Local
Grooves
Riot-A-Go-Go
A Piece of It (Squeeky Wheelz Muzik)
Boiling the Palestine-Israel crisis down to a sweaty, sexed-up bloodbath on the dance floor was never likely to win points with Bay Area progressives, assuming they could decipher the lightning-bolt lyrics. Nonetheless, "Club Bomb," the song that shoves off Riot-A-Go-Go's punk rock rampage A Piece of It, is hard to resist. When guitarist-singer Nova Lee delivers the line "Blood on the dance floor, I think there's something wrong / I killed the DJ 'cuz he didn't play my song," she makes homicide sound like a natural side effect of being taken over by rock and roll.
Revved up, hyperactive, and hard to sit still through, A Piece of It,
which also features bassist-singer Quiche Lorraine and drummer Matt,
gets much of its charge from Lee's hoarse, fast-paced potshots at cool
girls, tightwads, punk rock scenesters, and the state of the union.
Sexier numbers like "Club Bomb" and "Planetary Persuasion"
fulfill the promise of the cover shot, which involves self-abuse, rainbow
sprinkles, and a serious violation of the Atkins diet. But just when
you think it's all sugar fixes and blood-letting, Riot-A-Go-Go unleash
a social consciousness, lashing out at consumer culture and "America
the glorious." The best of these moments is the poppy, anthemic
"Tear down the Walls," which calls the protest troops out
into the street with a cocky certainty that if we fight, we'll win.
(Lynn Rapoport)
Dave Gleason's
Wasted Days
Midnight California
(Well Worn Records)
If someone told you Wasted Days (Dave Gleason on guitar, ex-Loved Ones John Kent on drums, and Michael Therieau on bass) were a first-generation country rock band that once toured with Graham Parsons, the only surprise would be that you hadn't heard of them. Gleason – who does most of the songwriting and singing on Midnight California – wears his debt to the Parsons posse on his sleeve (on the band's eponymous 2002 debut, they unearthed "Funky String Quartet," a little-known Parsons tune), and if that doesn't put Wasted Days in a class by themselves, get your hands on Midnight California and give it a listen.
The songwriting is strong, and guest pedal steel player Joe Goldmark is so good that I found myself not wanting to know what they'd sound like without him. When writing about today's aberrant country bands, it's mandatory – after genuflecting at the alter of Parsons – to name-check musicians with genuine country credentials (a list that always includes Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson but can roam almost anywhere else, as long as it avoids fugitive rockers and college dropouts). When I hear Wasted Days, I remember the summer of 1970 when Asleep at the Wheel lived in Berkeley and had yet to fall for Bob Wills, and they'd play with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and Clover at Babylon on San Pablo Avenue. I imagine Wasted Days are doing something like that for another generation of local fans. Dave Gleason's Wasted Days play March 5, Parkside, S.F. (415) 503-0393. (J.H. Tompkins)
