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The polarization of ultra-famous bands and those who labor in obscurity has become particularly pronounced in the '90s, making a career in rock an extremely frustrating endeavor for anyone who suffers a missed opportunity or a bad break. Two of the Pacific Northwest's most talented and prolific power-pop songwriters, the Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jonathan Auer, are both edging up on 30 and either joking about or really considering calling it quits. They played a set of "grand finale" dates in their hometown, Seattle, earlier this year and released an album in February, Success, that seemed a bookend to their 1988 debut, Failure. In a 1996 WW interview following the release of the Posies' last album for Geffen, Auer seemed at wit's end, saying that he and Stringfellow felt like they'd been "working very long without much financial reward and feeling left out and under-appreciated as far as our contribution to Northwest music." When the Posies played LaLuna Friday night, it was evident that their angst has dissipated. The quartet headlined a well-attended show, performing shoulda-been hits like "Ontario"--a song written after Geffen's request for a pop single and then never released as such--and "Please Return It," among others. Auer and Stringfellow mixed a casual attitude with a workmanlike dedication to their songs. Toward the end of their lengthy set, they invited Portland pounder Thee Slayer Hippie to play drums on a song, and then the Posies concluded with a perfect late-night cover of Cheap Trick's "Surrender." Another vital artist who has endured despite remaining on the fringe of recognition is Sue Garner. The Georgia-born New York singer-songwriter gave the Mission Theater a test run as a music venue Friday night, playing songs from her solo debut, To Run More Smoothly. Now in her mid-30s, Garner has played in acclaimed art-rock bands like Fish and Roses and the Shams, and she's currently a bassist-vocalist in Run On. Seated on a stage below the theater's movie screen, Garner was more fascinating than any film. She sampled her own guitar live to provide sparse percussive beats to her understated, moving songs and sang in an intimate whisper that carried nicely in the rectangular room. Her insightful lyrics came across clearly and at times were chilling; in "Box and You," she explores the pluses and minuses of settling with a lover in an urban apartment, "picking flowers from a windowsill." Other times, Garner was downright charming, bestowing credit on another criminally overlooked songwriter, Mary Margaret O'Hara, after covering the Canadian singer's "Dear Darling," and saying she was glad to have finished a tour in support of Freakwater because now she could cover that band's songs. The Posies and Sue Garner have never had a hit record, and they've watched their peers--and in some cases their close friends--become rock stars. Yet both acts have overcome or eschewed bitterness and jealousy to become entertaining, lively performers in a world that views them all too often as merely "veteran artists." Trouble on Tour: The Swoon 23 and Brian Jonestown Massacre tour has had its rocky moments. The two bands will make their way back to the West Coast with one less member each. Guitarist Jeff Studebaker has left Swoon 23 for the second time; his departure in 1995 led to the Portland quartet's temporary dissolution. The band reunited and released The Legendary Ether Pony last year and has earned increasing attention while touring with the Dandy Warhols and current mates Brian Jonestown Massacre. Swoon 23 will finish the jaunt as a trio. Meanwhile, drummer (and WW contributor) Marty Smith is pulling double-duty. Brian Jonestown's own drummer quit mid-tour, and the San Francisco band enlisted Smith to fill in. The whole mess comes to Zoot Suite May 6. This Just In: Nuyorican spoken-word artist Edwin Torres recorded an album, Holy Kid, that will be released on Kill Rock Stars this month. The poet, who reads in English and Spanish, collaborated with the talented DJ Wally on his forthcoming record and will debut the new material in Portland on Sunday, April 26, at EJ's. The Need will also appear. |
