Nov 26 - Dec 4. 1997 Terminal City 7

NOW (New Orchestra Workshop) 20th
Anniversary/Time Flies Festival of Jazz
and lmprov Music
Roundhouse Community Centre
November 16-19

Music, Art, And Media News Prom The Pront Lines

BySllsh
George Lewis spasm of chasm and splitting split­
ting orb. ShadowGraph, 4 and The Chicken Skin pieces
fly in rolling to a scurrying zhoom then veer brassy
waves of horned attention ... moves of strolling bass
and thunderdrums trumpet waaa waaa building to an
easy pace. Lewis waves his arms free open ancl wide

Echo and The Bunnymen
Evergreen
Mercury-Polydor
Echo and the Bunnymen occupy a curious corner
of rock mythology. Successors to the Northern pop
throne vacated by The Beatles and precursors to the
Stone Roses and Oasis, Echo never quite achieved the
success in America that contemporaries like U2 and
Simple Minds did. So now, after ten years of obscure
solo projects the Bunnymen have returned to conquer.
Why should you care1 Well, you shouldn't really, ex­
cept that this is a surprisingly solid pop record. From
catchy throwaways like / Want To Be There (When You
Come) to classic Killing Moon style ballads like Nothing
Lasts Forever, Mac's Morrison-Bowie croon is perfectly
utilized and Will Sargeant's distinctive chiming.swoop­
ing guitar punches and rolls just like it should. When
backed by Les Pattison's chugging bass and new drum­
mer Michael Lee's deft drumming it feels like they never
left. Add Evergreen to Radiohead and Blur's new re­
leases as must-have British pop records of the year.
Duncan Williams
The Dambullders
Against The Stars
Warner
You best to not be fooled.Sure,they've toured with
Lush,Weezer,and The Grifters.Still you best to not be
fooled.Sure,it's got a C.D.cover that makes them look
all futuristic and space rocked out.Yet you best to not
.,_ � ,._,. _.........,, -,,k J;M. $tvled by the num­
bers, rendered without any passion... Break up wIcn
your boyfriend, he'll never give you what you need"
are some lyrics displayed. This is much like someone
trying to replicate a Big Mac in their home with a bit
of outside help brought in.Finally,by track seven,prom­
ises become a bit more fulfilled when they come off
like a hyper accellerated digital age ABBA Track eight,
entitled Discopolis still holds us, a crossover dance hit
for the urban roe.It crowd - trying to further the aims
and goals of Blondie and they keep the song interest­
ing whilst keeping step.Track nine still going with a dub
ending. Track IO sounds like Bryan Adams.Track I I a
bit better. Then buh buh back to the bland and gosh
these kids try to make it interesting with modified vio­
lins and computer steel drums.It just falls so short.
And there has gotta be a greater accomplishment than
hoping to be, at your best, a Blondie for future days.
Ohhh, well, sigh.
Robert Dayton
NRBQ
You·re Nice People You Are
Rykodisc
Yes, this is my morning wakeup C.D. of choice esp.
in the dumps of a depression. It feels good and it's
good for you, too! Such warmth excudes from the
greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world ('greatest' is a
value term imposed by me and others who are of criti­
cal stature). Who better than this band to do a chil­
dren's album1 Can't believe that a band that exists with
such wild-eyed wonder and mirth would take over
thirty years to get to do one! Entercationally edifying
numbers to get lodged in brain space in chipper terms
about safety, spiders, sleep, and so on. Much more

ROBERT
DAYTON

dayton@term1nalcity.com

Why do I bother this week! I am writ­
ing this before APEC. Will there be anyone
left reading this after APEC1 I have a real
feeling of dread and doom. Like, when I
saw that Secret Service guy looking like a
well-dressed lefty talking into his briefcase
on Commercial Drive.Wow,reality really
is scarier than paranoia! I am scared.
Received to me was a luvverly
chapsbook entitlefied The Oeoth and
Ap otheosis of Ronny Walker as rendered by
Tim Lander. The front and back covers

rising yes turning yes then reverse. Every little tingle
ingle then stop! aime and slams down his hands step­
ping back into trombone and the circle of NOW again
closes. Flr.ing bass hooves grooving waving in the
drums anil guitar.Vinny Golia gestures like a piano ...
note ... hit ... note ... and writes Ted Williams Cal/The
Mick and Renders Touch Sensitivitr. Useless and GCG and
Reasons for Living charts of ma�em and fire compli­
cated like a fluttering wait ...! Dialogues chattered and
slow ... loud with crash and gaping gores of searing
lull turned humans as pealing silfy scra;w,ww voice
steps in to the maw.Rali_ges of trombone a thumping
beast and the 7irrunny of /nterestflickering feast from
Paul Cram pul tear smooth pull and leather clad
Cooke slam waverfv of steelish Wowow with journey­
ing spin bop ring. Glistening clear every lobe turned
high to reception moments lure with near recollec­
tion of The Yellow Sound by Ron Samworth. The ges­
ture heads up is hardly needed for the likes of these ...
all in full-on listening mode.
Plinking skin and air felt plucking turns from out of
the cerebral ethereal and sweatyl>rows keeping UP.
to the charts of hieroglyphics learned, combinecfanil
then sounded.Voices of each instrument and its mu­
sician clear from extended rehearsal,even in uncharted
territory where much whirred wily throu2h. When
improvisational collaborations didn't get off tlie ground
players kept offering sennsitive listeninB and playing
musicality, each bringing voice to the m1ilst ...
Compositions ancl conductors stepped up ... visiting guests George Lewis and Vinny Golia, along with
locals Coat Cooke, Paul Cram and Ron Samworth
chartly challenging our own music.al residents who
each contributed technical and aural wonder.The list
of names: Paul Plimley, Paul Blaner., C de Reed,Dylan
van der Sc.hyff, Kate Hammett-Yau � an, Peggy Lee,
Mark Nodwell, Saul Berson, Ra ph Eppef, Brad
Muirhead, John Korsrud, Bill Clark, Dennis Esson,
Graham Ord, Ross T�rt, Mike Braverman, Dennis
Burke,Bruce Freedman;Tony Wilson,Roger Baird and
Francois Houle. Moments of understood communication ... wordless between conductor and musicians ... moments like the arrival of human voice delicate and strong in the midst of non-human instru­
mentation ... free for alls that lifted the ordinary into
the extraordinary simply with the artists' abifity to
listen and receive. Potent talent execution of com­
posed pieces remaining open to well-springs whirr of
SP,Ontaneity.Many thanl<s to all involved in this most
sd_ky collaboration for delightful springs of thcaaa and
winkle.
Stereolab/Mouse on Mars/Plus
, The Palladium
November21
By Robert Da�n
I don't know what the)' done to Graceland to make
it The Palladium. I think they added comfy chairs. No
matter. The big curiousity piece tonight was Plush.Who
are they1 They have put out three singles thus far on
Drag C!tr and Flydadcly over the course of three years.
I was P.laying the most recent 7' ' to a somebod)' and
he saiil that ft reminded him of Copyright. Sure, I can
see that - less bombast, tho. A somebody else after
their set this night said that Plush reminded him of
early '70s George Harrison.That, and I noticed a nod
to the downer unrock numbers off of Big Star's Third.
Real slow, real baked bummer rock The w.ay,;Jieypl_,J
were taking notes
was interesting. ft seemed like they
�d ;.w-.. �� la.u.n.,z.e. \.n. Pltt!..bu'l"fl, that. h.ad
playeu there, playe<J together, anll llrank there tar too
long over the decades. Meaning professionalism that
has slowed down and gotten real loose. Especialll
Plush's drummer. He was all over his kit, but at a snail s
pace. Boom ... crash ... tinkle.They all had big hair and
looked like the kind of band that would form on "The
WonderYears".Those boys stayed real still anil didn't
say much.Such lack of sparkling audience interplay was
something we'd have to get used to for the rest of the
night. Mouse on Mars was two guys fiddling around
with knobs and switches and,strangely enougfi for such
mechanical instruments, real!)' getting into it - more
so than any other act toni2ht. Sl\ort set. First number
sounded like Perl}' and Kingsley, ya know, earlv '70s
playful moog stuff.They wereless melodic than that by
accenting beats more,yet keeping the playfulness.Their
second number was string setting synthy. Electronic
dit dit ditties.I was actually going to leave after Plush
to go over to see The High LJainas at the Starfish Room.
Couldn't. No in and out privileges.It shouldn't be a
privilege,it should be a rignt. Pacl<ed show or not, they
know how many tickets to sell. And Vancouver was
the only tour date where the Hi� Uamas weren't on
the bill with Stereolab! What's with that1! Fuck!
The �e backdro for the ni2ht, like last time,was
a very Phantasm walr of silver lialls for the lights to
reflect off of.Stereolab was very politely British in �e
manner.Completely uncharismat1cAncf the music!They
had some winners and losers.The winners were higti,
ther, were the ones that successfully built on sin,plicity
until it was so layered that it would suck you in.Then It
would tum or become so chaotic that It was almost
ready to burst.Yet, even then, pretty much, one could
still use their �PY feet. There is a strange giddiness
to their music.The encore where Mouse on� joined
them for a jam was the best P.art of their set anil bet­
ter than Mouse on Mars' set. Ther__only united for IS
minutes and it was way too short.They were all react­
ing very well with each other. It shoulda been a jam
night for them,as their sounds intersecting gave mucho
for the ear which during that time more than made up
for what was lost from the eye.

�=--

wonky than Raffi would ever be. Much more gentle,
too, in beautiful balladry. I mean Raffi's alright but, he
lacks a zing! And as an adult, I can't dig him - strictly for
the under-six set.This is for all ages even tho it is called
'children' but, excuse my cliche,we is all children t'ain't
we! I ain't lookin' for ruminations on Rimbaud - I'm
looking for reassurance in lyrics like ''You're nice peo­
ple you are, Boy it's nice to be around you".And the
kid test passes with colours: a pal's kid kissed the kitty
kat on the cover right at first glance and that was be­
fore the big listen! Little sound-effect flourishes abound
in hoots and cheers and laughter and bangs and car­
toon voices and train whistles (as on the topnotch
played instrumental "Next Stop Brattleboro"). Ya,
suberb playing and harmonies - they are in fine form
here. Thick, full bass keys with gentle all over drums
and subtlefied rockame guitars. Sweet without ever
being college quirky, NRBQ has given us a special gift
of perfect pop,humour,fun facts,and positivity, yippee!
Oh,and it's their best album in at least a buncha years!
Robert Dayton
Junkhouse
Fuzz
Sony
Junkhouse has one idea and it's not even a very good
one. Repeat bar band rock and roll ad nauseum.What
the hell is Colin (Crash Vegas') Crips doing in this

give us simple, line-drawing representa­
tions of this Ronny Walker. He seems to
bear resemblance to the author in that
both could be physically characterized as
having long, grey hair, beard, and hat. In­
side are pages of remembrances of Ronny
Walker neatly handwritten in script. One
gets the impression that Ronny was stub­
bornly his own person, a fascinating
sunnuvabitch. The local laws and govern­
ments seemed to have it in for him in the
town in which he lived. He collected tons
and tons of junk in his front yard and had
other turns of personality. Seems the au­
thorities didn't care for his junk. The last
few pages detail the laws and rules that
City Hall and business developers made
to take away a certain scenic island of ref­
uge and then describes all the hypocrisies
that exist with that. Just enough light is
shed on Ronny Walker to make him still
seem reasonably mysterious. Beautiful pi­
rate intro,too (Box 996,Nanaimo,BCV9R
SN2).
Some of you readers out there may
want some goods on how to become a
pirate. I only have the instructions on
Standard Issue - Pirate Stereotype. First,
steal a ship:a big one is preferred.You may
have to find minions in striped shirts to
help you. Second, get a parrot - one that
talks dirty is the best.Third,talk dirty,your-

band11!! It's like when Lou Reed co-wrote songs on
the Elder with Kiss.Well, not exactly but you get my
point. If this is what gets signed to major labels these
days it's no wonder Americans laugh at us.
Duncan Williams
Sweet 75
Sweet75
Geffen
Krist Novoselic is back and this time,it's personal! I
don't know if this is really bad, mediocre or kind of
interesting.I'm leaning towards the latter. I like singer
Y va Las Vegas's moxie! Or something like that.
Duncan WIiiiams
Superchunk
Indoor Living
Merge
For those of you who don't know, Superchunk was
the great indie hope of the early nineties out of Chapel
Hill. Their reward for not signing to a major! Partial
obscurity.The epic-sounding Unbelievable Things is prob­
ably their best song ever and the rest of the record is
full of Mac "super-fucking catchy" McCaughn's songcraft
and the Chunk's tight sonic sound.No surprises but it
just sounds so good and if you've never heard 'em this
is a good a place as any to start.
Duncan Williams,

self, and punctuate it with various
"Arrrrrrs." Fourth, you will need a new
wardrobe that would be quite frilly and
velvety to make you uncomfortable and,
in reaction, act macho. Fifth, and this is a
tough one, cut off either your lower right
arm and lower right leg - it don't look so
good if it's on the same side. Get a hook
for your arm and a pegleg for your, well,
leg. Now, go bury me some treasure! Be
sure to make a map for it cuz I can't find it
on pure instinct alone!

Ooh,here's a nice little comic book with
a yellowy cove�.It's called Harvest and it's
by DarrenSchmitz. The back cover de­
scription says it all:"A story about a young
nan working as a farm labourer in Sas­
katchewan." The story is not meant to be
eventful, it's not one of those coming-of­
age stories where he finds love in a grain
elevator. No, no, no. That's good. He gives
the reader a real feel for what it is like
there by taking us through various duties,
road kills, and land troubles. And, not to
mention the people who live it on a daily
basis. It's all drawn with thick black lines
that describe everything with simplicity and
ease (2 bux to Darren Schmitz,525 E.18th
Ave.,Vancouver, BC VSV I G2).
One 'zine that really got me was 127
Days to Live....It is not a pro-suicide tract.
I do not understand the reference of the
title. It's by Ryan Blgge who now writes
for TC.This one is chock full of stuff! It goes
all over the place and it took a mental ad­
justment to giffiger it. There is a full-page
ad for a hog-splitting saw. There is a piece
called "Stereo-types" that describes the
redneck car culture mystery in which the
guy, his girlfriend, and his male friend are
squished in truck together and the sexual
tension that abounds. The diary of a man
obsessed with a Teriyaki Bowl restaurant.
A press release parody announcing a Nir-

vanaAnthology box set. MoreAnd all amaz.
ingly in the same pages. Keeps the mind
moving.(Ryan Bigge,11623 90thAve., Delta,
BCV4C 3H5).
Issue 2 of Pepperpot picks up where is• sue I left off.There's a full-page ad for meat
cutting. A piece on how and why Kate
(publisher) stopped buying into the fash­
ion and beauty industry while working for
Canada's national women's magazine. Her
terrible trip to Europe in 1970 is revealed.
Clippings from various place. Vegan reci­
pes.The madness of working for tyrants in
an isolated locale and the bizarre small-time
feudal struggle that she went through.
Kate's stories of her own experiences are
the truly engaging moments here because
of her own take and memories (quite
strong). We also get an interview with a
crotchety man who does "Manifold Cook­
ing.'' This guy, he cooks his meals on en­
gines, whether it's a car, a train, or some
other huge piece of machinery! Ha ha! All
along while reading,I thought that maybe
some weird fumes infected his food and
got to his brain.Oooh yeah (2 bux to Kate,
RR6-5I5-C20, Gibson's BC,VON IV0). I
should state that every single publication I
have mentioned this week is worth the time
to seek out. They is all of high earmark
quality (and I don't say that every week).
Happy pirating!

8 Terminal City Nov 26 ~ Dec 4. 1997

TERMINAL CITY 168 HOURS GUIDE
Friday 28

Saturday 29

Sunday 30

Monday 1

Girl Feast: JPS, Wow, The
Go-Devils, Siobhan Duvall,
Slop y

Girl Feast: Liquid Amber,
Puncture, Hlssy Fit,
Mone enn , Sunn

Free Pao!

Open

Open

Open

Open

Open

Open

Open

Rehab

Rehab

Closed

Psychedelic Pussy

'80s & '90s N.W.
Underground, Industrial w/
OJ Apollo 69

Symone's Place

Slick

Metalwood

Airtight

Rumba Calzada

Shuga' Kube

Top Billin' w/ Spun-K

Acid Jazz

Makeshift, Preludin

Motorama, Socratic
Method, Waltz Darling

High Street, Clay

• '
. open

Open

Raunch & Roll

Open

NFL Action (day); Simao
Townshend {ev'!ning)

NFL Action 8pm; Punch
Drunk, Drexel's Eye,
Vibrator (late show)

Open

Sound Pressure Manifest,
Diesel Candy, Youza

Minority

Retro '80s & '90s w/ Love Retro '80s & '90s w/ Love
Cats, DJ Barrett, FR:E
Cats, DJ Barrett, FR:E
beto,e 9pm·,
before 9pm

Tuesday 2

Thursday 4

Wednesday 3

Knock-Down-Ginger, Sick
Socratic Method, The
Sick Yeah, $1.49 Day
Shelleycoats, Grappleyarde

Open
Open

THE NAAM

Mark Browning

Jamie Clark

A;,dr�w Davies Duo·

Oid Time Comfort

Bruce Jefferson

Jim Black

Larry Valen Trio

ORPHBJM

VSO: The Music of Angels

Closed

Closed

vso·, The �usic of Angels

Closed

Closed

Closed

PICCADILLV PUB

Clay, High Street

Global Hi-F;' Pef".pe'ctive

Ope�

Johnny Watkins Blues Jam
Session every Tues

Gin &Sin

The Bottle w/ DJs
Clarence, Dave,

PURPLE ONION

Club: DJ Chris James
Lounge: Open

Club: Open
Lounge: Open,

• Lounge: Scois .on a ·sunda
w(The �kshop

Slim's 315 Club Swing
·, -Night
Club: Wetcoast·Comedy
',Club
• '. t,.ounge: Zoullul

Lounge: Brick House

Club: Monsoon Groove w/
DJ Tio Roly
Lounge: Rumba Calzada

Club: Boomdaddy,
Strugglah
Loun e: Nickel Ci Slim

RAILWAY CLUB

Veda Ville

Veal, Melt

M<>vies of the Week, Spy
Spoofs

AAA Woodshed

CiTR's Shindig!

Soressa Gardner, Cherelle
Jardine, Cosmic Heroes

Wow, Cooking Purple

RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS

NYC Cocktail Party

Epic w/ OJ Chris James,

Maanam

, Closed

Closed

Closed

Closed"

Big Tall Garden

Little Gerfin Annie

Terry Brennan·

Closed

Girls Rock The Boat, w/
host Suzanne Wilson

Musician Drop-In w/ host
Derek Nyberg

Open

oug Smith & Rock Moran

Ron�ie Hayward Trio

Open'

,Open

Andrew Davies Duo

Steve Mitchell & Friends

Steve Dawson

Juliana Hatfield

MXPX, Bracket Reset

C(osed

Closed

Closed

Melanie Dekker, Songman

P.W. Long's Reelfoot

The Beans lounge volcano

Chunk Jazz (11pm-3am)

he Molestics (9pm-12am)

Closed

The Ids (10pm-2am)

Rusty Lemon Jazz Trio
(11pm-3am)

Various whatever

Cathode Ray CD Release
Party, Miss E.

Sally Can1 Dance

Open

Open

Open

Open

Open

John Howard Quartet

Kevin House

Weekend Brunch: DJ
Quentin 6-midnight

Ambient Tracks: DJ Chill n

Open

Open

Qo,,n

Greg Piccolo

Greg Piccolo

Greg Piccolo

Buddy Miles

Trashy Funk Party

New Wave Dance Party
FR:E

SEVEN SEAS PORTSIDE
RCX)M

THE WHIP

�-�

-J•.-.-�,-

3-7pm; Lori Paul (evening)

The Shadow

The Pulltab Playboys
Country Trash

James Brown Night
FR:E

568 SEYMOUR STREET

Open

( \

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·•.

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--.;!

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ThaColumbi

303 C,C.hnnb-la St. GastOWD 8113-3757

�
THURSDAY, NOV. 27

otomo yoshihide
& martin tetrault

◄ ►IFIF

with guests The Ruins

J��i1:i
WITH GUESTS
SATURDAY, NOV. 29

MXPX
WITH GUESTS

BRACKET RESET
WEDNESDAY, DEC. .J

MELANIE DEKKER

Songman

FROM TORONTO VOTED #I INDIE BAND IN T.O.

.._...HIGH STREET
L�.,,..

WITH

DENNY'S' NEW RADIO

REVERIE MONIY HUNGRY NIWlYWIDZ
SHERMAN'S PIKE DEJIANT NATURE
BLUE NOSE FLY

P.W.Long's
HeeHoot
THURSDAY DEC. 4

Featuring
Preston Long ex-Mule
Mac Mcneilly ex Jesus Lizard

FRI & SAT DEC. 5 & 6

THE PLACE TO CONNECT WITH GREAT ORIGINAL MUSIC

LIVC ACOU.-:»H� MU51� - DECEMBER 1997

turday

lriday 28

- with guests

FRI: SMAK, Bonafly
SAT: IIOKUM, The Emptys
SUNDAY DEC. 7
from the UK

Laika
with guests

tuesday 2

DOUG SMITH RONNIE ANDREWS
AND
HAYWARD DAVIE
ROCK MORAN TRIO TRIO
folk _,.___ rockabilly--'•- jazz
lriday 5
thursday 4
wednesday 3

STEVE TIME
M_lJgt�
DAWSON
WAITS
folk
folk
folk
STEVE

L

sat/6 CHRISTINE DUNCAN 8l SAM MASICH / folk

SHOWCASING ORIGINAL MUSIC BY LOCAL ARTISTS

Licensed Restaurant

All Shows 8:30pm

No Cover

4198MAINsr@ 26th 876-7463
-- ---------------- - ---��- -- -- - --

Fu.1'1ui& �-Roy,t
C..Raer-.c...
. Ra.-,llwaaffeatfD.

GaceUiMtac!

*

*

$2.75

HIGHBALLS

DOORPRIZES
INCLUDING CD'S
AND TICKETS TO
UPCOMING SHOWS
* DANCE
LESSONS
UP<OMING: WED. DEC. J0TH ·DEC.ART OPENING WITH THE RONNIE HAYWARD TRIO
DEC. 9TH • QUONSET, HIGH 5 FOR JIVE I SAT. 13TH • WHEAT CHIEFS, JESSE1S GIRL

620

w. Pender