for a sure-fire hit called “Skirts”
starring none other than Paula Ab
dul. Casting is underway for the
pilot, which (gasp!) will be about
cheerleading and dancing. Abdul,
who will play the cheerleading
coach, told Entertainment Weekly
the show will mix the sexiness of
“Baywatch” with the drama of
“Melrose Place.” Forecast calls for
scattered showers of Golden
Globes.
Best bet for live music this week:
Kelly Joe Phelps’ swampy blues
performance Saturday and Sunday
at the Dexter Music Festival will
be the perfect medicine for those
feeling the blues in the wake of
John Lee Hooker’s death last week.
Jeremy Lang is an associate editor of the
Emerald, and probably listens to The Dandy
Warhols more than he should. He can be
reached at jlang@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
Barscene
continued from page 7
With the students gone, she
added, more of the “regular Eu
gene people” come out.
“Years ago, when I was actually
in college, I probably would have
liked it less,” she said. “Now, I al
most like it better.”
“I find that refreshing,
actually. There’s a lot more
interesting conversation. ”
Chase Fairbairn
co-owner,
Max’s Tavern
Self-described “seasoned
drinker” Bruce Knoll said while he
isn’t going out more than usual in
the summer, he appreciates the
more “mellow” atmosphere
around town.
Knoll, a senior, said with the ex
ception of a few downtown bars,
the bar scene seems to slow down
over the summer. But Knoll said
he enjoys the change of pace at his
favorite campus bar, Rennie’s
Landing.
“Campus is laid back,” he said.
“It’s nice.”
While there are fewer students
around during the summer, busi
ness is still pretty good, said Tim
Shipley, a bartender at Taylor’s Bar
and Grille.
“It dies a little bit, but it’s not
Jessie Swimeley Emerald
Joggers overflows on Tuesday night with a crowd oipeople watching the souls brave
enough to karaoke.
bad,” he said. “A lot of people go
to summer school.”
And when the weather’s nice, he
added, people tend to drink more.
Some crowd-drawing specials at
Taylor’s include $1 well drinks
from 9-11 p.m. and $1 microbrew
beers from 9-10:30 p.m. on Tues
days. On Thursday, all domestic
beers are $1 for ladies.
Down the street at Max’s Tav
ern, co-owner Chase Fairbairn
said his business drops about 15
percent over the summer. But, he
said, because he has a lower cost
of labor over the summer, he
doesn’t mind the drop in sales
too much.
And with many students gone
for the summer, he said, the crowd
changes as well.
With more graduate students,
locals and University professors
coming out to the bars over the
summer, “you end up with a
more interesting class of folk,” he
said.
With summer school, he said,
many of those attending are seri
ous students — and their intellec
tual presence often makes for live
ly bar-room discussion.
“I find that refreshing, actually,”
he said. “There’s a lot more inter
esting conversation.”
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