CONCRETE BLONDE Live In Brazil (Ark21) Rating: NNN Rating: NNN
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a disc is actually good or just serves to transport you back to another time, especially if you were drunk during that time so the memories sparked are ones you didn’t even know you had. Concrete Blonde’s Live In Brazil takes you back to the turn of the 90s and into the post-punk, pre-grunge era, specifically with tunes like Bloodletting, Joey and Caroline. Then the band broke up in 1995, got back together and released a record in 2002 that a lot of folks never heard. Many tracks from it are also featured here but don’t have the same impact, which leads me to believe their strength is the nostalgia trip. The Brazilian audience is audibly enthusiastic throughout this double disc, and Concrete Blonde are in excellent form. Johnette Napolitano’s deep wailings do grate after a bit, as was always the case. Concrete Blonde play the Horseshoe Wednesday (April 30).
