JULIANA HATFIELD 10/2, double door I’ve had it in for Juliana Hatfield since 1993, when a roommate put “My Sister” on infinite repeat for about a week. Hatfield’s awed squeaking about how cool said sibling was for taking her to an early Del Fuegos gig sounded more like the beginning of the end than any platinum Nirvana record ever did. Still, I have to admit that the former Blake Baby’s long-awaited fourth solo album, Bed (Zoe), with its wise songs about celebrity, narcissism, trendiness, and secret affairs in other time zones, shows a self-awareness (I draw the line at “maturity”) that indicates she’s in it for the long haul. And I love the fact that in spots her guitar playing reminds me of no one more than Mountain’s Leslie West. Cover “Mississippi Queen,” Juliana, and all will be forgiven. Canadian troubadour Hayden opens.
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MELT-BANANA 10/2, LOUNGE AX; 10/3, Fireside bowl There’s nothing like Japanese avant rock to separate those who find extreme sound genuinely fascinating from those who secretly pray for it to stop. The two-man, two-woman Osaka quartet Melt-Banana isn’t even that extreme by Japanese underground standards–it’s at least as conventional a rock band as, say, God Is My Co-Pilot, and the lyrics are written in what is technically English. But while the band’s maniacal speed and abrupt shifts may not seem surprising here, vocalist Yasuko O.’s piercing, tortured yelping breaks neatly with just about every American conception of pop expressiveness there is. Contrary to oft-expressed opinion, Melt-Banana doesn’t sound like rock from another planet–it merely demonstrates how big this one really is. This American tour, the band’s first in two years, celebrates the release of “Most Wanted World Wide” (a split single with Killout Trash) and a forthcoming full-length.
ELVIN BISHOP 10/8, BUDDY GUY’S LEGENDS This Oklahoma-born vet of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band has built an unfortunate reputation as the hippies’ favorite blues-rock shuck-and-jiver. But when he’s inspired, as he seems to be on his latest, The Skin I’m In (Alligator), he can play the slide guitar as if his fingers were on fire. The album puts due emphasis on Bishop’s guitar, which is turned up to 11 in the mix, and stars like Charlie Musselwhite and Joe Louis Walker turn in prodding guest appearances. The title refers to Bishop’s throbbing original “The Skin They’re In,” an earnest if hackneyed attempt to deal with the invisible elephant–racial tension–that hangs out in every blues room on the north side. Extra points to Bishop for spotting it. –Monica Kendrick
