Refreshments Play Outback’s On Skyrocketing Ride To Success
What are the Refreshments, one of rock’s most considerable new bands of 1996, doing playing Monday night at Outback Jack’s for a cut of the cover charge?
“Good question,” guitarist Brian Blush said from his Sacramento hotel room Wednesday. “When this tour was booked, basically we were doing OK, but it wasn’t like it is now,” he said of the Tempe, Ariz., band’s sudden rise. “It seems to have changed pretty quickly, like three weeks or so.
“Club shows are still a lot of fun, actually,” said Blush. “We played at a pretty small place here in Sacramento, and it was one of those sweaty good times.”
“Banditos,” the first single from The Refreshments’ major-label debut, “Fizzy Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy,” has launched the band into the stratosphere. Last week, the song was hovering just outside of the Top 10 for both modern album tracks and album rock tracks.
There’s virtually no escaping the song; it’s everywhere. Flip on the radio or MTV and you’re bound to hear the song’s sticky chorus, “Everybody knows/ that the world is full of stupid people/ so meet me at the mission/ we’ll divvy up there.”
“Banditos,” a tale of robbing banks in Mexico, could very easily become the hottest hit of the summer. But there’s always danger of the song being overexposed.
“I think the album has a lot of strong cuts on it so I’m not worried about that at the moment. I’m an instant gratification kind of guy so I would love to move onto another single. But the song is doing pretty well so I don’t think the record company is going to let up on it.”
The Refreshments will be on the road for most of the summer. But they won’t be doing it in a beat-up van. No, they’re traveling in the comfort of Motley Crue’s old bus.
“You’ve got to see it,” Blush laughed. “It was the one that was in the ‘Home Sweet Home’ video. It says ‘rockin’ and rollin” on the front. It’s hilarious.
“For the record, we had it reupholstered and recarpeted before we ever got in it.”
Music starts at 9:30 p.m. The cover is a bargain $4. Bring your I.D.
Muscle car music
If you’re after musical hot rods this weekend, check out Zeke and the Fumes, who will drag head-to-head at Ichabod’s North tonight and again at Westminster Congregational Church (corner of Fourth and Washington) on Saturday.
Before Zeke spun its cheater slicks all over the country, the three-piece unit made Spokane a regular pit stop and garnered a respectable following with its three-chord rubber-burning, flame-throwing rock ‘n’ roll.
Yes, spending a night with Zeke is much more exciting than sitting in the stands at Spokane Raceway Park.
The Fumes make wrapping your car around a telephone pole a rewarding adventure, as indicated by their new album “Self-Appointed Guardian of the Machine.” Appropriately, the album’s art consists of some pretty gruesome auto wrecks.
The show also marks the Fumes first since the band returned from its West Coast tour in April.
Musical drag racing roars at 9:30 p.m. tonight. The Deadbeats and the Monas are also on the bill. The cover is $4. Bring your I.D. and your ear plugs.
Field’s of Stuff, featuring ex-Filth singer Jacob Sayles, and the Deadbeats join the Fumes and Zeke at the all-ages show Saturday. Showtime’s at 8 p.m. Admission is $3.
Forever blue
Last year, I was hammered by a reader for not mentioning the Lloyd Jones Struggle in my review of Robert Cray’s 1995 concert at the Masonic Temple.
Whoops.
The reader was right; Jones deserved a review. After all, by opening for Cray, whom the majority of the people came to see, he had a difficult task.
Even with his hands full, the Portland blues musician managed to drive home an exceptional show.
Jones brings his blues revue back to the Lilac City on Saturday with a performance at the Ugly Rumors Lounge in the Mars Hotel.
I tried to link up with Jones for a phone interview while he was on tour in Canada. Instead, we played phone tag.
But here’s what he had to say on my voice mail:
“As far as what’s going on lately with us, we just returned from a great trip to B.B. King’s club (it’s called B.B. King’s) in L.A. We had a wonderful night and got an open invitation to come back.
“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Spokane. Everybody was awfully kind when we played there with Cray.”
Jones is currently peddling a hot new album called “Trouble Monkey.”
Advance tickets are $10 and are available at the Mars Hotel. It’s $12 at the door.
Eclectic stew at Northern Corner
Ever heard of Vitapup?
Perhaps not; the New York band has never played here before and its independently released records haven’t wandered into any local record shops.
Tuesday at the Northern Corner, you’ll get your chance to hear this terrific band. And take my advice, go see them.
Vitapup performs punk, hardcore, jazz, spoken-word and hip-hop all at the same time. Thus, the threesome yields the kind of music that the term “alternative” was originally intended.
Not only is this trio open-minded when it comes to music, but Vitapup members are also equally as unbiased when it comes to songs’ subject matter. They discuss a number of controversial topics, such as sexual politics, social infrastructure and corrupt politicians, and they do it without restating the obvious. Further, despite the orientation of its material, Vitapup maintains a sense of idealism in its message.
At the show, you can pick up the band’s debut album, “An Hour with Vitapup.” Believe me, you’ll want to spend more than just an hour with the group.
All-girl trio Nodge opens.
Music starts at 10 p.m. The cover is just $2.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NIGHTWATCH PICKS Best bets at area clubs: FRIDAY: Fumes, Zeke, Deadbeats, Monas at Ichabod’s North SATURDAY: Lloyd Jones at Ugly Rumors; Fumes, Zeke, Fields of Stuff, Deadbeats at Westminster Congregational Church MONDAY: The Refreshments at Outback Jack’s TUESDAY: Vitapup and Nodge at the Northern Corner