Audio By Carbonatix
There’s quite a bit of an international flavor to the musical offerings in our area this evening, which is one of the more interesting Monday nights we’ve seen in a while.
John Vanderslice and Daniel Hart at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton
Emerald
City, singer-songwriter John Vanderslice’s effort from 2007, is one of
the more remarkable albums of the last decade. Depressed by Bush’s
reelection in 2004 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan,
Vanderslice found that his only way to escape these blues was to write
politically conscious songs — something he had rarely done in the past.
The results were pretty staggering as Vanderslice merged the personal
and political in a way that hasn’t been accomplished as successfully
since the days of Gang of Four and The Clash. The fact that
Vanderslice did this via his rather sedate electronic/folk sounds makes the
achievement even more amazing.
Acrassicauda and No Scope at Trees
Thrash
metal from Iraq? WMDs or not, Acrassicauda is at least one positive
thing that resulted from the invasion of Iraq. After receiving death
threats from Islamic militants in their homeland, the band was granted
refugee status in the United States and settled in, of all places, New
Jersey. Wherever they
choose to reside, these guys know how to bring on the authentic thrash
metal noise. What better place to cultivate urban disaffection than the
streets of Bagdad? Or Hoboken.
Hank & Cupcakes and The Cush at the House of Blues’ Cambridge Room
Hailing
out of Israel, the duo behind Hank & Cupcakes creates a hell of a racket
for just a guy on his bass and a gal on her drum set. This is trashy
dance rock played with wit — and the necessary irreverence to pull this
kind of shit off without sounding pretentious. Opening act The Cush
features area residents Burette and Gabrielle Douglas. Former Dallas residents who moved to Vermont and have now resettled in Fort Worth, the Douglases are probably best remembered in these
parts for their involvement with the noise pop band Buck Jones. These
days, the duo plays music more in the Yo La Tengo vein. And that’s
definitely not a bad thing.
Xavier Rudd and Honey Honey at the Granada Theater
Australian
singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd is one of those one-man-band types that
are always a hoot to catch at various festivals around the world.
Concerning himself with the plight of the Aborigines, Rudd is the
epitome of political correctness. He’s a vegetarian, too. And, of
course, PETA has recognized Rudd as the “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian.”
Next thing you know, the guy will have his own sit-com. There are worse ideas: Rudd’s brand of
folk is earnest and delivered with an undeniable energy. He may just be
the greatest guy you will ever see in person. Or not.
