April 7-13, 2005

mixpicks

Charmed

Photo By: debra koval

poetry/music

According to Oakland-based "nerdy-sexy-commie-girly" a cappella/poetry group Charming Hostess, life is complicated, but not too complicated for words. Atop a foundation of handclaps and breathy vocal percussion, Jewlia Eisenberg and co. build their fiery, festive voices into soulful, passionate crescendos. Sarajevo Blues, their most recent CD, is a multilingual exploration of worldviews (African and Bosnian among them) that never settles for the simplicity of an activist's slogan. In "Death Is a Job," a man with a newspaper on his head flees across an intersection and contemplates who he hates more: the Chetnik snipers who've set their sights on him, or the huddled mass of photographers hoping to turn the moment into a Pulitzer. Then — still running, we presume — he ponders which group has more to gain from his death. Of course, there is no answer. "Life has been narrowed down completely, reduced to gestures," Eisenberg belts out over a catchy pop groove. But it's still too complex to make sense on a bumper sticker.

Charming Hostess, Thu., April 7, 7:30 p.m., $8, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475.

—Patrick Rapa