I have only been a fan of Firewater for the last year. I was turned on to the 1997 release “Get off the Cross, We Need More Wood for the Fire” just over a year ago. Firewater is fronted by front man Tod A. who used to front the band Copshootcop and is an amazing vocalist as well as songwriter. After Copshootcop’s demise, Tod.A. took the conceptual and lyrical styles of Copshootcop, rebuilt the whole foundation of his songwriting and took it one step further. I’ve been asked how to describe Firewater to a lot of people. The truth is Firewater live and Firewater on record are two different monsters. On record it has the eerie feel of the weirder, creepier Tom Waits stuff and at times reminds me of early Birthday Party and Leonard Cohen. They even give shout outs to Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen as influences on the 1st album. Now when these songs are presented live, the songs become more stripped down and at times makes you feel as if you have stumbled into Larry Flint’s perverted stage version of “Fiddler on the Roof”. The songs come across more like a drunken sing-along live at a punk rock gypsy campfire séance. Firewater’s instrumentation is not of standard rock flavor, consisting of accordions, horns and violins as well drums, guitar, keyboards, and Tod. A on bass.

The six-piece band hails from NYC and this is the first tour for them in 2 years - in support of their new record “The Man on the Burning Tightrope”. Quite a few people were out this Wednesday evening to check out Tod. A and the boys. I felt as Firewater was re-writing the soundtrack to “Sante Sangre” right before my very eyes. Weird dark Circus music, whiskey soaked Gypsy punk and a lot of interesting renditions of the songs from the first album re-worked but still effective even without Duane Dennison.

On a real quick note, one of the cool things I saw at their merch stand was a parody of the Chick publication’s bible comics that they had a friend do for them. The comic stars the band and has them being taken on a journey of atheism and scientology with Ron Hubbard as their tour guide. If you didn’t get a copy of the comic at the show you can maybe score one from their website WWW.FIREWATER.TV , where you can also here the new album for free.

I had few fellow writers who didn’t get it or felt that Firewater were more of a party band. All I can say is go out and grab a copy of the first record, hear the difference and build your Firewater collection from there. And I will say this, Firewater is more than just an amazing band in this writers opinion, just like the key lime pie in “Natural Born Killers”, its an acquired taste. A taste that only some of are us lucky enough to enjoy.

With intentions of not really giving a shit about who was playing before seeing Agnostic Front, I hit the door at Emo's knowing that at least one of the bands would be worth checking out. My inside source said Ringworm needed to be seen. And they were, as soon as they started, the KD's dropped and I was fully into what this old-schooler can only call good ol' hardcore thrash. So what the fuck would you expect to see on tour with a band like A.F., some suck ass lops? Not only did these cats rock but they were totally respectful, calling out the old men of A.F. in the middle of the set, working the crowd getting panties wet and dicks hard.

I never asked them but for me there was a definite Cro Mags influence, no high rift shit but plenty of hard bass, heavy drums and some hard ass vocals. Playing with them was a guy from Keel Haul (watch for a future disk review). These guys are on the list to see every time they hit the Lone Star City.

It is unfortunate that this tour rolled through Austin on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I guess most people were out of town or had other plans, because the crowd at Emo’s was small and slightly lethargic. The first band to take the stage, Western Waste, musically was alright, but the vocals were less than perfect. Maybe the lead singer was losing his voice or was having a bad night. Hey, it happens, but it sounded like he was holding back. It seemed like he was trying to extinguish the songs with his lackluster enthusiasm. Except for a hand full of people, nobody really seemed to be paying attention to Western Waste at all. Maybe next time guys.

The Queers performed with a little more gusto and got the crowd moving a little more. Their sing-along tunes were really what this crowd needed to get them involved in the show instead of just sitting slumped on the sidelines. Unfortunately I missed TSOL’s set, which sucks because this is the band I really wanted to see. I did catch The Suicide Machines from Detroit, and they actually impressed me. Lead singer Jason Navarro moves like a human pogo stick. This boy creates an aura of energy around him that washes over you and propels you into a state of motion. And who says punks can’t dance? A dozen young dancing punks performed on stage right along side Jason, proving punks got moves all their own. Too bad nobody took pictures it was quite a sight to see.

–Misty Sweet

“Art disappears as society thrashes in reproducible culture.”-Jean Baudrillard

We knew they were a garagey three-piece. We knew the singer was a woman who’d be likened to Siouxsie, Yoko or Chrissie Hynde. We knew they were popular (not that we should hold that against them).

There are pounds of pulp printed to the effect that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are good good good.

Entry level assessment deals out the easy to believe female singer card. A black queen of sorts with a penchant for appearing similar to the lineage who have come before her; clearing a space in the mind of the fan.

Just as basic is the belief that thanks to the hype the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have success at their fingertips. Their stellar reception a product of the mainstream independent press (Jumbo Shrimp, anybody?) in its cough cool glossy, insipidly insightful, flashing giant arrow points HERE to what-you-should-be-attuned-to demeanor. A media instructed “choice” similar to putting bumpers on the gutters at the bowling alley.

Considering the commodity “choice” has become, it’s possible that this “choice” is a construct similar to the 1960’s, when Madison Ave ad-men turned 7-Up into an “uncola” to get the hippies to buy it instead of the “conservative” Pepsi Cola.

If we give the public the benefit of the doubt (and that’s risky) perhaps they too have been wooed by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s current choices in the intuition of creation. A combination of the “successful” ingredients. Or, good cooks with good recipes. The specific concept is Academic art: the study and use of a school/style to create an image in said style that is already established amongst the public. First of all, this is not devaluation. This is a placement of a specific value on a specific set of choices made by the band when they picked up their instruments and started writing songs. I call experts of Academic art “good studies”. They know that which wins over a public. And this is not a contrived plan. I liken it to the creative intuition that yields a song or style that presses the buttons of an audience who is ready to receive; an audience who is prepared, like a child awaiting a fresh-baked cookie, to enjoy the culmination of all the ingredients.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs culled their recipe from all over the place. There was punk, new wave, no wave, R and B, blues, emo--all wrapped up in an energetic show. Personally, I tapped my feet and swayed to the grooves they played.

Karen O’s singing is most reminiscent of L7’s front woman, Donita Sparks. You know the voice she gets when she sings “Shove”? That bobcat, real throaty coarse delivery. Staying to the northwest, she reminded me of the Gits’ own, Mia Zapata. More obvious and definitely to be thrown out in an obligatory way was the whispering Siouxsie or Stevie Nicks elements, (you pick the radio station--I don’t care). She even hit a quasi Billie holiday thing, not near the quality of Billie, but emulating the croon of love songs for the sedated.

The band was simple: guitar and bass. The drummer had nice tom intros and open high hat splashes that started up the beat. Despite the bare naked new wave style, the band seemed to have an electro beat happening. As if the songs could be played by Midwest Product or We. Ambient, minimal, and hypnotic. This was due in part to the guitarist playing loops on a small keyboard or looping his slide guitar sound to create a third voice in the band. It worked to fill what could have been an open-Garage rock void. A lot of the guitar work and the songs were structured from straight picked bass lines played on a Stratocaster, leaving the years of similar music to hopefully flesh out in the listener’s ear.

I had a thought while watching the Yeah Yeah Yeahs: that we’ve listened to enough music to have the surprise not be about how we fill the space, but the surprise is that the space doesn’t need to be filled.

There were parts where classic, standard chord progression was used. As for notes that come in between, even the most untrained listener can derive how they will play out. In the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ tunes the space was taken into a percussive, nonchalant filler that testifies to the ingrained nature of the whole form of song structure. This allusion to progressions, as if we had seen a bas relief of them staring us in the face from a million albums before, is all that is needed to bring the music back to the person who has logged time hearing “Louie Louie”. Popular music memories aiding popular music stance. The formula works, leaving arbitrary, newly selected notes and sounds to fill in the occasionally and deliberately disjointed guitar riffs. The backbeat holds your attention while the space in between becomes the fusion of Mom’s chocolate-chip cookies and a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle.

The show was absolutely packed. The crowd impressed the hell out of the band who seemed genuinely surprised to see such enthusiastic response. And I was too. I had this show pegged for a transparent, herd-like following. This still could be the case, I’m just saying that given the state of things, is it a crime against individuality? This herd seemed in the know of the material and ready to sing along. And last I checked that was a sign of being good at what you do and making people happy.

Considering their press, the hype, and the look, I will say the Yeah Yeah Yeahs pull it off.

-Kevin Stack