.
Twisted
Pop
Quasi
proves relationships change, but don't end.
BY
VANESSA SALVIA
Portland twosome Quasi has been bashing out beautiful
but bitter pop music for 10 years, and the band is now celebrating a
brand new CD, Hot Shit. Ex-husband and wife duo Sam Coomes and
Janet Weiss transmogrified their energies from their failed marriage
into twisted pop music preoccupied with melancholic musings on the injustices
of life.
 |
| QUASI
PLAYS THE WOW HALL ON SUNDAY. |
The two have earned their right to revel in misery:
Coomes started out playing in San Francisco's Donner Party, followed
by a partnership with Elliot Smith, while Weiss also pounds the skins
for post-punk starlets Sleater-Kinney.
But you know all this. What you might not know is that
Hot Shit will change the way you think about pop music.
The 11 songs veer into dreamlike territory. On the title
track, Weiss keeps pace with a train-track beat while Coomes swirls
his guitar around like fog. When the vocals kick in, it's typical laconic
Coomes' style with the lyrics: "Wild Goose or Holy Grail?/ Red herring
or the Great White Whale?/ Not many live to tell the tale./ Little things
that just don't matter/ Still could get me mad as a hatter/ Hot shit
on a silver platter/ I let go and I float away — a million miles
in a couple days/ I just came back to say goodbye."
On Hot Shit, their sixth release, Coomes explores
his bluesy side even more than in the past, an unsurprising move since
he recently released Blues Goblins, a CD of classic blues covers.
All instruments on Hot Shit are played by Coomes and Weiss, with
the exception of Brent Arnold's cello and Ollie Glatzer's viola on three
songs. This CD is full of the salty-sweet music, acerbic and desperate
lyrics and A-plus drumming we have come to know and love by one of the
Northwest's most intriguing acts. Quasi performs Sunday at the
WOW Hall in Eugene.
Acoustic roots country trio Corb Lund Band germinated
in Alberta, Canada in 1994. While all of the members were engaged in
other musical efforts at the time, they desired a "side project" in
which to "play music familiar to their rural roots." Lund's life has
been informed by his childhood experiences growing up on the family's
fourth generation horse and cattle farm, and his all-original music
expresses this rustic experience. As little Lund grew, he turned more
and more to music, studying jazz guitar and bass and forming an indie-rock
band, the smalls. Lund toured Canada with the smalls until its recent
demise in 2001.
This change paved the way for the Corb Lund Band, and
the group recently made its U.S. debut with Five Dollar Bill.
(The band's Canadian debut was cassette only, and was followed in 1999
by Unforgiving Mistress.)
The CD's title track is typical Lund — a saga
of Prohibition-era booze running on horseback over the U.S. and Canadian
borders. With songs about oil riggers ("Roughest Neck Around") and bronco
riding ("Buckin' Horse Rider") there's a lot of honkey tonk and a little
outlaw for everybody, with songs ranging from romantic to raucous. The
verbose Lund is as much a storyteller as he is a musician, and his stories
are often surreal. With Lund's experience and unique perspective, he
has found a way to lyrically and musically portray life in the rugged
outbacks of the Great White North. On the CD, Lund is joined by upright
bassist Kurt Ciesla and drummer Ryan Vikedal, whose name you might recognize
from Nickelback.
Due to Vikedal's full-time commitment to Nickelback,
Lund will be joined on tour by fellow Albertan Brady Valgardson. The
Corb Lund Band will perform Wednesday at Sam Bond's in Eugene.
ART OF EVERYTHING
513 MAIN ST., COTTAGE GROVE
FR: DJ Dance--8
AX BILLY GRILL & SPORTS BAR
999 WILLAMETTE ST. 484-4011
SA: Carl Woideck--8; Jazz
BLACK FOREST
50 E. 11TH ST. 686-6619
TH: Stage Hogs--9; Rock
FR: U-Gene Band--9; Rock
SA: Silas--9; Rock
SU: Open mic w/Pete Christie--9
MO: Karaoke w/Jared--9
CAFE LUCKY NOODLE
207 E. 5TH AVE. 484-4777
TH: Raging Family--9:30; Trip-hop
SA: Brothers of Beat--10; R&B, hip hop, reggae
CAFE PARADISO
115 W. BROADWAY 484-9933
FR: Autism Rocks concert w/I'Chele and the Cirle
of Light, Paul Safar, Nancy Verdouw--8; Benefit
SA: Jen Chapin, Stephan Crump--8
MO: Songwriter showcase w/John Shipe--8
TU: Acoustic open mic--8
WE: Spoken word/poetry open mic--8
CHAPALA RESTAURANT
68 W. 29TH AVE. 683-5458
SA: Lo Nuestro—6; Latin
WE: Lo Nuestro—6; Latin
CLUB RIO BAR & GRILL
444 E. 3RD 484-2927
TH: Must See TV--8
FR: DJ Mike--9; Hip hop
SA: DJ Alberto--9; Salsa
TU: Family Karaoke--6
WE: DJ Mike Wet 'n' Wild Wed.--9
COFFEE GROVE COOPERATIVE
510 E. MAIN ST., COTTAGE GR. 942-8847
FR: Eric Hause--8; Singer/songwriter
COZMIC PIZZA @ THE STRAND
199 W. 8TH AVE. 302-6013
TH: Satya Yuga--8:30; Reggae, hip hop, soul
FR: Anti-military benefit concert w/Mario Africa,
Womb Dialectic and local hip hop--8
SA: The Kimberly Trip--8; Rock, pop
MO: Open mic poetry, songwriters w/Christopher
James--8
TU: Buddha's Belly--8; Jazz, rock, jam
DOWNTOWN LOUNGE
959 PEARL ST. 343-2346
TH: DJs Supa J & Ceez--10; Requests
FR: Bucho, Sir Basil--10; Jam, funk rock
SA: Basic Assumption, Nemo, GreenCell--10; Rock,
DJ
SU: Sprout City Battle of the Bands--8
MO: DJs Diablo, Von Rocket--10; '80s punk, butt
rock
TU: Stone Cold Jazz w/Kenny Reed--9
WE: Peculiar Boogie--10; Classic rock
EMBERS SUPPER CLUB
1811 HWY. 99 N. 688-6564
TH: Billy McCoy—9; Country
FR: Michael Anderson Trio—9; Variety, country
SA: Michael Anderson Trio—9; Variety, country
WE: Billy McCoy—9; Country
GOOD TIMES
375 E. 7TH AVE. 484-7181
TU: Rooster's Blues Jam--8
JO FEDERIGO'S
259 E. 5TH AVE. 343-8488
TH: Jo Fed's All Star Jazz Jam-9
FR: Tim Clarke Quartet--9:30; Jazz
SA: Adam Comer Quartet--9:30; Jazz
SU: Mark Allan--9; Acoustic guitar
MO: Open Mic w/Skip Jones the Boogie Woogie Man—10
TU: Barbara Dzuro—8:30; Jazz piano
WE: Latin Flavor w/Paul Paydos Trio—9; Latin
jazz
JOHN HENRY'S
77 W. BROADWAY 342-3358
TH: '80s night w/Chris, Jenn, John--10
FR: First Family benefit show w/Savitri, Raging
Family, Jupiter Hollow, others--9
SA: FRESH dj--10; Dance
MO: Live hip hop--10
TU: Pellet Gun, Ned, Yeltsin--10; Pop, rock
WE: DJs Tekneek, Kal El--10; Reggae vs. Hip hop
LAVELLE'S TASTING ROOM
5TH ST. PUBLIC MARKET 338-9875
FR: Jenny Payne--5:30; Jazz
SA: Kenny Silverman--5:30; Jazz
LEGEND'S GRILL & STADIUM
44 E. 7TH AVE. 683-5160
FR: Riffle--9; '60s, '70s and '80s rock
LONE STAR BAR AND GRILL
I-5 AT COBURG 686-8686
TH: Girls get wild--9; DJ dancing
FR: Guys get wild--9; DJ dancing
SA: Karaoke--9
TU: Open mic--9
WE: Coyote Ugly--8
LUNA
30 E. BROADWAY 434-5862
TH: Ala Nar--8; Middle Easter dance
FR: Erik Muiderman--5:30; Singer/songwriter, Matt
Wayne Quartet--8
SA: Erik Muiderman--7; Songwriter, Side Project--9:30;
Jazz fusion
MAC'S AT THE VET'S
1626 WILLAMETTE ST. 344-8600
TH: Christie & McCallum—7; Honky-tonk,
rock
FR: Juke Joint Blue--9:30; Blues
SA: Bourbon Renewal--9:30; Blues
WE: Bourbon Renewal--8:30; Blues
MCDONALD THEATRE
1010 WILLAMETTE ST.
SA: The Flyodian Slips--8:30; The Wall Redux
 |
| EDIE
PERFORMS SATURDAY AT NEIGHBOR'S BOURBON ST. LOUNGE. |
NEIGHBOR'S
1417 VILLARD ST. 338-0334
SA: The Edie Show--9; Drag showgirl
OREGON ELECTRIC STATION
27 E. 5TH 485-4444
FR: Don Latarski Trio—8; Jazz
SA: Don Latarski Trio—8; Jazz
OVERTIME TAVERN
770 S. BERTELSEN 342-5028
TH: West Side Blues Jam--8:30
PERUGINO
767 WILLAMETTE ST. 687-9102
WE: Irish Jam--7; Celtic
PLANET GOLOKA
679 LINCOLN ST. 465-4555
TH: Acharya film screening--6
FR: Blue Road & Friends--7
SA: Kirttan chant and dinner--6:30
TU: Poetry open mic--6:30
WE: Kava blessing--6:30
PRIME TIME SPORTS BAR
1360 MOHAWK RD. 746-0549
SU: Karaoke w/Don--9
QUACKER'S
2105 W. 7TH 485-5925
FR: Mo'Fessor & Friends--9; Rock, funk,
blues
MO: Karaoke--9; Variety
WE: Quacker's Blues Bash—8:30; Blues jam
RAMADA INN
225 COBURG 342-5181
FR: Valley Boys--9:15; Rock
SA: Valley Boys--9:15; Rock
 |
| THE
CORB LUND BAND PLAYS WEDNESDAY AT SAM BONDS GARAGE. |
SAM BOND'S GARAGE
407 BLAIR 431-6603
TH: Baby Gramps, Sandman, Jack Norton--9; Folk
FR: Barbed Wire Cutters, The Can Kickers--9:30;
Bluegrass, Americana
SA: Cabinessence, Traker--9; Alt. rock
SU: Irish Jam--4, Scott Biriam, The Revival Tour--8:30;
Blues
MO: Chip Cohen, Kenny Sokolov--9; Acoustic
TU: Bluegrass Jam--9
WE: Corb Lund Band--9; Americana
SAM'S PLACE
285 WILSON ST. 484-4455
FR: Lazy J--9:30; Electric rock, funk, groove
SA: Duck party--12:30
WE: Cascadia Alive Anarchy TV--10
SAMURAI DUCK
980 OAK ST. 345-6577
TH: Shorty Long, JL Stiles & Ed Ivey, Mood
Area 52, Scramled Ape--9:30
FR: Lecika--9:30
SA: Oddability, The John Vinegar Band--9:30
SU: Hip hop party--9:30
MO: DJ John--9:30
TU: Says Us--9:30
SWEETWATER'S
VALLEY RIVER INN 687-0123
FR: West Coast Rhythm Kings--8; Jump swing
SA: Deb Cleveland Band--8; R & B, soul
TACO LOCO
900 W. 7TH AVE. 683-9171
SA: Mood Area 52--7; Tango
WE: Fuzz--7; Funk, jazz
TARASCO'S
100 E. BROADWAY 484-1747
FR: Salsa, Merengue w/DJ Mario Mora-9
SA: DJ Herman--9; Salsa, merengue
THE VOLCANO
535 MAIN ST., SPFD. 606-2645
TH: Bobby Six Crows Jam--9:15
FR: Rock--9:15
SA: Rock--9:15
SU: Karaoke--9:15
MO: Karaoke--9:15
WE: Ozone Baby--9:15; Rock
WETLANDS
922 GARFIELD ST. 345-3606
SA: Gamestaz--10; Hip hop, rap
 |
| THE
FLYODIAN SLIPS PLAY SATURDAY AT THE MCDONALD THEATRE. |
WILD DUCK MUSIC HALL
169 W. 6TH 485-3825
TH: Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet--9; Eclectic
jazz
SA: DJs Titus and Jayson--10; Hip hop, R &
B, dance, retro
WOW HALL All Ages
291 W. 8TH AVE. 687-2746
TH: Relient K, Anberlin, Don't Look Down, Number
One Gun--7
 |
| ABRA
MOORE & POI DOG PONDERING PLAY TUESDAY AT THE WOW HALL. |
 |
FR: Northwest Royale, 5 South, SYX, Vihara--8;
Hard rock
SA: Some Girls, The Pieces--8; Pop rock
SU: Quasi, Hella, The Chase--9; Indie rock
MO: Guerilla media films--8
TU: Poi Dog Pondering, Abra Moore--8; Rock
YUKON JACK'S
4TH AND W. BRDWY., VEN. 935-1921
FR: Papaws Blue Band--9; Rock
SA: Papaws Blue Band--9; Rock
SU: Karaoke--7
CORVALLIS
FOX 'N' FIRKIN'
202 SW. 1ST ST. 753-8533
TH: Chamber of Rhythm--10
FR: Vinegar--10
SA: Orange--10
SU: Blues Jam--6
TU: Beaver sports talk w/Mike Riley--7
|
