June 14, 1999
Did you miss me? I feel terrible that I have not updated this site in so long. I have no real excuse. I did have some major life and career changes that Iwas going through, but nothing that prevented me from going to a few shows here and there. I guess I just needed a break from the obligatory book report that is requiredafter every concert. I took a few months off to just take in some shows, forget thedetails, not stress over every nuance, tidbit of banter, and attempt of each rock star toendear themselves to me, and just veg before, during, and after the shows. But Ifound that I missed the albatross, so I am back, in a new city, with high hopes of movinginto a new phase of my music reviewing career.
The new city being Austin, TX, the live music capital of the world, I should have lotsof great local talent to discover here, something I was sorely missing in Houston. And next year when South By Southwest rolls around, you can bet that I will be lovinglife. Either that or I will have conformed to the Austin local attitude of feelinginvaded by the vampire music culture as it descends on our fair city. Anyway, Ishould have lots of music to enjoy and to share with you in the coming months.
So, you might ask, "What the hell have you been doing for six months?" For the most part, it is none of your business, but I have seen some good bands in thattime span. I did the Barenaked Christmas thing again anddid manage to keep good notes so you can check out that review, better late thannever. I caught Semisonic at Numbers in January, which was a good show, with openersRemy Zero (Hollywood tidbit, lead singer married Allyssa Milano). Semisonic did muchthe same show as other times I have seen them, but I always enjoy their Prince covers(props to a fellow Minnesotan) and their Split Enz's cover of "I Got You".
I got to see two good shows this year at a small club in Houston, Instant Karma. They have had a few national acts passing through and it is a very intimate venue to seean act that is just about to make it big. Cases in point, Shawn Mullins and RufusWainwright. Shawn Mullins was adelightful surprise, as his radio tunes are getting overexposure, but his folk stylingsand ease with the crowd made for a great night of musical storytelling. He had thisone poignant song that stuck with me about meeting a man by the ocean in Oregon and hetold this drifter "I don't reckon i'll be makin it big, you know it's hard to getrich off a tour of coffee house gigs". Sort of ironic for the man who playedthose gigs for over 10 years and is now the flavor of the moment.
Rufus Wainwrightwas also a great show. He has this peppy cabaret sound, plays keyboards and guitars,and has some very special lyrics that have a tendency to stay with you. Like on"April Fool," I found myself singing "And you will believe in love" for days. His sister joined him for several tunes at this show, including a cute littleFrench number for the encore. I liked Rufus so much, that I caught part of his showthe next night in Dallas.
And why was I in Dallas...you guessed it, to see the Men that are Ladies. Theydid a few small festival shows in both Dallas and Houston, thus racking up shows 49 and50. It was nice to celebrate my Golden Barenaked anniversary at home. BNL isstill enjoying the success of Stunt, though subsequent singles have not hit big since"OneWeek." That's OK though, their live shows are still spectacular and they are stilldrawing the crowds. They've been overseas several times this year, including Europe,Japan, and Australia. The urge to see them in another country became so overwhelmingthat I planned a trip to Germany conveniently around their schedule and got to see amagical show in Stuttgart. Small, lovely, venue in a beautiful park, only about 200in attendance. It was like the old days. The set consisted mostly of Stunt stuff, but all the old favorites are still there and the banter was fresh with referencesto German food. Kevin is back touring and performing, so it was worth the trip overjust to see him again. Please see the comprehensive BarenakedCorner for all the sordid details of my BNL experiences.
And I did go to SXSW again this year, but only for one night. I made the specialtrip out to see my fav from NXNE, Starling, at the Ritz. I also got to check out L7,good show, but I could have done without the naked roadie chick.
And one final note, here in Austin, I did get out to check out my old friends, theRecliners. I thought they were breaking up a while back, but after a brief stint as theEasy Boys and some personnel changes, they are back on track as the Recliners, playing intheir standard Austin haunts. Check out some of my otherreviews of them sometime.
So now you are up to date on me. How thehell have you been? See, you haven't missed as much as you thought you had,right? Anyway, thanks to all the folks who have emailed me to get me back in thereviewing spirit and keeping this project going. Things should get interestingas we approach the millennium.
On That Note, I'm outta here......
Cindy
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