Rolling Cef Concert Reviews

Volume II, Issue #3 (4/2/98)

For your reading pleasure, here is my first concert review mailing since the start of my web site. Enjoy!

Sister 7
March 13, 1998
Last Day Saloon, San Francisco, CA

I am now a more of a musical person, having experienced the "Austin sound" from Sister 7. They are a versatile band, incorporating rock, blues and R+B, and their songs have some cool grooves and great hooks. The singer impressed me with not only her gorgeous Fender Telecaster's, but also with her wide vocal range. The 6-string bass player provides great harmonies. The lead guitarist has some excellent sounds and the drummer gets people movin' from the word "go". Signed to Arista Austin, this band is sure to do some extensive touring for their latest CD "This the trip".

Chantal Kreviazuk
March 14, 1998
Bimbo's 365, San Francisco, CA

If there's one thing to say about Kreviazuk's personality, it's that she has a sense of humor. The room was full of formal wear and Chantal Kreviazuk stepped on stage in a long black Heavy Metal shirt (only). She played solo on piano, and took us through a journey of her experiences. She was very sharing with the crowd and frequently prompted for feedback. It was not unusual by the end of the set, for Chantal to stop a song to tell us a story that she just remembered. She was also more than willing to have conversations with audience members in between songs. Highlight of the show for me was a gripping cover of the Stones' "Wild Horses".

Our Lady Peace w/ Black Lab
March 30, 1998
The Edge, Palo Alto, CA

From the moment the band started, the crowd stirred it up on the floor in a mosh pit frenzy. It is apparent that the popularity of OLP in the US is on the rise. Fans were charged up for songs like Naveed and Superman. Raine told the crowd that the band appreciated "passionate people". Curiously, most people stopped moshing about half way into the set. I think when people actually listened to the songs, they started to realize 'these guys are pretty fuckin' good!' Peace was had for only a little while until the band played Starseed, which got the crowd back into it. The encore was the traditional "Clumsy" plus "Dear Prudence".

There were some new elements to the show that I hadn't seen yet including some video footage of a man reading from the poem "Our Lady Peace" which Raine informed the crowd, was what the band took it's name from. Also, hanging behind the stage, were some painted backdrops of what I guess was the "clumsy" doll, but I'm not sure. Anyway, a nice touch, demonstrating to the fans that they want to be more than a bar band.

The singer from Black Lab was also pleased with the crowd response in Palo Alto. He joked about the lack of emotion from the fans in their hometown of San Francisco. Black Lab played an impressive opening set. Their repertoire is pretty deep and they kept surprising me with another killer tune. "Time Ago", is one of those powerful songs that can define a point in time. I foresee it being well remembered by the youth of the nineties.

Holly McNarland
March 31, 1998
Bimbo's 365, San Francisco, CA

We sat in the front row, nobody stood in front of us, and the stage was only thirty feet away. It was a tough opening gig for Holly McNarland - she played to a crowd of under a hundred people, in a venue that could easily hold a thousand. Candles lit the tables and all that Holly could see were silhouettes. Never the less, she gave it her all. Her voice sounded amazing and her energy never let up.

McNarland appeared after her set to watch the headliners, Bran Van 3000. If I feel really negative towards a band, it's my practice to withhold a review. For that reason, I was going to pass on Bran Van 3000, but about half way into the set, it hit me. They're not really a band. I concluded that they're more like a travelling show. At first I thought, these guys are ripping off every other artist, but then I realized, they're incorporating every other artist's music into their show. They're group of 10, and when they half-sized for a song, I thought, these guys sound great; they should lose the rest of the band permanently. But that wasn't it. In fact, they're a group of talented musicians who are worthy of conforming to the band configuration, but choose to do something different.

Oh yeah, I got to talk to Holly again because she later sat at the table next to us. She remembered me from the PURE show in Austin. I congratulated her on the Juno and had her sign some posters. I don't think I worried her too much...


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