Kula Shaker Peasants, Pigs, & Astronauts Columbia / Sony / J = W The Hip Get “Something On” by Michelle Dubuc The energy could be felt all day long: the University halls buzzed with it, the radio rocked with it, the pubs filled with it, and the bands saw it all and fed on it. The end result was a killer perfor- -—_ i Tragical ly Hip, with guests By Divine Right. Apparently some of the audience was _ still engaged in pre-concert k> ee zebrahead “WASTE OF sie The Shakers are back and they aren't planning on leaving their legacy behind anytime soon. Always a politically motivated band, Kula Shaker hasn't changed their style much since their last release. They are more or less giving us more of the same great noise which we have come to expect of them. This isn't, however, to say that everything with they produce sounds alike. One of the things which has kept the Shakers successful for so long is the fact that they are capable of a great and diverse quantity of musical sounds and styles. Much of their sound style seems to emanate from the great bands which marked a turning point in the history of rock music and spawned the alternative title. Zebrahead Waste of Mind Columbia / Sony R&B Rock and Roll. This isn't a common mixture, and it takes a certain type of individual to pull it off. Zebrahead did it. This versa- tile five piece uses a unique style of opening with R&B lyrics, rhyming their way to the chorus of the song. The choruses are all rhythm rock, leaving the listener believing that and Garfunkle, Pink Floyd, and The Doors just to name a few, have no doubt con- tributed to the massively "made to suit" tunes which accompany the lyrics of Kula Shaker. The lyrics are why Kula Shaker has gathered such a cult following. Although their sound is unconventional, their lyrics are even more so. A political band, Kula Shaker can often be found spearing society in the side and attacking varying aspects of the life which we take for granted every day. Take for example "SOS," where they open the song with “Blood Transfusion, Revolution/Satellites on Mars/Man has become the spawn of Satan/Driving ‘round in cars.". They then continue to try and explain this reasoning, they are at a Killjoys concert with Sonic Youth backing them up. They have a revolutionary Style, it isn't surprising. Really just a hybrid form of different musical styles, Zebrahead snatches the R&B style of rhyme lyrics but leaves the usual drum and bass background behind. Instead, in a captivating manner, they meld it to the very DNA of rock music, blending each guitar note with the lyrical maze which they choose to lead the listener through. That said, Zebrahead doesn't In Prince George but leave the full interpretation up to the lis- tener. Aside from the political side of Kula Shaker, they also have a very sensual side, where they speak of love and emotion in a manner not lost upon their customized music. There is a lot to say about this band and probably the best way to find out about why Kula Shaker has such a loyal fol- lowing is to simply listen to the tunes they produce for yourself. The key is that they have found a way to mix the emotion con- tained in music with the emotion in their lyrics, making for a quality where one can delve into their music and become lost in its emotion and meaning. stop there. They don't choose to stick to one style of rock. They instead blend a great variety of sounds together including latin, industrial and punk. Quick paced and capitally sound sensational, Zebrahead isn't content with conforming to conven- tional sounds as they exist already. Instead, they are blending their own Style of music and offering us the best of two musical worlds. festivities at the begin- ning of the show, as a large proportion of seats were still empty when BDR took the stage at 7:30 p.m. Too bad for them, because Br D, ak rocked into their set with "Goodbye Paralyzer" (the next single?) and didn't stop until , their set 2 was over. * These guys have an infectious, fun-loving sound and boundless energy with which to belt out their tunes. They were an ideal opening act for the Hip, and with the fan-base they must have created with this tour, they'll be a force in Canadian music for some time to come. By the end of the inter- mission the Multiplex was overflowing - an empty seat could not be found among the hordes of anx- ious Hip-heads. As the Hip took the stage a sur- real feeling filled the air, like at this moment one finally realized the Tragically Hip were going to play Prince George. Then Gordon Downie exclaimed in his charac- teristically manic manner, "There's something on!" and with that the Hip broke the unreality and began their set. "Something On" started the concert off nicely. Its one of those Hip songs that rocks without rocking out, and by making the first few songs mellower and working into the more energetically charged melodies, they worked the dumbfounded crowd up with it. By the time they launched into Courage there was no turning back; the crowd was at a constant roar and the Tragically Hip ina rhythm that demanded their maximum output while still making the whole thing look easy. Gordon wasn't much into audience interaction, but that was all right - instead he put his energy into the show, gyrating crazily and adding his sometimes brilliant sometimes ram- bling but always interest- ing monologues to the songs. I'm sure these were especially treasured by the pot-smokers in the crowd; security was very tight but this was a Hip concert after all, and one could smell more than one hazy whiff of pot smoke float by during the performance. The Hip blessed us with two encores; the standard one, and one more that was well earned by an incredibly loud, very per- sistent PG crowd. The first encore featured a great extended version of New Orleans is Sinking, the song most concert- goers had been salivating for all day’ The second encore seemed to Sur- prise the band, and they rewarded our persistence with a stunningly beauti- ful rendition of Wheat Kings. With the venue bathed in blue light and studded with waving lighters, | think this was the highlight of the show. It was over all too soon, but the Hip played a gen- erously long set and did a good job of playing from all their albums. The problem with a Hip show is that the next day you want another one; they have too many great songs. Some bands have only 2 albums and so in going to a concert you pretty much get the entire track list. These veterans, however, have 8 albums and every one is a Canadian classic. Maybe we can see more when the next tour rolls around. Just hopefully this time we won't have to petition as hard.