Friday
October 6, 2006
arts.michigandaily.com
artspage@michigandaily.com
ARTS
5A
I I --- - ------- - ----------- -- -
'Seed'
can't
findthe
ground
By Matt Emery
Daily Arts Writer
The Appleseed Cast just can't
be complacent with the indie-
rock genre.
For almost a **
decade, the
Kansans flew The
under the Appleseed
mainstream Cast
rock radar, Peregrine
injecting
their Midwest The Militia Group
emo-rock into
the veins of angst-addicted teens
jonesing for another hit. Though
they've garnered ill-conceived
comparisons to Radiohead from
rock magazines and websites such
as All Music Guide, and even
gained blog superstardom this
past summer after false rumors of
lead singer Christopher Crisci's
suicide - Appleseed still haven't
managed to escape the unfortu-
nate sales figures of indie rock.
Now on their sixth full-length
album, Peregrine, Appleseed
decides it's time to make a mass
exodus out of the indie-emo
world and into the mainstream
rock universe by stuffing generic
alternative Clear-Channel music
into their own quaint package. It's
a clear sign that the band's aspira-
tions don't lie in creating adven-
turous music, but rather in trying
to make mad scrilla by appealing
to the TRL audience.
Part of the intrigue of The App-
leseed Cast has always been their
way of readjusting their image
and evolving their line-up - the
band has been playing musical
chairs, replacing drummers and
bassists with every new release.
Courtesy of Samantha Jet
Music School junior Theo Katzman will bring the passion tonight at the Pig.
NoMo, NO LESS
PIG TO HOST SLEW OF LOCAL TALENT
By Lloyd H. Cargo
Daily Music Editor
What do you call three great acts for the
price of one? A fucking good deal, that's what.
Tonight at The Blind Pig,
for the first time on the
same bill, three of the most
compelling musical groups Nomo,
in Ann Arbor will ratchet Toolbox
up the heat and melt faces and Mark
with increasing levels of Kirschen-
smoking hot grooves. mann
School of Music and RC Tonight at 8 p.m.
professor Mark Kirschen- $8
mann will open up the affair $11 if under 21
with a display of his con- At the Blind Pig
siderable trumpet chops.
Kirschenmann is not your
average Miles Davis wannabe - he's taken an
entirely fresh approach to an instrument familiar
to many by running his axe through a variety of
pedals before it's fully electrified glory reaches
the ears of listeners. His excellent This Electric
Trumpet recently dropped on M-Block Records,
and it's garnered critical acclaim for its above-
the-middle-zone forays into experimental elec-
tronic jazz.
Following Kirschenmann will be another band
traversing musical territory thus far unexplored:
Toolbox. The group is comprised of a virtual
who's who of stand out student musicians. At
the core of the group is the rhythm section com-
prised of hunky, mowhawked junior Aaron Gold
on percussion and blond, gorgeous and often
shirtless Christian Carpenter on bass. The two
Music School juniors' propulsive hullabaloo is
enhanced by the guitar/effects of the incredibly
versatile and talented Music School senior Rob-
ert Lester and the Derek Trucks meets Robbie
Robertson six string stylings of lead guitarist and
Music School junior Theo Katzman. Usually this
musical menagerie is led by virtuosic pipist and
tenor saxophonist Tyler Duncan, another Music
School junior, but due to previous engagements
he'll be replaced by perhaps the only musician
capable of filling his enormous shoes - Music
School junior Yosef Dosik.
"First of all, I'm Toolbox's No. I fan. Second
of all learning all of Tyler's parts has been an
honor. Transcribing his beautiful pipe lines to
the soprano saxophone has exposed his musical
roots to me in a really dope, articulate and sexy
way," Yosef said. The group is excited to have
him on board as well.
Katzman expressed his boundless joy, saying,
"As always its one of my greatest pleasures to
play with Yosef. What he's done is taken a poten-
tial void and just filled it the fuck up and made
it his own."
Expect Toolbox's righteous refrains to get
people moving and grooving before Ann Arbor's
main musical export Nomo tears the walls down.
No strangers to the Pig, Nomo is the surest bet in
town to get everyone on the dance floor.
It's almost impossible to over-hype Elliot
Bergman's funk/jazz/afro/soul/machine, but
coming off months of touring, the band is tighter
than ever. Their latest, New Tones, was released
on the ultra-hip Ubiquity Records to rave reviews
(4 bunny ears in Playboy!) and every hometown
performance to date has been nothing short of
revelatory.
All three of these artists on one bill make this
a ridiculously easy way to get acquainted with
some of the most important music being made
by your peers, and the Pig is the perfect venue to
soak up their respective beautiful noise.
From the dense, atmospheric
guitar patterns of The End of the
Ring Wars to the more traditional
electronic, emo-alternative of
Two Conversations, Appleseed
manage to nearly cover the com-
plete spectrum of indie rock.
Peregrine shows another shift
in the band's style toward the
familiar schtick of more popular
bands like, say, The Killers. And
if imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery, then these guys are
dishing out a ton of compliments.
At least half of the tracks on
Peregrine make a direct con-
nection to some other popular
music superstar. The beginning
of "Here We Are (Family in
the Hallways)" is a carbon copy
of the prelude guitar chords to
Death Cab for Cutie's "Title and
Registration." A vocal style sto-
len from Gavin Rossdale - pre
Gwen Stefani - shines through
on "Sunlit and Ascending" as
well as "Mountain Halo." And
although "Halo" floats along
with dreamy, synthesizer-heavy
bleeps that are tailored for the
next Hummer commercial, it
isn't an awful track - it just
belongs on a Bush album from
10 years ago. Even a song like
"Woodland Hunter, Part 2" has
the band selling out to an adult
contemporary market. Crisci's
words aren't all that far off from
Sting's recent efforts, even fur-
thering the band from establish-
ing their own sound.
When Peregrine does take
flight, it comes on the wings of
creative instrumentation. "Silas'
Knife" features an opening of
electronic synth-buzz and clacks
reminiscent of an infant's mobile,
but is quickly met with haunting
lyrics ("Keep hoarding all your,
ghosts in fortresses") and a sor-
rowful acoustic guitar interlude
that flows into a Polish inspired,
electro-accordion riff.
The Appleseed Cast don't draw
any clear line between a band
attempting to create pre-pack-
aged, shitty rock hits and a band,
brushing against the void of their
own musical identity. There's no
progression past the mundane,
TRL world on Peregrine, only
misguided ambition.
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& A
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