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 I was 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 required after every concert. I took a few months off to just take in some shows, forget the details, not stress over every nuance, tidbit of banter, and attempt of each rock star to endear themselves to me, and just veg before, during, and after the shows. But I found that I missed the albatross, so I am back, in a new city, with high hopes of moving into a new phase of my music reviewing career.
The new city being Austin, TX, the live music capital of the world, I should have lots of 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 loving life. Either that or I will have conformed to the Austin local attitude of feeling invaded by the vampire music culture as it descends on our fair city. Anyway, I should 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 that time span. I did the Barenaked Christmas thing again and did manage to keep good notes so you can check out that review, better late than never. I caught Semisonic at Numbers in January, which was a good show, with openers Remy Zero (Hollywood tidbit, lead singer married Allyssa Milano). Semisonic did much the 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 see an act that is just about to make it big. Cases in point, Shawn Mullins and Rufus Wainwright. Shawn Mullins was a delightful surprise, as his radio tunes are getting overexposure, but his folk stylings and ease with the crowd made for a great night of musical storytelling. He had this one poignant song that stuck with me about meeting a man by the ocean in Oregon and he told this drifter "I don't reckon i'll be makin it big, you know it's hard to get rich off a tour of coffee house gigs". Sort of ironic for the man who played those gigs for over 10 years and is now the flavor of the moment.
Rufus Wainwright was 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 little French number for the encore. I liked Rufus so much, that I caught part of his show the next night in Dallas.
And why was I in Dallas...you guessed it, to see the Men that are Ladies. They did a few small festival shows in both Dallas and Houston, thus racking up shows 49 and 50. It was nice to celebrate my Golden Barenaked anniversary at home. BNL is still enjoying the success of Stunt, though subsequent singles have not hit big since "One Week." That's OK though, their live shows are still spectacular and they are still drawing 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 overwhelming that I planned a trip to Germany conveniently around their schedule and got to see a magical show in Stuttgart. Small, lovely, venue in a beautiful park, only about 200 in 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 references to German food. Kevin is back touring and performing, so it was worth the trip over just to see him again. Please see the comprehensive Barenaked Corner 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 special trip 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, the Recliners. I thought they were breaking up a while back, but after a brief stint as the Easy Boys and some personnel changes, they are back on track as the Recliners, playing in their standard Austin haunts. Check out some of my other reviews of them sometime.
So now you are up to date on me. How the hell 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 the reviewing spirit and keeping this project going. Things should get interesting as we approach the millennium.
On That Note, I'm outta here......
Cindy
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