March 9, 2008 - March 15, 2008

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Saturday in the Park-SXSW

Filed under: SXSW

As I was drawing my fake tattoos on before leaving for another day in the field, I was stirred to picture-taking-level excitement by the appearance of a Tapes n Tapes video on television. SXSW played no small part in their ascent and now it is someone else's turn to be Tapes n Tapes. But whose turn is it?

Yeasayer? They sounded so nice I watched them twice. The second time it was at the Mess With Texas party at Waterloo Park. By then, singer Chris Keating's nose was apple-red and he apologized for having a damaged voice. It didn't sound damaged to me, but with all the sampled effects and the vocal contributions by the rest of the band, there's maybe some camouflage going on.

Duffy? She's a UK hottie doing soul, much buzzed-about but ultimately not raved-over. Maybe we are satisfied by what we got from Amy Winehouse and another round doesn't seem like anything to get excited about. Everyone turned out at Stubb's to watch her and puzzle it out. If I saw her in a casino lounge it might raise my eyebrows. Wait, what would I be doing in a casino, gambling is like another form of math as far as I'm concerned. But in that environment her safe, bland packaging might not have seemed like such a downer. You know what makes perfect sense? Wikipedia's assertion that she came in second on the Welsh version of American Idol. She has that kind of vibe exactly. Although she closed with "Mercy," and it was not unhot.

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 15, 2008 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

 

Night Flyin' Robyn

Filed under: SXSW

She's like a cross between Mary Lou Retton and a punk skateboarder boy--it's Swedish sensation Robyn, making a rare US appearance. She had a bit of attention here in the late '90s, with the single "Show Me Love," but at Pangea she had everyone dancing with new material, including a medley of pop hooks from Nenah Cherry, Salt'n'Peppa, and Snoop Dogg. It was an awesomely energized and together performance--she's feisty and commanding but has kind of a pixie bubblegum vibe going on, I think because she's so tiny, it's like she's bouncing up there. And she did "Jack U Off" for her encore!!

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 15, 2008 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

 

Darondo at SXSW

Filed under: SXSW , SXSW

Minnesota's own indie radio station the Current has schlepped gear, support staff, and DJs down to SXSW to put on a live broadcast for all three days. On Friday afternoon, I caught lost '70s funk treasure Darondo performing with Nino Moschella. Back in the day, Darondo may have been a pimp, or he may just have been a regular guy with a white Rolls Royce and a wardrobe which relied heavily on snakeskin. But he dropped out of sight as middle age approached-- got married and worked as a physical therapist. No problem--he got back on that funky groove like it was a bike he'd just ridden yesterday.

I missed the She and Him performance, which was apparently so crowded they were turning people away. Later, Carbon/Silicon performed for a large audience, although the new band of former Clash guitarist Mick Jones didn't pack 'em in the way She and Him apparently had. What gives? Well, the "She" in She and Him (kind of a subliterate name, right?) is Zooey Deschanel. Even at SXSW, starlets provoke more curious gawking than rock legends. Who would you rather be stuck in a street pizza line with, Zooey or Lou Reed (he's here, too)?

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 15, 2008 1:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

Rock the Rabbit? MGMT at the SXSW Playboy Party

Filed under: SXSW

Playboy's just another brand now, right? I can go to their party without participating in some sort of betrayal of my gender, I think. At Playboy's Rock the Rabbit bash, the brand stayed in the background. There were a handful of Bunnies, complete with ears and tails (and their own security details), circulating. And a few open bars, and a buffet, but mostly it was just a big ol' warehouse where the focus was on socializing rather than music. So when MGMT came on, it was easy to get right in front, where blissed-out fans hugged each other and sang along to their funk-infused synthetic groove. Ooh girl! Shock me like an electric eel. It was lovesexxy.

Photos after the jump.

MGMT at the Playboy Party

A Playboy bunny dressed in culturally sensitive, highly appropriate and not at all offensive gear.

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 14, 2008 10:02 AM | Comments (2)

 

SXSW: Le Loup, Le Loup, Le Loup is on Fire

Filed under: SXSW

Trend report: Bands with six or more members are the new black. Le Loup, a collective from Washington, D.C., roll seven strong. I caught them at Emo's, where they sang "This is the end," with a more prophetic intensity than Jim Morrison, maybe.

They all get in on the vocal action. Nothing breaks up a collective like fighting over the mic, right? Banjo-playing lead Loup Sam Simkoff dances like a spazz shaman and shakes the ass God didn't bother to give him. I dunno how well all these layers would hold up on my home hi-fi, but they gain from the Polyphonic Spree rule of multiples: Mo' members=more stirring live act. And these kids stirred their indie-noodling and multi-percussion soup until it cooked hot, near to boiling.

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 14, 2008 9:18 AM | Comments (0)

 

I'll Be Your Eyes at South By Southwest!

Filed under: SXSW

...but did I mention I'm legally blind? So forgive me if I miss something....I arrived in Austin early Wednesday evening, but the festival for me truly began in Chicago two hours earlier, when my plane received an infusion of New Yorkers making their connecting flight to SXSW. I know hipster culture has become enough of an institution to be a target for satire and disdain, but it still excites me. I want to see how girls in New York are wearing their hair, how boys from Berlin are wearing their jeans, and what kinds of spectacle frames are hot with our nation's DJs. Downtown Austin is a riot of rockers. Even though alt-country, hip hop, and singer-songwriter types rep South-By, the anglo-rocker look is king. Pale skin, tousled boho hair, zero percent body fat, zero percent muscle tone.

Once I get my badge, I head out to the Free Yr Radio party at La Zona Rosa. I don't really understand the concept of Free Yr Radio--my sense is that it's a promotional venture for the Toyota Yaris giftwrapped in paper marked "Congratulations on Existing, Public Radio!"
But I do understand the concept of Yeasayer, the Brooklyn band I missed at the Entry last month (it was my round with the Death Flu of '08): melodies with so many notes they carry the energy of bluegrass, glossed up all rich and lush by unexpected complex vocals. Feral howls, lovely choral harmonies, '70s falsettos are set off by diverse tricks with percussion. Sometimes the lead singer moves his arms like he's a lion tamer cracking a whip. Whik-chaa! .

Before Simian Mobile Disco took the stage, I rushed off to catch as much as was left of the Noisettes at Vice. I'm a sucka for charismatic frontwomen and the wild Shingai Shoniwa from the trio the Noisettes has been a YouTube target of mine in the past year. Now I got to see her IRL! It was no disappointment, son. La Shingai loves the spotlight and it loves her back. She purrs, she howls, makes her eyes wide and curious and then suddenly turns her expression predatory. The band was fierce and fiery, wicked UK rockers who can suddenly switch gears with, "This is a new song" and hit you with an unexpected breather of a light jazzy songbird number. I don't know what was tighter, the band or Shingai's gold lame mini, but the delighted crowd could probably provide valid arguments on both sides.

While walking to the next gig, I happened by a busking duo who were absolutely unapologetically killing it on a streetcorner. Just one dude playing drums and the human equivalent of a tightly coiled spring wailing on a guitar--hey, wait a sec, it's Minneapolis' own Knife World! That the underground two piece would come to SXSW to play a sidewalk at 1:00 am is pretty true to their aesthetic and that people who were being bombarded by traditionally-promoted acts were taken in enough to stand and watch them is a testament to their freaky magic.

My final stop was Spiro's, where I saw Dark Meat fill up a stage with the density of a life raft after the Titantic went down. When I first got there, they were an impressive sextet. How do you give that many guitars to crazy Athens boys who draw preschool-tribal designs on their faces and not have it turn into cacophony? But it wasn't! It was controlled, it was heavy and swirly and drone-y, but not noisy. Then they added a four-piece horn section. As the floorboards of Spiro's parted and the family-sized bucket of Dark Meat started to sink into the ground, I headed back to hotel. I would see every single act I caught tonight if they came to town on tour (which I guess also means I should be going to every damn Knife World show) and that's a hard score to beat for Day Two.....

Posted by Sarah Askari at March 13, 2008 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

Radio Allstars take over the Bowl

Last week I wrote a brief preview of a new performance group, Radio Allstars, whose show hinges on the tropes of Prairie Home Companion and Whad'Ya Know? Sunday night I headed down to Bryant-Lake Bowl for a firsthand look-see. Before I review the show, let's review the concept behind the Allstars: take ye olde time radio variety show and give it a modern-day kick in the ass. Instead of being broadcast over the airwaves, the evening is recorded for a podcast.

I was skeptical (though intrigued), I'll admit. With simple storytelling or a rock show, a misspoken word or a clumsy phrase usually passes unnoticed. But in a slick, radio-style presentation, such a mistake could kill the mood beyond resuscitation. And in all honesty, the delivery and transitions between segments are a little rough at times--but the performers and crew of the Allstars (and in particular the host, the ever-self-deprecating Dave Mondy) do an excellent job balancing the more "produced" format with a relaxed, informal atmosphere, so any minor missteps don't derail the fun.

Those old radio standbys, bluegrass and gospel, were nowhere to be heard--instead guest rapper Omaur Bliss (or Omac Montainya, depending on the project) took the stage with a request for more volume from house turntablist DJ King Otto, then slipped into into an easy flow. "Can I get a soul clap?" he asked the hesitant assemblage, then with a grin: "It's okay, we do this at rap shows." As musical counterpoint, soul and jazz singer Bobbi Miller (a regular Allstar cast member), in an impressive display of vocal range, recorded herself live on-stage and then harmonized with her own voice in layered loops, with the aid of a Digitech JamMan.

No variety show would be whole without radio plays, and the Allstars' story arc of choice is The Spectre: The World's Most Average Superhero. Taking a cue from Mystery Men, the episodic sequences follow the exploits of a man who can turn only half-invisible. It's one of the few places where the Allstars show weakness--the integration of sound effects with the voice acting is a bit off. But The Spectre sequences also held one of the highest points of the evening--the completely over-the-top voice-acting of Shannon O’Keefe. Beer-snortage, I will admit, was a serious concern.

Booked every Sunday from now till April 13th (save Easter Sunday), Radio Allstars has already announced Black Blondie on next week's bill. The regular cast brings hefty talent, and I'm pumped to see the content and delivery mature after the performers get a few more shows under their belts. And let's face it, we all know you've got nothing going on Sunday evenings anyways. If you must stay in and twiddle your thumbs, be sure to do it while listening to the podcast of the previous week's show.

Click here to listen to a segment of The Spectre: The World's Most Average Superhero

Click here for the full-performance podcasts archived by week

Posted by Ward Rubrecht at March 12, 2008 1:29 PM | Comments (0)

 

Into the Foreground

Filed under: Music

For the past several months, one local upstart rap crew has been spending a lot of time and work establishing their name around town. Background Noise Crew is an assemblage of some of the Twin Cities’ up-and-coming producers and MCs – Egypto Knuckles, ToneKrusher Smith, Phingaz & TQD (who work as the duo Green Sketch), Analyrical and Status Reign – who combine a classicist indie-rap D.I.Y. ethos with a tireless hustle and a lot of inter-crew brainstorming. So far their efforts have given us Green Sketch’s debut EP So Long for Now, but there’s plenty more to come later this year. This e-mail interview with the crew outlines who they are, what they’re about and where they're headed.

Listen to Background Noise Crew's "Turn It Up" here.

What sets Background Noise Crew apart from some (or all) of the other crews that are working around the Twin Cities area?

EGYPTO KNUCKLES: Our relationship with crews and the scene as a whole represents our drive to show off the diverse scene and the many different styles that are represented within the scene. My whole production ethic is built from such forefathers as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, El-P, and Madlib. I want to be at that point where every song I make is somewhat poignant and reflective of the thoughts of the specific songwriter at that time. The way a rapper utilizes onomatopoeia or syllabic structure has always been a thing for me, and I certainly want to bring that out of an artist. One thing I regret is not using my DJ muscle to scratch records within my tracks, but that will slowly change within time.

TONEKRUSHER SMITH: The Frugalis McSpiteful album coming out on April 1 is going to be different because the whole album is sick. Literally. The beats are as dirty as the lyrics. The album will make you laugh or wince with uncomfortability.

PHINGAZ: My production methods are unorthodox and I don't fear new territories or sounds. The Green Sketch EP doesn't show that as much as I would have liked it to, but there are sprinkled moments here and there. Looking back on my previous projects I feel like I've pushed myself each time in new creative ways to write music. So of course I will continue to do that with Green Sketch and the rest of the Background Noise Crew. TQD is a little more known for his quieter (pun intended), darker, softer side, while I usually come off as a fool. With time and some growth our vocal and lyrical play can turn into a dual sided mash-up, me tipping the scales toward a more carefree fun loving side, while TQD can keep us grounded in emotions and feelings we all have.

TQD: Since anything can be labeled, I'm sure you can find a pigeonhole for each member of Background Noise, but I think you'd be hard pressed to lump us together as "all sounding the same". Individually, we all make music that sounds a little different from each other, but what ultimately bonds us is the fact that we respect those differences, and occasionally find ourselves somewhere in the middle.

ANALYRICAL: I think Background Noise is the first crew in a while to be extremely innovative and unique with our promotional tools and our live performances. When we put on a show, it involves so much more than grabbing a mic and rapping to a crowd. We support each other so much and really try to make things interactive for the audience. We have sketches, we have props, we have live guitar remixes of songs, and the list could go on and will continue to grow as we get more comfortable and experienced as a crew.

STATUS REIGN: I think the biggest difference between Background noise crew and most other cliques in Minneap right now is that everything that we do is done by committee, and then once a decision is made it undergoes trial by fire. With so many individuals focused in on the "for the good of the team" mentality, more often than not we have very solid plans and directions no matter what the project is, but more importantly we have a group of individuals willing to sacrifice for the success of others.

Could each of you give a brief summary/breakdown of your personality and what you bring to the group?

EGYPTO KNUCKLES: I started out producing the Beat Box on 770 Radio K, and then hosted the show for 7 more years. Aside from that I’ve been working at large, building different friendships within the scene and trying to help network with folks on a daily basis to help the scene build more of a unity. With my production style, I bring more a sense of the good feel of the Golden Era of Hip Hop, which is between 1987-1996 as a whole, where the beats and samples were rugged and overflowed with mood and presence.

TONEKRUSHER SMITH: Egypto Knuckles and I came up with the character Frugalis McSpiteful together. We thought it would be funny to make an album about an anti-hero. Hip hop now is about how fly I am, how fly my girl or car is, so we thought about making an album that was to the contrary.

PHINGAZ: I've been a part of many projects (Sinthesis [just released our 3rd Full Length!], The Mixed-Up Tape, Vividend, Capaciti), they all vary quite a bit from one another. I'm constantly pushing myself to find new and interesting ways to make/write music and to promote it and share it with people. I don't really feel comfortable referring to much of my music as a certain 'genre' because I don't try to write music for any particular one. It all gets blended together into a large melting pot that demands quite a bit from the listener, but it’s usually worth the journey. I'm one of Background Noise's 'in house' producers and I run the studio. I record all the music and mix it. I'm usually joking, but often take things way too serious at the same time. If you get me and Frugalis in a room together, we will rarely say anything worth writing down. Or believing for that matter. Good ish.

TQD: I am probably the most serious of the crew members, personally and musically speaking. I tend to gravitate towards things that are dark and I think that provides a balance to some of the other members of Background Noise who may come with a lighter sound of music and/or personality. I think it's fair to say that regardless of who we all were before forming Background Noise, we've managed to rub off on each other. I also bring record keeping skills to the crew. I serve as the secretary of Background Noise, so I plan our meetings, update everyone on news, and make sure I'm keeping what we discuss and plan to do well documented.

ANALYRICAL: I think I bring a positive sensibility to Background Noise. I love and respect the origins of hip-hop and thankfully Egytpo Knuckles has really helped me tap into my love for the history and cultural relevance. As the rest of the crew would tell you, I wear my heart on my sleeve. There's no doubt about it. I'm a pretty passionate guy and it is reflected in my music and the way I carry myself. Lyrically, I am still wavering in between straightforward honesty and philosophical wordplay. I sometimes just say exactly what is on my mind, then on another song I will bring up questions and ideas, and leave it to the listener to decide for themselves. It's fun and thought-provoking to explore both routes.

STATUS REIGN: As far as my personality goes, I'm a big fan of finding the devil in the details. I really try and be the best at everything I do, and whether or not that ends up being the case, I think my end products show the markings of working toward something specific. I'd much rather cut down from 100 tracks to find 15 good ones than make 20 and keep them all for an album. Right now Case Of The Mondays (consisting of myself and Analyrical) is working on our album for release in mid July. It’s gonna be a collection of jazzy and fun music that goes over well for live shows, mixed with some more serious introspective tunes that shed light on who we are as people. Following that, the release of my solo album Brutally Honest which is more or less self explanatory in terms of content is slated for Nevruary of 2018... proving further more how much I'd like to put into it before I consider it finished.

What's the weirdest thing about you?

EGYPTO KNUCKLES: The weirdest thing about me, sometimes it’s the samples I use and sometimes it’s the way I utilize the samples to my advantage. People in the crew found out recently that I chop everything manually, which earned me a crazy look. That and I probably claim permanent residency at Yafa off 41st and Central.

TONEKRUSHER SMITH: I have a hole in the crotch of almost all of my underwear. I don't know. I've been trying to figure that one out for years.

PHINGAZ: Although I have no relation to Wisconsin, I love cheese.

TQD: For someone who doesn't say a whole lot, I'm rather opinionated.

ANALYRICAL: The weirdest thing about me I can think of is my meticulous cleanliness and organization. My apartment has no posters or anything on the walls. I separate pens and markers. Everything is lined up in a linear fashion. I have all my socks facing the same way in my drawer. I don't know how weird it is to me personally, but every time a person who has never been over before sees my place there is always a comment or two about it.

STATUS REIGN: When I'm on a video game playing kick my basic necessities are narrowed to Vault soda, pizza, profanity and cigarettes.

The Background Noise Crew perform Saturday, March 15 at the Dinkytowner. Doors open at 9pm.

Posted by Nate Patrin at March 12, 2008 1:01 PM | Comments (2)

 

Come for the painter's wife, stay for the bricklayer

Filed under: Art/Museums

In the offices of the Weinstein Gallery on West 46th Street, there toils a man who should be paid by the governor--or at least the mayor--as an essential public servant. On the walls of the gallery hang a collection of photographs by the legendary German photographer August Sander's People of the 20th Century project, which Martin Weinstein worked three years to obtain. He'll sell them, sure (the prints are going for $7-15 thousand). But mostly, he wants you to see them.

And you really have to see them. August Sander is hardly an obscure figure in 20th Century photography. But I assure you, if you've seen these photographs before, you've never seen them like this. And if you've never seen them like this, you may never have the chance again. The prints are from the original negatives, some of them nearly 90 years old. They survived three years in an underground storage facility in Nazi Gemany during World War II. They emerged a bit scarred, and primitive touch-up techniques are not difficult to spot. It's the forensic evidence of the kind of lives these and countless other early 20th Century negatives have lived--and a reminder of how lucky we are to have them at all.

Photo: Die Photographische Sammlung/SK-Stiftung Kultur –
August Sander Archive, Cologne; ARS New York, 2008.

The new prints were hand selected by Weinstein and printed by Sander's grandson Gerd, who apprenticed in his grandfather's darkroom and made these prints using the precise specifications adhered to by Sander in the 20's and 30's.

The prints are large and the subjects are impossibly vivid--all those incredibly strange and almost mythical people: the bricklayer, the gypsy, the painter, and the painter's wife (go just for this photo, seriously). If you stare at them long enough, I swear you can see them drawing breath and even blinking.

Photo: Die Photographische Sammlung/SK-Stiftung Kultur –
August Sander Archive, Cologne; ARS New York, 2008.

Almost as remarkable as the photos themselves is the fact that this is the first ever solo exhibit by August Sander in the United States (the revered German photographer died in 1964). And for this, my fellow Minnesotans, we must thank Mr. Weinstein--because, at least for a few weeks, you don't have to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see a Sander print. You merely need to make your way to Weinstein Gallery on West 46th Street (there is always parking right in front) and push open the door. Most likely, you'll be alone in the space and surrounded by the paper-people who Sander, so many years ago, labored to see "as they are and not as they should or could be." You've got until April 12th friends. It's always free. Don't miss this one.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at March 12, 2008 11:46 AM | Comments (0)

 

A Tale of Two Bands: Desiree Weber reviews Grand Archives

Filed under: Concert Review

Grand Archives
March 7, 2008 at 7th Street Entry
Review by Desiree Weber
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

If you follow indie rock news with much frequency, you probably know the story: Seattle’s indie darlings Carissa’s Wierd, who never made it big despite released three albums of lush, heartbreaking folk-pop, broke up in 2003. Carissa’s bandmates Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke went on to form Band of Horses, quickly becoming critically acclaimed and popular (even opening for the likes of Modest Mouse).

Grand Archives. More photos by Daniel Corrigan here.

But if you were never a Carissa’s Wierd fan, you probably didn’t think much of Brooke’s early departure from Band of Horses (if it registered on your radar at all). With all due respect to Birdwell and his Horses, BoH never really lived up to the hopes of diehard Carissa’s Wierd fans for what its members’ next project could be. Brooke was, along with Jen Ghetto, the voice and, to many, the heart of CW. Thus buzz spread quickly, particularly among the Carissa’s-faithful, with news last year of Brooke’s new band, Grand Archives, and their four-song demo.

Consider yourself caught up.

If you don't follow indie rock news, have never heard of Carissa's Wierd, and are wondering what happened to the City Pages copy editor (don't worry, it's spelled wrong on purpose), I’ll be explicit: it’s pretty much impossible to listen to Grand Archives outside the context of Brooke’s prior work. For a guy whose last band penned songs with titles like “Sophisticated F--- Princess Please Leave Me Alone,” “You Should be Hated Here,” and, simply, “Die,” seeing Brooke stroll onto the Entry’s stage Friday night wearing an ear-to-ear grin and a harmonica, and then hearing the band launch in to the positively jubilant “Miniature Birds” (which prominently features whistling) was, well, different.

With an album’s worth of material to draw from and the second spot on the night’s bill, the band’s concise set ran through the highlights of their eponymous debut record. Second in the setlist was album-opener “Torn Blue Foam Couch,” which begins with Brooke’s wispy vocals over gently strummed acoustic guitar, but quickly ventures to altogether different sonic territory, upping the tempo and the volume to a boisterous crescendo.

Grand Archives reward close listening: the songs are multi-layered and reveal new facets and complexities with each listen. Most bands of whom this could be said struggle to translate this complexity into a live set, but Grand Archives succeed. With three guitarists (two of whom also play auxiliary percussion), and three vocalists, the band shines at letting the give-and-take between its members take precedence over any individual, displayed best in the vocal interplay of “Index Moon” and “Sleepdriving”. Yet, they also know how to come together for in an athemic whole (witness the call-and-response vocals over a staccato bassline in “Louis Riel,” or the entire crowd clapping in unison to set-closer “The Crime Window”).

Friday’s show was about getting to know Brooke in an all-new context. While I have to admit that “Sleepdriving” is likely my favorite song of theirs in no small part because it echoes Brooke’s work in Carissa’s Wierd, I also think it stands on its own terms as one of the better indie-rock singles of the year to date. In a live setting, Grand Archives looks and sounds like a band that’s just beginning to gel as a cohesive whole, and is genuinely excited to be playing together. They’ll never be Carissa’s Wierd 2.0, but that’s probably for the best. Watching Brooke chart new musical realms shows the growth of a talented, albeit shy, songwriter and frontman. Keep an eye on this band; if their first album and their live show are any indication, they’re likely to build up quite the archive of their own. -- Desiree Weber

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 11, 2008 5:51 AM | Comments (0)

 

Tastefully done: Temple's naked sushi

Filed under: Food

How many times in your life do you get the chance to eat sushi off of a naked person?

Even when I lived in Okinawa, word was you had to travel to Tokyo if you wanted to witness one of these events -- and if you were a gaijin, you'd better have connections. It was the potential experience more than the food that attracted me to Temple Restaurant & Shinto Lounge on Saturday night for the first of two nyotaimori and nantaimori evenings.

The history of eating sushi off of a person ("nyotaimori" and "nantaimori" mean "female body presentation" and "male body presentation" respectively) is a bit enigmatic, and tracking down the origins of the practice is difficult. Sources differ about whether it is a longstanding tradition among geisha or whether it is a relatively recent phenomenon owed to the yakuza.

At a private birthday party the night before, Temple staff got the chance to train in a real-life setting. Still, excitement was palpable, even as models were being prepared an hour prior to opening.

All told, it takes roughly 90 minutes to prepare a model. After hair and makeup are completed, the robed individual is surrounded by Japanese shoji screens. Behind the screens, the model's sensitive regions are covered with flowers before the sushi can be arranged on bamboo leaves atop their bodies.

Levels of loquaciousness varied among the models. One male model politely declines to speak until after his shift is done; the other has his eyes closed whenever I stroll by him. Tuesdee, who also works at Temple, is happy to talk until a chef begins placing sushi on her body -- she wants to control her breathing precisely. Behind her is a mirror and a pool filled with dry ice, surrounded by four burning red votives. The low lights add to the ambiance.

You look delicious: more photos by James Tran here.

The fourth of the initial models is Ali, a 26-year-old massage therapist who is "not afraid to try anything" (obviously). "I'm not nervous," I overhear her asking one staff member. "Is that normal?"

A member of the Blackfoot Indian Tribe, she has an already-ornate tattoo that has four more hours or so of work to go. Extending from below her left breast down to the hip, it shows a native woman and the word "Pikuni," the Blackfoot word for their own people.

The toughest part for her, she says, is going to be not talking -- they models aren't supposed to speak with you, and you're discouraged from speaking to them. Ali is excited by the artistic nature of the project.

Visually, the arrangement of rose petals, colorful daises and other floral accoutrements is striking. Origins of this practice aside, Japanese eating ritual is all about the aesthetics, and we have the total package in play tonight.

Practically, though, the process of removing sushi delicately -- no hands, please, just chopsticks -- presents a challenge. Once the party begins, there are hordes of people carrying chopsticks around, and with the ample supply of liquor, someone seems liable to get stabbed.

Among eaters, there is a wide variance in chopstick proficiency. An Asian guy mishandles his sticks and drops a hunk of sushi on a model. "Sorry," he says to her. "You'd think I'd be qualified to do this." She registers the hint of a smile. Later, I will witness one poor fellow make seven earnest attempts before successfully removing a piece of sashimi. I feel like applauding when he is done. If the leaves adhere to the sushi and start to pull off the model, a staffer is there to hold the leaf down with chopsticks of her own.

Flower power: more photos by James Tran here.

Though the practice seems a more artistic than sensual one, there are exceptions. Two men approach a model whose sushi stocks have recently been depleted. "Oh no!" one says, never taking his eyes off Tuesdee. "There's no more food!" But he lingers. "C'mon," his buddy says. "Let's get more sake." I hear another man's girlfriend ask him, "are we going to keep going back to the same girl?" He blushes, and if he answers, I don't hear it.

How about the food? Personal preference requires me to sample more sashimi than sushi rolls, and the fresh maguro tuna was mouth-meltingly delectable. Among the other appetizers circulating, the shrimp bisque with Pernod and the seared Kobe beef were favorites. (As an Okinawa supremacist, I have to point out that Ishigaki beef is the wave of the future. Less hyped but just as tasty, the lean meat from one of the country's southernmost islands is waiting for some able entrepreneur to begin imports).

But the main attraction proved most popular. Through most of the evening, I find myself sitting by Tuesdee. At 8:05, they re-stock her body with sushi for the first time -- with three people wait expectantly in the wings. Ten minutes later, they're reloading her again, and again crowds hover nearby. This repeats six or seven times before 8:30, when the shoji screens come out to surround the table she's occupied for the past couple of hours.

Staff cover her with a robe before at last the roses are removed from her body. Her memorable night is done.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 10, 2008 7:35 AM | Comments (9)

 

Seeing Double at ... Myth: Jen Paulson Reviews NOFX

Filed under: Concert Review

NOFX
Myth Nightclub
March 9, 2009
Review by Jen Paulson

The old shoe store that became the Myth Nightclub over two years ago was already packed before the show itself even started. Plastic cups filled with beer, punk t-shirts, devil horns and impressive Mohawks abounded. After opening sets by Toronto-based upstarts The Flatliners and melodic punk holdouts No Use For a Name, NOFX would take the stage in all their brash, immature (even after almost 25 years as a band) glory. Tonight was the last night of this leg of the tour for all three bands, and they were determined to go out with a bang.

The young Canadian punk-metallers would add some fresh meat to the mix, but the sound for this set was cranked up so high that even with earplugs it was not only hard to make out what they were yelling about, but it muddied up their sound while separate hurricanes of early mosh pits formed on the floor. As the sound quality improved, No Use For a Name almost outshined NOFX. Their set was tight – well crafted, melodic punk that sounds a million times better live than recorded, as they also threw in covers of Bob Marley’s classic “Redemption Song” and “I Turned Into A Martian” by The Misfits.

NOFX hasn’t changed at all, and by all accounts, they are still living the dream. Frontman Fat Mike, dressed in a red and white striped polo and purposely mismatched plaid shorts and golf hat, managed to play bass with a broken wrist, and made mention that after their show in Chicago the night before they stayed up partying until 8 a.m., and explained that was why his voice was all raspy and torn up, as if it were always clear as a bell. According to him, this would be the biggest turnout of the whole tour.

“If you have any drugs, throw them on stage!” – Fat Mike

Full of wise-ass quips, at one point he shared his view that if you believed in God, you’re too stupid to be at a punk show – and while it could have bordered on offensive, it was enthusiastically greeted with cheers from the crowd. But hey – this is the freedom of punk rock, outspokenness and ability to speak one's mind in whatever way possible. The band traded comedic abuse with the crowd along with faux-racist remarks pointed at their loveable Guitarist and Horn player El Hefe and of course, the occasional concertgoer.

At times it was almost impossible to focus on the action onstage while the eye focused on the huge mosh pit, complete with its massive amounts of crowd-surfers as the security guards acted as air traffic controllers as they grabbed people, set them down and made sure that they were briskly swooped out of the way to filter back into the crowd.

When they proclaimed that there were only “five good songs left” that didn’t necessarily mean that they were going to only do five more songs, but nevertheless it was a non-stop barrage of manic, politically-undertoned punk rawk as local genre royalty Paddy Costello of Dillinger Four watched from the balcony and from the stage, as the band played ‘Lori Meyers” at his personal request. Insanity ensued as both guitarists and the bassist from No Use For A Name ran around on stage in a four-man ax extravaganza. Coming back for the encore, they played the opening strains of “Oops, I OD’ed” as the obviously intoxicated man in front of me that had been downing Jim Beam all night turned around to make sure I knew that’s what they were playing. But the night wouldn’t be complete, even if we were on the other side of town from the landmark in question, without a performance of their Minneapolis ode, “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock.” Fat Mike noted that they would be at the West Bank club that night, but “instead of being downstairs drinking cheap beer…” they would be upstairs doing the good drugs.

No need to grow up guys, just keep on with your timeless schtick and the crowds will keep coming. -- Jen Paulson

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 10, 2008 7:33 AM | Comments (2)

 

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