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Totimoshi with Croatan
Wednesday · Southgate House
Like so many bands being classified as Stoner Rock, Totimoshi elude easy description. Just when the syrupy guitar tones, double bass ripping and shifting dynamics have you convinced they'll fit alongside Quicksand and Clutch, in comes a minimalist breakdown or Surf-inspired guitar runs. Right when the sweet, strained singing puts you in the mind of Josh Homme, the lyrics and vocals make a left turn towards a performance that wouldn't have been out of place on a Talking Heads album. It's an unpredictable mix that this East Bay trio has been purveying since 1997 when guitarist Tony Aguilar and bassist Meg Castellanos started the band. The husband-and-wife team has been through a slew of drummers, but their musical direction has changed very little, incorporating heaviness and complexity but avoiding homogeneity like the plague. That's not to say they've been static: Their lyrics have matured greatly and their current drummer, Tyler Cox, is the most aggressive player to fill that role. Their fearlessly eclectic approach has attracted the attention of many, including Helmet's Page Hamilton, who invited them join him on the East Coast leg of his 2004 comeback tour after hearing a copy of their 2003 effort, Monoli. Totimoshi also secured a spot on The Melvins' 20th anniversary tour, giving them access to the fans of their closest stylistic analogue. Their current outing is to promote the re-release of Mysterioso by Crucial Blast Records on Aug. 9. Originally released in 2001, this is the moody collection of Sludge Rock tunes that landed them on many a Top Ten list the following year.
The CD has been enhanced to include a video tour diary including a new Totimoshi song performed acoustically, and, most notably, a video for "Cellophane" with footage from the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) parade in San Francisco, the perfect visual pairing for Totimoshi's psychoactive style. (Ezra Waller)
Mofro with Pearlene
Friday · The Loft at Tickets
JJ Grey and Daryl Hance saunter onstage to root down for the night ahead. Not from around these parts, they're looking like they just stepped out of the lumberyard or Florida swampland. You're not sure what to expect, but it's looking to be a night of glorious, gritty goodness. Ohio's own Adam Scone and Tennessee's George Sluppick take the stage to complete Mofro as they are today. Now I'm going to start 'em out on a soulful song, as I'm a soulful kind of a lady. Scone unlocks the silence, gently rolling down the keys, with Sluppick not far behind, striking down a sultry beat. Enter JJ and Daryl. JJ's spirit seeps out tenderly in his vocals, eventually climaxing in his deep-throated, thick southern soul. Daryl echoes JJ's rhetoric, sliding his strength on his strings. Oh, it is on between the four of 'em, thrills 'n' chills already riveting up and down your spine. Mofro's got their mojo working, warming you up just right. Closing your eyes, you can feel the southern culture that JJ poetically stitches before you, witnessing layer upon layer of generations encompassing the history of American music — Country, Blues, Gospel, Soul, Funk. Mofro has fused this gamut, forming their own American genre for our generation: Jookhouse. Your mind is digesting the words and sounds internally, your head starts a'shakin', neck a'groovin', lips' ends curving up to the next degree. Mofro raises you up from today's distractions to touch a world beyond — and they ain't even hit in to the "Ho Cake" hookin', "Nare Sugar" smackin', "Jookhouse" jivin' and "Dirtfloor Cracker" sassin' yet! Because that's when the shakedown breaks down, and there's no stopping anyone from getting down. You ain't ever been as thirsty for a tall glass of lemonade. By night's end, you're not sure if the sweat rolling down your back is from making it your duty to groove your bootie or from a surreal two-hour orgasm. Either way, Mofro's surprising seduction has left you lusting for one last thrill. And, on that note, JJ finishes the night off teasing that "there's a couple things you can't be too tired for ... and lovin's the best thing." (Sara Beiting)
Forget Cassettes with Killjoy Confetti, Dr. Jones and Diet Audio
Friday · alchemize
Forget Cassettes is a band that demands your attention, a fact I realized the first time I saw them. Diminutive beauty Beth Cameron casually strummed odd-time laments then thrashed her Gibson SG with all her strength, her voice alternating between sultry whisper and guttural wail. Doni Schroeder switched from laying down gargantuan grooves and fills to lush stretches where he tickled the drumkit and the Fender Rhodes simultaneously. The duo (who formed FC in 2001 after serving as half of the band Fair Verona) had developed telepathy and chops befitting a Jazz combo and honed raw power and passion into a style that defied comparison. It was a breathtaking experience that left me wondering how I and the rest of the world had missed them. Turns out it was just me. The show was all I talked about for the next few weeks, and to my surprise many folks in the Tristate were already hip to Forget Cassettes ... including some whose record collection contains several volumes of the "Jock Jams" series. How could this be possible? Why, through the magic of WOXY, of course! The (then terrestrial) station had played the bejesus out of Forget Cassettes' entire Instruments in Action disc, and listeners had heard and responded. So I knew I wasn't grieving alone upon finding out that Schroeder was snatched up by ... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, whom they knew through mutual producer Mike McCarthy. To the relief of many, FC's indie label Theory 8 Records has come to the rescue (with personnel from their family of Nashville bands) to flesh out a new Cassettes lineup. Jay Philips of energetic Post Rock band Apollo Up! has taken on bass and keys and Aaron Ford of melodic instrumentalists The Sincerity Guild is behind the kit. The current plan is to have a sophomore disc from Forget Cassettes out by next year. Meanwhile, they'll continue to polish their chemistry with weekend jaunts around the Eastern U.S., including visits to their adoptive home here in southwest Ohio. Don't miss their 97X Lounge Act performance at 4 p.m. Friday on woxy.com. (EW)
