Steve Miller Band at The Gorge [City Heat – September 1989]
70’s staple Steve Miller plays to a huge neon clad crowd singing along with his hit machine in the late summer sunshine.
Gypsy Rose [City Heat – August 1989]
First cover feature for City Heat.
Warrant & Kingdom Come at The OZ Nightclub [City Heat – August 1989]
Hot Flashes
Progenitor of the “In Concert: In Depth” series in Hot Flashes, pairing a concert review with same day interviews.
Warrant was riding “Down Boys” (their first hit single) from Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. Kingdom Come headlined that night at the OZ on a rotating headline tour for their eponymously titled debut.
I was so green. And at that time, the OZ was so hot!
Paisley Sin: “You’ll Be Glad You Did” [City Heat – July 1989]
Given the chance, these guys (and gal) will blow you away. Seattle’s most underrated band is back with a strong line-up and a long list of inventive, original tunes. In the midst of a west coast tour and with an EP due out soon, Paisley Sin has returned to make a believer out of you.
Formed in 1984 by Sylvan Smith and Findle McBliss, Paisley Sin won the Hall of Fame Battle of the Bands in 1985. It looked like a great start to a promising career. But, shit happens. After a few hiatuses and personnel changes they solidified and went into the studio. Working together for the past six months, Smith and McBliss along with Jeanine Cunningham, Bill Ackerlund, Robert Middleton and John Passarelli (younger brother of Lipstick’s lead singer, Paul Passarelli) have put together an eight song EP titled It’s Not Just a Hobby, It’s a Hassle. As you can tell, this band has a healthy sense of humor—a necessity to survive the club circuit.
And clubbing is just what they’ve been doing for the past five years. But they’ve decided, and I’m inclined to agree, that now is the time for success. Hoping to spark label interest with the EP, you could be seeing Paisley Sin on vinyl very soon. With Seattle’s current level of interest and over 50 songs in their catalog, an LP shouldn’t pose any problems for them. And being fortunate enough to preview the tape, I can say they’ve got what it takes, now if someone would just take notice.
I took notice when they rocked the walls of the O.K. Hotel on the 16th. Never having heard them before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But now I can tell you to expect a variety of damn good music. With roots in punk, soul, funk, pop and classic ole rock n’ roll, this group never lacks for variations. The show started with McBliss singing “Can’t Find It,” a triumphant but sorry testimonial on interpersonal relationships. Then it went to semi-improvised blithering rap on the verses-of “Whiskey For Me (Fresh Whores for the Boys)”, a duet by Jeanine and Findle. A couple more highlights with McBliss singing were the punky “Frat Boy” and the funky, tongue-in-cheek “This is the Life!”. Jeanine then did a fantastic cover of Tina Turner’s “Can’t Stand the Rain.” For the remainder of the show, Sylvan had the vocal spotlight. Some stand outs of his were “Used to Know,” about love lost, “I’ve Been Watchin'”, “Lonely Streets”, and the show ending “Out and Down.”
It was a diverse sixteen song set that came off the stage with power and emotion. Smith and McBliss shared bass duties, and vocal chores are shared between them and Cunningham. Of the two guitarists, Ackerlund and Passarelli, it seemed like Passarelli took care of most leads, a special note must be made here about Passarelli’s guitar performance. His animated facial expressions and lively performance make for an enjoyable show. Even though there’s six members this band is on a common wavelength and plays super-tight; tighter than most trios or quartets. They really seem to enjoy getting up there and it comes across in the live performance. They’re having fun and so will you when you see them play. After having as good a time as I did seeing them in arguably the worst hall in town, (the stage faces a wall),e you can be certain of fully enjoying them when they play a larger place. Or, if you’re really on top of it, you can catch them tonight (July 1st) at the Central.
Whether you first see them live or check out the tape, give ’em a chance.. You’ll be glad you did.
To obtain Paisley Sin’s EP,
“It’s Not Just a Hobby, It’s a Hassle”
contact Jill Cunningham
at 329-8939.
*Also published summer schedule picks for The Gorge at George, in July 1989.
Mother Love Bone at The OZ Nightclub [City Heat – June 1989]
After months of writing concert reviews for local mag “Rumors and Rags” which the editor repeatedly failed to publish, I took the big step and submitted this review to the coolest magazine on the Seattle music scene (OK, most Seattle hipsters had already saddled alternative press primacy on The Rocket, but I was fresh from Oregon and still fully enmeshed in my hair metal butt rock mentality).
So my Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Styx reviews never hit print, but my brain was already moving in a new direction. Seattle’s next wave was coalescing right under foot.
MOTHER LOVE BONE
MAY 4, 1989
THE OZ NIGHTCLUB
We stepped into the Oz just as Love Bone stormed the tiny stage with the first song from their EP, “Thru Fade Away”. Jeff’s bass intro filled the hall with as much power as any band who plays the Coliseum, and you can bet (your sweet ass) that these guys are arena-bound.
Looming larger than life, center stage was Dallas fan, Andrew Wood, sporting a Cowboy’s jersey and the ever present chartreuse green. Bruce and Stone both were looking unusual
with their hair gathered up in a top-side tail.
They broke into a set of material I presume will be on the album currently being recorded down in California. Included were ”Come Bite the Apple”, “China”, and the surreal rocker ”This Is Shangri-La”, which, by the way, is just a killer song-it’s still runnin’ thru my skull.
When they played KISW’s hit single “Half-Ass Monkey Boy”, the crowd really got into it and the slam-dancers up front opened the pit, keeping the numerous fine skirts there on the outskirts. To settle things down a bit, they countered with a personal favorite, “Crown of Thorns”. Landrew the Love Child then introduced “Capricorn Sister” as ‘the bonus track’ (like it appears on the tape). Rounding out the set were a couple more unreleased tunes ”Holy Roller” and ”Stardog”.
Then it was Queen’s “I’m in Love With My Car” for a well-received, glitzy encore. Tho they got loads of flash, they’re no flash in the pan, like Wood’s exiting words of wisdom, ”Love reigns Supreme!” As does Love Bone.
Watch for the LP later this summer, in the meantime, pick up Shine
and keep an eye out for Andy and the boys’ next local show. They are a must-see event!
Mother Love Bone are: Vocals; Andrew Wood, Guitars; Stone Gossard
and Bruce Fairweather, Bass; Jeff Ament, Percussion; Greg Gilmore.
# # #
At the OZ, I bought my first Seattle band shirt “Do What You Do” featuring the Shine EP cover art at the merch table. Wore that shirt out over the years (later, Ament gave me one of the “Air Love Bone” white long sleeves that became my absolute favorite shirt, alas, gone).
A few months later, I was so struck by Shine and the power coming from the scene (seeing Alice In Chains open for MLB both at The Central Tavern in Pioneer Square and down at The Satyricon in Portland) that when they played the big stage at Bumbershoot Labor Day weekend, I made a sign using the EP’s artwork and combining the titles of my favorite songs. In the following video you can see my orange painted “Chloe’s Crown” sign.
After I chucked it onstage Andy Wood picked it up and positioned it just before sitting down to the piano for the tracks. I was already deeply in love with the man and his message:
Love Rock awaits you people! Lo and behold.
Scorpions & Winger at Tacoma Dome [1988.10.12]
An up-and-coming band, Winger opened the show with a set highlighted by their single ‘‘Madelaine” , currently making the rounds on MTV.
From the first notes of “We Let it Rock. . .You Let it Roll” to the final power chords of ”Dynamite”, Klaus and Co. assaulted the stage in customary Scorpion fashion. Drawing on a repertoire from their five most recent studio albums, the Teutonic quintet (consisting of Herman Rarebell on drums, Matthias Jabs & Rudolf Schenker on guitars, Francis Bucholz on bass, and Klaus Meine on vocals) kept the crowd screaming on their feet for nearly two full hours!
Playing a generous five cuts from their new LP, Savage Amusement (Polygram) including ”Rhythm of Love”, “Media Overkill”, & “Don’t Stop At The Top” , the double decade veterans gave a sample of their tasty new material with massive helpings of classic ‘faves’ like “Blackout”, “Coming Home”, “Make It Real”, and “Lovedrive”. Of particular interest was a slow medley consisting of “Holiday” (with the audience helping on the chorus) melting into “Still Loving You”. These ever benevolent boys, I’m sure, set hormones aflutter with that combination as the crowd swayed in rhythm.
Herman and Matthias performed their obligatory solos with the showmanship of masters during a reprise of “The Zoo”. Then a portion of the lighting rig descended, allowing Klaus to walk out over the audience on what looked like a giant ‘stinger’ arched over a scorpion’s body of stage.
The show culminated in encore renditions of ”No One Like You” and ”Rock You Like a Hurricane”, with Schenker’s Flying V exploding in fireworks after some soaring air time (about 20-25 feet!) at the end of ”Dynamite”. The evening was nothing short of dynamite, and an exhausted, very satisfied crowd exited the Dome.
