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Snooze-core would be a more appropriate title for this year's Sno-Core fest.In yet another attempt to meld musical fan-bases a la Lollapalooza, Sno-Core '99 pulled together chart-toppers Everclear with art-funk groovers SoulCoughing, old school-style rapper Redman and experimental turntable shredder DJSpooky. The result? Drooping ticket sales that forced the concert to move from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to the Warfield, a venue about half the size.
Save for a few glowing moments toward the end of Everclear's set
and asteady -- albeit predictable -- show from Soul Coughing, there
was littleredeeming value to this lackluster affair, unless you
needed to stock up oncondoms. (Rather than the support from
skateboard or snowboard companies,this Levi's-sponsored event was
dominated by Trojan tables and a Soap shoes video booth showing off
footwear that lets you slide down rails in
skateboarderfashion.)
The predominantly Everclear-worshipping crowd mostly ignored the
fast fingers and innovative mixes of DJ Spooky between bands.
Spooky deftly tossed Black Sabbath, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd and other
rock stalwarts into the mix, but the all-ages audience, peppered
with pre-pubescents and their parents, was not sure how to
react.
Redman fared even worse. He and his posse resorted to the tired
"Say ho!" and "Everybody put your hands in the air!" schtick as
they rapped about getting stoned. At best they received a lukewarm
reaction from Everclear fans, though some kids up front were waving
their Redman posters. At first Redman seemed optimistic on this
opening Sno-Core night, saying, "It's not every day we get to
perform for a different crowd." But it didn't take long for
audience indifference to prompt him to shout, "White people, wake
the fuck up!"
Soul Coughing's M. Doughty was in a more playful mood than he was
during his band's recent Bay Area shows, mischievously shouting,
"Are you feeling a foxy feeling?" The band scored the visual
highlight of the night with a screen backdrop showing old cartoons
starring Felix the Cat and Donald Duck. Their set focused on last
year's El Oso, kicking things off with "Rolling," then
into "St. Louise Is Listening," "Fully Retractable," "Blame," and
in mid-set, the more mainstream "Circles." Despite a burst of life
for the band's usual closer, "Super Bon Bon," the crowd was
politely waiting for Everclear.
For a band that has been touring on the same album for more than a
year and a half, Everclear came out sounding sloppy but energized,
riling up most of the crowd. The band's enthusiasm was admirable
considering they've been playing these songs for so long. Art
Alexakis roamed the stage and spent the night trading off his
vintage guitars. Bassist Craig Montoya also bounced around, while
drummer, percussionist, keyboardist, and second guitarist filled
out the sound. As one audience member put it, "There seem to be a
lot of people onstage for three-chord rock."
Though the set mainly spotlighted So Much for the
Afterglow, Everclear dipped back to their first record,
Sparkle and Fade, yielding a rendition of the melodic
"Summerland." As Alexakis rasped through "Everything to Everyone"
and "I Will Buy You a New Life," and for the encore, "Father of
Mine" and "So Much for the Afterglow," the crowd clapped along with
a heady rock buzz.
At one point during the encore, Alexakis invited people to dance
onstage. The controlled chaos ended without incident. The band
ended the show with Montoya on vocals for the cover of AC/DC's "Sin
City." It was a memorable finish to a forgettable night.
MARLENE GOLDMAN
(February 5, 1999)