Alive in Vermont
Orange
January 9, 1996
Club metronome
By Josh Silberstein
House bands are a tricky thing. Having the same band on the same night every week works when you’re trying to get a regular clientele to frequent your club on a regular basis, but how long is too long? With the increased staleness of every-Wednesday night appearances of Anne’s Band, the folks at Club Metronome made a change and decided to funk things up a bit. Moving the house band night from Wednesday to Tuesday, this winter we were treated to regular appearances from the acid jazz/funk hybrid supergroup called Orange.
What made Orange so immediately likable is the “I’m going to have fun no matter what your sorry ass does” attitude of the lead singer and “hardest working man in Burlington” Craig Mitchell. Even when the show first started and a crowd hadn’t been generated, he was speeding towards terminal velocity with his on-stage dancing and theatrics while offering sound political advice. He had an endless supply of energy that made him part revival preacher and part disc jockey, always preparing the audience for the musical feats to come later on in the evening.
The band became a tight ensemble as the evening progressed. Mark Robohm, the drummer in town, played extremely well by shifting rhythms and stresses without even making you notice what he was doing. The jazzy keys of Jeremy Skaller, the frontman for Belizbeha, at first seemed out of place with the band, but as the evening continued he took more charge and began to law down some meaty grooves. The guest percussion players added to the complex rhythms, but it was the bass and guitar that took away from the band. Ted Jahn, the bassist, didn’t always golf the rhythm and would end up walking over other members of the band, although when he did hit it, things wired. As for Robert LaBow, the guitarist, he had good riffs to add to Jeremys fancy finger work, but one can use a wah-wah pedal too much, so the guitar parts had a generic feel.
Their first set was loose, more like a warm up set till an active audience arrived. When the second set started I couldn’t see any one who managed not to dance. The grooves were so delicious that youcou;d leave your daily worries aside and let your ass do the talking. Craig’s voice is quite remarkable. He’s got a great Stevie Wonder growl and a scream and falsetto that even the Artist Formerly Known as Prince would be jealous of. The way I see it is that as long as the band holds a beat, Craig can take it where he wants to go. He is a natural frontman who can hold the audience in the palm of his hand, a talent that is not seen very often. The bands original songs like “Take It Easy” has a subtle yet powerful groove, while their covers like the Time’s “Simply Stuck” ot James Brown’s “Sex machine” did justice to the creators. Apparently Orange is on hiatus while Belizbeha is on the road, but should be resuming their Burlington shows soon.
Josh Silberstein reviews Juliana Hatfield and Wide Wail in Good Citizen #4
Twelve Times Over,
Dog Eat Dog, DysFunkShun
January 4, 1996
Club Toast
By Al Grievance
On January 4th the new and improved Club Toast booked a hardcore show with locals Twelve Times Over, New York City boys Roguish Armament and Stanely, and rock stars Dog Eat Dog. Because of never-ending and unforeseen screw-ups in the world of hardcore music, Roguish Armament and SAtanely called and canceled the day of the show. Instantly realizing the precariousness of the situation, Toast owner/underworld crime boss Dennis Wygmans made some measly assistant give the boys from DysFunkShun a call to plug the gap. An impressive crowd of Twelve Times Over fans had amassed by the time the band had turned on their amps. The backbone of the twelve Times Over sound is a classic hardcore guitar crunch. On top of the guitars is the solid hip-hop-influenced harcore vocals of Chris Muniz and Sterling Dew; their interaction with the crowd was energetic and aggressively playful. The local kids love their band and showed it by knowing all the songs and all lyrics and generally going out of their minds. At times there was excessive lag time between songs, but I seemed to be the only one who cared. Twelve Times Over: Burlington’s most underrated, not exactly straight edge, hardcore band.
50/50 hip hop/hardcore band Dog Eat Dog performed after Twelve Times Over. They were the big name on the bill and the anticipation grew as well as the numbers on the crowd. Dog Eat Dog’s guitar base was heavy, but the music was more bass influenced than Twelve Times Over. Their saxophone player adds a great deal to the uniqueness of their sound and lightens the harder vibe. The members of Dog Eat Dog were very cool and definitely appreciative and into the crowd. They have a big city, indie label feel to them, which makes them a little more distant than local acts. In spite of this Dave, the lead singer, seemed intent on having a good time with the crowd in spite of the unfamiliar surroundings, encouraging a dialogue between the band and audience.
Like the Twelve Times Over set, the pit was solid and hard and everybody who wanted to had the chance to go bananas. They took advantage. Personally, I Feel that Dog Eat Dog falls short of giving listeners a true harcore experience. I think some people were going nuts because it was January (cabin fever and all).
Like the Super Friends, DysFunkShun was rallied from the Halls of Justice at the last minute and came to the aid of Toast’s disintegrating line-up. Unfortunately, the crowd split. DysFunkShun was put in a very difficult position having no time to promote a show they didn’t even know about, as well as coming on late after the main attraction. The band seemed visually distraught and appeared to be just going through the motions.
DysFunkShun basically plays a metal guitar base with a hip hop vocal style and a touch of reggae noticeable here and there. The sound is very clean and very tight. The four members seem to contribute more equally than the other bands that night, and they certainly had the strongest drumming presence by far.
About six months to a year ago DysFunkShun made a significant change to their sound. It was a positive change and was well received by the crowds and their core fan base. Unfortunately the success of that change seems to have dwindled leaving their fans searching once again.
Near the end of their set the band seemed to say “Fuck It” to the sparse crowd and started to play for themselves and have a good time. They ended the show with a cover of the Stones “Jumpin Jack Flash” that went over well and saved the night for them.
Al Grievance knows who you are, Any questions?
K-Nine/Barbacoa/Wide Wail
January 11, 1996
Club Toast
By Josh Silberstein
This was the most eclectic evening of music I have experienced in Burlington. The three acts that held the stage at Club Toast on the evening of January 11 spanned musical styles and attitudes. The music progressed from a ballsy truck-stop punk band to surf music and finally to more traditional college rock. That is one of the great things about the musical community here in Burlington, the varied styles and the freedom to express those ideas. An eclectic musical evening like this one shows a healthy musical melting pot.
K-Nine stormed the stage with all of the bravado that is warranted from such a band. I felt immediately drawn into a world of road weariness and smoky bars. Lead singer Angus Gluck was a hybrid of Black Francis, the former frontman of the Pixies, and El Duche, the frontman of that all time greasy band, the Mentors. He rasped and growled with enough certainty to make such lunes as “I’m on parole and I feel fine” or songs titled “Drugs and Diesel” and “Graveyard party” sound believable rather than laughable. Listening to the songs you caught sight of that bravado that is seen in Nick Cave and Tom Waits, but with a punk edge. They had tight rhythms that shifted seamlessly throughout the songs, even though some of the songs had too few of those shifts to maintain interest for too long a time.But the energy wasn’t lacking, with great solos that hit you in the gut regardless of making it sound spit shined. Plus they are one of the few bands in this age of so-called punk revival to be punk enough to play on crusty equipment. All this combined made for a rockin’ show that lacked versatility, but definitely not energy.
Then it was Barbacoa’s turn to enter the ring. What can one expect from a surf band? That was my main question. Trying to understand surf music seemed as elusive to me as getting a deep grasp on free form jazz or atonal classical music. With such a distinct style and sound how would it differ, how wou;d it be interesting? Then I realized in the middle of their first song that surf music is like a cross country rain. You barrel on forwards always aware of the sound and motion of the rain while the train itself never stops. Surf music creates its own momentum and sweeps you up in it, and that is precisely what Barbacoa did. Led by the skillful hand of Bill Mulins, the lead guitarist for Chin Ho!, and the band found the groove and played in it throughout their whole set. Mullins has a great skill of knowing exactly what a song can do and with that skill he led the band into great musical and rhythmic territory. It also helps to have the tight drumming of Paul Gibson to keep that surf train going. Another surprising aspect was the gentle sax work of Gus Ziesing. He would litter the songs with quality sax riffs that would add a whole new side. It was like surf music mixing with the soul stylings of Van Morrison. The surf sound was infectious, so if you're looking for a good band to go out and dance to, check these guys out. Their creativity as a whole band is not to be missed. They all worked together to give a rousing show.
If an opening band can leave the stage while so much momentum is created, that is a great gift for the headliner. Such a gift Wide Wail received, even though they didn’t seem to use it. When Wide Wail stepped on-stage the first thing I noticed was that they were a lot looser and more in control than I remembered. They had the look of believing in their talents and trusting them. A mustachioed Amanda Gustafson let her voice roam which added to the emotional intensity of the songs. “My Old Boyfriend” can too easily be seen as just another pop song, but that night her voice really brought out the sadness and thought that resided in her lyrics. The band showed versatility by creating moodier new intros to their songs, while such songs as “Small Like You” and “Check the Gravity” still had their punch. But one problem they are plagued with is taking too much time in between songs. You want to be drawn into Wide Wail’s world, but after almost every song they leave you hanging and waiting for the show to kick in. At least this time they could joke about it as Amanda did a couple times during those uneventful breaks.
The musical diversity here in Burlington is something to be proud of and supported. The vast amount of musical ideas create a musical conversation which only adds to the greatness of this city, and this evening at Toast was a fine example of that conversation.
Josh Silberstein is a man about a town and guitarist in the band Magis. Look for Magis covering Invisible Jet on the upcoming Burlington Does Burlington album, due out in May on the Good Citizen label.
Ire, All Fall Down, Drowningman, Converge, and Never Only Once
January 27, 1996
242 Main
By Todd Kenedy
Brutal hardcore and pop punk? Only at 242.
Okay anyway, Ire started off the night with a set of raging harcore that was so brutal it could only be equaled by the harsh storm raging outside. Quite a spectacular performance by these Montreal hardcore fiends: I’d call it a mixture of Iconoclast and Brujeria, but that wouldn’t do justice to them to their music. But you do get the picture, I hope. Fast brutal drum beats and screeching, screaming vocals–quite good.
All Fall Down took the stage next. Happy poppy punk from ALbany, New York. Unfortunately they didn’t do their cover of “Kids In America” by Kim Wilde like the last time they played at 242; nonetheless they put on a good show.
Good? Yes. Excellent? I’m afraid not. They seemed a bit off: that and they just don’t play the kind of pop punk that excites me. No quick pauses and breaks and I cou;dnt tell if they were singing about girls or not. The drummer, however, does look like the drummer from the pop punk gods 88 Fingers Louie, sans hair. All in all, nothing to write home about.
After All Fall Down, we were graced with the Burlington debut of Drowningman. With an all-star cast made up og Denny Donovan guitar (Starlight Conspiracy & sevenyearswar), Simon Brody singing (Boston’s Superconductor & the infamous Champions), Josh levy on bass (The fags & Jesus Nut), plus two faces in the Todd Tomilson on drums and a guy named Janiv. I had no clue what to expect from them but what I heard about them was all praise so I was totally psyched to see them.
Excellent progressive hardcore. I’d like to compare them to about 12,000 bands but I won’t because they don’t sound any of them. I guess if you want the general feeling of the sound then I can tell you this- lots of musical changes and crying angry vocals give us something I haven’t heard in Burlington for a long time. If you get the chance to see this band-GO!You’ll be sorry if you don’t. After Drowningman, Converge honored us with some soub;e-plus-good hardcore (sorry Mr.Orwell). Converge is one of the biggest bands in hardcore right now, to quote a friend, and I would definitely have to agree. While I thought Ire was better, Converge got even me, Mr. Lethargic, to move. Fast and aggressive. A cross between Manumission and Iron Maiden. Seriously, they did have some definite Maiden influences and they did rip it up. FInally at around the bewitching hour, Burlington’s post-hardcore kinds Never Only Once took the stage. If it wasn’t as late as it was and if I weren’t as tired as I was, I would have wet my pants when they played. Don’t get me wrong, they ruled that night, but as I said I was exhausted. If you live in Burlington and like heavy music and you don’t know what they song like by now then you are a fucking loser and should shoot yourself. But in case suicide is a little too drastic measure for you kids, here is the run down. Melodic and intricate hardcore in the early nineties Revelation Records vein (you know Quicksand, Orange 9mm, Into Another, et al.) They sound like all of those bands, yet manage not to come off as a cheesy rip off of any of them.
Todd Kennedy was the editor of Durchehen. Now he just sleeps a lot.
Funbox, Jesus Nut, & Big Mistake
January 19, 1996
242 Main
By Todd kennedy
Funbox, an amalgamation of Canadian and Indonesian punk rock with some of that fun lovin’ Texan influence thrown in there for good measure started off the night. Fast, jumpy, poppy punk rick: they came off sounding like All and the Descendents, but cuter. Full of catchy riffs and chords that like to linger in your head so you can’t get rid of the,, unless you die or hear “Hey Mickey.” Funbox ran through an almost full set of major-chord punk rock complete with a jumping bassist and a motionless singer. Unfortunately upstairs in the auditorium, the Champlain College Basketball players don’t share the same enthusiasm for Funbox that those of us at 242 do, and they had to cut their set short and take a ten minute intermission.
During the intermission local bad boys Jesus Nut set up their stuff. They started off their set with their merely trademarked intro, but then instead of jumping into pop/punk as usual they kept on playing. This was no “make fun of tough guy then play wuss rock” intro. Thus was “Full Circle” a near abandoned Nut tune, written by drummer Mr. Mike Gatty. With people looking a little confused they immediately delved into some of their patented tunes, and the crowd caught on. Jumping up and down I couldn't help but show both mirth and joy for the Nut. Unfortunately technical problem riddled their set with Mr. Aaron Carpenter’s vocals MIA and a tiff erupted between the sound man and the aforementioned singer. Still Jesus Nut displayed a fine effort only capable from this bunch of fine lads. Then BIG MISTAKE graced us with their presence for the last time ever, this being their second to last show before they broke up. A moment of silence please… anyway, BIG MISTAKE was incredible. Energetic and never-knowing who is going to play what instrument for each song, they played just about every tune they knew. Hardcore with well placed horns, they played for well over an hour, ending the show with their traditional “Let’s light our trumpet in fire and play some music.” All I have to say is if you missed this show you are one sorry person. Unfortunately for us concert goers the weather was so bad that One Eye Open wasn’t able to play their repertoire of favorite television theme songs, seeing as they couldn’t make it so Burlington. They were missed.
Diapers, Sub Rosa
The Fags, Ruth Ruth
Club Toast
By Kiera Flynn
So they asked me to review Ruth Ruth again. OK, I may have not liked them the first time I saw them in town but I was willing to try it again. Why not? I didn’t like falafels the first time either.
The Diapers opened the show. They were great. Pretty straightforward rebellious punk rock. But what was best about the Diapers is that they’re really young. Really young (hence the name.) In fact their dad’s drove them to the gig and even doubled as roadies. I couldn’t help but think that this band was the Fags were when they were 15 yeards old.
Next up was Sub Rosa: the news all-female band in town. I was curious to see them after seeing all the very cool posters I had seen up around town. Sub Rosa was good. They all sang very different songs and played a pretty varied range of music. But in my opinion it lacked something. I kept wanting them to rock out (my personal preference) and I did not feel satisfied when it didn’t happen. Theirsecond song, sung by Jen Kason. I loved. It has a very bluesy/rock/PJ Harvey feel to it. It was great to see fourwomen onstage. There is certainly a lack of women in the Burlington music scene and hopefully younger girls will see women up on stage and realize that they can do it too.
The Fags were the main attraction of the evening even though not the headliners. Dressed in very swank-looking suits, they got an A+ for style, not only for their apparel but also for the gray fuzzy material and horns that were minted on the drum kit. Very good stuff to mount a rock show. I truly believe that Eugene Nokolaev (lead singer/guitarist) was born to be a rock star. He had a great stage presence, he’s ultra-charismatic, and he’s got the qualities of both a mature rocker and a rebellious punk. The drummer (Dana) is amazing. He is so steady and fast. When they played “Get Away” they left me slack-jawed. The bassist only spoke about three sentences but managed to fit about 10 F*!@#s in. So punk rock! (Editors note: kinda like Madonna?) Another strong performance by Burlington’s old school punkers The Fags.
Okay I tried to pick apart Ruth Ruth for their good qualities. Their singer has a good voice. He has an Elvis Costello style going. And Ruth Ruth do what they do well, I suppose. But if you know someone who cooks great liver and you don’t like liver no matter how it’s cooked, it won’t matter how great the cooking is, you’re still not going to like it! So in closing I learned that while falafels have gotten tastier, Ruth Ruth didn’t, but the night was saved by some solid local stuff.
Kiera Flynn is a student at the University of Vermont who is also a drummer in the local band Me Jane.
Dan Zanes/Motel Brown
January 25, 1996
Club Metronome
By Josh Silberstein
This was an odd musical pairing to experience; the moody American feel of Dan Zanes and the “You’ve got to fight for your right to party” attitude of Motel Brown. But, oddly it worked. The thoughtful observations of Dan Zanes paved the way for the restical that is Motel Brown by creating a fun atmosphere of witty and rockin’ songs.
Dan Zanes, the former lead singer of Boston’s Del Fuegos had the look and attitude of Kieth Richards, with songs slightly reminiscent of the Stray Cats, paired with the moody feel of Twin Peaks. He had priceless bits of America with a song that was about “ a day in the life of a failed social drinker” and song titles such as “All Time Girl”. His band consisted of an organ player, a drummer, and Dan on guitar, and they made the best use of all their instruments; each of them had something to offer to the mix so the songs were strong. His humor was great when he talked in between the songs, and his music created a relaxed atmosphere that allowed the audience to feel comfortable to dance or to just sit and listen.
When Burlington’s Motel Brown hits a stage, it is always a party. Their strong reggae hooks along with deep bass and challenging guitar let the audience get taken away with the music o r dance with abandon. Motel Brown encourages audience participation: they want you to get involved, and they provoke you with lines like “Dance! Let this song move your feet.” As a band they work really well together. Not only do they sound right but they play around a lot with what they’ve got. One of the best moments was when Steve Diaz, the lead singer, took out a talking drum. Just adding his one piece of percussion made the song that much better. Traditionally, reggae music expresses disenchantment with surroundings and hardships, such as racism and suppression, while ultimately bringing alive the hope and expectations of the life that we live. This is not lost on Motel Brown. With thoughtful lines like, “You can’t wash it away. Do something!” They aren’t afraid to give a little commentary while also reminding you that while things may be unjust or tough. You can still dance, clear your mind and have hope. As a band they allow you to do that by playing hard from the moment they step on-stage to when the show ends and the dance floor at the end of the night is a whirlpool of swear and beer, a sure sign of a good time had by all.
Josh Silbersten again.