`A lot of the struggles of indie rock musicians and independent filmmakers are the same,” notes local music writer Ben Kim. “It’s a struggle to document your work, to take chances with it, and to reach out to an audience.”
That similarity explains why Kim and his Asian-American media group, Fortune4, are capping their monthlong film festival, “Asian American Showcase ’96,” with a rock concert Friday night at the Double Door.
According to Kim, the idea of including rock music as part of the festival was especially appropriate given this year’s film selections.
“We didn’t plan it this way,” he says, “but the films that we picked for the festival all seemed to address the themes of youth and rebellion, and that obviously fits in with rock ‘n’ roll.”
The three bands on Friday night’s bill are all led by Asian-Americans and represent some of the most notable indie rock talent in the city.
Seam: While science struggles to create a tasty, fat-free potato chip, Seam has developed a beguiling brand of rock that’s bombast-free with half the decibels.
Led by Sooyoung Park, this veteran quartet lays down some of the most tranquil, tuneful and alluring guitar-based sounds around.
Though a horde of indie bands currently plumbs the depths of quietude, Seam does so without resorting to minimalist riff hypnosis. Rather, its songs are amply fleshed out with a first-rate lyricism and deft midrange dynamics.
15 Couples: 15 Couples is former Dolomite front man Neil Rosario’s new project.
Under the fresh moniker, Rosario’s recent songs hone in on the same drowsy country-rock vibe Dylan and the Stones dallied with in the late ’60s. The results are more refined and effective than Rosario’s Dolomite recordings; a promising new start.
Squirm with Yanti Arifin: Arifin’s 1995 solo record, “Paranoid Sing-a-long,” bristled with a brash punk-pop nicely diversified with unexpected melodic and stylistic detours.
As Squirm, Arifin and company reportedly take a different tack with that material and with more recent creations. But the high quality songwriting should shine in any setting. 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. 312-489-3160.
Individual listings are by Rick Reger unless otherwise noted.
Bad Religion, Sunday at the Riviera Theatre: During the course of an almost 15-year career, Bad Religion’s music has resisted evolution more tenaciously than the cockroach. The band’s latest blast, “The Gray Race,” thumps out the same ferocious guitar assault, the same trenchant lyrics and the same decent pop hooks that have distinguished most of its albums. But the music’s stolid stasis renders each new record a bit superfluous. 4746 N. Racine Ave. 312-559-1212.
Johnny Griffin, Friday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase: It wouldn’t be spring without a visit from tenor saxophone giant Johnny Griffin, who lives in France but grew up on the South Side. You still can hear Griffin’s hometown in practically every phrase he plays, whether he’s offering gritty blues or rambunctious bebop. Griffin’s quartet will include the gifted young pianist Michael Weiss. 59 W. Grand Ave. 312-670-2473.
Howard Reich
Tears For Fears, Saturday at the Vic: Since 1985’s stunning “Songs From The Big Chair” record, TFF leader Roland Orzabal has continued crafting luxuriant pop confections of meticulous detail. But where “Big Chair” flashed some passion and unorthodox tunesmithing, Orzabal’s more recent work has settled for more saccharine expression. TFF’s latest effort, “Raoul and the Kings of Spain,” is one of the tastier cream puffs in the Adult Pop pastry shop. (Sold out.) 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. 312-559-1212.
Flaming Lips and Richard Davies, Monday and Tuesday at the Double Door: Like a merry-go-round in a dungeon, Flaming Lips’ music merges the whimsical and the ominous with an oddly effective mix of kaleidoscopic acid rock and pummeling sludge. The band’s recent “Clouds Taste Metallic” CD is a colorful and imaginative trip-pop cartoon that falls short of the Lips’ best work. Australian songwriter Richard Davies crafts lush, quirky baroque-pop with the eccentric erudition of talented outcasts like Scott Walker, Arthur Lee and Syd Barrett. 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. 312-489-3160.
Lonnie Brooks, Friday at Buddy Guy’s Legends and Saturday at the Chicago Blue Note, Palatine: Lonnie Brooks’ high-energy Chicago/Louisiana blues hybrid never grows stale. The veteran guitarist scored regional rock ‘n’ roll hits along the Gulf Coast during the late 1950s (“Family Rules,” “The Crawl”) billed as Guitar Junior before relocating to Chicago, changing his stage name, and carving out a reputation as one of the city’s top blues artists (with six Alligator albums to his credit and another on the way). Brooks’ Chicago Blue Note gig climaxes the newly remodeled Palatine nightclub’s grand opening weekend (a steady diet of blues is slated for the spacious suburban venue). 754 S. Wabash Ave. 312-427-0333; 1550 N. Rand Rd. 847-776-9850.
Bill Dahl
Joe Satriani, Friday at the Riviera Theatre: Over the past decade, no string bender has influenced the sound of rock guitar more pervasively than Joe Satriani. For better or worse, this axe hero’s signature style — a blend of high-end coloratura and dive-bombing fills — has seeped into the playing of countless guitar-god wannabees, especially in heavy metal where the sound is already a cliche. Neither a gifted singer nor composer, Satriani is simply a dazzling, distinctive technician. 4746 N. Racine Ave. 312-559-1212.
Wu-Tang Clan, Friday at the Congress Theatre: This Staten Island crew pumps out hip-hop that’s as spare and gritty as a glass-strewn city lot. Though the Clan sometimes eases its attack with sleek soul grooves, its hardcore raps normally rip over grimy beats and terse, dreary samples. Though thoroughly hardboiled, the Clan remains surprisingly free of gangsta shtick. 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. 312-252-4000.
Fred Schneider, Saturday at the Metro: The B-52’s front man, Schneider comes to town supporting his upcoming curveball of a record “Just Fred.” Produced by Steve Albini and featuring contributions by musicians from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Didjits, Tar, and Six Finger Satellite (some of whom will turn up on tour), “Just Fred” studs a bruising guitar attack with Schneider’s trademark tuneless vocal ejaculations. The sheer oddity of that mix is, perhaps, the record’s most interesting trait. 3730 N. Clark St. 312-549-0203.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 and Low, Friday at the Lounge Ax: If you have violently eclectic taste or a concussion, the Thinking Fellers are right up your alley. Skidding from lilting pop to off-kilter country to psychedelia to residential creepiness, the Fellers are a careening musical vehicle with a jammed accelerator, no brakes and erratic steering. Weird and fascinating. Low, on the other hand, displays a single-minded devotion to hushed, shimmering songs that mirror the imperceptible movement and pristine beauty of ice-encrusted rivers. 2438 N. Lincoln Ave. 312-525-6620.
The Poster Children, Saturday at the Empty Bottle: At the marrow of this well-traveled Champaign quartet is the sound of guitars: big, buzzing, reverberating electric guitars. But unlike other axe-smitten outfits, the Poster Children put their Big Guitar sound in the service of pop rather than punk or hard rock. The band’s latest record, “Junior Citizen,” shimmys with an engaging, diverse assortment of high-watt ear candy. 1035 N. Western Ave. 312-276-3600.
Deicide, Friday at the Thirsty Whale, River Grove: These Florida-spawned metallurgists have developed quite a reputation, more for their fervid espousal of animal sacrifice and blasphemy than for their routine death metal. The quartet’s latest outrage, “Once Upon the Cross,” is a competent but hardly head-spinning thrash-fest fueled by fiercely stuttering rhythms and Glen Benton’s cavernous Beelzeblubbering. 8800 W. Grand Ave. 708-456-2414.
Sophie B. Hawkins, Tuesday at the Vic: Hawkins spins out a synthesizer-soaked dance pop that takes you — kicking and screaming — back to that genre’s mid-’80s heyday. Her most recent record, “Whaler,” embarks on an endless voyage through a Sargasso Sea of derivative songs, slick with the musical equivalent of lip gloss. 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. 312-559-1212.
