Bobb Trimble |
What with the din of criss-crossing campaign promises, the economy sputtering to a near-stop, and the uncertainties of our modern times threatening to overwhelm our country, it’s crucial that we maintain clarity by holding fast to simple truths — like how our president is kind of a dick. On this front, it doesn’t get much more “on message” than the “No More Bush” Tour, which rolls (with white-knuckled fury) into P.A.’s Lounge this Monday, August 4. With a line-up of Sunburned Hand of the Man, Valerie Webber, Zaika, Damon Krukowski, and a host of others, it promises to be an outrageous night of fringe musics (emphasis on outrage). Check out the newest additions to the no-fly list below.
Jack Rose, “Kensington Blues”
Philadelphia steel-stringer (and former noise-punker in Pelt) Jack Rose may purport to be down in the dumps with this title track from Kensington Blues, but the torrent of tones that surges through it (full-bodied Fahey-inflected fingerpicks, Basho-caliber delicacy, assorted Eastern twinges) is positively exhilarating.
Axolotl, “Holon I”
Tip: don’t listen to “Holon I” on headphones at your desk — your eyes will glaze and your face will get all pallid and slackjawed. Save your co-workers the worry and reserve Karl Bauer’s ungodly washes of processed noise for the confines of your own home. Just don’t be surprised if the neighbors come knocking.
50 Foot Women, “Ships in the Night”
Overdriven, distorted, toothy, and constantly teetering on the verge of a chasm of feedback, “Ships in the Night” somehow manages to stay frail and pretty. Through the magic of negative space, the duo of Jessi Leigh Swenson and Elaine Barry Khan turn “all thumbs” into “all good.”
Bobb Trimble, “Premonitions — The Fantasy”
Worcester has never known a finer psychedelidramatic songsmith than Bobb Trimble — and if Secretly Canadian’s reissues of 1980’s Iron Curtain Innocence and 1982’s Harvest of Dreams aren’t convincing enough, catch this rare live appearance (the only one on the whole tour) for yourself.
