aprii¿ , 2004 • j U S t O U t 3g
M USIC
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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
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