Upcoming Concerts: Swearing at Motorists, Matt Pond PA, Early Man, Low

By Brian Staker, 2-26-06

	Caption: Swearing At Motorists

Swearing at Motorists

Flying the Buckeye flag like their much more notorious Ohio cousins Guided By Voices, Swearing at Motorists shares another feature, former GBV drummer
Don Thrasher, who you can see sitting in for a couple numbers on that group’s swan song live DVD, The Electrifying Conclusion. But Swearing at Motorists is really Dave Doughman’s brainchild; a vehicle for his songwriting, not as eclectic or epic as Robert Pollard of GBV, but more intimate, in the singer-songwriter mode, though not afraid to rock out at times. Amazingly so, for a two-piece, but Doughman has some nice chops on guitar. The new S@M release, Last Night Becomes This Morning, comes a full four years after their last album, and while it follows in the same vein stylistically, offers a new cosmopolitanism in lyrics written while touring Europe. There is still a bittersweet sadness in the very titles of songs: “This is Not How Forever Begins� and “Suicide On the Installment Plan.� This makes their reflection on those moments when the day hasn’t yet begun quite breathtaking.

February 26, Kilby Court

Dios Malos, Matt Pond PA

What is ‘chamber pop?’ Like so many things in the rock/pop music earscape, the Beatles pioneered it, adding strings to songs like “All You Need is Love.� In the late 90’s, bands like Ida and The Good Life have taken the already resurgent format and added orchestration in small group format to increase the emotional impact of their music. Since their 1998 inception, this Philadelphia, PA ensemble led by singer/songwriter Matt Pond has steadily grown in popularity until they have last year been opening on tours for Guster and Liz Phair. Last year’s album Several Arrows Later expanded both their following and their sound, adding cellist Dana Feder. Dios Malos, with their refreshing mix of SoCal punk, urban and ethnic styles, reprises their performance here from late last year.

February 27, Club Sound

Early Man, Priestess

As if Matador Records was trying to make for the Ohio void in its roster left in the wake of the Guided By Voices breakup, last year found them signing hard rock duo Early Man. As you can imagine with the guitar-drum combo, this is hard rock stripped down to its essentials: a loud four-beat time and a heavy riff, maybe an occasional excursion into screaming solos. Vocals belted out by guitarist “Early� Mike Conte may be considered a third instrument, so what more do you need? Like GBV’s Robert Pollard, Conte puts on a fake British accent, only in this case he sounds like an “early� (pre-totally incomprehensible) Ozzy Osbourne. This is a very different Ohio duo from Swearing at Motorists, needless to say. Imagine the aural equivalent of those cavemen on the car insurance commercial, and you’re not far wrong. Is this indie label Matador’s attempt at irony? In any event, if you missed their last year’s tour with Fu Manchu, you can at least catch this segment of their continued evolution. They may even start to walk upright at some point.

February 27, Club Vegas

Low

The Duluth, Minnesota trio Low is the ultimate answer to the question, ‘how slow can you go?’ musically. For a local connection, the core of the trio, spouses Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk are Mormon, and don’t even use cuss words. As a reaction against the abrasive grunge of the early 90's their soft-toned, deliberate sound first found the attention of Shimmy Disc Records’ Kramer (not the quietest of venues to begin with) but he was intrigued by the experimental side of it. I have seen audiences in rapt attention to the group, in total silence, not even moving. Local polizei don’t have to worry about licentious dancing at their shows. In perhaps the ultimate irony, last year the group signed to Sub Pop for their seventh release, The Great Destroyer. With help from Flaming Lips’ producer David Fridman, they say it’s their ‘most brisk yet.’

February 27, In the Venue [End of article]