lee (11/21/82)
From: Lee.Moore
The following is a review of Wall of Voodoo's concert at the U.
of Rochester on 11/13/82. It is submitted to this group because
of recent interest in their new album: "Call of the West".
"Wall of Voodoo Review"
by Chris Schepp
from: Downtown, the Unbound Magazine
Waiting until darkness, fully enshrouded, the U of R campus
(around Midnight) the Wall of Voodoo brought their peculiarly
onerous synth/tech sounds to a few hundred musically knowledge-
able fans at the MDC dining center last Saturday night.
Lead singer, Stannard Ridgway, conjured deep inside the dark
recesses and twisted folds of his mind, allowing his strange
manner and stage presence to emerge. Like an anxious speed
freak, clutching his microphone into claustrophobic hyper-
sociopathic extentialism with their songs creating black holes of
fuzzy gyrating musical pin-jabs like bass-leaden synthesized
jagged construction workers in business suits tunneling into the
spinal cord.
First, an odd percussive line acting as rope ladder invitational
sounding very much like a far-away machine crumbling from the
electronic genius of mentor Joe Nanini.
Never expecting much from the majority of California's musical
quagg, Wall of VOODOO offered a tremendous relief with a blend of
wild instrumentals and spiritually inspired seamless narcotic vi-
sions through electronic walls of expression often songs were
violent and urgent while others flood hyperactive to claustropho-
bic office space. Hal isn't there. And neither were pop music
diggers, for WALL of VOODOO offered up as musical selections
"LOST WEEKEND", "CALL OF THE WEST"- new L.P. title cut, long
standing, "LONG ARM" "ANIMAL WARS" and at the request of the au-
dience, "BACK IN FLESH".
The wonderfully abrasive guitar strums and anxious metronomic
percussive tracks were a refreshing change to afficionados of
valid music.
C.J.S.
AND NOW THE SPOOK LADY REVIEWS THE FASHIONS AT THE ABOVE CONCERT:
Lots of red Dorothy shoes in evidence. We noticed plenty of
1940's black crepe and silk slinking around the old ball room.
To be sure, the old cashmere sweats were there too, but the best
was the chick in the bee outfit.
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Side note: 1) the show was put on by the campus radio station: WRUR-FM
(88.5) in conjunction with Siren Productions. This is the third
show that has been done by this duo, the last concert being "The Blasters".
2) The above review was typed word for word with only small spelling
fixes. 3) I think their music is somewhat depressing but "wall" is
definitely a good descriptive term. I wouldn't be surprised if their
cut "Mexican Radio" makes it on commercial stations... but I wouldn't
be surprised if it didn't, either.djo (12/05/82)
Please put reviews of live shows in net.music. I understand that is where they should be and that is where I look for them. I'm very interested in them and don't often read net.records.