The Bloodthirsty Lovers is a nearly-unimaginable assemblage of
virtuosity. Just consider the lineup of this genuine Memphis supergroup and let
it sink in deep. First and foremost (in every way), there is Dave Shouse, the
multifaceted musician and songwriter from indie stalwarts the Grifters and
critical darlings Those Bastard Souls. Add to the mix Jason Paxton, the Satyrs’
sweetly maudlin frontman whose sweeping classical aspirations were revealed on
the final track of the Satyrs’ first (and possibly last) album. And let’s not forget
DDT’s mad genius Paul “I swear you can turn a tree into a violin played by the wind”
Taylor. Doesn’t it all sound too good to be true? If Shelby Bryant of the Clears and
Cloud-Wow Music fame — and a charter
member of the Bloodthirsty Lovers — wasn’t
leaving town for parts unknown (a terrible blow to the Memphis scene), it
would have been too good to be true.
But even without Bryant’s brilliant whimsy and weird math, this group
of amorous vampires is composed of so many brilliant sonic chefs that any musical
stew from their collective kitchen seems doomed to arrive DOA. Far from it, friends, far
from it. Though each of these Memphis legends-in-the-making have their moments
to shine, Shouse is clearly taking the lead here. He has blended the explosiveness of the
Grifters with the pop-meets-prog sensibility of one
of his earliest musical endeavors — the
all-but-forgotten Moroccan Roll (with Easley
Studios’ producer extraordinaire and maestro in his
own right Davis McCain). Shouse abandoned “head” music for flat-out rocking in the
’80s when he had the great revelation that
“working people don’t go out on the weekends
to seek enlightenment, they want to shake their ass.” With the Bloodthirsty Lovers he may
have proven, after two decades of experimentation, that these two musical byproducts are
not mutually exclusive. The Bloodthirsty Lovers will be at the Young Avenue Deli on
Friday, March 1st, with Tristeza, and if you have a
lick of sense you will be there too. — Chris Davis
London’s Andy Dragazis, aka Blue States, is a semimajor electronica and
trip-hop figure whose debut album, the subtle,
jazzy Nothing Changes Under the Sun, was released in the U.S. last year on a label
run by Washington-based club stars Thievery Corporation. The touring version of
Blue States, which will appear at the Young Avenue Deli on Saturday, March 2nd,
will find Dragazis attempting to replicate the sample-driven textures of his
recorded music with full rock-band backing. An atypical show for the Memphis club
scene and definitely worth a listen.
Othar Turner and The Rising Star Fife and Drum
Band made a triumphant appearance last month at
Richard Johnston’s record-release party at the New Daisy. If you missed that, this week
provides another increasingly rare chance to hear the octogenarian hill-country
icon do his thing. The Church of the Holy Communion will hold the
Bamboo to Buzzsaws: Two Worlds, One Beat
benefit Thursday, February 28th, at the Buckman Performing & Fine Arts
Center (tickets: $15; show: 7:30 p.m.). Turner will be joined by the New
Hampshire-based Recycled Percussion, who,
as the name indicates, use recycled and found materials to create
percussion-based music. n —Chris Herrington