5
U ie CI ac I< amas P rint
CircleSlide venue delivers seven-band slam
JOEL P. SHEMPERT
Feature Editor
Portland’s CircleSlide Productions, formerly Push Pro
ductions, has been laboring nonstop for the last five years
or so to provide an outlet for fans of Christian alternative
and indie rock. Last Friday night, April 24, marked, as the
next step in CircleSlide’s ongoing effort to obtain their own
permanent facility, their final show at Mt. Scott Church of
God. They certainly went out with a bang—the seven bands
played collectively from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m.
One accusation that certainly cannot be leveled at the
CircleSlide venue is that they lack variety. The cross-sec
tion of musical styles represented by Friday’s bands was
abundantly diverse. Organizers Mikee Bridges and Todd
Fadel have always promoted local artists of all types to
share their music. Their shows, and especially the three-
years-running August TOM Festival, have a smorgasbord
quality about them, and April 24 was no exception.
The first band up was Seattle’s Sulk, a band that lived up
to its name with strange and moody rock driven by haunt
ing keyboards. Not everyone’s bag, to be sure, but they
were fairly enjoyabtoand delivered their music well.
Next came the band many were waiting for, and whom
this reviewer was eager to hear for the first time. Trueb
took the stage and laid down a delicious funk vibe that
moved the feet almost involuntarily. Trueb’s recipe for
success is a smashing one, including two parts funk, one
part jazz, one part blues, a generous sprinkling of good ol’
rock n’ roll, and a dash of mariachi, plus an astounding
child prodigy guitarist who seems to have been bom to the
instrument. It’s easy to see why this group is going far,
fast.
After the Trueb funksters stepped down (too soon) it was
time for the kings of feedback—first Todd Fadel’s own emo
group Sappo, then local indie rock legend Pep Squad. Both
were in good form.
Sappo was sporting a new guitarist, Tim “rock on” Eurich,
formerly of Piqqadown. Tim blended right in to the en
semble, and seemed to have an even better outlet to show
case his talent. He was at his best laying down a blisteringly
fast strum underneath Todd’s ornamentation. Sappo in gen
eral played an enjoyable if short set—in a seven-band con
cert, it’s impossible to give each band ample time. While
such Sappo staples as “Siren” and “Next New Fix” were
absent, other favorites like “Taxidermy” and “Aladdin” were
played well, and there was new material to feast on as well.
The band, as might be expected, rocked hard then closed
with their praise tune, “Because of You.”
Sappo frontman Todd Fadel cuts loose with his trademark wail.
Pep Squad, whose members admit to starting as a joke
band, has become a whole lot more, even if they have a lot
farther to go. They are known for high energy, bizarre lyr
ics, and strange guitar sounds, but are most famous for audi
ence participation. There was hardly a song in their set when
fans were not called upon to play guitar and/or sing. Pep
Squad gamers so many fans mainly because they are their
audience’s biggest fan.
As exciting as this show was, there was poor planning
evident in the ordering of the seven groups. Velour 100’s
more subdued, keyboardy, melodically driven female-fronted
sound and Pedro the Lion’s simple, honest, acoustic style
would have better served at the start of the show, where the
audience would be neither too tired to really enjoy them nor
let down by the drop in energy. Both groups would have
received a fairer shake in that situation, but nonetheless
proved enjoyable, especially Pedro the Lion’s .artistic,
off-the-beaten-path sound.
Of course, the lateness of the hour could do little to
deter the evening’s (morning’s?) feature attraction: the
last—and they really mean it this time—appearance ever
of Star Wars tribute band Twin Sister. Consisting of
members (as is customary to mention) of Sappo as well
as Tragedy Ann and the now defunct Sometime Sunday,
this ensemble lays down a pounding funk rock groove
Choreographer will share
wisdom of Renaissance
JARED BEZZANT
Dance
and
Society
Choreogra
pher Judith
Kennedy will
host a lecture
and slide
show on
Renaissance
dance in the
McLoughlin
Hall Theatre
on April 29 at
noon.
Co-A&E-Editor
Choreographer Judith Kennedy
will be making her annual appearance
at Clackamas this Thursday to share
some knowledge and ideas on early
European dances. Kennedy, who just
retired, choreographed for the Or
egon Shakespearean Festival in
Ashland. She was also responsible for
the Green Show, which is a presenta
tion of music, dance and poetry be
fore the Shakespearean Festival, in
the town’s square.
Kennedy has a BA and MA in
dance from Mills College. She has
also studied Baroque in Europe. Her
dances range from Elizabethan to
modem period.
“These dances are very compli
cated,” said friend and Clackamas in
structor Jane Rickenbaugh.
Rickenbaugh explained the impor
tance of these dances in their proper
history of early and late Renaissance.
Men danced with swords and women
wore from 20-30 pounds of clothing.
All of this and they performed elabo
rate jumps and bows. Each hand
movement was extremely important.
“A gentleman was not a gentleman
if he couldn’t dance well,” said
Rickenbaugh.
Rickenbaugh went on to say that the
arts would make or break your career
in those days. It was important to be
able to play an instrument and dance.
“In the courts you had to know how
to dance,” she said.
The Renaissance period of dance
is an influence of many cultural Eu
ropean dances and was important in
such places as England and France in
drama, music and other programs.
Kennedy will be teaching the drama
department some of these Elizabethan
sequences to prepare them for their
upcoming performance of Twelfth
Night.
Rickenbaugh says she comes every
year to help the performers of the
drama department’s Shakespearean
play.
“She has a very long history with
the Shakespeare company,” said
Rickenbaugh.
Kennedy will also lecture and show
slides in the McLoughlin Theater at
noon on April 29. The presentation
is called “Dance and Society in the
Early and Late Renaissance.”
JOEL P. SHEMPERT / Clackamas Print
which is enjoyable enough even if you’re not a Star Wars
fan, and is delightful if you are.
“Unlike Pep Squad, we started as a joke band and just
continued on as a joke band,” explained Todd Fadel to
the crowd. Twin Sister is eminently able to laugh at
itself, and this livens up their sets considerably. Their
set, in which they played pretty rtiuch their entire reper
toire, was hard, heavy, and fun.
They were emphatic that this time, the third or so,
they really are breaking up. “I know we’ve lied be
fore,” said Todd, and explained that they will be work
ing on a project entitled “Vader” that will bring Star
Wars to big band. In the meantime, Twin Sister deliv
ered their material in rare form, dealing with subjects
ranging from anti-droid racism, Lando’s self-delusion,
Han and Leia’s love life, and of course, Ben Kenobi’s
deception of Luke Sky walker.
If all this doesn’t sound too worshipful, rest assured
that while the CircleSliders know abundantly how to
have fun, their main focus is on their Christian faith. It
just goes to show that with such an eclectic array of
local groups, there’s no telling what might turn up.
CircleSlide is appreciated greatly as promoters of the
Christian underground in the Northwest, and their next
show will certainly be a success wherever it may be held.
May Events
May 20-Instrumental Jazz Festival at 7:30,
May 21- Opening of the drama departments Twelfth Night in the
McLoughlin Hall Theatre at 8 p.m.
May 26- One Act Plays begin in the McLoughlin Hall Theatre at 12:30
p.m.
May 28- Sculptor Judy Pfaff will lecture on May 28 at 7 p.m, in the Lakeside
Kucation Hall m ELC
Chartwells
Invites you to lunch.
Or dinner or breakfast.
Open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. for all your needs.
The place to eat on campus!
Wednesday, April 29, 1998