BY VANESSA SALVIA
The Slip plays
McDonald
Theater Lounge
Thursday, July 1.
Soundscapes
Boundary-breaking jazz slips into the lounge.
S
ome exciting events kick off the
week’s entertainment here in Eugene.
First, on July1, cram into the dark but
inviting space of the McDonald Theater
Lounge for The Slip. Having played in
Eugene many times, the name is familiar to
fans who crave this trio’s shifting sound-
scapes of jazz and funk.
Brothers Brad and Andrew Barr and
friend Marc Friedman have been playfully
concocting jazz cocktails together since their
jazz band days in high school. After graduat-
ing, the three moved to Boston and briefly at-
tended Berklee before leaving to pursue their
own goals.
The Slip is one of those rare bands that is
accepted by the jam band world for its
prowess at letting the music flow without
holding back, while the jazz world has sup-
ported its rebellious approach to breaking tra-
ditions. Touring consistently over the past six
years, throughout the U.S., as well as Japan
and Canada, the group has produced six al-
bums and has mastered the ability to combine
rhythms from many lands and shape them
into grooves that merge and grow.
Each element — vocal, percussion, a gui-
tar riff or drum line — is allowed to fully ex-
pand and assert its presence, yet always re-
main part of a conscious whole.
The Slip has recently released two live al-
bums on its own label in addition to its studio
recordings. With one being acoustic and the
other electric, each disc offers insight into a
different aspect of the band’s approach.
Also on July 1, Roy Book Binder will
visit Café Paradiso. This folklorist, come-
dian, blues singer, storyteller and guitarist
from Queens, N.Y., has been performing for
more than 30 years and worked closely in the
‘60s with blues masters Rev. Gary Davis and
Pink Anderson. A recognized and respected
expert in the Piedmont style of blues playing
(a traditional form involving intricate finger-
picking and ragtime-based rhythms), Book
Binder has the authentic air of a true traveling
bluesman. He spins tales of life on the road,
stories replete with the road-weary blues, the
lonesome blues and the lost-love blues.
Book Binder brings the music to life with
the skill of the pupil having become a master,
and he plays his own tunes as well as those of
his musical progenitors, masters of the rural
pre-World War II sound he has devoted his
life to. He plays a beautiful vintage guitar and
has a distinctive style, letting his guitar work
and half-spoken vocal delivery intensify the
emotional impact of a song.
Book Binder performs not only in coffee-
houses and blues rooms, but at prestigious
storytelling festivals, including the 2001
Jonesborough, Tenn. National Storytelling
Festival, where a concert video entitled Roy
Book Binder In Concert: Roy, The Reverend
and the Devil’s Music was filmed. The video
shows Book Binder delivering an oral history
of his favorite blues guitarists and anecdotes
from his relationships with Davis and
Anderson. His ragtime and country blues
tunes sprinkled throughout the performance
make it entertaining as well as educational.
Additionally, for guitarists who like to emu-
late, the video gives viewers a front-row seat
where Book Binder’s fretting and fingerpick-
ing are clearly visible.
New York’s Suffrajett and Portland’s
Man of The Year will perform July 1 at
Indigo District. Suffrajett’s Jason Chasko on
guitar and front-woman Simi on vocals and
violin, drummer Danny Severson and bassist
Kevin Roberts (formerly of Elysian Fields)
make raw, unpretentious rock that, well,
rocks. (Incidentally, Chasko co-wrote and co-
produced Liz Phair’s whitechocolate-
spaceegg.) Simi’s gritty vocals are delivered
with attitude and power but with a catchy
quality you can’t help but latch onto. The
foursome creates music with a strong pop
backbone, but thanks to the rough guitars and
aggressive tendencies, it veers away from
sweet and sentimental.
Songs like the opener “Love Me More”
show Simi tearing up the love letters with
lines like “I want to let you know that you’re
acting like an asshole.” Her vocals can be
girlish or biting, and, along with the fully en-
meshed rhythm section, are a big appeal.
Should be a rockin’ show.
Suffrajett is touring with MC5 and will be
appearing with them at their Portland gig,
but, alas, MC5 will not stop here in lil’ ol’
Eugene.
The Black Forest is hosting Seattle’s
The New Mexicans on July 7. With song
titles like “I’m Going to Go Put On My
Cape and Go Jackoff to Some Beat
Happening CDs” and “Lesbian Llamas Are
The Fruit Of Gnomes,” you know you’re in
for some weird shit with the New Mexicans.
They fully admit that taking anything too
seriously sets the stage for mockery, and
they mock themselves, just to make sure we
don’t get all politically correct and blame
them for society’s woes. Difficult to pin
down musically, the band has a hard and
fast approach that comes on strong and ends
as quickly as it began. When the guitar, bass
and drums play together nicely, the effect is
brutally strong. The rest of the time, it’s
stop-and-start that can be dizzying. Though
technically proficient and musically syn-
chronized at times, they are not a “techni-
cal” band. If you’re into Fugazi and other
Dischord bands or just like tight, forceful
rock music that isn’t awfully self-aware,
this will satisfy without leaving that icky
neu-metal taste in your mouth. This band
has a reputation for playing short, fast, shit-
storm sets that end abruptly, so don’t be late
to the gig.
The WOW Hall is taking its summer
break and will not be hosting any events from
July 1 through July 12. Also, if you’re look-
ing for a way to be entertained and support
visual art at the same time, check out the 21st
annual Art and the Vineyard, taking
place July 2-4 in Alton Baker Park. The event
features food, music and art and benefits
Eugene’s Maude Kerns Art Center.
ew
With song titles like
‘I’m Going to Go Put On My Cape And Go Jackoff To Some Beat Happening CDs’ and
‘Lesbian Llamas Are The Fruit Of Gnomes,’
you know you’re in for some weird shit with the New Mexicans.
Full Bar
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for
Lunch & Dinner
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& M
Oak
(formerly
Field’s)
• 434-6553
JULY 1, 2004 27