Post by unclemikey on Jan 7, 2005 12:49:40 GMT -5
Chris Riemenschneider: Testing a new Atmosphere
Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
January 7, 2005 LOC0107
Page: 1 2
"Everybody in this bar thinks they know my story."
How true and twisted those words rang Tuesday, as Slug and a wholly unknown new band passing for Atmosphere kicked off a seven-night stand at 7th Street Entry.
The shows -- which last through Tuesday and include an eighth, private gig Sunday -- are an unprecedented run at either of the First Avenue stages. The Replacements' five-night party when "Tim" came out in 1985 is the nearest thing. Even with all that was going on with the 'Mats back then, though, there's no way those performances had the same sense of reinvention that Tuesday's gig did.
The Entry concerts are timed to the reissue CD "Se7en," made up of recordings Atmosphere did for the old "Headshots" cassette series from 1997 to 1999.
Slug plays a packed 7th Street Entry.Jeff WheelerStar TribuneHowever, the old stuff really wasn't the focus of the first show. Only one tune was played from the "Se7en" CD, "Round and Round." Slug even poked fun at the idea of a reissue CD party.
"Thank you for coming out and celebrating the fact that we're putting out old [stuff]," he cracked at the start of the 90-minute performance.
"Se7en" is a must-have for hard-core fans. It captures the real-life Sean Daley's transition from Atmosphere's co-mouthpiece to the main guy, and from a bragadocious battle MC (see: "@ It Again") to the guy who has become synonymous with emo-rap, for better or worse. ("Heart" makes the perfect CD closer.)
"The album kinda marks the beginning of me taking hip-hop music personal as a human instead of as a rapper," Slug wrote in the liner notes.
This all makes for an absorbing listen, but more interesting things are going on at the Entry this week.
Slug has dabbled in the live-band thing before with Heiruspecs, mostly in the First Avenue mainroom, where the two units recorded the great "Sad Clown, Bad Dub, Vol. 3" CD in 2001. This new band is made up of local guys with hard-rock backgrounds, including guitarist Nate Collis of Kid Vengeance. At times, it echoed the Heiruspecs sound, such as in the funkified "Between the Lines."
However, many tunes -- such as "Hair,"Scapegoat" and the new one with the lyrics quoted above -- sounded like nothing Slug has done before. They were darker, heavier and laden with brooding piano lines and hair-raising guitarwork. Occasionally, the stuff even sounded metal, and not just when Collis copped an Iron Maiden riff before "They're All Gonna Laugh @ You." This wasn't a band hired simply to re-create the beats that Ant, Slug's producer/bandmate, had laid.
There was singing, too, something Slug will probably admit is not his strong suit, but it somehow worked on Tuesday.
As Slug's handlers explained it to me, he wanted to tour during the first half of this year, especially after being offered a spot on Australia's Big Day Out festival tour. However, he didn't want to do the same thing he did on all his tour dates last year. Hence the band.
The group wasn't exactly a perfect match, or even all that remarkable. But the change in direction certainly was. Hometown fans will have a lot to chew on with these shows.
I didn't make those Replacements gigs, but I did once see Lucinda Williams challenge her fans with a five-night stand at a club not much bigger than the Entry down in Texas in 1996. The notoriously gutsy country rocker had fired her old band and raised a lot of eyebrows at the shows, testing out new material and varying styles those nights. The end result was her landmark "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" album.
Whether or not Slug is preparing to make his masterpiece, at least it can be said that he's testing his artistic worth -- which seems especially important in the short-fused hip-hop world.
CHANGING STATIONS
My optimism for the new Minnesota Public Radio station KCMP (89.3 FM) -- set to launch later this month with a AAA-like, locally friendly format -- got stronger with the news this week that Radio K's station manager, Mark Wheat, is joining the staff there as a DJ. He's that guy with the British accent who has guided the student-run University of Minnesota station (770 AM) for six years. More...
Page: 1 2
Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
January 7, 2005 LOC0107
Page: 1 2
"Everybody in this bar thinks they know my story."
How true and twisted those words rang Tuesday, as Slug and a wholly unknown new band passing for Atmosphere kicked off a seven-night stand at 7th Street Entry.
The shows -- which last through Tuesday and include an eighth, private gig Sunday -- are an unprecedented run at either of the First Avenue stages. The Replacements' five-night party when "Tim" came out in 1985 is the nearest thing. Even with all that was going on with the 'Mats back then, though, there's no way those performances had the same sense of reinvention that Tuesday's gig did.
The Entry concerts are timed to the reissue CD "Se7en," made up of recordings Atmosphere did for the old "Headshots" cassette series from 1997 to 1999.
Slug plays a packed 7th Street Entry.Jeff WheelerStar TribuneHowever, the old stuff really wasn't the focus of the first show. Only one tune was played from the "Se7en" CD, "Round and Round." Slug even poked fun at the idea of a reissue CD party.
"Thank you for coming out and celebrating the fact that we're putting out old [stuff]," he cracked at the start of the 90-minute performance.
"Se7en" is a must-have for hard-core fans. It captures the real-life Sean Daley's transition from Atmosphere's co-mouthpiece to the main guy, and from a bragadocious battle MC (see: "@ It Again") to the guy who has become synonymous with emo-rap, for better or worse. ("Heart" makes the perfect CD closer.)
"The album kinda marks the beginning of me taking hip-hop music personal as a human instead of as a rapper," Slug wrote in the liner notes.
This all makes for an absorbing listen, but more interesting things are going on at the Entry this week.
Slug has dabbled in the live-band thing before with Heiruspecs, mostly in the First Avenue mainroom, where the two units recorded the great "Sad Clown, Bad Dub, Vol. 3" CD in 2001. This new band is made up of local guys with hard-rock backgrounds, including guitarist Nate Collis of Kid Vengeance. At times, it echoed the Heiruspecs sound, such as in the funkified "Between the Lines."
However, many tunes -- such as "Hair,"Scapegoat" and the new one with the lyrics quoted above -- sounded like nothing Slug has done before. They were darker, heavier and laden with brooding piano lines and hair-raising guitarwork. Occasionally, the stuff even sounded metal, and not just when Collis copped an Iron Maiden riff before "They're All Gonna Laugh @ You." This wasn't a band hired simply to re-create the beats that Ant, Slug's producer/bandmate, had laid.
There was singing, too, something Slug will probably admit is not his strong suit, but it somehow worked on Tuesday.
As Slug's handlers explained it to me, he wanted to tour during the first half of this year, especially after being offered a spot on Australia's Big Day Out festival tour. However, he didn't want to do the same thing he did on all his tour dates last year. Hence the band.
The group wasn't exactly a perfect match, or even all that remarkable. But the change in direction certainly was. Hometown fans will have a lot to chew on with these shows.
I didn't make those Replacements gigs, but I did once see Lucinda Williams challenge her fans with a five-night stand at a club not much bigger than the Entry down in Texas in 1996. The notoriously gutsy country rocker had fired her old band and raised a lot of eyebrows at the shows, testing out new material and varying styles those nights. The end result was her landmark "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" album.
Whether or not Slug is preparing to make his masterpiece, at least it can be said that he's testing his artistic worth -- which seems especially important in the short-fused hip-hop world.
CHANGING STATIONS
My optimism for the new Minnesota Public Radio station KCMP (89.3 FM) -- set to launch later this month with a AAA-like, locally friendly format -- got stronger with the news this week that Radio K's station manager, Mark Wheat, is joining the staff there as a DJ. He's that guy with the British accent who has guided the student-run University of Minnesota station (770 AM) for six years. More...
Page: 1 2