Big Ben, beware the true alternative(s)

BY DAN FEDER

HYURA CHOI/YH

HYURA CHOI/YH

GO AWOL, one in a planned series of concerts aimed at addressing the issue of militarism in American society, will be held at the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church. "The goal of the concert is to raise awareness of issues of violence and militarism and help people see that ethnic conflict, military violence, the prison industrial complex, economic injustice, and discrimination are interconnected issues," Michelle Chen, CC '03, one of the concert's organizers, said. AWOL Magazine, from which the concert takes its name, professes similar goals, covering both hip-hop and politics. Some of the magazine's crusades have included the Free Mumia movement, which aims to free journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal from death row in Pennsylvania, and the Education Not Incarceration project of the Black Radical Congress. Both causes are currently popular among musical artists of all genres, as well as among activists.

HYURA CHOI/YH

Towards that end, the show will feature mostly political hip-hop artists sympathetic to the magazine's views, including New Haven acts Modern Control Productions, Aggravated Entertainment, The Redcoats, and Neo-Flage. The headliners, however, are coming from up and down the East Coast. Emerge, performing with Stewey Nuke'em, hails from Philadelphia, while female rapper Soulstice is from New Jersey and trio Division-X are from what they call "the birthplace of hip-hop"—the Bronx. Between acts, WYBC-FM DJs Tootskee and Clifflove will spin records.

Because the show is so experimental and politically charged, organizers had a difficult time finding a space to hold it, particularly with the tercentennial events taking up much of the suitable on-campus space. "This is sort of an odd experiment, since I don't think this place does hip-hop shows very often," Chen said of the decision to use the First and Summerfield Church. "It should be an interesting experience for everyone involved. I hope the carpeting doesn't get ruined."

Organizers are nervous about the turnout for the concert, and as late as Wednesday night they were seen plastering posters up all over campus. Nevertheless, all of the other events that are happening on campus this weekend weren't really a factor in the political nature of the concert. "I knew it would be a very busy weekend, and I knew that there wouldn't really be that much competition from other events, since this concert is unique among Yale functions." Chen said. "So I hope the concert will be a nice divergence from the usual college-kid musical fare."

WYBC's annual music-fest, on the other hand, seems to be more directly aimed at countering the mainstream music acts that annually grace the Spring Fling stage. While there is no unifying theme for the concert's performers, the show hosted indie-rock her-oes such as Yo La Tengo in 1999 and hip-hop veteran Doug E. Fresh, after Rah Digga cancelled at the last minute last year.

This year, because the Tercentennial and Spring Fling fall in the same weekend, logistical issues kept WYBC from having its usual outdoor show with a well-known headliner, according to the station's program director, Sam Frank, MC '02. Instead, the station focused on bringing a number of smaller, up-and-coming acts on the indie-rock scene. Yale favorite Arcaro is scheduled to play last, preceded by the Canadian band North of America and Boston scene mainstays The Swirlies and Lockgroove. Between bands, in what Frank calls a "Yale Indie Revue," Yale solo artists Sam Grossman, DC '03, Eliot Rose, SM '03, David Slade, TC '01, and Dan Sobo, SM '03 will perform.

Arcaro, which includes Yalies Joe Grimm, JE '01, and Matt "Sticky" Dunkel, JE '01, as well as New Haven residents Matt Quinn and Will Noland, is headlining the show, but they seem honored to be playing with the other bands on the bill.

The Swirlies have been playing together since 1990, when they formed as a five-piece group in Boston. Band co-founder and singer/guitarist Damon Tutunjian describes The Swirlies' sound as "indie-rock, or sneaky flute music," a reference to a compact touring version of the band called Sneaky Flute Empire. As for what to expect from their performance, Tutunjian jokes, "We're gonna have nude go-go dancers, both male and female, so there's gonna be something for everyone."

Currently, The Swirlies are sharing guitarist/keyboardist Rob Laakso with Lockgroove, which is also appearing on the bill. This made a joint tour quite attractive, and both bands are playing shows in Philadelphia and New York City before coming to Yale. Lockgroove is only four years old but has already made a splash in Boston, wherethe Boston Phoenix called them "the most astounding band to emerge from Boston in quite some time." Dave Goodman, the band's bassist and a 1998 graduate of Harvard, says that the band is excited to play this weekend's show "because it's Yale. I work in a situation where I don't get back to college campuses very often." He describes the band's music as "experimental noise rock—really, really noisy and really, really sonic."

The core of Lockgroove is identical twin brothers Ryan (guitar/vocals) and Marty (drums) Rex. Ryan promises that the band "won't disappoint, unless our amp explodes and our guitarist runs off the stage, but that hasn't happened in a while." He's excited about the future of the band, and hopes that performing at Yale will increase the band's following on the East Coast. "Words can't explain how happy I am right now, with the way the band operates and the way we sound," Ryan gushed. He cites the band members' tastes in music as one of Lockgroove's primary strengths. The band has released an EP, Rewired, and an album, Sleeping on the Elephant Fog.

North of America, the other non-Yale band rounding out the bill, hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they formed in 1997. The band has released an EP, Elements of an Incomplete Map, and an album, These Songs Are Cursed. Frank describes their music as "really good indie-rock, with some weird time signatures." Emo fans should enjoy their performance.

The band Yalies will probably be most familiar with at Musicfest will perform last, scheduled to go on around 11 p.m. Arcaro has been a presence at Yale for a few years, but with Yale members Dunkel and Grimm graduating this spring, the band has seriously been evaluating its options for the future. "We have a lot of other commitments, so things could go either way," Quinn said. "We're all moving to New York, and [we're] hoping to record in a studio...we're just gonna live together and rehearse." He says that while they've enjoyed playing together in New Haven, a change of scene is the only way to go if the band wants to get any exposure. "New Haven is good for producing bands, but not for longevity," Quinn explained.

While their main commitment is Arcaro, members of the band also play in Cabeza de Vaca, another Yale favorite. Quinn says that the band plans to stick with Cabeza, if for no other reason than that Cabeza "makes more money as a dance-party band." Musicfest will be the last chance for Yalies to see Arcaro this year; Cabeza played its last show at Toad's Place on Fri., Apr. 13.

Why should Yalies check out GO AWOL on Friday or WYBC's Musicfest on Saturday when they could get their fill of live music from Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals on Sunday? Well, for one thing, veteran music critic Greil Marcus recently called Harper's new double-live album Live from Mars "the worst album I've ever heard." And if that's not enough, Harper doesn't even beatbox on his radio hit "Steal My Kisses"; he brings out a crewmember to do the honors.

Doors for GO AWOL are at 9 p.m. Friday, and there is a suggested donation of $5. Doors for Musicfest, at the Women's Center, are at 8 p.m., and the show is free. 

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