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| From | kcronin <fiatluxury@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | rooney/donnas/okgo (longish) |
| Date | Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:14:25 -0800 (PST) |
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greetings, sportsfans:
it's been a long dry winter for me musically: mainly
because 1) i'm broke and 2) it's too damn cold to go
record shopping, but also because i seem to be stuck
in some kind of narrowly defined niche world of
sunshine harmonies and tra-la-las, and though i heap
them upon myself like the musical equivalent of 650
fill power hungarian goose down comforters they no
longer warm the cockles of my heart as they once did
and Alas! Alack! what is a girl to do? Is there some
NEW, DIFFERENT variety of powerpop i'm missing?
Should I be expanding my horizens to include things
not heretofore comprehensible, given my narrow scope
and self-imposed ignorance? IS THERE A WORLD OUTSIDE
OF AUDITIES AND THE CULT OF IPO?
naw, that's just hooey.
that's why i was off to see the Donnas and OKGo last
night, on a mild night of almost 30 degrees - opening
were the previously unknown Rooney who made a place
for themselves in my tiny little world with the help
of their Bay City Rollers-esque (complete with
ubiquitous 70s hair) gladness, organ trills,
tambourines and goofy lyrics, which, judging from the
impassioned squeals in the front, are shortly to be
inscribed on the inside cover of high-school
TrapperKeepers everywhere (do people even use
TrapperKeepers anymore, or are we all using Palm
Pilots now?) They kind of lost me on their "ballads,"
which drifted perilously close to the generic pop that
goes in one ear and out the other (like Blinker the
Star or sugarbomb or sugarcult for me - nothing not to
like, but nothing to really hang your hat on, either.)
but the short, snappy songs were irrepressibly
charming. And Bay City Rollers, yes: one song evoked
the saturday night ethos every way short of actually
spelling it out. Only one lad singing harmony w/5 in
the band struck me as an appalling waste of talent,
unless, of course, none of the rest of them can sing.
The singer was servicable and really only busted out
once or twice, but proved plenty able to do it..I
would trust that they play to that strength in the
future.
I had not previously heard/seen The Donnas, who,
touted as Runaways, seemed far more AC/DC and early
van halen to me (and to listmember Jocelyn), their
best songs rising above the sameiness of their
lyrics/tempo with anthem rocky, shoutable choruses and
delicious solos - I gotta say, the ladies do rock the
house, with attitude to spare, and with some of the
funniest fuck off lyrics around (i missed the first
part about "broken-hearted," but am loving the fact
they rhymed it with "why did you have to be so damn
retarded.") and, comparing them to Sahara Hotnights
whom i saw a few months back, i'd say while SH might
have some musicianship and presence on tD, and
definitely a more audible rock-voiced singer than tD
chica whose register kind of fades out amidst the din,
tD seem to be more enthusiastic in general (the
drummer, eg, was less technically correct to my
amateur ears than the SH drummer, but also a bit more
adventurous and willng to screw up), more likely to do
something truly rock n roll, more authentically sleazy
and, probably, a lot more fun to hang out with. they
were fun - nothing I'd feel compelled to buy, perhaps,
but i'm sure i'll catch them again someday live.
Those of you who listened to me raving about the
headliners this summer know what I'm gonna say here,
so you can skip it...OKGo was glad to be home - Damien
seemed a little more hoarse and consequently more
breathy than usual - it makes the record intimate, but
it just sounds strained live sometimes. Andrew is
sporting a Sparks-like moustache and is a major freak,
a quality i admire in a man. The songs, I am pleased
to note, hold up well to multiple live shows, though
not much changes, and the harmonies are loud, clear,
and magnificent...speaking of anthems, these boys seem
to have scientifically distilled the nature of the
rock anthem and have clinically, but not cynically,
put this knowledge to good use in the creation of
several barnstormers that get better and better as
more people learn and love them and can pump their
fists along in time. Surely I could not be so shallow
as to advocate this groupthink? But there you have
it: some rock experiences are more joyful when you let
in the crowd, instead of just being annoyed at them
for screetching in your ear and spilling beer on your
coat. Some bands facilitate that familiarity - Neil
Finn and Rhett Miller, whom I had the chance to adore
in person last week, both pander to the same fanbase.
And OkGo likes it better when everyone sings along.
That's not to say that half the crowd, at both shows,
probably would irritate the bejeezus outta me if i was
forced to stay in their company outside the sanctified
air of these shows. Nevertheless, the crowd energy at
these shows is palpably different, bigger, more
accomodating than usual, than even during the Donnas
set, where folks seem to be enjoying them mainly in an
insular (perhaps onanistic?) kind of way. Isn't it
better when the crowd catches fire too?
I would add for truthfulness that I probably couldn't
see OkGo many more times without something new coming
down the pike - it's all very well for them to have a
bagfull of kickass covers (choices last night were
"Hold the Line," "Crimson and Clover," and the one
they actually played, the Smiths' "Panic"), but I'd
like to see what the next chapter holds for these
gentlemen - otherwise, I might get bored.
And that's quite enough outta me.
--kelly
np: andres segovia 1927-1939 recordings vol. 2 "Danza
Espanola No 10"
=====
oderint dum mentuant
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