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| From | "John L. Micek" <jlmicek@mindspring.com> |
| Subject | Washington Post reviews Dixon, Hoover, et.al |
| Date | Tue, 27 Jan 2004 08:50:51 -0500 |
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No Name, No Problem: Don Dixon's Band Sounds Fine
Tuesday, January 27, 2004; Page C08
"We should name this band the Four Stages of Baldness," joked drummer Robert Crenshaw at the Rams Head in Annapolis on Sunday night.
Crenshaw (he would be Stage 3) joined fellow popsters Bill Lloyd, Jamie Hoover and Don Dixon, the last sporting his trademark sheik-skirted towel do-rag, in a carousing, collaborative set. For two hours, the foursome traded vocal leads and instruments, went from electric to acoustic and back again, and reached as far back as covers of the '60s classics "Batman" and "Every Time You Walk in the Room" and as far forward as not-yet-released albums. Lloyd (formerly of Foster and Lloyd) and Hoover (of the Spongetones) offered songs from their recent "Paparazzi," and Crenshaw, brother of Marshall Crenshaw, sang lead from behind the drums -- and on acoustic guitar -- for selections from his newly released "Dog Dreams." The multi-talented Dixon, who has produced and played on recordings by R.E.M., Mary Chapin Carpenter and many others, offered his hit "Praying Mantis" as well as smart pop songs from an upcoming project on rooms.
Dixon was the glue that held the group together. His bass provided coloration as much as rhythm, perfectly aligned with Crenshaw's bombastic drum sound and giving depth to Lloyd's rockabilly-tinged axework and the "Paisley Underground" shimmers from Hoover's Gretsch guitar. Dixon's bluesy vocals on "I Can Hear the River" drew their passion from experience. And Crenshaw's "25 Years Ago," about lost love, and Lloyd's "Cool and Gone," about faded hero worship, were songs no young man could do. They proved it's not what's on the roof that counts -- but what's in the furnace.
___________________________
John L. Micek
State Government Reporter
The Morning Call
Harrisburg, Pa.
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