Also this issue:

Positive Charge
For all the controversy, Steve Earle's Jerusalem ends on a profoundly optimistic note.
-Sam Adams

Star Power
Homer Jackson's Dogon PM finds art and science under the same sky.
-Patrick Rapa

Joe Kim
-Patrick Rapa

The Capital City Dusters
-Paul Burress

Engine Down
-John Vettese

Pleasure Club
-A.D. Amorosi

Smog
-Paul Burress

DJ Garth
-Sean O’Neal

November 21-27, 2002

musicpicks

GZA

Look at the Wu-Tang Clan like your typical slightly dysfunctional family. RZA is the patriarch. There's Ol' Dirty Bastard, the crazy uncle. Method Man and Ghostface Killah are the favorite sons. So where does that leave GZA (a.k.a. Genius)? Most likely he's the wise and aged grandfather -- but he's also the secret weapon. The oldest member of the Clan and one of its founders (along with his cousins, RZA and ODB), GZA not only brought lyrical skill, but was instrumental in creating a lot of the Wu-Tang mythology. He directed many of the Clan's videos, but didn't really step out of the shadows until he dropped his second solo release, Liquid Swords. With this album, GZA (aided by the RZA's ingenuous production) created a masterpiece showcasing his fluid, stream-of-consciousness microphone skills. The follow-ups, Beneath the Surface and Legend of the Liquid Sword (MCA) due out soon, just reaffirm why GZA is considered one of the most verbally deadly members of the Clan.

Mon., Nov. 25, 8 p.m., $18-$20, with J-Live, The TLA, 334 South St., 215-336-2000.

—Paul Burress