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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2003)
BY VANESSA SALVIA Ruthie Foster plays Café Paradiso on Wednesday. Southern Soul Ruthie Foster at Café Paradiso. E ugene’s Cafe Paradiso will host blues and soul songstress Ruthie Foster on Wednesday, July 2. Foster, along with her musical partner Cyd Cassone, released Runaway Soul last summer. Percussionist Cassone provides backing vocals, djembe, con- gita, brushes, tambourine, and shakers. Foster delivers stellar vocal, acoustic guitar and piano performances. Foster’s ensemble is rounded out by Lloyd Maines on dobro, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, accordion and percussion. Glenn Fukenaga plays upright and electric bass, while Riley Osborn plays Wurlitzer and Hammond B- 3 organ. Gary Primich enhances the mix with his expert harmonica. Foster’s musical approach is chock-full of African- American gospel and soul influences, and her irresistible voice flows as smooth as honey. The result of all this is a CD full of blazing energy in every song. Foster was raised in the small Texas town of Gause, in an area rich with down-home musical talent. Foster’s musical ap- proach is chock-full of African-American gospel and soul influences, and her irresistible voice flows as smooth as honey. The CD is an appealing mix of original and traditional tunes; five out of 10 songs are Foster originals. “Woke Up this Morning” and “Death Came a-Knockin” are great traditionals arranged by Foster and Cassone. Foster’s “Home” is a great, seemingly autobiographical, song about youth- ful yearnings to leave home and see the world, then the too-late realization that home wasn’t so bad after all. She sings “I used to want so much in a hurry/ they told me ‘girl, you’re gonna go far’/...Now it’s on my mind, all the time and I dream about/ Dusty small towns and big fami- lies/ cooling my memory like a summer rain.” “Hole In My Pocket,” penned by Terri Hendrix, slows down the tempo, but highlights Foster’s melodious singing and a folksy style, which should broaden Foster’s fan base. Foster’s bright smile and good-natured ways charm her audiences everywhere and make her performances that much more enjoyable. She will be joined on Wednesday by local blues phe- nom David Jacobs-Strain. If you’re a fan of honest blues and gospel, you’d be a fool to miss this show. Forty-one-year-old musician Bob Mould blazed through the ‘80s and ‘90s with bands Husker Du and Sugar, and tempered the guitar- driven punk and pop of those bands with several contemplative solo releases. Bearing a thin re- semblance to Mould’s past work, his newest ef- fort, Modulator, might confound some fans. Modulator — released on Mould’s own Granary Music label, and fully performed and produced by him — still shows off Mould’s dis- tinctive, warm voice and well-timed guitar structures, but its electronic aspects are some- thing new for Mould. This release is Mould’s first full-length since 1998’s The Last Dog and Pony Show and shows him fully immersed in the world of sampling, loops and other effects. In fact, he has released other electronica under the name Loudbomb. Another recent shapeshift was quitting music altogether for nine months to take a job writing and directing World Championship Wrestling. Obviously, Mould can be unpredictable, and he doesn’t make decisions to please others. In synthesizers, samplers and computer effects he has found a “new set of tones, colors and processes with which to create pop songs.” This isn’t music you might hear on any given dance floor, no. Mould has manipulated the genre to suit him, giving his audiences something doubly unexpected. He’s fit, trim, and healthy and seems to have come to a real- ization that for music to be good, it doesn’t have to be screamed at full volume. Mould will al- ways be capable of composing penetrating lyrics, like this sample from “SoundOnSound.” “She’s pulling the weeds up slowly/ He’s pick- ing the pennies from her vest/ They’re stuck in their own dimension and cashing in change for something less.” Give Modulator a chance, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover yet another facet of this talented and intriguing songwriter. Mould will be joined at this show by vocalist/guitarist Thalia Zedek, who has played for more than 20 years with bands like Come, Live Skull and Uzi. This show will surely be amazing, see it Sunday night at WOW Hall. ew Summer Concerts Series at CROSBY, STILLS & NASH JULY 21 JACKSON BROWNE KEB’ MO’ • STEVE EARLE JULY 22 TORI AMOS BEN FOLDS JULY 27 JAMES TAYLOR SEPT. 30 SOLD-OUT! l . . . a dime. Okay, if you had a nicke If you had a quarter, no . . . German pfenning for every East an had you if , Look y. fine, a penn kicking by Pass Out Kings, you’d be Pabst Blue Ribbon devoured out peeled grapes. The Kings slam g eatin side pool the by back punk rock. Check out Eugene best t’s hwes Nort the of e Tickets som are available at the HULT CENTER box office or online at hultcenter.org Pass Out or hob.com, or charge-by-phone at (541) 682-5000 plete information on where Weekly’s clubs page to get com . music are, this and every week Kings and other great live local JUNE 26, 2003 27
