Sound Menu October 28 2000 Thur

THU/OCTOBER 26
Noted acts
BIG SKY — The Gainesville, Fla., septet has been building an audience in the Southeast with endless touring and energetic shows. They're a high energy, low maintenance band, bound to please the non-discriminating, fun-loving, beer-drinking youth of today. Fans of Sister Hazel and the whole Gator scene shouldn't be disappointed. Hey, it ain't art, y'know? Smith's Olde Bar (Smith)
PINKEYE — See Earshot. Dottie's (Smith)
BAD RELIGION, THE PROMISE RING — The old guard aren't done making their rounds yet. Bad Religion return, off the ill-suited Blink-182 tour, to perform some old-school punk rock '80s style (albeit a bit slower) that's edging on '70s progressive rock with tinkering by Todd Rundgren on the new material. And while it's an embarrassing stretch for the Promise Ring's indie label to market these unremarkable Milwaukee pop/punkers as "moving closer to defining the sound of a generation," on their new EP, I can enthusiastically report that they have trashed their "emo-core" and have embraced the crunchy three chord, three minute pop-song. Cute, wry, intermittently humorous lyrics and dorky vocals however don't make up for songs that sound almost identical. Not as annoying as Weezer, but getting there. Tabernacle (Ware/Horowitz)
REX HOBART & THE MISERY BOYS, DEANNA VARAGONA — See Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys review, p. 113. Touring in support of her first solo release Tangled Messages, Varagona sheds her Lambchop wool and steps to center stage, exposing her Appalachian roots with spare instrumentation and slightly twisted tales. Like the Smoky Mountains of her native eastern Tennessee, Varagona's slow and dark alt-country droop is at once both foreboding and beautiful. Although her momentarily excitable vocals can be an overly aggressive complement to her lolling, haunting musical accompaniment, Varagona moves in that "lost country soul" tradition with heartbreaking poise. Star Bar (Kelly/Hutchinson)
CHRIS WHITLEY, SHIVAREE — Like Richard Thompson, Jeff Buckley or Curtis Mayfield, singer/songwriter Chris Whitley is a different kind of guitar hero. Deeply steeped in the blues, Whitley uses his considerable guitar skills to paint sonic landscapes, spotlighting his highly impressionist lyrics and impassioned vocals. His latest effort, Perfect Day, is a top-notch covers album featuring new takes on tunes by Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Howlin' Wolf. Shivaree released one of last year's most overlooked debut albums. The last time they played here, though, the band turned brooding into boring, with only tall, lithe lead vocalist/storyteller Ambrosia Parsley showing any glint of life on stage. And even she looked like she'd rather have been somewhere else. Planet Jam Cotton Club (Thompson/Horowitz)
ZRAZY, ANGELA MOTTER — Jazzy duo Zrazy started life as a dance/techno band with Celtic poetry and gay themes. The band has matured with their latest release, Private Wars, a cozy and intimate collection of mellow tunes. Just back from her Queerstock tour, opening act Motter will muster some muscular blues-rock music during her opening set at 8 p.m. Eddie's Attic (Smith)
Also performing

9 LIVES SALOON: Braveheart (Bitch), The Evils, Lonesome Heart Jubilee, Hung
40 WATT CLUB-ATHENS: Melt Banana, Jucifer
AFTER DARK CABARET: The Hooplas
ARTUR'S-DUNWOODY: Kim Rushing and Tony Winston Jazz Duo
BILLY'S: Brian Jones
BLIND WILLIE'S: Francine Reed and the Shadows
BLUE RACCOON: Mark Kramer and Houndog Handsome
BRANDYHOUSE: Hannaward Pass
BRIDGES: Paula Harris and Doug Jervey
THE BRIGHT SPOT: Karaoke
CAJUN KITCHEN: Ghost Trane
THE CHAMBER: Club Fetish
CHIP'S-WINDER: The Robert Charles Blues Band
CHURCHILL GROUNDS JAZZ CAFÉ: Jerry Fields and Vecinos del Mundo
CJ'S LANDING: Anitra Holley, Mike Lee
COSMOPOLITAN: Jackson Rohm
PLANETJAM COTTON CLUB: Chris Whitley, Shivaree
DARK HORSE TAVERN : 1401, Ghost Town, The Wood
DARWIN'S: The Organ Donors
DOTTIE'S: Pink Eye, Trash Candies, Born to Please
THE EARL: High on Fire
EDDIE'S ATTIC: Zrazy, Angela Motter
FAT MATT'S RIB SHACK: Chickenshack
FRONT PAGE NEWS: Tommy Thompson
FUEL: DJs Marc-Alan Gray, Levi, Alex King and Justin
FUZZY'S: Donnie McCormick
KILLER CREEK: Showtyme Jazz Duo
MARY'S: Music videos with DJ Jigsaw
MASQUERADE: Old wave in Hell
NORTHSIDE TAVERN: The Breeze Kings
POPPERS: Steve Hawkins
RIB SHACK BLUES CAFÉ: Eric Austin's Blues Band jam night
SAMBUCA JAZZ CAFÉ: Salsa Thursday
THE SHACK: Phoenix
SMITH'S OLDE BAR: Big Sky, Drifting Through
SOMBER REPTILE: The Rocking Pontoons
STAR BAR-L5P: Rex Hobart, Deanna Vargonna
SWEET MELISSA'S-DECATUR: Open-mic night
THE TABERNACLE: Bad Religion, The Promise Ring
TASTY WORLD-ATHENS: 8-Track Gorilla, Japancakes
WHISKER'S TAVERN-DUNWOODY: The Stacey James Band
WILD WING CAFÉ: Tim Breaks and the Alien Sharecroppers
WOODEN NICKEL: Angry Monkey Project