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The real kids
The Best Music Poll’s local showcase
BY BRETT MILANO

Last Wednesday, June 18, the 15th annual Phoenix/FNX Best Music Poll kicked off its celebration with the kind of bill that this observer has been waiting to see for some time. The concert planners loaded the Avalon shindig with first-tier local bands, all of whom placed high in this year’s poll. Although I can’t claim that any commercial station features the same mix of styles in regular rotation that I heard at Avalon (rap, pure pop, quirky loud pop, old-school punk, and whatever it is that Cave In do), it did constitute something of a dream play list.

Despite the presence of a half-dozen headline-level bands, the event didn’t more than half fill Avalon — perhaps you just can’t pack the house for familiar bands on a Wednesday night. Still, the event struck no false notes apart from the usually smart ’FNX personality Henry Santoro’s telling a joke that would’ve cleared the couch at any party I’ve ever been to.

The show also pointed up how much local music has stayed the same while it’s changed. The Explosion would be the first to acknowledge their debt to local bands who were first popular around the time they were born: they’re in local filmmaker Cheryl Egan-Donovan’s forthcoming Real Kids movie, All Kindsa Girls, admitting they shelled out 50 bucks for the a vinyl copy of that group’s debut. On stage at Avalon, they were more reminiscent of rougher outfits like the Outlets and Dogmatics — which wasn’t a bad thing. Neither were the hooks that sneaked into their hardcore-influenced bluster. Coming from the other direction, the Damn Personals may live and breathe pop, but they don’t mind some punk-inspired speed and volume on stage.

Shortly after Bleu began, a friend turned to me and said, "Hey, it’s the Cavedogs!" This remark was prompted by his set opener, "I Won’t Go Hollywood," which shares a few melodic threads with the Cavedogs’ "Tayter Country." Lacking the modern, Beckish production of his just-released Redhead album (Aware/Columbia), his songs held up as the classic-model guitar pop that they are, and his single "Get Up" — about recovering from a break-up — hits the emotional target as well as most of the power-pop touchstones you could name.

It was a heady night for Bleu, who was jetting to LA to play the Craig Kilbourn show the following day. Like many Boston bands before him, he found the eve of possible stardom a fitting time to do something quirky and fun. In his case, that meant bringing out the "Slap Happy Celebrity Clap Choir," a group of 20-odd musicians in blue gowns (including Noise publisher T. Max and singer-songwriter Merrie Amsterburg) who added handclaps and chorus vocals to a cover of Tears for Fears’ "Shout." It was a fitting way for Bleu to duplicate the anything-goes feel of his studio discs — and, perhaps, to send up the choral pretensions of the currently hot indie group the Polyphonic Spree.

I caught another familiar riff from Cave In, whose "Inspire" borrows (and speeds up) the climactic guitar hook from Mission of Burma’s "Einstein’s Day." Currently hot in Europe and set for a Lollapalooza slot, the band are between styles: they want to write the kind of pop hooks that will make their major-label bosses proud, but they don’t want to give up the metal leanings, the art-rock structures, or the guitarslinging that all were prevalent in their indie releases. Give them a couple years and they’ll probably become more of a pop band, but they may be more interesting right now. Last week the big hooks collided with grisly guitar noise, and the rhythm section threw in some Rush-like hairpin turns. What sets Cave In apart from the Burmas and Tools of the world is their relative lack of angst; their volume and tempo shifts only amplify their exuberance.

Given the prevalence of rock bands, many of the audience were likely getting their first taste of Mr. Lif, who’s been pegged as the city’s most likely breakout artist for hip-hop. Yet the overtly political nature of his raps will likely keep him from major-label exposure, and that’s a compliment. Backed by a DJ who was never miked too heavily, Lif’s act proved to be all about the lyrics: even when he and guest rapper Akrobatic traded riffs on a party-themed rap, the rhymes came at a fast and inventive pace. But he rarely strayed from the bitingly topical, asking in the first number how we were all going to spend our big tax cuts. Since the industry has no problems getting behind Eminem’s swipes at women and gays, blasting the corporations remains the only real taboo. And Lif went deeper as the set went on, with an a cappella number that attacked the flag-waving aftermath of September 11, noting that "They killed us because we killed them." One could argue that one for hours — which was likely his point.

The "Grand Finale" to this year’s Best Music Poll celebration takes place this Friday, June 27, at FleetBoston Pavilion, on Northern Avenue, with Iggy Pop, Fischerspooner, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Hot Hot Heat; call (617) 228-6000.

Issue Date: June 27 - July 3, 2003
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