Crib Notes

Tonight (Tues., Aug. 26th) James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand headlines a show at The Earl, with openers the Dutchess & the Duke and the Good Graces.

James Jackson Toth’s slow trek from the outer limits of folk music into full-blown country songs was inevitable. But no one expected that his transition into a more accessible sound would be so flawless while maintaining the darkness of his more esoteric years. Waiting in Vain does just that. A low and lonesome boom underscores the album’s brightest moments, and song titles such as “The Banquet Styx” and “Becoming Faust” say it all. Toth has a sense of humor that gives depth to his solo debut. But with its subtle sheen of fuzz and slow, waltzing melodies in closing cut “The Dome” makes plain that he wholeheartedly embraces the music without losing sight of his own psychedelic roots.

Seattle duo the Dutchess & the Duke (Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison) open the show.

On Monday night D&D played a short-notice in-store performance over at Vacation Gallery & Boutique on North Highland. For this most recent round of touring they’ve been playing shows as a two-piece. The in-store at Vacation was set up as a test run with their temporary addition to the line-up, Atlanta’s one and only B Jay Womack, (A.K.A. Bobby Ubangi.)

Now before the rumors get started, it’s important to note that B Jay is only playing a couple of shows in Georgia (Athens and Atlanta). He’s being brought on board to be the band’s tambourine man, which leaves one hand free for continual consumption of alcohol during the show.

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For this year’s music issue, directors Chris Dortch and Matthew Robison gave CL two exclusive video clips from their upcoming Atlanta rock documentary, We Fun: Atlanta, GA Inside Out.

The first clip features yours truly waxing nostalgic about my first encounter with the Black Lips. During the interview we talked a lot about the musical climate within the first few years of millennium change. It was a different town back then. Danger Mouse was just the DJ name for Brian Burton who was churning out primitive but brilliant trip-hop with his Pelican City moniker. Scott Heron’s Prefuse 73 and Savath+Savalas were on the upswing. Richard Devine was churning out great albums and playing shows, and Cat Power was well on her way to moving mountains in New York. As a result Atlanta held a strong art house / coffee shop intelligent music scene. But when the most talented and lauded artists around town moved on to the greener pastures of NYC, the local scene just petered out. Enter the Black Lips.

I first made the Black Lips guitarist Cole Alexander’s acquaintance in the spring of 2002. There was a knock on the door that was so faint that I almost didn’t hear it. The knock came from a young and doe-eyed guitarist, Cole Alexander, who timidly offered me a copy of the Black Lips “Ain’t Coming Back” 7-inch. The photocopied sleeve was too big for the plastic outer sleeve, yet he’d managed to cram it in, paying no attention to the bends and dog-ears he caused in the process.

The record was scratched all to hell, and the b-side was even scuffed with a dusty shoe print. The four songs on this poor piece of wax were a mishmash of noisy and far-away garage rock rhythms and hiss. He was grateful that I was willing to listen to the record.

While recalling this for Dortch and Robison, I was reminded of the famous story of when Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis met British journalist and Factory Records owner Tony Wilson. Curtis promptly called him a bastard. I got off pretty easy with the Black Lips. Nevertheless, while telling the story Dortch and Robison’s faces lit up as though I had just given them something to turn into a legend.

The second clip is footage of Bobby and the Soft Spots performing live in the basement at Rob’s House Record HQ in East Atlanta.

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COLD SWEAT AND A WARM PBR: Judi Chicago gets loose at Criminal Records’ National Record Day celebration. See more photos below.

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