Twist and shout

The Cigar, the Queers, and more

by Michael Caito

The Queers

The Good 5-Cent Cigar prints a comic and everyone freaks. It's a question of skin, all right. Not color, but thickness. As much as some people crack on musicians when they wade into racial issues, it's been absolutely wonderful to see the issues of racism addressed with grace, wit and insight by performersof all nationalities over the years.

Last week I cracked wise on Italians, calling Italy a "loony bin." Being part Italian (Sicilian, actually) myself, I had enough faith in readers to realize they wouldn't take this comment as an overtly racist potshot. Though in the interim those who were offended certainly made themselves known to me, they took it for what it was -- a joke with no mean-spiritedness. Some even said, "Well, yeah, in ways it is a bit of a loony bin." Basically, no blood, no foul. Had there been a history of anti-Italian sentiment, feelings would have been very different, but as in the Cigar non-issue, there is no history of virulent anti-ethnicity. Certainly there are many points yet to be addressed by the University about race relations, but the current is one which unfortunately has devolved into a Henny Penny scenario. And when more crucial issues arise, the cred of those doing the finger-pointing now will have been compromised. That is bad news.

So, props to the Cigar and props to ever-estimable Professor Linda Levin, two institutions at URI which I had the good fortune to work with and learn a lot from while in Kingston. Silly, obnoxious little music critic now retreats into his dank cave, secure in the knowledge that musicians recognize the intrinsic value of satire, parody, irony, burlesque and caricaturization. Truth sometimes arrives at very high decibel levels through Marshalls, and sometimes in wafting piano notes, barely audible. For that I remain grateful. Can we move on?

The Queers: Punk Rock Confidential (Hopeless Records 15-song CD)

For 16 years, the Queers have brought the punk from New Hampshire, that renowned hotbed, and have been subversively inserting melodic pop into the mix for just as long. The Lookout label alums check in with their sixth full-length, and while I'd still give their Love Songs for the Retarded the nod, founder Joe Queer (née King) can still pen a shifty, nifty punk-pop ditty, and Queers humor is (re-)revealed with "Mrs. Brown, You've Got an Ugly Daughter" and warped love odes like Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo." The tune "Rancid Motherfucker" doesn't seem so much a slag of that band as a swat at poseur punk fans, and coming from Joe Queer (who hauls fish for half the year on his brother's boat) there's a groundedness and acute BS-detector still hard at work throughout. Two cuts from Joe's longtime pal Ben Weasel are strong, and the fact that this Saturday's gig at the Met is the last on their current tour means they'll be pinning that accelerator. It should also be noted that openers Buc used to be Cub, and that current Queers bassist / singer Chris Cougar Concentration Camp (replacing B-Face, last spotted in the Ghoulies) will have a hand in opening act John Cougar Concentration Camp's business. Chris toured with the Queers as guitarist last time. Anyway, it's acerbic, typically hummable stuff, including the first single "Tamara Is a Punk."

The Queers perform on Saturday at the Met Cafe with the Gotohells, Buc and John Cougar Concentration Camp.

STARS & BARS. Word from Dave Deschenes (Holy Cow) at Head Chunk Records signifies their release of two CDs this month. New Bedford-based quartet MoonRage, who according to Deschenes fit in there between Tool and Days of the New, have released the eight-song Cove Road. They open for Sam Black Church next weekend at the Met. FreakShow's debut CD-single, including "Crust" and "Perfect Day," finds that band continuing to evolve. With Mike Hamel and Jay Reddington doing a super job and an always-solid g-b-d bed of nails, hard work has paid off nicely. Their CD release is Saturday at Worcester's Espresso Bar and next weekend (12.19)at the Living Room.

On Saturday at Stone Soup: the annual gathering of the New England Christmastide musicians. Joining in for a superb evening of cheer are Jon Campbell (on bazouki, Uillean pipes and pennywhistles), fiddler / accordionist Everett Brown, Laura Gulley (violinist for the Philharmonic and Amoebic Ensemble player / producer), plus Wickford Express veteran Dave Peloquin as lead throat, and Mark Davis and Marilynn Mair with son Nathaniel. The Soup's not open again until January, so it's only fitting that they cram three evening's worth of talent into one night. The real deal.

On Friday, Sylvia's house of antiques hosts CAVfavorites the Sonic Explorers. 1996's Birth of the Kakalla (Nada Brahma) posited the quint's insistence on mission-critical aspects of improvisation in any jazz setting, and their brandy-new eight-tune Beatnik Oblivion on the same label travels similar paths with perhaps more aplomb, given the addition of bassist Nick Cudahy (Combustible Edison) to the mix. The rest of the quintet (composer/arranger Jerry Sabatini on trumpet and flugelhorn, Joe Parillo on piano, John Vaillancourt on tenor/soprano saxes and flute, drummer Mike Connors) ensure a positive experience.

BEST FOR LAST. While the recent shindig for Clay Osborne at PPACproved a rousing success in establishing a scholarship fund in that singer's name for aspiring performers, little brother Jeffrey checks in as a member of an outstanding cast on Windham Hill's sixth annual Colors of Christmas CD, out now. You may presuppose the pairing of Scot popstress Sheena Easton with the L.T.D. alum and Providence native as being just plain strange, but they sound fab on "A Place Where We Belong," the second single off the disc after Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack's "The Gift." Jeffrey also contributes a great solo on "This Christmas," and other highlights include efforts by Oleta Adams, Philip Bailey, and Melissa Manchester. There is a tour (also including Deniece Williams), which will pull into PPAC on Tuesday, December 22.