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september 26, tangiers
Toronto foursome Tangiers chugged through their opening set of herky-jerky post-punk garage as though they were playing in front of a full house. They strung a handful of tunes together into one long song and generally had a good time despite being able to count the Lee’s crowd on a hand and a half.
The crowd doubled by the time the Walkmen strolled on, but their monotone jangle sounded almost identical to every other 80s-inspired New York band-of-the-moment and they couldn’t wrangle up much of a vibe.
september 27, sherman robertson
Clear across the street from the Silver Dollar Friday night, the ringing blue notes from Sherman Robertson’s white Strat could be heard bouncing off the club’s empty walls. Inside there couldn’t have been more than 30 people getting their eardrums rattled by the Houston axeman, who was determined to be heard in restaurants on College. Given that Michelle Wilson didn’t draw much better, it’s little wonder that local blues promoter Rico Ferrara says he’s throwing in the towel after the Rusty Zinn & the Dynatones show Saturday (October 5) at the Dollar.
september 27, stinkmitt
West Coast princess-superstars-in-training Stinkmitt acquitted themselves well in front of the oh-so-ironic Vazaleen crowd at Tequila Lounge. Shakin’ their spandexed booties and mile-high sculptured hair, MCs Betti Forde and Jenny Craig performed a terribly brief two-song set before rushing down to the Bovine for a late-night gig. Mixing shout-outs to Surrey with salivation over 17-year-olds — Jailbait is their hysterical response to the misogyny of too many male rappers — the terrible twosome proved themselves more than worthy of their recent deal with Teenage USA records.
upcoming, kaleidoscope kiss-off
It’s sad to report that the swinging Kaleidoscope party series is coming to an end, but conceptualist Christian Hamilton plans on go-going out with a bang. The much loved host of CIUT-FM’s Dementia 13, whose coveted Saturday-at-10-pm slot will be taken over by Kaleidoscope DJ Gaven Dianda when Hamilton leaves for Scotland, is presenting Minneapolis garage greats the Conquerors as part of Kaleidoscope at Rancho Relaxo Saturday (October 5). It’ll give the Midwest maulers a chance to try out their latest dance tune, Canadian Jerk, on a Canuck audience.
“We were crossing the border at Windsor,” recalls guitarist Keith Patterson, “and ahead of us in line at customs was a woman with a child she was obviously trying to smuggle into Canada. She didn’t have a driver’s licence or any identification for the kid. When the guards asked her why she was crossing the border, the irate woman shouted back, ‘Lunch!’ The song just kinda wrote itself.
“We’ve played Canadian Jerk a couple of times here in Minneapolis and everyone seems to like it, but I don’t think they really appreciate the references to Tim Hortons donuts like you folks in Toronto. I think we might have a new dance craze on our hands.”
