BLUE MEANIES 6/27, METRO Every once in a while a record comes along that blasts a tired genre wide open, and the Blue Meanies’ new Full Throttle (Thick) might just be one of those. Oh, it’s relentless ska-core all right, but the Meanies feel free to break into swingy jazz or waltz-time sweeps or chipper surf-guitar drippings at will, and they do it all fluently and with insane speed–blink and you miss half the nuances that make it a lasting delight. They can even write intelligent songs about relationships.
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IMPOTENT SEA SNAKES 6/27, VIC Musically the Impotent Sea Snakes’ God Save the Queens is standard-issue glam ‘n’ slam, but hey, songs with titles like “Fist-Fucking My Mother” and “Felching”–makin’ the Frogs look subtle–don’t have to do much else to get my attention. Performance is obviously these Atlanta freaks’ real reason for getting out of bed in the evening–their act incorporates animals, latex, pyrotechnics, and Wayne County-style dildo-juggling antics on a Wagnerian scale. I have to respect a band whose artistic limitations are defined not by the market but by the vice squad. They open for W.A.S.P. and Motorhead.
JEFFREY ALTERGOTT 6/28, UNCOMMON GROUND I received five review copies of Altergott’s new Little Blue Record Player (Immortal Bear), all wrapped up in a beautiful paper package designed to look like a tiny toy phonograph, with a little paper handle and miniature brass hinges–and I remember thinking, “This better be good or it’s gonna be a real shame to open it.” Fortunately, the loving attention to detail extends to the music. It’s hard to broadly recommend a singer-songwriter, since so much depends on the chemistry that develops–or doesn’t–between you and the guy on the record, but Altergott’s bite and funk and sense of wonder make the prospect of sharing a few cups of joe with him seem pretty appealing to me. But I still think he shouldn’t give so many of these damn things away–people are gonna think he’s easy, especially when the show is free, too.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Blue meanies photo by Erich Wilhelm Zander.
