January
3 . 2003 *
Jm t M
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and Oregon Microbrews
sold here
REVIEWS
W hat E) oes G ood L uck B ring ?
No. 2 • In Music We Trust
hat the gay one would he the least complex,
most meat-and-potatoes sort in any group
defies the conventional stereotypes, but
that’s what we have in the case of Neil Gust.
He began his career as a guitarist, singer and
songwriter in the long-defunct Portland rixk
institution Hcatmiser (from which the famed
Sam C œ m es, now of Quasi, and Elliott Smith
also graduated). G ust’s group, No. 2, is happy to
he a more or less straight-up (no irony intended)
rock hand; compared to the elaborately clever
Coomes and the sometimes solipsistic Smith,
they might as well he AC/DC.
No. 2’s debut, What Does G axl Luck Bring.', is
worth at least one listen, hut while opener “A Lit
tle Confusion’’ is only saved from too-familiarity
hy (sexually?) anarchic lyrics “I don’t mind a little
confusion/I kind of like a little pain” and “More,
More” just proves that syncopated hand claps
make any song riveting, Gust has a few extra
ordinary tricks up his sleeve elsewhere. The
catchy, country-flavored “8:45 a.m.” boasts “I
don’t wanna go to work” as its only lyric; “Travel
ing” and “Stranger’s March” have pure, sad, addic
tive guitar melixlies scrawled copiously in their
margins; and on the excellent title track, a down
beat waltz-time ballad, Gust turns his keening
falsetto into the sound of the other shoe dropping.
W hat the hand does is play very gcxxl
power-pop, and though a number of very gixxi
power-pop hands are out there, the album
offers enough melodic and lyrical interest to
deserve a place in any pop fan’s collection. It’s
at least as singular a rush to listen to as your
Weezers or your Veruca Salts.
— Christopher McQuain
T
C hokecherry
Ashleigh Flynn • Self-released
or the past couple of years Portland pop-
folkie Ashleigh Flynn has earned a steady
spot opening for a long line of Aladdin
Theater-type alt-country singer-songwriters
(Wilco, Jonatha Brixike, Nanci Griffith). W ith
three years between her first album and the new
release Chokecherry to refine and complement
her live sound (most recently she’s been e n
listing DJs and eclectic riKkers to hack her up),
she’s an artist aiming for a new sonic target.
F
Assisting producers Gregg Williams (Dandy
Warhols) and Nancy Hess (Carmina Piranha)
have wrapped a mix of audiophile indulgences
around the queer artist’s spare percussive
acoustic stylings. Drum samples, ambient key
boards, distorted guitar, the occasional record
scratch— all create a landscape more varied
and complex than her debut effort.
Flynn seems to have cracked the ccxle of pro
moting herself kxally— her name is out there,
and that’s half the battle. But not only does
Chokecherry often sound like she’s inhabiting
another singer’s world, there’s also a distance in
her work that feels like a safe, well-worn posture.
It’s not that Flynn isn’t talented; she is. But
Chokecherry sounds like a knockoff, and the pro
duction shenanigans feel overt and contrived.
The young musician is missing an opportuni
ty; she’s got eyes and ears on her, but she comes
off like another card-carrying member of the
worn-out U nion of Imitators (sounds like: Sarah
McLachlan, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco). And
that doesn’t serve anyone— not the listener, not
the artist.
So while Ashleigh Flynn is stacked with tal
ent and possibility, can she rise above the
homogeneity and deliver something we can he
a part of?
— Ccrri Taratcxrt
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M e x ican o
N ew L o c a tio n : 2 3 0 4 S E B e lm o n t
J & M Cafe
5:30 pm - 10:30 pm M on to Thur
5:30 pm - 11 pm Fri & Sat
(503) 239 9675
o p e n in g for lu n ch so o n
Dinner
B eing O ut R ocks
Various Artists • Human Rights Campaign/
Centaur Entertainment
ompilation CDs are a mixed bag.
O n one hand, they’re an excellent way
to check out a bunch of different artists all
at once, some of which you may like, some of
which you’ll be compelled to get to know bet
ter. Also, many compilations are used to bene
fit gcxxl causes.
However, what happens after you’ve checked
out the artists, after all the money has gone to a
gcxxJ cause? Is there really such a thing as a
comp you listen to again and again? My friends,
there is a graveyard for CDs of this sort: It is
known as the $1 bin at used-record stores.
T hat said, Being Out Rocks isn’t so bad. It
benefits the National Coming O ut Project of
the Human Rights Campaign. It features some
big names and covers a lot of genres— pop,
folk, rcx:k, dancehall. Highlights include Sarah
M cLachlan’s soaring piano ballad “Angel,"
Q ueen’s all-too-presently-rclevant “Is This the
World We Created?” and Janis Ian’s haunting
folk tune “Society’s Child."
Not surprisingly, most of the songs are
either about relationships or queer politics. All
in all, it’s a decent collection.
So help out H RC by buying this record.
Give it a few hearty listens. Then, before it
starts collecting dust, before it makes its slow
journey to a box in your basement (next to
your laserdiscs, your pogs), do yourself a favor.
Drop it off at your lixzal used-record store’s $1
bin. Comp CDs need community, too.
— Katy Davidson IH
C
Sola/
f7ta/ian fj3i,s(ro
New
Fall/Winter
Menu
, fJi/w auA /e tC: ÿfio io e/l
â 0 3 - 2 A 6 -6 Y ) Y > '6
to toto. ,\a/a/u\s'fito. c o m
tuesday through Saturday
537 se ash 503 230 0463
FOR A GREAT STEAK, LOOK FOR
THE REVOLVING STEAK SIGN
EXCEPT IN BEAVERTON,
WHERE THE CITY
W OULDN’T LET US
HAVE ONE
°l'/am ities
S d ffU / tA
\
Our revolving steak sign has become a landmark in Portland.
Wl A sign o f quality Where you know you can get a great steak
dinner at a fair price Unfortunately, we couldn t get that same
sign in Beaverton But honestly, we 're not that hard to fin d
105th & SE Stark • 503-252-4171
OLD CQtnCTR? KITCHEN
home o f the 72 oz. steak
Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy at Griffith Dr. - 503-644-1492
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