Alt-Nation: WBRU Rock Hunt Champions Torn Shorts The highest compliment I can give this year’s WBRU Rock Hunt is that in the anxious minutes before the midnight announcement, there was no clear-cut winner. All the bands played to their strengths, so I could see the announcement going any which way. The Brother Kite brought their shimmering Brit-pop infused A-game. Torn Shorts picked up where they left off in semi-finals with a solid start that once again won the room over. Kid Mountain impressed, but by the end of their set things started to get a little generic sounding in the vein of something like the band Fun or other modern rock bands of the same ilk. Lolita Black singer, Scarlett Delgado, addressed those who thought that their band was too heavy for commercial rock radio by saying, “A lot of people also said that at one time about the band that wrote this next song.” Lolita Black then proceeded to do a blistering cover of Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissings.” Lolita Black dropped the hammer with a ferocious eruption of metal-infused punk rock with Delgado pulling out all the stops, including crowd surfing at one point. When the confetti did rain down, so did plenty of boos as Torn Shorts was crowned the champion. This was more a product of the competitiveness of the event than anything Torn Shorts did. The bands were good, and there is going to be passionate people on different sides. Torn Shorts has a lot going on; I’ve heard people describe them as a jam band, an alternative band and even classic rock. They’re pretty good, and check out Torn Shorts’ new CD release, Through the Mill. Check out the champs in person when Torn Shorts performs at AS220 on April 16th where they’ll play with Corin Ashley, Hey Ice Machine and Wash Hollow. Odds & Sods Green Day make their first appearance in Providence since probably sometime in the mid-90s at the Dunkin Donuts Center on April 9th. It’s good to see The Dunk bringing some arena rock shows to town. Ants In The Cellar, Last Remaining Pinnacle and Me After You will bring the rock ‘n’ roll thunder to AS220 on April 10th. The Spot has an epic show with Girls Guns & Glory, Consuelo’s Revenge and Smith & Weeden on April 12th. This show is a CD Release for Consuelo’s Revenge’s excellent self-titled debut that was reviewed here last week. Plumerai, Kris Hansen, Nymphidels and Daniel Ouellette & the Shobjin will be at Firehouse 13 on April 12th. The Met Café hosts the legendary Graham Parker & The Rumour on April 12th. Math The Band, Doomsday Student and Foot Soldier will play what promises to be a big night at AS220 on April 12th. Singer/Songwriter Joe Pug comes to town in support of his new album, The Great Despiser, at the Columbus Theatre on April 13th. Born Ruffians, Ravi Shavi and Moon King are at Firehouse 13 on April 14th. The Scandals, Melt Into Place and Faber are at AS220 on April 14th. Email music news to [email protected] Straight White Men at Brown University Named, “the most adventurous playwright of her generation,” by the New York Times, Obie Award winning director and playwright, Young Jean Lee, explored a new discourse in her work-in-progress Straight White Men at Brown University on Saturday night. Presented by Brown TAPS and Sock and Buskin, Lee’s project is set in the conventions of a middle-class home where three brothers and a widowed father explore racial identity, gender relations, and self- actualization. The story was set during a cozy Christmas holiday that was soon destabilized by one brother’s struggle to find purpose as a straight, white male in contemporary society. In attempt to aid his struggle each character revealed his own issue to self-actualize in a declining monocultural world. The performance compelled the audience to question forms of privilege through the patriarchy of the characters and the perspective of Lee herself. Lee explained to the Brown Daily Herald, “When starting a play I ask myself, ‘What’s the last show in the world I would ever want to make?’ Then I force myself to make it.” Lee also explained the script’s development as an “intensely collaborative” effort between the cast, crew, and direction. Lee is no stranger to addressing controversial subjects on stage. Her projects often explore identity, as evidenced in her previous works, The Untitled Feminist Show, exploring feminist ideals, The Shipment, a play examining the black identity, and Asian-American social politics in Song of the Dragons Flying to H Sock and Buskin will run “Straight White Men” April 4-7, 10-12 and 14th in the Leeds Theater at Brown University. Shows start at 8 p.m. of Fridays and Saturdays with afternoon matinees at 2 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, contact the Brown University box office at (401) 863-7552.eaven as shown on the Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company website. The dimSocialite Alt-Nation Presents an Interview with Brown Bird’s David Lamb Brown Bird – Fits of Reason Interview This has been a big week for Brown Bird with the release of their new record, Fits of Reason (Supply and Demand). Brown Bird will cap it off with a good ole hometown CD release party this Friday, April 5, at the Met Café. I spoke with half of Brown Bird’s dynamic duo, David Lamb, on the eve of the big week to find out more about the new record and what lies ahead for the band. MC: Was there anything different in the approach to writing and recording Fits of Reason compared to your earlier albums? DL: Some of it is a bit transitional just like our previous release; Salt for Salt (Supply and Demand) was an evolutional movement forward. I don’t see it as a vast departure from the earlier recordings. Our good friend and landlord, Will Schaff, who is a great local artist, did the artwork for this album and the last record too. MC: Brown Bird started as solo vehicle for your songwriting and you’ve gone through a few lineup changes to get to the current state of a two-piece with MorganEve Swain. Can you give a brief history of the band? DL: Ten years ago I was living in Maine and had decided to move to Seattle. I didn’t know anyone out there so I started playing solo under the name Brown Bird. I moved back to Maine and started to play out as Brown Bird with some old buddies as a three-piece. Then we expanded to a five-piece and went on to tour as such. After the tour, my friends had their own bands that they wanted to concentrate on and around that time I met MorganEve Swain and Brown Bird went back to being a three-piece for a couple of years. It was never really a plan to be a two-piece band but when it became so, it just felt right. MC: The list of influences for Fits of Reason is pretty eclectic – between philosophers from different points in history and ample kind of Old Testament biblical imagery. What inspires you when it comes to writing lyrics? DL: I was raised in a strict household where we were required to read the Bible every day. My father was a minister. This left me with a strong desire to seek out other points of view that I wasn’t exposed to growing up. Some of this definitely came out in the writing Fits of Reason. MC: What were your biggest musical influences growing up and today? DL: The Beatles definitely; I remember seeking out their entire catalogue. MorganEve would say the same as far as The Beatles. Then I moved on to Led Zeppelin and I remember putting on all their records and trying to learn all the drum parts. Nowadays there are a ton of artists but some of the constants are A Hawk and Hacksaw and Omar Khorshid, who’s an amazing ‘60s Egyptian surf guitarist. I also listen to a healthy dose of metal with bands like Mastodon and The Sword. We were touring with our good friend Joe Fletcher and he made a comment that I bet nobody would ever guess how much metal we listen to in the van. MC: You have a lot of touring on your plate, are there any places you’re excited about hitting up? DL: We’re really excited to take our friends, The Last Good Tooth, out on the road with us for the first leg of the tour. We’ll be going out from the record release into June in hitting the East Coast and the Midwest. As far as places, Indianapolis has always been really good for us. We play this place in Chino, California where we didn’t know what to expect but from the first song it was crazy. There is also this brewery in South Dakota that we didn’t know anything about, but we played there and had a great show too. We’re excited that we’re going to be going back there on this upcoming tour. Email music news to [email protected] Mike D’s Top Five: The Can’t Miss Shows in April By Michael Delehanty #1 Friday, April 5: Brown Bird (Fits of Reason album release), Last Good Tooth, Alec K Redfearn and The Eyesores.