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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2000)
MUSIC CD stew A ll H ands on the B ad O ne Sleater-Kinney • Kill Rock Stars hese days, any article you see about the trio Sleater-Kinney will undoubtedly say two things: Everyone in the press has already written about them, and everyone in the press has already asked them every question ever imagined so I have nothing to write about. How postmodern can you get? After Sleater-Kinney released The Hot Rock last year, journalists decided it was OK to write more about the band’s media attention than about the music itself. In the meantime, Sleater-Kinney wrote another powerful batch of tunes and titled it All Hands on the Bad One. Not-so-ironically, the albums lyrics reflect a life that has been thrown to the lions—or to the rock journalists. Musically, All Hands on the Bad One is a reply to one of the groups earliest records, Call the Doctor. The guitar lines are raw and rugged, despite the overall hi-fi production. However, a surge of pop consciousness flows though some the songs like a live wire. Based on its sheer eneigy alone, “You’re No Rock ’n’ Roll Fun" is the best written, per formed and recorded song on the album. Over a driving drum beat and quirky guitar, singer Corin Tucker belts: “You’re no rock ’n’ roll fun/ Like a party that’s over before it’s begun.” The opener, “Ballad of a Ladyman,” and Carrie Brownstein’s lament of displacement, “Leave You Behind,” are other album stand outs. “The Professional" sounds like the theme song to a late ’70s television show about cops. The album is solid, save for a few duds. Every line of lyrics seems awash in symbolism. However, it may get a little tiresome hearing the trio sing about their rock star woes, espe cially since these talented women perpetuate the idea by loading the CD liner notes with glossy photos of themselves. T PRIDE WEEKEND JUNE 17 & 18,2000 GRAND MARSHALS: PORTLAND GAY MEN'S CHORUS ------------ ► SAVE THE DATE! ------------ UPCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS TO BENEFIT PRIDE NORTHWEST At Fox & Hound, join your hostess IQ mureinursTTorTriae^raoKe^at 9pm all night long with proceeds benefiting Pride NW. You to can be a glamourpuss on Laurelhurst's Main stage during this spectacularly fun night of Friday Frolic! Fox & Hound 217 N.W. 2d 243-5530 killikkMAMwi I ill At the Brigg - the Return of "Drag WhipCream Wres tling 2000!" The horror of it all. Come and see your favorite drag queen step into the ring and open a can of whip ass on her opponent. You can even buy a can to whip up your favorite queen! Only $7 cover charge with doors opening at 6pm. Get there early because you know it will be packed again!!! Also enjoy the Mr. and Miss Gay Pride Pre liminaries hosted by the reigning Princess XXX Veronica Devore and Rose Empress XXXVIII Misha. The Brigg 1035 S.W. Stark 226-4171 At the Edge Rosebud 24 Abby presents "Toga Party 2000!". Join Abby for a decadent night set in ancient Greece. Doors open at 10pm. Support our GLBT youth in what will be a feast fit for the Gods!! Proceeds from the raffle and auction to benefit PNW. Call the Edge to volunteer for the auction or to donate raffle prizes. The Edge 242-2899 HESEJ At the Embers Nightclub is the first "Annual Gay Day at the Zoo" hosted by Buttercup and Misha 38. Starting at Noon till 2pm with a Picnic basket auction. Buy a basket with a secret celebrity attached. Carpool from the Embers parking lot to Washington park for a day of picnic and Gay Zoo frolic. This is sure to become one of the most fabu lous events during the year. If you would like to volunteer to create a picnic basket, call Misha at 295-9788 or Buttercup at the Embers at 222-3082. The Embers 110 N.W Broadway At CC Slaughters is 'The Luscious Luau". Hosted by Craig and Misha fit with a real beach, roasted pig feast, and of course a wet shorts and shirt contest. Hawaii is coming to Portland so bring your beach wear and be at the door at 7pm for a Party you will never forget. C.C. Slaughters 219 N.W. Davis 248-9135 Sunday June 4 At Scandals beginning at Noon is the "Herbie the Lovebug Mania" hosted by Monroe and Jimmy, the bartenders. Num ber Nine all day all night with all the Disney Herbie classics. Buy a square on Jimmy's Lovebug for $20 and paint what you wish to debut in this years' Pride 2000 Parade "A Celebration of Queer Art and Culture". Join in ail the Lovebug madness with a beer bust tea party blowout all daylong!!!! Scandals 1038 S.W. Stark 227-5887 Saturday, June 10, 2000: B DANCE with the 16 piece band, ROSE CITY ________ ______ SWING @ PPAA 618 S.E. ALDER. For more information, call 790-2170. PRIDE NORTHWEST P.O. BOX 6611 PORTLAND, OREGON 97228 VOICEMAIL 503.295.9788 • E-MAIL pridenorthwest@usa.net WWW.PRIDENW.COM Spnsored By: justrrm T he N eed is D ead The Need • Chainsaw gave this album to my girlfriend for Valen tine’s Day. All boasting aside, it may be the sexiest present I could ever have thought to give. For many dykes, the Need embodies sex. The two women who run the show, Radio and Rachel, rock out with a force that’s unmatch- able. Their guitar lines are haunting and raunchy, the drumming is intricate, powerful and precise. The band is known for playing in strange time signatures—you won’t find yourself think ing any sort of “acceptable” thoughts while lis tening to the Need. You’ll more likely find yourself on a strange planet, walking dazed and I Musical queers stir up a mostly fresh mix of punk, R&B, blues and rock by K aty D avidson confused through the remains of a surreal cir cus. That’s how extreme the Need is. The Need is Dead is a little more metal based than the band’s debut full-length record, but it’s just as quality. “Vaselina” is thunderous and bizarre. “Dear Diary” is composed around a cool riff in a dark, minor key. Toward the end of the album, the Need solidifies an obsession with a fictional character named Sally on “O Sally How’s It Feel with a Fake Hand?” and “Dark Sally,” a monster rock song with three parts. Embarrassingly, I’ve only seen the Need play live once. This is an album and a band that should be explored with multiple listens. T he U nion T hemes Lois Maffeo & Brendan Canty • Kill Rock Stars or being such an indie darling, Lois Maffeo sure sings like an R&B diva. She recently contributed a song called “Hope” to the new collaborative album from Intemal/Exter- nal, and her vocals sound so smooth they could be featured on MTV Jams. On her own new release, The Union Themes, Maffeo continues a soft assault by vocal seduction, but the most noticeable aspect of the record is her handling of various musical genres. Save for a few tracks, this album could be downright bluesy. Her decision to venture into new sonic territory could easily have been influenced by her latest partner in crime, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. Before recording The Union Themes, Maffeo says, she set out to write fictionally instead of autobiographically, and this desire may have manifested itself in her chord changes, not just her lyrics. The first song, “These Parts,” com bines guitar, piano and vocals to create an almost Celtic-sounding collage. After exploring a bit of the blues realm with “Being Blind,” she slinks into the third song, “How I Came to Know," with lounge-pop pos ture. This track is the most accessible on the album; it swirls together different textures and feelings and, at the end, Maffeo trips into her trademark falsetto to bring the song home. As much as this album seems like a new step for Maffeo, there still are classic moments F E rotic A dventures for the 5 oul “Celebrating the Body Erotic” Come alive to the power of your erotic energy. Open your body mind and spirit to a world of ecstasy. Discover deeper levels of communication with yourself and others. Honor yourself with the gift of touch. WJ Bodq Electric School
