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. ---------------------------------------- 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.