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SUPAGROUP
Emo’s, Fri., Jan. 23rd
The Gods of Rock once again smiled upon the town of Austin,
Texas. On a damp and foggy night, there came a whirlwind and
the sound of loud guitars - a band unlike any other had made
their way from New Orleans across the USA, and finally to
Texas, to grace the Lone Star State with blessings and tidings
of great amplifiers. This band - this SUPAGROUP -had come
with a message... to SAVE ROCK AND ROLL, as well as support
their latest self-titled CD on Foodchain Records.
The mighty Supagroup blazed through a full set of new and
older tunes, spreading the good word of ROCK to the hungry
masses at Emo’s. From opener "Rock and Roll Tried
to Ruin My Life" to closer "Back by Popular Demand"
the packed crowd ate up their unrelenting stage energy. Led
by the Lee brothers from Alaska, they call to mind the elder
statesmen, AC/DC. Vocalist/guitarist Chris is all Bon Scott
bravado and Mick Jagger swagger, while the half-man/half-Tasmanian
Devil Benji rips out leads on his one-eyed SG that would make
Angus Young yell "Crikey!" Add the solid bass and
cowboy hat of Leif Swift and the groove-laden back beat of
drummer Michael Brueggen and the result is a force to be reckoned
with.
Beers were raised and the sign o’ the devil filled the
air. "We’re shooting a DVD here," announced
Chris. "Let’s try it again!"-- after a few
tries they got the crowd to yell IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK
as loud as possible, as a blast-off into "Back By Popular
Demand." Supagroup will be back again, by popular demand.
-Danny
G
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|  Grupo
Fantasma
Saturday, January 24
I love doin’ this stuff. How else can one get into Emo’s
for free, see a class act on stage and delight in a sea of
hot women on the dance floor. A neo-hippie friend of mine,
Tadd B, clued me into GF a couple of years back by lending
me a CD of theirs. I took it to work to listen to in the prep
kitchen and the Latinos seemed to enjoy it even though it
wasn’t produced on a keyboard/sequencer. The group had
seven members back then, they have twelve now. Grupo Fantasma
boasts a horn section consisting of tenor and alto saxes as
well as trombone and trumpet, three percussionists on drum
kit, timbales and bongos, two guitar players, bass, keyboardist
and lead singer. They play a lot of cumbias, a particular
type of Latin American rhythm that is said to have originated
with chain gangs of black slaves in South and Central America,
the length of the chains shackled to their ankles dictating
a rhythm that was short and quick.
The large crowd at Emo’s was of the uptown type mostly
with a healthy dose of hippies and other scenesters. I arrived
kind of early and met Elliot, whereupon we decided to go to
Casino and exchange intoxicants. With our judgement properly
impaired we split and I creeped back to Emo’s and GF
took the stage shortly thereafter.
From the first song, most of the abundant female element of
the crowd was dancing. Grupo Fantasma is all about groove,
specifically grooves that are geared to get hips swaying and
swinging. Yeah. The three drummers work flawlessly together
creating a groove so deep that only the dead can’t pick
up on it. The deep resonant tones from the bass player keep
the songs weighted low in the air, somewhere around the hips.
The horn section really makes this group fun, their whole
note tones, runs and flourishes accent the undulating grooves
while the funkified guitars are almost an afterthought once
a GF tune is under way. Although most of GF’s lyrical
content is in Spanish, it doesn’t take a mastering of
the language to understand what most of them are about - Sex,
Drugs, and Rock and Roll. The stage was a whir of motion as
the twelve members all contributed to the collective effort
to get the audience to shake their thangs. The singer even
went so far as to say to the women who were moving to the
music, “Hey show these guys how to dance, ladies!”
And they did. ? -
James E |
Duvall
/ The Fall Collection / Your Red Hands
Thursday 02.05.04
Your Red Hands will tug at your heart strings with their lead
singer’s soft, sad voice. Sometimes sappy, emotional
songs fit your mood, and this band can bring it to you. This
mellow band overflows with calm, soothing, somber tunes.
The best band of the evening took the stage and stole the
show. The Fall Collection, with local boys Danny Dunlap, Josh
Power and Danny Mackle, can shake you out of your sentimental
slump with their pleasing pop rock tunes. A nice break right
in the middle of a night filled with overflowing heartrending,
tear-jerking voices. At times they had more rock than pop
in their step and got crowd up off their feet for a better
listen. Make sure you check out their website, www.thefallcollection.com.
They announced the website twice during their performance
and want people to stop and by and offer feedback.
Duvall brought back the heartbreaking melodrama. Lead singer
Josh Caterer’s voice beautifully brims with passion
and tragedy. Bordering on whining, half the time you will
love it and the other half you just might get slightly annoyed.
After all, there is so much whining one can take. Though they
will never be one of my favorite bands, I would purchase their
CD Volume and Density—possibly the perfect soundtrack
for the worst breakup. –Misty Sweet
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Fear
Tuesday, 1- 27-04 Eins,
Zwei, Drei, Fear: What can one say about Fear that hasn't
already been said? Who's going to be reading this review who
isn't already familiar with what will be in it, and just how
powerful Lee Ving's presence truly is? Every band has its
off nights, but Fear may be the exception. For the handful
of folks that put getting up for work before music (I'm a
school teacher, you have no excuse), the answer is Yes, you
missed out. Fear commanded the small front room of Emo's,
playing many classics from their albums "The Record"
and "More Beer," as well as some of their new classics
from "Have Another Beer with Fear." No matter what
your political views may be, no one can disregard the loud
aggressive anger fueled by beer that is Fear. "If you
don't agree with this song, then...You better watch your back...."
The crowd cheers him on, either because they're just refreshed
to see Ving, a master of inciting violence, at work, or they're
just too drunk to catch the drift of his words, "We support
George Bush," or maybe they just don't give a fuck. You're
there because you want Ving to pour salt in your open wounds,
you're there to laugh about the things you Fear. This is punk
rock, you don't have to agree with it. If you don't like it,
Fuck You! - Mel Brooks
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