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two new series will give the people what they don’t yet know they want
Don’t go to the Muddy River on Tuesday or Wednesday and expect to see
your typical weeknight “I just learned how to play the guitar last
week, look at me mom, I’m a rock star” band. (You know what I’m talking
about, with the drummer who plays fills every measure because he thinks
he’s Neal Peart from “Rush,” and the bass player whose strap is so low
to the ground, you question whether he’s actually playing the thing.
Perhaps I’m just venting, but, with few exceptions, the best bands
usually play on the weekends. Well, no longer. Two new series, The
Spark and The Afterglow, will bring specially selected pairings of
touring and national acts to the Muddy River’s Newberry Room on Tuesday
and Wednesday nights.
One of the first acts coming through for The Afterglow, on Wednesday,
Sept. 17, is The Robot Ate Me (Kill Rock Stars). They have this
anarchistic, sarcastic Trent-Reznor-on-serious psychedelics thing going
on that I’ve really never been exposed to before. With track names like
“The Genocide Ball,” “Crispy Christian Tea Time,” and “I Slept Through
the Holocaust,” from their two-CD release, “On Vacation” (which no
doubt makes reference to President Bush’s illustrious work schedule), I
can only imagine what kind of response they will conjure. Consider the
lyrics to the chorus of the tune, “Oh No! Oh My! (1994)”: “All the
human Africans are statistics/ It doesn’t really matter if they die/
I’ve got this career to salvage/ And the press on my side.” Now if that
doesn’t get your attention, you’re probably deaf, drunk or Republican.
Joe McDonough, who books Wednesday nights for The Afterglow, told
me that he’s “interested in opening up the local music scene to a
diversity of nationally touring musicians.” The series gives them a
chance to carve a niche for music that wouldn’t otherwise have a home.
McDonough and Phillips (a.k.a. Sparky), who books The Spark on
Tuesdays, are also DJs at WUNH 91.3 in Durham. Coincidentally, they
have back-to-back shows on Saturday afternoons. Sparky’s show,
“Locality,” runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and McDonough’s “Playing with
Knobs” runs 1 to 3 p.m.
The series will give them chance to bring together their taste in music
with a live audience. Sometimes, it’s just an experiment in seeing what
will happen.
The Spark actually began last spring but is going through a
renaissance. Most of the bands are based within a 60-mile radius of
Portsmouth. Other than that, there are few rules beyond Phillips’
taste. The evenings are “generally catered to those who enjoy music
with panache, verbosity, or are a bit warped in style,” he says.
“Sometimes it’ll be a very energetic show, either punk or pop in
nature,” he said, “and other shows offer folks something they wouldn’t
expect visually or sonically.”
The Boston-based pop-synth group Cassette will perform on Tuesday,
Sept. 27. Reminiscent of a cross between a tripped out 1980s cover band
and Radiohead, listening to their CD brought to mind an experience I
had at a dance club in London. There I was, surrounded by beautiful
women, lights flashing, alcohol flowing, bodies moving in unimaginable
positions, and suddenly, amidst the decadent chaos rings the warm
perfect fifth of two hand-tuned vintage Moog synthesizers over a
torso-throbbing House groove. No, it wasn’t Casette, but to their
credit they certainly know how to work a pair of analog synths (Bob
Moog, may your soul rest in peace).
Just the thought of experiencing that kind of auditory surprise right here in Portsmouth sends shivers down my spine.
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