The Masquerade, 8/7/06

Telling folks I went to see The Rentals has been met with quizzical head turns and the honestly puzzled question, "Really?" That's generally followed with "That guy from Weezer?" My favorite reply was one guy who started singing "You're One," the pseudo-hit from Imperial Teen. An honest mistake, I guess. Imperial Teen was the other mid-90's alt-rock side project with a minor new-wave-y radio song, theirs featuring Roddy Bottum of Faith No More. The Rentals' "hit" was the mysterious "Friends of P.," and they were comprised of two guys from Weezer and one of the Haden sisters from that dog. Well, it's 2006, a full eleven years after their debut album, and apparently most people my age didn't even know they were back together, much less touring and playing in our fair town.



Ok, so they're not exactly a household name. Those that remember them at all remember them as a quirky one-hit-wonder novelty. With regards to this reunion, the natural question is "Why?," followed closely with "Why now?" They've got no new album, nothing to promote, and to my mind, they haven't really grown in pop culture stature in the past decade. But The Rentals never played in Atlanta in their initial four year tenure, and I happened to have liked both records they put out (1995's sunny California Moog-fest, Return of The Rentals, and 1999's more mature, Eurocentric sophomore effort, Seven More Minutes). I figured they were worth checking out. Matt Sharp (Weezer's former bassist) is the only original member left, and Petra Haden from that dog. has been replaced by her sister, Rachel. The lineup is rounded out with Lauren Chipman, Sara Radle, Ben Pringle, and Dan Joeright. Not that it mattered: the audience for this show was here to see one guy, and one guy only: Matt Sharp.

Matt Sharp always made Weezer's live shows a lot more fun, as is evident if you've seen Weezer any time in the years following his departure. And of course, The Rentals' records are a blast. But Sharp's solo record and solo show here at The EARL a few years back were downbeat, singer-songwriter-y affairs, and I wasn't sure how the grown-up Matt was going to mesh with the nerd-rock goofball icon the crowd wanted him to be. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be an issue, as he came out bounding across the stage, full of energy. He's a lively performer, to say the least, never staying in place for more than a few seconds, working both the stage and the room. He was forever pumping up the crowd, keeping the high energy flowing.

The band played the crowd-pleasing, bouncier numbers such as "The Love I'm Searching For," "Waiting," "Keep Sleeping," and "Please Let That Be You." They also worked in their moodier, quieter numbers like "Sweetness & Tenderness," "The Man With Two Brains," "Say Goodbye Forever," "She Says It's Alright," and "Jumping Around." Of course, the set was Moog- and violin-heavy, with the requisite female backing vocals, but it never seemed cheesy or less than relevant. Were they a new band and not who they are (i.e., forever chucked into the Alt-Rock Has-Been Box), I could quite easily see them being embraced by the indie rock community. They closed the set with a cover of Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side," which morphed into "Friends of P." While they never revealed who "P." was, they did tell us they were working on a new record and would be back soon. Cool.

- Jeremy Frye

Drunken Unicorn, 8/16/06



It may not be fashionable to say, but my ears don't lie: the Silversun Pickups bring to mind a similarly-initialed act of the 90s - the Smashing Pumpkins. No, not that "world is a vampire" business, but with Brian Aubert's biting vocals, acerbic, driving basslines, cloudy guitar and amped-up percussion, the dynamics of this L.A. buzz band aren't too far removed from tunes of the Siamese Dream era. If that's not cool enough for ya, lighten up a little, or consider that their overcast sonic palette is also acquainted with Kevin Shields' swirling beds of emotion and the coed give-and-take of the Pixies. With their first full-length, Carnavas, fresh on record store shelves and an industry eye on their Silverlake 'hood, the time to catch these up-and-comers is now.

- Amanda Langston

Silversun Pickups will appear on WRAS 88.5 this Tuesday, August 15, at 4:30 p.m. If you miss their Atlanta show or just want more, catch them live on one of the following dates:

August 17, Troubadour / Los Angeles, CA
August 19, The Echo / Los Angeles, CA - Fuck Yeah Festival
September 1, Live 105 Club Sessions/ San Francisco, CA
September 2, Art & Soul Music Festival - Live 105 Stage / Oakland, CA

On Tour with VIVA VOCE
September 28, The Rickshaw / San Francisco, CA
September 29, Howie & Sons / Visalia, CA
September 30, The Echo / Los Angeles, CA
October 1, Modified / Phoenix, AZ
October 3, Emo's / Austin, TX
October 4, Opolis / Norman, OK
October 5, Randy Bacon Gallery / Springfield, MO
October 6, Jackpot / Lawrence, KS
October 7, Courtyard Cafe / Champaign, IL
October 8, Southgate House / Newport, KY
October 10, Iota / Washington, DC
October 11, Mercury Lounge / New York, NY
October 12, Mercury Lounge / New York, NY
October 14, Johnny Brenda's / Philadelphia, PA
October 15, Middle East / Boston, MA
October 16, Bug Jar / Rochester, NY
October 17, Lee's Place / Toronto, ONT
October 18, Lime Spider / Akron, OH
October 20, Empty Bottle / Chicago, IL
October 21, The M-Stop / Ames, IA
October 24, The Hi Dive / Denver, CO
October 26, Neurolux / Boise, ID
October 27, The Crocodile / Seattle, WA
October 28, The Doug Fir / Portland, OR

The Atlanta Room at Smith's Olde Bar - 7/18/06



Generally speaking, I look forward to a typical singer-songwriter night the way I anticipate catching a raging case of cooties. The mere thought conjures painful images of no-talent blowhards indulging their need to Make A Statement with a guitar and some bad lyrics. While statistics dictate that The Atlanta Room at Smith's Olde Bar has hosted its fair share of these performers, thankfully Edie was not among them. In fact, her Atlanta debut, both dynamic and compelling, was almost enough to put such cynical notions out of my mind altogether.



A Dutch native who's based out of Nashville, Edie won over the Tuesday night crowd with a combination of charm and passion. Supplementing her own acoustic guitar playing with accompaniment by Todd Cecil on guitar and mandolin, she showcased numbers from both of her full length albums, as well as unrecorded material and songs from a new work in progress. The prevailing mood was emotionally loose, as the straightforward singer sold her material in a series of groans, murmurs and trills, at times ready to fly off the stage with a grand gesture. Her voice morphed more than once from a whisper to an intense sound reminiscent of Kate Bush or early-period Sinead O'Connor. While Edie's most recent disc, Nu, embeds her voice at times in thick layers of instrumentation, this showcase was clean and simple, a presentation that suits her material well.

The Atlanta Room, a cozy cocoon in which to while away an evening, was an ideal setting for this warm, expressive artist. With any luck, they'll continue to dodge the songwriter stereotype with performers of equal caliber - or better yet, perhaps they'll invite Edie back very soon.

- Amanda Langston

Photos by Marije Vismans

Edie's upcoming tour dates are as follows:

8/23 - Artichoke Sandwich Bar - Wichita, KS
8/24 - Mick's Music & Bar - Omaha, NE
8/26 - Lemmons - St. Louis, MO

Read more about her or buy a CD at http://www.ediemusic.com/ or http://www.edieart.com/.

Drunken Unicorn, 7/24/06



Just admit it - that emptiness you’ve been feeling lately is due to a lack of Brazilian baile funk in your musical rotation. Fortunately, Bonde do Role are here to solve that problem. High on the narcotics of youth and anything-goes spirit, they’ve fashioned a primitive six-pack of tunes out of shamelessly obvious samples and a lot of giddy attitude. Theirs is a product of bedroom hairbrush rock crossed with the use of appropriation found in electroclash and mash-up culture. As their closest American counterpart appears to be the naughty West Coast hams in Gravy Train!!!!, one can only imagine what the English translation of their raps might be. This definitely promises to be a trashy good time.

Bonde do Role open for CSS and Diplo on Monday, July 24 at the Drunken Unicorn. Get there early!!

Tabernacle, 6/10/06

Why the hell did I decide to go see the Arctic Monkeys? Curiosity, I suppose, along with professional obligation. The Brangelina of the rock world (or the British Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, take your pick), this young act have come out of nowhere to find themselves playing to sellout theater crowds less than 3 years after playing their first gig. The result, particularly with bassist Andy Nicholson bowing out of recent dates (and more recently quitting the band altogether), is a live show that would benefit from a lot more experience.

Playing to a pumped crowd of what seemed to me like typical suburban 99X listeners and the usual Britpop diehards, many of whom sang every word, the Monkeys delivered mostly sharp, by-the-book renderings of their album tracks, with the occasional interesting detour - "Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But..." was marked by some particularly fierce percussion all around, including, of all things, an extended bongo jam. However, the set had little sense of flow or buildup, with frequent awkward pauses between numbers. These boys should be sweating it out in a van somewhere, eating Taco Bell and hoping for some free beer. Alas, their situation (having the UK's fastest-selling debut album of all time while some of the band members are still in their teens) dictates that lessons of showmanship and timing be learned in the spotlight.

Aside from appreciating the obvious wit in a line like "There's only music / So there's new ringtones," it's difficult to cut through the hyperbole surrounding this act to discern what, if anything, they have to offer. Only time will tell if they're a Blur in the making, or the Soup Dragons of the new century. In the meantime, were they worth sweating my ass off on a Saturday night while buying six-dollar drinks? Not bloody likely, mate.