I wish I had been taping at this show, because then I would have been able to catch everything my friend Wes said about Steepwater after they played, and I wouldn't have to write this review at all, because I could just quote him. Instead I'll just say, Steepwater fucking rocked my ass off, and sounded like Zep meets the delta blues. The two guitars/singers were on fire, and one of them played some mean harmonica & tambourine too. The bass player was cracking me up, because he never once stopped marching in-place to the beat. He was on an unending march for rock and roll, Man.

What Wes said was so awesome that I really wish I could just quote him. I'll try to para-phrase him as best I can. He said something like:

Stu, I've worked in a lot of bars & nightclubs for a lot of years, and I've seen literally hundreds of guitar players come through, some are good, some are great, but Jeff Massey (of Steepwater) is by far the best guitar player I've ever seen or heard.

He said a lot more than that, but that was the gist, and good gad damn, if he isn't right! He also told me to check out their web site, which I did, and it's one of the better band sites I've seen. Check 'em out at:
Steepwater.com

And check 'em out live every time they play!

I thought Unknown Hinson was awful, so I left during his set, but my roommate, Sean thought he was awesome, and even video-taped him, so whatever.

"

Live at The Note on July 31st, & "Early Man" CD

Tummler is from Champaign, IL, but call both Chicago & St. Louis home as well. I went to see them on a tip from another local band, 18 Speed Tranny, & I'm glad I did. These guys launched a heavy sonic stoner space metal attack on the audience, with strange , but excellent vocals that lie somewhere between Wino & James Hetfield. Their closing number was a longer, slower song, which was the highlight of their set for me. My friend Amy agreed, even though she was mostly there to see The Good God Damns, who were the first band to play, & were pretty good, goddamn it!

I bought Tummler's CD at the show, & it was a wise purchase. The six tracks listed are great, & the two secret bonus tracks are even greater than that. It's on Small Stone records, which pretty much tells you that you can't go wrong, right?

"

Namanax
non-local
"Monstrous"
Sometimes I want to hear songs. At other times, I just want to hear sounds. This CD satisfies that 2nd craving. Especially the 4th track, which is just fifteen seconds short of being a half-hour in length, & is a churning, droning, slowly exploding battle to the death between giant sized monsters created by rogue atoms in a nuclear nightmare gone horribly wrong. I think the Earth survives though, so it's Okay.

"

Namsilat
LOCAL
"Rapture"
Unfortunately these guys broke up & this CD doesn't even come close to revealing how awesome they were live. With nothing but vocals, one guitar, & drums -- no bass -- .these guys were one of the heaviest acts around for a the few seconds that they existed. The CD might still be available here & there, & is definitely worth having, even though it's much less heavy than the live shows. I heard a rumor that two of these guys were starting a new band called Weird Beard a few years ago, but I never heard anything else about it. Bummer.

"

Natas
non-local
"Ciudada de Brahman" & "Delmar"
Natas sounds a lot like Kyuss, only more mellow, but not too mellow, and in Spanish. The over all feel of both of these CDs is like a heavy version of Exotica music, only without the cheesy sound effects. The Natas sound is almost as if Arthur Lymon was alive, & cool, & in a really great stoner band, from Argentina. The first disc is slightly underproduced, but it still rules. Both discs, and probably anything by Natas, are must-have material.

"

Nebula
non-local
"To The Center"
A stoner rock classic. Don't shame your entire family by not owning this CD.

"

" Q "

Smoke
non-local
Self Titled & "Smoke Follows Beauty"
Smoke is my current favorite band. I burned both of these discs onto the hard drive of my Mac so that:
a) I could hear all of their songs in a row, mixed together sweetly & seamlessly by i-tunes, &
b) so that I could keep the original discs as pristine as possible.
That means I'm a geek for this band. All together, this trio dishes up 13 tracks of heavy, bluesy, stoner rock, cloaked in a thick shroud of mystery, sex depravity, & murder. Awesome vocals, ambient interludes; this shit's got it all. Both discs are still available from the band.

Space Men 3
non-local
"Alternate Mixes 1987 -89"
More mellow than the usual stoner rock stuff I play, but more rockin' than the current strains of space rock I hear these days. They remind me of the Stooges meets Brian Eno, or something like that.

"

NEW!
Spaceboy
non-local
"The Force that Holds Together a Heart Torn to Pieces"
You might think, from the title of this disc, that you're in for some sort of horrible Emo type of experience. But then, you might think, from the band name, the cover artwork, and song titltes like "Strange New Powers" & "Pot Hybernation" that maybe you're in for a trippy droney space-rock ride. But then you might notice that it's produced by Billy Anderson, so you know it's gots to be HEAVY. Well, Spaceboy ain't Emo, that's for sure, and it ain't space-rock either, even though it has some awesome spaced-out moments. This four song EP is very heavy, and abbrasive, and most enjoyable indeed.

"

NEW!
Spiritual Beggars
non-local
"On Fire"
DAMN. There is SO much good rock and roll from Europe. I didn't even realize, when I bought this CD, that the singer is the guy from Grand Magus, one of my favorite bands of all-time. This disc only sounds like GM sometimes -- "Young Man, Old Soul" for example -- but it rocks from beginning to end. As compared to GM, it's generally faster & funkier, and it has an organ throughout, which I always dig.

"

The Summer People
non-local
Self Titled
You know how with some bands, you can say, like, "They'd be awesome if they only had a better singer..." or "They just need a good producer, or sound guy..." or whatever? Well, The Summer people just need a good artist to do the front cover of their CD to achieve stoner rock greatness. The fuzz bass, psychedelic leads, spacey moments, and Fu Man Chu-y vocals are ALL GOOD & place these guys solidly in the Stoner Rock catagory, but this cover art has indie-rock cut-out bin written all over it. It's a good thing they sent it to me for free, because, even though the tunes rule, I never would have bought it if I saw it in a store. So, don't YOU be fooled by the cover: if you see it, buy it!

"