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SUPERCHUNK / GAUNT /
ENBOIL
40 WATT / OCT. 31
Dave Barbe's new group, Enboil. opened the
show with a too-short-to-tell set that juxtaposed
lairly heavy, slow-burning brooders with songs that
recalled Television s edgy guitar pop A fairly muddy
mix made it difficult to gauge, out Enboil could be
just a Richard Lloyd away from something cool.
Sandwiched between Enboil and Superchunk,
the tersely named Gaunt played meaty, formally
correct punk rock that might restore luster to the
badly abused single-syllable band name category.
Sounding like Rancid with a Joe Jackson hangover,
the band twitched and thrashed its way through 15
furious songs in under 45 minutes Though they
spent nearly the same amount of time tuning up,
the Columbus, Ohio, band nearly stole the show.
As Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan
pointed out repeatedly on their last album, he's
hyper enough as it is, so it's not as though he and
his band needed a special occasion (Halloween
night at the fabulous 40 Watt, say) to smash our
heads against their punk rock. On the other hand,
Halloween probably is to blame for the form-fitting,
Playboy bunny ensemble Mac modeled while blaz
ing through nearly two hours of pogo-inspiring
power pop. As hideous as that outfit was, though,
it paled in comparison to second guitarist Jim
Wilbur's between song stand-up routine. “Where do
ghosts like to do it 7 " he slurred. “In the Boo-doir!!" Hardy-har-
har. Not surprisingly, Wilbur did most of the laughing while the
near-capacity crowd waited impatiently for “Cast Iron" to kick-in.
They didn't have to wait long. "Cast Iron" was song number
two; the band opened with “What Do I Do 7 " — an early single
that dropped numerous jaws to the 40 Watt's sticky, beer-soaked
floor. Other highlights from the wide-ranging set list included “Skip
Steps 1 & 3" and “Hyper Enough."
Shannon Zimmerman
CIBO MATTO
"0 WATT / OCT. 26
had only heard they liked to sing of food and how to eat it,
so of course Cibo Matto remained a mystery to me The 40 Watt
was pretty crowded, and I was ready to see something as the
lights went up and two pretty Asian women gracefully assumed
the stage With perfect posture and humble nods toward the
crowd, they looked back and forth between each other, trying to
decide if ii would be OK to begin. One woman was behind the
keys and looking very hip in her Adidas sweats, while the other
positioned her self upright before the mic and said. “OK, we
should do it!" A lovely wurlitzeresque sound filled the room,
sprinkled with Playskool chords, and the women sang together
in sweet soothing harmony. Little did I know, this relaxing bath of
sound was about to be annihilated by massive funk grooves And
with one simple keypress, the Adidas-clad lovely filled the spac c
with subsonic force and phat grooves. All the while the relaxing
lounge ambience maintained, heads were nodding and the crowd
was in sway.
A few numbers like this introduced us to the charming women,
and then the other half of the band took the stage — the bassist
and the drummer (I was told later the bassist was none other
than Sean Lennon! This I couldn't have guessed in a million years!
He was such a rocker with his heavy metal head bob; he really
cracked me up! "LOL") So. when the rhythm section started, the
music took a decidedly harder edge — moving more into the land
of metal and hardcore hip-hop Someone nudged me: “Wow 1
That's a Nirvana song! First one I learned on the bass!"
Toward the middle of the show, the girls came on hard like
the Beastie Boys and everyone was dancin'! This was so much
fun! Then there was a song that went on and on — “You gotta
know your chicken!" — and I was laughing out loud, loving their
take on poultry. Soon came another cover — Soundgarden's
“Black Hole Sun ' Tons better than the original as far as I was
concerned!
Tne whole show was refreshing; the energy from these two
women was strong and positive — they smiled a lot. they got off
a lot; they had fun. The rhythm section kept things live and vi
sual. The sounds ranged from silky lounge music to ambient
lounge funk (I'm making it up as I go) to metalcore funk to groovy
dance rap to atonal, earbleeding experimentation! I was want
ing another groovy one for the encore, but they weren't having
any of tnat. They came out, threw down another burner, then opted
for the ambient screeching void to cap it all off. Has ever a more
polite and gracious duo rocked the Watt iike this night? I don’t
Isaac McCalla
Wed. 13 • $10/8:00 Show
Doors open @ 7:00 pm / Two Sets!
in Evening with
Special No Smoking and Seated Show
Thurs. 14 • $4
Cobweb Strange
Fri. 15 • $5
Eight
Sat. 16 • $5
Early Show! 8:00 pm Sharp!
John Wesley
Harding
Sat. 16 • LATE NIGHT DANCE PARTY
$10 • 12 am - 6 am / Hypnotic Creations presents
Sam Mollison,
Dave Canalte,
Jimmy van
Malegem, Kazell
Mon. 18 • $4
The Girl Pool
Death's Little Sister
Tues. 19 • $4
The Fountains
Garrison Starr
Wed. 20 • $5
Jonathan Richman
(with a FULL BAND this time!)
285 W. Washington St. • Athens, GA
Call 549-7871 for Show Updates
All Advance Tickets Available
at Big Shot, Wuxtry, & Low Yo Yo
www.40watt.com
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