CRUSHIN’: Sometimes it seems we’ve reached a
plateau in music. No new sound in how long? And these days, we’re
even apparently reverting back to ’80s Brit-punk with an
alternative flare. But Chicago’s Crush Kill
Destroy
deviates from the norm and fuses its own style
into a twisted synergy of melody and dark distortion. Dueling
guitars — one melodic, one heavy-distortion — compete and peak
without exploding, and finally fuse into an oddly harmonious duo.
Lyrics come at you reminiscent of passionate despair in a red room,
while drums and bass play accompaniment. Although somewhat dark,
this band is not the death-metal thrash you might think by hearing
the name. “Jazz” wouldn’t come close either, but guitarists,
bassist, drummer, and singer alike all get their respective times
to shine, although perhaps not necessarily in solo form. Crush Kill
Destroy will certainly please the live-show enthusiasts, so go see
’em at The Hard to Find in Goleta tonight, Thursday, April 13.
Opening for them will be S.B.’s own Springtime Is
Wartime
, The Hero and the Victor, and
Whispertip. — Hudson Hornick

DON’T BE SHY: Los Angeles natives The
Colour
recently embarked on a headlining tour of the West
Coast with their musical compatriots, The Shys,
including stints on the infamous SXSW tour circuit of the South.
They’ve returned to California with their signature styles of
blues-influenced rock ’n’ roll. The Colour brings a glint of glam
to their work, barely falling across the threshold of disco punk,
while maintaining a solid rock sensibility. The Shys, on the other
hand, are more of the straightforward, cut-and-dry, nuevo-Rolling
Stones variety of rock ’n’ roll. Both bands, with extensive touring
under their rhinestone encrusted belts, promise to put on a
rollicking good show, so check ’em when they play at SOhO tonight,
Thursday, April 13. — Rebecca Riley

KOREA IS COOL: UCSB welcomes Chicago-based
Korean singer/songwriter Jenny Choi’s brainchild
tour “Asians In Rock” to its campus as part of the
AS Program Board’s series of free concerts under Storke Tower. The
AIR tour is designed to highlight the talented Asians of indie rock
who are helping to redefine contemporary American music, as well as
to shatter the stereotypes of Asian Americans as a silent, “model
minority.” Choi and AIR come to Storke Plaza on Monday, April 17.
— HH

TALES OF A HIPPIEGRAPHIC YES MAN: High-voiced
Yes man Jon Anderson made his way
to SOhO in solo mode recently, but this was no unplugged,
man-and-his-guitar affair. Generally relying on a MIDI guitar to
trigger sounds (sometimes sounding rather last-century), elaborate
projections (onstage “videos,” full of melting landscape imagery
and cosmic debris), and mystical symbols/logos flanking the stage,
Anderson — an Arroyo Grande resident — worked up a diverse musical
menu, from the Yes songbook to solo work and his on-and-off confab
with Vangelis. Old Yes songs, including “And You
and I,” “Yours Is No Disgrace,” “Turn of the Century,” and
“Starship Trooper,” sounded sweet yet truncated, sans the
“progressive” band parts. Meanwhile, the ’80s-era Yes hit “Owner of
a Lonely Heart” sounded better alone, minus the irritating poppy
production gloss. Anderson’s warm-hearted values, as a pacifistic
hippie lifer, surfed the tide of quasi new-age sentiments, but with
a heart in the right place and a voice instantly identifiable as a
classic rock sound for a generation or two. — Josef
Woodard

PLAYING FOR PEACE: Repeatedly voted Santa
Barbara’s best local band by the Santa Barbara News-Press,
Antara and Delilah will be playing a Benefit
Concert for Peace at the Santa Barbara Yoga Center this Saturday,
April 15, with guest star Peter Gallway. Helping
raise money to send a delegation to the World Peace Forum Society
that is organizing in Vancouver this year, these bands are playing
to “end war and build a peaceful, just, and sustainable world.” The
show starts at 8 p.m. Call 252-9585. — HH

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