Wednesday, November 27, 1996
CONCERT:
Jon Spencer's group combines music genres for a new soundBy Michael Nazarinia
Daily Bruin Contributor
More often than not a band comes to a modest level of success in its mostly short-lived existence and is dealt a swift blow by a hypercritical public.
But that won't happen to Jon Spencer, because his band, the Blues Explosion, will be commanding masses of fans.
After a heartfelt and audience-endearing performance by R.L. Burnside, the opening blues band from Tennessee, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion took to the Palace stage on Friday with the kind of energy that goes along with the name.
Touring in support of their new album, "Now I Got Worry," Spencer and fellow bandmates Judah Bauer and Russel Simmins found an eager and supportive audience waiting for the shot-in-the-arm performance that has made this band one of the hottest acts on the road in quite a while.
The Blues Explosion plays every note as if it were its last. Spencer has the charm and stage presence of Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando combined, and he lets the music transform itself naturally.
The Blues Explosion combines the best elements of blues, punk and a little funk. With radical changes in tempos, rhythms and riffs, the Blues Explosion even brings psychedelia into the mix. The distorted screeching guitars grab your attention and constantly challenge your hearing limits.
After the first three songs off the new album, Spencer and company broke into "Bell-Bottoms," a song off their 1994 release, "Orange." The chorus caught the eager audience somewhat off-guard, but after a few chants the crowd really got into it by singing along.
Some of the lyrics seem other-worldly when Spencer sings some of the new songs, like "Wail," "2kindsa Love," or "Can't Stop." Even Bauer got into it with probably the best song on "Now I Got Worry," "Fuck Shit Up." In this anti-anthem song Bauer proclaims, "Spray paint the walls/Trash the halls/Fuck shit up/Do it for fun," with the earnest appeal of a man who truly believes in the rebelliousness of what rock should be.
When the set was near its conclusion, Spencer showed the lack of musical constraints that are the trademark of his New York band. During the encore, a spectacled "Weird" Al Yankovic came up to play a few numbers with an accordion in hand.
The Blues Explosion never lets up, but continually challenges its listeners to heighten their musical standards and not just follow the herd of 20-something alternative music buyers.
SHAWN LAKSMI
The Blues Explosion energetically played in concert at The Palace on Friday.
The Blues Explosion combines the best elements of blues, punk and a little funk.