Weather Woes Cause Concert Chaos

Rocky Mountain Not-So-High: Stupid, stupid snow in stupid, stupid Colorado meant all kinds of delays, rearrangements, and straight-up cancellations in Seattle’s club schedules last week. First, more-buzz-than-an-angry-bee Brits the Coral were forced to forgo both their opening slot Thursday for Supergrass and a Sonic Boom in-store due to Denver International Airport’s blizzard-induced near-shutdown; Showbox publicist Scott Giampino says no disappointed fans asked for refunds, even though some were “verbally bummed,” and most were happy enough when locals the Pale stepped in to pinch-hit. Not so for the Trust Co./30 Seconds to Mars/Pacifier/Fingertight bill the following night; every tarted-up girl or boy waiting for their chance to steal away Cameron Diaz’s man (a.k.a. 30 Seconds frontman/undersized Hollywood boy toy Jared Leto) was foiled once again by Denver’s snow and sleetthe entire bill was canceled, though it may, according to Giampino, be rescheduled sometime in the next 60 days. Thursday’s Wolf Eyes show at the Crocodile was merely delayed; once they found their way out of the Bad Weather Vortex, bookers squeezed them on Sunday’s Queer rock night with Purty Mouth, the Moth Wranglers, and more. Says our girl Laura Cassidy: “Although they set up onstage (instead of on the floor as they usually do) and didn’t cloud up the room with any chemical smoke, Wolf Eyes were, nonetheless, amazing. All three members rocked, flopped, and jumped to their aggressive grooves, and the energy was entirely infectious. Performing on homemade instruments held together with duct tape and a guitar that was missing two of its tuning pegs and the strings that should have been attached to them, the band brilliantly re-created their disco death beats and head-banging circus skronk for an audience that was truly shocked and awed.” Wednesday’s Art Museum show with Dutch avant-garders the

ICP (that’s Instant Composers Pool, not Insane Clown Posse) Orchestra also was canceled for the same weather-related reasons, for all you culture vultures who care. . . . It wasn’t bad weather that held back Godspeed You! Black Emperor last weekend; it was bad vibes. The Canadian nine-piece experienced fear and loathing in the heartland firsthand when they were held for questioning as possible terrorists at an Oklahoma gas station en route from a show in Fort Worth, Texas, to Missouri. A pump attendant took one gander at the band’s two vans and equipment truck and called the cops on their pinko-looking asses, and within minutes the group was surrounded by police cars and FBI agents, allegedly with guns drawn. After three hours of questioning, they were released, partly because, as singer Efrim Menuck explained, “we’re just lucky we’re nice white kids from Canada” and partly because they didn’t freakin’ do anything wrong. According to their label co-founder, Bruce Adams, it’s no rare occurrence: “They get hassled by the Man regularly. Police pulling them over, anything you can imagine. It’s just the feeling in the country right now.” . . . Canadians also feeling the burn: Hot Hot Heat. Their single,”Bandages,” has been banned from BBC Radio 1 in the U.K., according to NME. Prewar, the track was given coveted “B” status, which means it got a guaranteed 15 spins a week on the station, but because of what a BBC spokesperson calls “a prevalence of the word ‘bandages’ in the song,” it’s been removed for now. Other banned songs range from the obvious (Outkast‘s “Bombs Over Baghdad”) to the just plain retarded (Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”). America still loves the Heat though: They’re featured in the fat new Vanity Fair Hollywood issue that claims they’ve got “hooks you could catch bluemarlin with.” In it, HHH also compare Seattle audiences to L.A.’s,

saying our crowds are “definitely more prone to crossing their arms.” Hmmph. . . . Speaking of local(ish) bands done good, Vendetta Red were invited to open for AC/DC last week in New York City at an exclusive Roseland Ballroom show, and two locals were there to witness. According to Graceland’s assistant booker, Franki Chan, and former I-Spy/Chop Suey man Counter Commons, who managed to make it past the barricades and stage dive during “Highway to Hell,” the fans mostly hated Vendetta, but “that was to be expected. It was a bunch of old dudes, not screaming teenagers waiting to see an emo band.” The old dudes did have something to say though: Billy Joel offered an on-the-scene Kerrang reporter this really weird metaphor: “Man, this is like Nazi Germany, and AC/DC are like NazisI mean if they wanted to go to Poland they would just go to Poland.” Mmm-kay. Anyway, in case you’re wondering what VR would have to do with their headliners, their label, Epic, just bought AC/DC’s back catalog from Atlantic and are getting ready to release a box set and probably stuck them on the same bill just because they could. . . . In case you needed another reason to be interested in the Coachella Festival next month, now organizers say it will feature the first Stooges show in 28 years. Iggy and all other original members will appear, except for the late David Alexander, who will replaced this one time only by special guest star Mike Watt. . . . There’s no peace in the Middle East, but at least there’s a truce in Enormous Ego Land: Ryan Adams has called off his self-imposed feud with Jack White. The man who once called his former friend “little girl White” and “a fucking ponce” now says the White Stripes’ Elephant “may be the best rock ‘n’ roll record ever made. No shit. I am so jealous of that guy. He is so tuned in, it’s just incredible his gift. Motherfucker knows rock ‘n’ roll like sugar

knows ice cream.” . . . DOON Recommendations: See Laurel Canyon because it is an awesome movie, and Frances McDormand is the hottest thing this side of 45, but also see it so you can chortle at Lou Barlow. He has almost three lines, and spends a lot of time in the frame as part of a British rock band (which also includes Sebadoh/Folk Implosion drummer Russell Pollard and FI guitarist Imaad Wasif) working with McDormand’s ber-producer character and looking on bemusedly as his younger, foxier bandmates play chicken with half-naked girls and smoke joints the size of baby arms. Keep your eyes peeled for Daniel Lanois and Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous in bit parts, too. . . . And don’t forget Super Saturday on the 29th, featuring both the Ladyfest Rock Photography reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the VERA Project, with locals like Bootsy Holler, Robin Laananen, and Alice Wheeler, plus music from DJ Cherry Canoe; and Mamafest at Stevens Pass (go to www.mamafest.org for more info), a breast cancer benefit featuring Visqueen and the Amazombies, a half-pipe jam, prizes, and morebecause you love the ladies. Or screw it all and see Cheap Trick at the Emerald Queen Casino, because you love, well, Cheap Trick.