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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2004)
aprii¿ , 2004 • j U S t O U t 3g M USIC ..................................'▼ ................................... Menage á trois The Rose City Gay Freedom Band hosts a tri-city party by B ody L angu age Kylie M inogue • Capitol T here were only 10 trombones, not 76, but when they added their voices to 93 other brass, wind and assorted percussion instruments, the sound could only he described as thunderous. The combined force of 103 musicians from three gay and lesbian hands brought to a climactic conclusion the stirring evening of music called, appropriately enough, Ensembles a Trois, March 13 at Reed Colleges Kaul Auditorium. The program was hosted and organized by Portland’s Rose City Gay Freedom Band and featured guest appear ances by the Rainbow Concert Band of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Rainbow City Band of Seattle. Each of the hands played several numbers by themselves, beginning with the Rainbow Concert Band, the only gay and lesbian band in all of Canada. Small in number— 14 includ ing the director— when they came on, they seemed almost lost among the enormous numbers of empty musician chairs. But they certainly made a full, rich sound when they hit the crescendos of some bright and lively pieces. Nodding to the international flavor of the evening, their program includ ed a rhapsody based on American folk songs such as “Skip to My Lou” and a matching “Canadian Folk Song Rhapsody.” With well over 50 members, Seattle’s gay hand filled many more chairs. Under the direction of Jo-Ann Christen, they devoted much of their segment to a rousing rendition of Georges Bizet’s “Suite from Carmen." This familiar music is highly colored in its orchestral version, and the band brightened the colors and enhanced the contrasts. The Rose City Gay Freedom Band has been performing for Portland audiences since 1991. Though they began and e all remember Kylie Minogue’s highly successful platinum 2002 album Fever with that delectable dance floor single “C an’t Get You Out of My Head.” Having sold 6 million copies worldwide, it’s a hard one to outdo— and it shows. Body Language spins off with the fantastic “Slow”— a perfectly smooth leading track with simple production and high sexual voltage. Unfortunately, it’s a downhill electrical charge from there. Don’t get too excited about collaborating hip-hop celebrity Ms. Dynamite on “Secret (Take You Home).” Minogue raps just fine, but it doesn’t save the song. “Promises” boasts a catchy rhythm and would for sure make the cut— if only the lyrics had been in, say, incomprehensible Greek or Mandarin. But even with a pocketbook understanding of basic English, the gay icon’s saccharine voice accompanying heavy lyrics like “you forget the fact you lied to m e.. .the promises you made to me were really lies and fantasy” is just not convincing or even fun anymore. Don’t bother skipping to last songs “Loving Days” and “After Dark." They are the poorest exodus Body Language could have wished for. Luckily, scattered out over die amorphous mass of complacent fillers, a few pleasant surprises can still be found. “Sweet Music,” for instance, is a seamless little disco sting that hasn’t started meandering yet. And “Someday,” with its idyllic ’90s hip-hop funk, is excellent for that Satur day night dance floor groove (and for the gay boy gyms, of course). Also, look for the fine R St B experiments (like on “Red Blooded Woman") scattered throughout the ’80s jams. Mintigue’s ninth album is ultimately the one diat tried but couldn’t (or the one that tried too little). A distinct whiny “Locomotion" taste plagues the album and sets the tone for too much tameness, repetitiveness, formu laic dullness and complacency. This Neighbors survivor can do better. — Els Debbaut JTJ W A ndy S imon Three bands, 103 players, one big queer party: The Rose City Gay Freedom Band hosted musicians from Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle for Ensembles a Trois March 13 ended their section with dazzlers, they actually showed their versatility with “When Jesus Wept” from William Schum an’s New England Triptych. This slow, almost moody piece showcased the group’s ability to play sweetly in quiet, lyrical moments. The walls of the auditorium were still ringing from the final notes of the Rose City hand’s energetic reading of “The Star Wars Saga” when a buzz of anticipation overcame the audience as they watched all 103 seats in the performance space quickly fill with musicians. The assembled hand of bands began with a very ambi tious piece: the overture to Giocchino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The opening section dragged a bit, hut all was for given by the time of the rollicking finale. They got to let it all out in the last piece, “Mars, the Bringer of War,” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. The musi cians, under the direction of home team conductor Rice Majors, playing fortissimo, created a frightening wall of sound that at first stunned the audience— and then brought it to its feet with roaring approval. JT1 S ilverado C onstruction P arty April 16-18, 2004 Win Easter Baskets Full of Prizes and Ea ste r Eggs Full of Cash! Casual Dining Piano Lounge Game Room Open 4:00 Daily Studs and Drivers Hot Men at Work! H a rd H a ts & T o o l Belts S il v e r a d o 1 20 N W Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 • (503) 224-3285 • www hobospdx com P a rk in g V a lid a te d S m art P a rk D a v is & Front ■Hi ' -V .. : X-:<. '. s P ortland ’ s H ottest G ay M ans B ar 1 21 7 SW S t a r k S t r e e t , P o r t l a n d , OR
