December 2- 8, 2004

hearhere

by Patrick Rapa

It's time we cleared up a few things around here:

1. The Donuts are not a joke. Yes, they've got some silly lyrics and goofball stage names (Johnny Taint, J. Bearclaw et al.). And, OK, yes, they like to duct tape their CDs to boxes of Krispy Kremes before delivering them to newspaper offices. But, they're also contenders. The brand new Buckley (Chapter 7) is a twangy, smart-ass rock 'n' roll record where just about every track hovers around the two-minute mark. Want more adjectives? Neil Young-ian. Cracker-ish. Elvis Costello-esque. Get up close to the stage at the CD-release party on Saturday and scream for "Shake" — it's a straight-up power-pop anthem with no punchline.
Sat., Dec. 4, 9 p.m., $8, Mondo Topless and THIS, North Star, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808.

2. Kitty Kat Dirt Nap is also no joke. Let's call this West Philly/Bucks County five-piece eccentric. Their second CD, I Am A Robot, I Am Talking Like A Robot, I Am A Robot (Wonkavision), is an emo-pop hurricane. Everything's all bop-like-a-Muppet peppy and charming, with catchy keyboard hooks, boy-girl harmonies and lyrics about bliss and frustration. And damn if "Getting Caught Enjoying Phil Collins" doesn't crib the chorus from "Sussudio." You can laugh, but it's no joke.
Sat., Dec. 4, 5 p.m., $7, with Scream! Hello, Denver in Dallas and Colossal, The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298.

3. Marah is friends with Nick Hornby. They will read and sing to each other. Then somebody will get drunk, and it will get ugly.
Wed., Dec. 8, 8 p.m., $20, North Star, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808.

4. Space is not infinite. In fact, the universe is contracting. Especially the newspaper part of the universe. See, every week we think of all kinds of stuff we'd like to do with the music section that just won't fit. (And yes, we've tried printing two articles on top of each other — it looks like hell, seriously.)
But the Web, oh man, the Web is huge. So that's where we'll make our stand. Starting now (actually starting last week, only we didn't tell anybody because we're shy), we'll be updating our Web site as often as we can with concert reviews. At least a couple times a week. Only let's not call it a blog, because that sounds like something Jabba The Hutt would eat. And Jabba The Hutt died a long, long time ago. The page to bookmark is www.citypaper.net/sceneandheard/.