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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2007)
BY CHUCK ADAMS Preternatural Vibrations I Immaculate Malkmus Unstable no more! I rail against our information-saturated cul- t’s been a year and a half since Stephen ture that ends with the tongue-in-cheek Malkmus released Face the Truth, his yelp: “I want my Alka-Seltzer!” third post-Pavement installment, and Malkmus, who became a dad and hus- it’s finally Eugene’s turn to buckle down band in 2005, is facing the age-old dilem- with Portland’s resident singing-songwrit- ma of growing up without growing stale. ing maestro for an evening of … hard Appropriately, SM kicks off “Maledic- rock? At least, that’s how the WOW Hall tion,” his coda to the intersection of life is describing Malkmus and his on-again, and art, with a hearty off-again backing band the farewell: “So long / Jicks. We can’t blame Goodbye to the nervous them; it’s difficult to cate- Stephen Malkmus apprehension / I certainly gorize an elder statesman and the Jicks, won’t miss ya / My heart is of the indie scene without Entrance unable to stay so unstable wandering into the murky no more.” terrain of “college rock” or 9 pm Tues. 1/16 While Malkmus may be “alternative.” WOW Hall, approaching stability, the Even more confusing is $15 adv., $15 dos. same can’t be said of the SM’s relationship to the Jicks. With the departure of Jicks, who shared album John Moens last October credit with him on 2003’s (now drumming full-time for The Pig Lib but were mysteriously dropped Decemberists), SM&TJ scored a power- from Face. In an interview with Rolling house in Janet Weiss, recently freed from Stone, Malkmus said, “I wanted to go back Sleater-Kinney — but still drumming for to more of a bossy style: in my house and Quasi. The verdict is still out on whether at my leisure.” Egos aside, Malkmus says PDX indie-inbreeding has been a blessing he still wants to be a “team player.” or a dilution, but one thing is certain: If SM has a serious side, he sure has a Weiss’ addition propelled SM&TJ into the hard time letting it gain any traction. He recording studio this past fall, meaning pours his soul into “No More Shoes,” an this month’s West Coast circuit could be a eight-minute guitar freakout with the (most welcome) proving ground for new repeating mantra, “No more shoes / No material. more news / No more blues,” a surefire ew t took some time before people really took notice — several months to be exact — but finally someone picked up Prayer of Death by Entrance (aka Guy Blakeslee). Early this past summer, Blakeslee self-released his latest psy- chedelic, electric-blues gospel to very little fanfare. The album was both solid and visionary, melding blues rock dirges with jangly psychedelic incantations. But because of its limited promotions, it only reached the ears of a few diehard fans. Early on in his career, Blakeslee alerted the world to his gifts as a precocious blues guitar player; on his previous albums (such as his debut, The Kingdom of Heaven Must be Taken by Storm), Blakeslee revealed his keen understanding of the dynamics and subtleties of the blues, acknowledging both its cathartic and depressive powers. But while his previous efforts paid homage to the acoustic work of legends such as Charley Patton and Bukka White, on Prayer of Death Blakeslee tempers his passion for the blues with an otherworldly, electric mael- strom that invokes the spirits of the Delta as well as some transient ghosts from North Africa and the Balkans. The few media outlets that did champion the record, most notably Mojo, dublab.com and Pitchfork, undoubtedly influenced the modest psych-rock label Tee Pee Records to release the album. Hopefully now more people will have the opportunity to experience Entrance’s transcendental, hypnotic vibrations. Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle, the violinist who contributed string arrangements on Prayer of Death, will accompany Blakeslee onstage. — Steven Sawada Entrance JANUARY 11, 2007 25
