Paisley Underground

Salt Lake City Upcoming Concerts: Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood, the

By Brian Staker, 11-30-06

	Staker Pick of the Week: Evan Dando

 Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood

This is the first show I have profiled since the Delta Center was re-christened with the oh-so-prosaic moniker EnergySolutions Arena. What kind of solutions do they offer? ‘Energy’ has become a euphemism for anything from good health to sexual vim and vigor to political power and economic enterprise to that go-get-em American spirit, though the namesake corporation’s stock in trade, hazardous waste, is enough to deflate even the ‘smiliest’ Bob, if he hasn’t already taken a downturn by manufacturers of Enzyte forced to pay a settlement recently for unsubstantiated claims. New West SLC Editor Tracy Medley has already expostulated on the ramifications of the name.

The question remains, what kind of energy will Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood bring to the Center? (It would be difficult indeed to top the literally and figuratively electric performance of the Who November 13) Brad Paisley’s version of the country music genre is well-versed in its history yet enough in step with mainstream sensibilities that his albums have charted nearly as well on the pop charts as on the country, which his last year’s effort, Time Well Wasted, topped. This year he presents quite the poser in the decision we all must face, whether to celebrate a Brad Paisley Christmas or a Kurt Bestor one, in addition to all the other choices for savvy consumers. Jesus must be slap-happy that he is still the subject of celebration this far gone.

It was inevitable that American Idol would eventually produce a winner who sang in the country genre, and Carrie Underwood took the title last year. But she’s so much more than that, as PETA spokesperson and their choice as ‘World’s Sexiest Vegetarian.’ As far as Idol is concerned, my worry is for the future if they don’t start training new judges as Cowell and co. get long in the tooth. American musical history hangs in the balance.

December 1, Energy Solutions Arena

Also appearing:
November 30, Las Vegas, NV (Mandalay Bay)
December 2, Colorado Springs, CO (Colorado Springs Arena)

Lemonheads **Staker’s Pick of the Week!**

What happens to a teen idol when he hits 30? For that matter, when his idolators aren’t teenagers anymore? Along with the Posies (whom you must see at all costs), Evan Dando and the Lemonheads steered ‘alternative rock’ in another direction from the punk-influenced ire of Nirvana and their ilk in the early 90's. This was possible because the grunge-induced feeding frenzy of label signings meant more diversity of artists and styles overall, more choices for the listener. Although it mirrored the stock market bubble of the same period, which meant an inevitable burst from which the music industry is still trying to recover, the ripples are still echoing out in a much more diverse marketplace than ever before. Their material was almost always brilliant, though they were perhaps best-known for their breezy cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.”

The Boston band gave us several albums that are now considered classics of power pop: It’s a Shame About Ray and Car Button Cloth, which unlike so many of the ill-fated discs borne of the era’s CD-forging euphoria which shouldn’t even have seen the light of day, neither of these have been consigned to the bargain bins. Although he did have the requisite bout with addiction, at least instead of self-destructing like Cobain or Alice In Chain’s Layne Staley, Dando had the sense to just fade away after CBC in 1996, Neil Young’s advice notwithstanding. For as we have seen time and time again, nothing succeeds like a reunion tour in this nostalgia- obsessed age. This one isn’t embarassing, however, since the Lemonheads are touring on a new album, this time on Vagrant Records rather than major label Atlantic. Suitably eponymous, it’s a fresh start with brand new songs. In a genre in which bright, brand-new sounds are the currency, the Lemonheads have hit paydirt.

December 1, The Depot

Also appearing:
November 30: Boise, ID (Big Easy)
December 2, Denver, CO (Bluebird Theater)

Clumsy Lovers

Sometimes, actually quite often, love can be pretty clumsy. Um, I guess I should speak for myself. But singing about it doesn’t have to be. Vancouver, BC’s fondest musical export the Clumsy Lovers bring a Celtic influence from the great Northwest, which resembles the green hills of shamrock land, and their sound is both as lustrous and hearty. That lilting sound in addition to bluegrass and rock shadings made them a hit in the bar circuit up there, and they didn’t really intend to take it further.

But their studio recordings the last several years for Canadian house Nettwork proved that they could be more than just a contagious live band, and could get feet tapping long after the Guinness had worn off. Last year’s The Smart Kid is clever enough to get away with the tongue-in-cheek turn of adding a reggae beat to “London Bridge.” They could give ‘green beer’ a brand new meaning.

December 1, Urban Lounge

Also appearing:
November 30: Denver, CO (Dulcinea’s 100th Monkey)

Limbeck

Stylistic evolution for most bands means finding something that you like to listen to and your middling musical abilities can manage. In other words, eventually it’s rut city. But in their brief life span, Laguna Niguel, CA’s Limbeck have if not mastered then solidly grounded themselves in a punky kind of pop, only to throw a curveball and on last year’s Let Me Come Home, ventured into alt-country ala Wilco and Uncle Tupelo. Not that it’s that huge of a stretch, with song structures similarly rudimentary and hummable hooks still in evidence. It’s not Golden Smog, the Jeff Tweedy-helmed alt-country supergroup one-off that’s the holy grail of the genre, but they are worth a listen. And the intimacy of Kilby Court will make their lyrics seem all the more immediate. This show ran a close second for my ‘pick of the week.’

December 5, Kilby Court

Also appearing:
December 6, Denver, CO (Larimer Lounge)

Devotchka

Denver, Colorado’s Devotchka is one of those eccentric, eclectic little bands out there that isn’t content to just play one style of music; they have to dabble in a little of this, a little of that, and the result in this case is highly original, frolicsome and at times Fellini-esque. Although their latest release, this year’s Curse Your Little Heart, is on Ace Fu, through their three earlier releases you can support Cicero Recordings from Boulder, a local concern for some you out there in New West land. In addition to their own musical kaleidoscope of songs, on Curse they add Siouxsee and the Banshees’ “Last Beat of My Heart” and the Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs” to the proceedings. Their take on the latter’s cinematicism should have suggested the Italian auteur if I hadn’t already.

December 6, Suede

Also appearing:
December 7, Boise, ID (Neurolux)

Plus 44

Can any band on this spinning orb contradict my maxim that bands with numbers in the name always suck? Well, it’s a project by Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, formerly of Blink 182. I could rest my case there, having detested that band since its inception. I have sound logic, since a number always sounds random and hardly ever inspiring of intrigue. Plus 44 sounds like my suit size, but supposedly it’s the international dialing code for Great Britain, where the two discussed the project. Big freakin whoop. So they are intercontinental jetsetters. They should get better punk ‘dos and watch some old school punk videos to find out what real old school punk rock was about, and which they don’t have a clue. This year’s full-length When Your Heart Stops Beating adds some electronica to their faux-punk skrawk. At least the project accomplished one worthy deed: sticking the final nail in the coffin of ‘on hiatus’ B182. I know there’s an exception to the ‘numbers’ rule: oh yes, it’s Natalie Merchant’s original band, 10,000 Maniacs.

December 7, In the Venue

Also appearing:
December 6: Denver, CO (Ogden Theatre)

Brian Regan

The glut of comedians is another parallel to the insanely large glut of bands extant in the global community today, since both began in the early 90's. It was actually the late 80's when comedians started to become the new rock stars, with people like Eddie Murphy and Sam Kinnison known for outrageous behavior on and offstage, and even before, in the nascent period of Saturday Night Live that comedy as an art form came into its own on large scale. Brian Regan is one of the ‘new breed’ of comedians to hit mass popularity, but the Wouth Floridian has been practicing since the 80's in clubs nationwide, part of that large number of comics moderately successful, waiting for their breakthrough moment. In the late 90's he eventually made it to the late shows and some Comedy Central gigs. The Steve Martin-influenced, observational humorist gets a big stage here partly because he doesn’t do ‘blue,’ but keeps it obscenity-free. Perhaps he’s part of the backlash against the comedian as rock star that normal-to-the-point-of neurotic Seinfeld epitomizes. What the hell, you already missed the funniest comic to visit this year in Frank Caliendo.

December 7, Kingsbury Hall

Also appearing:
December 9: Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)

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