chip midnight – Page 49

Live review: Bang Tango @ Slapsy Maxie’s (3/10/10)

Bang Tango’s been touring off and on since 1987, the only mainstay in the band being singer Joe LeSte. I’m not sure the last time they played Columbus although I do remember the last time I saw them – 1996 at the Alrosa Villa with Warrant and L.A. Guns.

So – if for no other reason than to hear “Heart of Stone” and “Someone Like You” – there was no way I was going to miss Bang Tango’s show at Slapsy Maxie’s even though reviews from the band’s recent tour have been mixed at best (supposedly one night the set was mostly covers with just one or two originals; there have also been reports of sloppy and drunken performances).

Slapsy Maxie’s has only recently started booking national touring acts (Dirty Penny has played there twice; Tesla’s guitarist Dave Rude has an upcoming show) and it’s a bit hidden in a strip mall off the beaten path, but it’s an ideal venue for bands like Bang Tango that don’t have the draw they may have once had. And for those like myself who live for nostalgic moments, Slapsy Maxie’s delivered last night, not only with the selection of bands performing but also with the conversations I overheard (people were talking about the Bulletboys and Great White) and the music being played on the jukebox (Jackyl, Zeppelin, etc.).

Bang Tango hit the stage close to midnight with a lineup that include Alex Grossi (ex-Quiet Riot) on guitar, Lance Eric on bass, and Trent Anderson (ex-Muchacha, Rockit Girl) on drums (damn, I wish I had known about Anderson’s Chicago rock background before going to the show!).

LeSte traveled through Bang Tango’s back catalog playing a set of mostly familiar songs. I’m partial to the band’s first album, Psycho Cafe, and was happy to hear tracks like “Attack of Life”, “Don’t Stop Now”, and the previously mentioned “Heart of Stone” and “Someone Like You”.

Bang Tango did play a new song (“Suck it Up” from an album that has been in the works for a few years and still isn’t done) and tossed in a couple of standard covers (T-Rex’s “20th Century Boy” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”) for an efficient 13-song set.

Overall, totally worth the $6 cover charge. There are a lot of rock clubs out there like Slapsy Maxie’s that book bands like Bang Tango, The Bulletboys, Enuff Z’Nuff, D’Molls, Rhino Bucket, Broken Teeth, etc. Please make sure that if you dig these types of band, you go out and check ’em out so that these clubs continue to bring these bands around.

Photos after the jump.

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Video: Kasey Anderson “I Was a Photograph”

Sitting here letting Kasey Anderson’s Nowhere Nights CD sink in so that I can properly summarize it in 100-150 words for the next issue of The Big Takeover. It’s a rather fantastic alt-country release, with reference points being Neil Young, Steve Earle, and Tom Petty. You’ll hear shades of all three in the track “I Was a Photograph”.

If you’re headed to SXSW, you’ll have a few opportunities to see Anderson as he kicks off his Nowhere Nights tour.
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RIP Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse)

Rolling Stone is reporting that Mark Linkous, the mastermind behind Sparklehorse, took his own life on Saturday. This is terribly sad news and comes just months after Vic Chesnutt (who had worked with Linkous in the past) killed himself. And, as in Chesnutt’s case, just a look at song titles and a listen to lyrics reveal that Linkous made no secret about his sadness – “Heart of Darkness”, “I Almost Lost My Mind”, “Sick of Goodbyes”.

Linkous was one of the first musicians I ever spoke to for AtomicNed’s predecessor, Swizzle-Stick, and I found him to be a very interesting and enjoyable person to talk to. You can read that interview, done back in 1999, after the jump.

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Free music Friday

Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”
(twisted but tasty pop)

Jennifer Knapp – “Dive In”
(stripped back folk and country-tinged rock)

Woven Bones – “If it Feels Alright”
(the soundtrack to your screwed-up summer)

Riverboat Gamblers – “Robots May Break Your Heart”
(“if Against Me! had paid their dues opening for Faster Pussycat at the Whisky in 1984, they might sound something like this” – Spin)

Class Actress – “Careful What You Say”
(“sweetly spectral vocals over lush ’80s synths and dance beats” – Nylon)

Dinosaur Feathers – “Vendela Vida”, “Teenage Whore”
(“1960’s pop, surf-rock guitar, mild tropical flourishes, maybe the B-52s” – NY Times)

Summer Cats – “TV Guide”
(organ-driven bopper)

Kisses – “Bermuda”
(disco project)

Benni Hemm – “Retaliate”

The Young Sinclairs – “Tribe”

Yukon Blonde – “Blood Cops”
(compared to Midlake, CSN, Fleet Foxes, Fleetwood Mac)

Tour: Mumford & Sons / The Middle East

I love it when something like this happens – two bands that I’ve had in heavy rotation in 2010 – Mumford & Sons and The Middle East – are teaming up on a spring tour including a stop in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Dates

May 14 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
May 16 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore at TLA
May 18 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
May 20 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
May 21 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
May 22 – Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
May 24 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
May 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
May 29 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
May 30 – Vancouver, BC – 560 Club
May 31 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre
June 3 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
June 4 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre
June 7 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
June 9 – Austin, TX – Antone’s
June 10 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
June 12 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival
June 14 – Bloomington, IN – The Bluebird
June 15 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
June 16 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar