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The Wanteds (part of “Electrofest”)
Friday · Southgate House Parlour
Come see the man, then wait for the movie. If everything goes as planned, Tommy Harrington, the sole member of The Wanteds, is going to be the subject of a documentary released later this year. Dave Kopilak, a Portland lawyer-turned-filmmaker, hired a director and camera crew to follow Harrington on The Wanteds’ fall tour, a seat-of-the-pants affair where he would sometimes show up unannounced at a venue, drum machine in one hand and guitar in the other, and ask to open for whoever was playing. This footage will be the core of the film, alongside interviews with Harrington’s past girlfriends, former associates and family. Kopilak chose his subject wisely: The enigmatic and talkative songwriter is not shy about his past foibles or present conundrums. From interviews, he gives the impression he is half-Jackson Pollock and half-Narcissus. But Harrington is 100 percent entertainer. His plurally-titled solo project is kind of a one-man Postal Service with more emphasis on the songs and less on the beats. Let Go Afterglow, his debut disc, offers sugary, strummed songs of confession, love and loss set to simple two-four rhythms and rolled in simple keyboard creations. Some tunes forego the Electronica and go straight for a stripped-down Doug Martsch vibe.
Both flavors of Wanteds song are as likely to explode into full-on Rock mode as they are to fade out peacefully. Of course, the lyrics are full of introspection and his voice is ripe with honesty. But there is another facet that comes through in his recorded work and his performances. There’s something inspirational about a 35-year-old artist who, after years of trying to make it as a part of various bands, walks out onto the tightrope and bares his soul with more youthful exuberance than Emo and angst-rockers half his age. Free of the alliances and addictions that limited him in the past, he projects himself unabridged. It’s this heroic ingredient that guarantees an exhilarating show and, someday, a moving film. (Ezra Waller)
The Spunks with Deceiving Ralph, The Gravity Car and Super77
Friday · Top Cats
The Spunks dive straight into Rock & Roll from the direction of the rising sun. They bill themselves as “Kamikaze Rock & Roll from Japan/NYC” and they aren’t kidding. They take the power of old-school Punk — Iggy and the Stooges come to mind — and the madness of New York City’s Japunk scene and ram both down your throat in acidic bursts of insanity. The band was formed in 1996 in upstate New York by college friends Hajime (guitar/vocals) and George (bass). Last year, Al Batross (Ludichrist) took over drumming duties. The band has organized the “Japunks Panic Jamboree,” a showcase of Tokyo underground music at NYC’s CBGB’s since 2000. But enough back-story — these guys are nuts. Their completely out-of-control stage show simply has to be seen to be believed. And, with songs like “Sex, Drink, Motor-Rides” and “I Love Wok ‘n’ Roll” caterwauled in the best Punk tradition of top-volumed snottiness, The Spunks will make you believe that with loud guitars, driving drums and a hyperactively throbbing bass, all things are indeed possible. On a local level, if you recall the glory days of the Jockey Club, The Spunks will certainly bring back memories. If you weren’t around and are relatively new to Punk, these guys will make you believe that the world can be torn apart and rebuilt in your own image on a nightly basis. As the band says, “Thrills, stupidity and loudness guaranteed.” What more could you possibly want? (Dale Johnson)
Watershed with Fizzgig, Denial and And Andy
Saturday · Radio Down
From Columbus comes Watershed, a quartet that specializes in sparkly Pop songs that could conceivably (and should) serve as the soundtrack for driving around on a warm summer evening trying to pick up girls (or guys) at the drive-in. Watershed — Colin Gawel (guitar/vocals), Joel Ostrich (bass/vocals), Mark “Poochie” Borror (guitar) and Dave Masica (drums) — idolize Give The People What They Want-era Kinks, and in my book, that’s a good thing. When you’re looking to offer shiny Pop baubles with a heart and soul to the public, you can’t go wrong by following Ray Davies’ example. And what shiny Pop baubles they have to offer indeed. The band’s music really does remind you of summer with carefree, pleasing melodies and guitar-driven hooks. And since their just-released disc is titled The Fifth of July, it’s hardly a coincidence. Gawel’s radio-ready tunes sit on your porch swing on a sultry night, crack open a beer and spin economic tales of love and life in between yelling at their friends in cars as they pass by. The two standout tracks are the title cut (which I’ll call an homage to the melody of The Cars’ hit “Just What I Needed” rather than a direct grab of it, because Watershed does different and interesting things with the song’s framework) and the why-isn’t-this-in-heavy-rotation-somewhere? “Small Doses.” Get a little summer in your life — go see Watershed. (DJ)
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness with Coltrane Motion and johnnytwentythree
Sunday · Southgate House
Remember what a Polish man gives his wife on their wedding day that’s long and hard? A last name. Har-har. Perhaps hoping to use the humorously un-succinct name as a gateway to acclaim (like fellow Austinites … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead), I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness back up their moniker with a dark, groovy sound. Although this Austin quintet’s name is a mouthful, in return they offer an earful of sparse lo-fi Pop that’s easy on the ears and goes straight to your ass like a dozen donuts. The band’s calling card is their eponymous 2003 five-song EP. The tracks increase in intensity, starting out with whispering over brooding atmospherics akin to softer Spoon and culminating in raging drones cast with Brit Punk-ish shouts, like The Fall without Brix Smith. Throughout, the guitars are percussive and jangly, recalling Wire or early U2, while the rhythm section furthers this comparison with tight, organic pulses. Their similarity to Spoon could be either due to or the reason for them bringing in another Austin pal, Spoon frontman Britt Daniel, to produce the EP. He does a spectacular job of coaxing a very focused set from a dangerously prolific group of musicians. ILYBICD was spawned in 2002 by singer/guitarists Christian Goyer and Jason McNeely, who had played together in Windsor with the Derby, a band which prefaced the resurgence of the New Wave tradition of fusing noisy moodiness with melodic and danceable songs. From there, a lineup of eclectic Austin veterans was tapped — bassist Edward Robert of the Experimental Rock band Paul Newman, guitarist/keyboardist Ernest Salaz of art-punkers Glorium, and drummer Tim White from Post Rock minimalists Salute the Curse. Together, they are doing much more pointed work than their collective résumé would suggest, and it’s clear that the band has tremendous latitude that they are not afraid to brandish. This tour coincides with the release of a 12-inch on Artikal, an LP that will certainly be worth picking up to see what direction the band has chosen. (EW)
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2005.
