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PHOTO BY SPENCER SLOAN LIVE REVIEW! WEEN May 18,2000 The Roxy, Atlanta Who would have thought a lew years back that Ween—a pair of mush room-gobbling grain silo studio tweakers—would become talented songwriters with more than just potty mouth lyrics? At the gig at the Roxy, the b'others Ween—Dean and Gene—and their band delivered songs that were catchy and infectious and fiad the crowd undei a spell the entire time. Flalliners) whose heady output swal lowed the band whole twice and all but choked those on the floor. Non-stop requests, insults, questions and recipes were hurled at the group in-between each song for almost three-and-half hours. Reaching deep into its bag of goodies. Ween dusted off some hyster ical oldies and test drove most of the latest album. White Pepper—a must- have for anyone who enjoys listening to things. Early in the show, the pure genius coupling of botanical odes ■Roses Are Free* and ‘Push Th' Little before launching into ‘Mr. Richard Smoker,’ while The Cure moped the house down the street at Lakewood. By the time “Voodoo Lady" reared its funky booty, Ween had already worked its mojo lotion on the audience. One couple hoisted themselves on stage to ballroom dance uninterrupted by security or band. Perhaps sensing this relaxed atmosphere, another fan performed vocal duties for 'Big Jim.’ It was clear that every song was the one song everybody wanted to hear the most. Backstage pass-encrusted, singer-songwriter Courtney Joyce bur After apparently having been roused from a nap by the looks of the "woke- up-on-the-wrong-side-ol-the-van’ hair and clothes, the band shuffled on-stage. *We’re Ween. We're from Pennsylvania!’ Gene Ween declared with Zeus-like thunder. Well versed in the history of amusing .n hindsight rock star antics, the ‘brothers’ (actually. Gene is Aaron Freeman and Dean is Mickey Melchiondo] employed the help of a Framplonish voice box, endless varia tions on the art of guitar noodling and a smoke machine (last seen on the set of Daisies’ laid testament that this was no haphazardly scripted setlist. Dean or Gene (I get them confused) sauntered about coddling the microphone as if his stairway lay on the whispering wind for more serious numbers such as "Don't Get 2 Close{2 My Fantasy).’ The band was in top form, the s^und was great, and I managed to solicit equal amounts of energy for every song. After a short break. Gene told the sweaty masses that he'o like to ’introduce a special guest... Robert Smith!', which was met with mixed emotions until he added, ’just kidding" bled. “Ween is the most belligerent yet taienled band I know loday.’ I wasn't sure if Ween was actually on-stage during the Iasi few songs dee to the overwhelming number of young ladies clad in tight, black pants who had bum-rushed the stage and were eager to gel their collective perve on for ail the Roxy to see. Ween was a guilty pleasure without all that useless guilt. The show was not unlike the plot of one of the many recent teen flicks: it quickly introduced the audience to a hip good-looking cast; boy met girl, girl cared less, smoke engulfed everything, poppy soundtrack enslaved on contact, drunk guy Karaoked, everyone danced at the prom, and »he night wenl on and on and on until the credits rolled and they made you leave backstage because apparently you’d had enough ol the beer and car rots. 0^ a! least in my case. Before I left, I managed to ask Dean Ween how he thought the show went He szid, ’I’m really tired. I’m really tired, and !'m really fucked up. I don't know how many shows we’ve just played.’ II was only one show, but I knew what he meant. Spencer Sloan Ween plays the at 40 Watt Club on Wednesday. July 19. NRBQ, BARBARA CUE June 1, 2000 Echo Lounge, Ationlo From my college d2ys, l learned that if you have a negative then you must surround it with a positive. Pro then Con then Pro. So here goes: PRO: The Echo Lounge is a badass place to see live music Atlanta's bar band scene is spread out and weak. Most of the places a.e like giant ash trays with bad sound, bad lights or no air conditioning The Echo does not have these problems II is spacious with friendly bartenders and a little bar sepa rate from the stage if you'd prefer to hang out and chat instead of listening to live music If anyone even remotely cool gets a gig down there, check it out CON: The Echo Lounge caught wind of all the folks coming to the show and tacked up the price It said $12 on the web site, and it was $15. Hmmm They said Barbara Cue would he the closer fin .act it was reported in the Flagpole as such] Barbara Cue. in fact, opened and lots ol folks missed the first couple of songs But oh well that's what you get for being disrespectful to the almighty Q—the NRBQ. that is. PRO: NRBQ is a fabulous rock and rol' bar band, a bunch of older guys with tunny haircuts playing their hearts out to some wacky songs. Some of the songs are good, some of the songs are funny, some of the songs are goofy. The band's sense of humor comes through when it performs, and I honestly don't know if I've ever seen performers have that much fun on-stage. Seriously. There were some hard core NRBQ fans—mostly older guys— getting down. In fact most ol Barbara Cue was in the audience getting down to NRBQ William Tonks of Barbara was about one fool from the stage dancing to the music like he was an 18-year-old at his first fraternity party. Barbara Cue is a another great roc* and roll bar band. My personal favorite was the Warren Zevon cover ’Carmelita.’ You’d recognize the song if you'd heard it. I think Linda Rondstadt covered it in the ‘80s. I kept wondering how cool the band must have felt since it was started up as kinda of an NRBQ "tribute band* and now they are sharing the stage. It probably has something to do with the pseudo-star power of Todd Nance (of this little Athens Dand called Widespread Panic) and that in and of itself is pretty cool. Now that Panic wields some influence, its members can play with their heroes. Nevermind the fact the Barbara Cue brings together some standard local music yokels and makes excellent alt- country/rock and roll music Nichole Jackson BUBBAPAIOOZA May 26-28,2000 The Star Bar, Atfanto Trends come and go in this mercu rial modern world, and this little fact goes double for musical trends. Sure, some pockets of resistance still exist, but for the most part, the musical land scape keeps on a-changin'. and the best we poor music critics can do is try our damnedest to ‘ eep up. Usually, though, we show up about 15 minutes late. This is part of the reason why Bubbapalooza is so special. Started back in 1993 by Atlanta music scene character Greg Smalley, the annual Star Bar shindig showcased the best Atlanta and sur rounding environs had to otter in the way of the new wave of bands some called ‘alternative country.'' Atlanta offered the ’Redneck Underground.’ a loose collection ol performers, bands and fans who liked a bit of twang in their rock. The Star Bar is still a bastion lor routs rockers, but also opens its doors to ? variety of genres. Lollapalooza. the rolling rock luggemaul Bubbapalooza got its name from, has even gone the way of the dodo. Yet. Bubbapalooza remains and indeed flourishes. Now both a showcase for twarigy outfits and a tribute to its founder Smaliey—who died from complications due to AIDS in 1996—Bubbapalooza is still one of the highlights of the Atlanta music year. I saw not only some of the best bands in the region, but also some of the best bands the whole alt-country thing had to oiler. Having to miss Friday night and arriving late Saturday, my party and I arrived in time to catch the tail end of Oklahoma's Billy Joe Winghead. They're described as a gothic-tinged sleaze rock outfit, but I didn’t see enough to form a complete opinion other than they’re awfully weird Why? Well, the first thing I heard when I walked in the door was a twisted version of that classic rock nugget ’Freebird* with a theramin taxing the place of the triple guitar attack. Dirt Ball was a real treat, mixing an almost Celtic folk sound with Neil Youngish rockers, the band definitely made a solid impression. Between lead singer Wes Freed's whiskey-soaked voice, his wife and back-up singer Jyl's inspired bock- dancmg and the drummer’s manic intensity, Dirt Ball definitely made a positive impression with strong tunes like ’Call Me Charity" and the charming "Whiskey and Wi'd Women." Even more charmingly, the band closed its set with Glen Campbell's classic "Wichita Lineman." Groovy. The band has a new album out, Turn Up the Bam. and should be hitting Athens soon. Check 'em out. After a few beers. I 'was graced with the ever-pleasing sounds of our own Star Room Boys. Dave Marr and his boys were in fine form, running through a set off their incredible debut Why Do Lonely Men and Women Want to Break Each Other's Hearts?and a charming cover of Freddie Hart's "Easy Lovin'.’ The Boys kicked off wha! turned out to be a marathon session of straight country, as New York's Steam Donkeys and Chape! Hill's Two Dollar Pistols fol lowed them Both bands are solid country outfits with traditional, almost BakersLeldesque sounds and are quite entertaining. The Donkeys played some originals, including the clever "Twelve Stepping Out on Me," and both bands did a number of well-chosen covers, the highlight being the Pistols rockin' rendi tion o! Merle Haggard’s ‘Rambling Fever." Unfortunately, that sort of beer- soaked balladry—and plenty of that sweet amber liquid—puts me in a downer mood. C'est la vie. That mood was shot straight to hell with the timely arrival of possibly Atlanta's best band, the infamous Truckadelic. The boogie- meislers took the stage and proceeded PLR CP ole music director V Flagpole Magazine s Music Directory provides effective, affordable advertising to studios, labels, bands, instructors and everything else musical! ARE YOU LOST IN WEB SPACE? OLD BLACK CROW CAN GUIDE YOU % • web design photography graphic design www.old-black-crow.com 706.549.6586 Exchange WE BUY USED INSTRUMENTS 296 W. Ireri • 549-4199 m WdOt POLE OKI ELIXIR RECORDING Now offering both 16 and 24 track analog recording... THAT’S 40 POSSIBLE TRACKS! 546-0b02 • elixir@negia.net A 1 week ad will cost 818 per column inch. A 4 week ad will cost $15 per column inch, per week. An 8 week ad will cost 813 per colufnn inch, per week. A 13 week ad will cost $11 per column inch, per week. A 26 week ad will cost $9 per column inch, per week. To reserve your ad space call 706-549-0301 Deadline: Friday®2:06pm W/////S 1FULL I MOON L ■^1 Place Your. Ad in Flagpole’s Weekly Music Directory and Get a ■ I* • ^ UDI ^| It Athens’ mest affordable 2-inch Analog 24 track SPECIAL RATES AFTEP 10PM 7*69-4 10O Classified Every Week Your Ad Runs. PINTECH ELECTRIC DRUM SET $ 1395 00 855 W. Broad Street 548-8544 JrpSijpohj^jjj vonzb tbjjjij vj wriissijV ES FLAGPOLE JULY 5, 2000