BIKE PSYCHED
Warehouse 21 is throwing a benefit for a local non-profit bicycle co-op and, if we don't attend it, we're a bunch of punk-ass losers.
First, there's the music, starting with Noceros (pronounced like the tail-end of the word "rhinoceros.") Judging from the band's semi-proggy sound, Noceros probably wouldn't like being described in any particular way, but here goes: The group sounds bigger than the four people who make it up. Guitarist David Hevener (disclosure: he's an SFR classified ad rep), bassist James Bixler, drummer Nick Petree and guitarist Sean Miller mix a heady brew of prog-rock metal, the guitars this side of shreddy, layered and stewy with tempo shifts and just a touch of noise. The crew evokes bits of early Sonic Youth and contemporary Comets on Fire, in a way that convinces you there are more than four people playing in the band.
It's not for everyone, but you'd be surprised how accessible and borderline poppy Noceros' output is considering their cerebral approach to music. This is a band Santa Fe needs.
As long as prog rock is back in vogue, supergroups might as well be too, and the treat of the night will be Santa Fe supergroup In the Belly of the Whale, featuring members of I Heart Metal, (Don't Shoot Noah!), The Battle's End, Blackwater Flood, The Cherry Tempo, Makeshift, Bravura Corvid and Knife the Hero. With this montage of punk, pop, prog and peculiar musicians, we're looking at a big, fat, beautiful potential mess. This is a band Santa Fe needs too. More importantly, this is a band that proves we've got talent here, dammit, enough to fill out a supergroup side project with room to spare.
Reason #2 we're a bunch of punk-ass losers if we don't attend: For every adult who's put off by mohawks and stinky rock kids, for those who think the under-18 crowd just goes to W21 to smoke cigarettes and be skinny and act petulant, there's nothing like a good ol' non-profit to prove you wrong. The Chainbreaker collective is a group of youngish folks who recycle old bikes by repairing them and giving them away. According to its Web site,
, the group "believe[s] in empowerment through education, the active deconstruction of social inequalities, humane economics and sustainable ecology," all through promoting the use of bikes, "a community-friendly means of transportation." So there, Mom and Dad, your kids are up to some good.
WORLD MUSIC
More evidence of the kids are alright variety: Saturday night I popped by the One World coffee shop (1810 Second St., 983-0407) and, maybe it was the spicy, tasty hot chocolate, but my belly was warmed by the charming digs and the popularity of the place. One World was opened by a bunch of kids at Santa Fe High, Santa Fe Prep and Monte del Sol Charter School-it was their idea and it's their operation-soley to provide a cool spot to hang out, and to do so responsibly by promoting fair trade products. And they've succeeded on both fronts. The decor is simple and funky, spare wooden chairs and big tables, a few magazines and local publications stacked neatly to the side. The menu and operation also proved elemental-coffee drinks, tea, maté, a little of the aforementioned cocoa, little nosh-y things, all supplied by a single, well-mannered teenaged boy (Disclosure again: It was my landlords' kid. Hey, it's a small town!). A steady stream of locals made their way in and out in a mellow kind of way. It's the perfect coffee shop, all the more so because its the brainchild of young'uns.
One World occasionally hosts shows, and if you want to kill two birds with one stone and check out the espresso and some fierce songwriting, go to the Shelby Sifers show at 8 pm, Saturday, Feb. 11 (no cover). Sifers is no ordinary coffeeshop singer-songwriter doing Tracey Chapman covers in the corner; she writes stunning songs. OK, she writes
weird
and stunning songs, with delicate lyrics and imminently likeable, but not cloying, melodies, reminiscent of the recent weird and stunning output of the nouveau post-folk scene in California (Joanna Newsome comes to mind). Sifers will play on the same bill as Paul Collins, a local promoter from College of Santa Fe who booked K Records' founder Calvin Johnson show a few months ago, which leads me to believe he's gonna rock.
STILL ROLLING
Finally, for those looking for conversation on the opposite side of the age spectrum, how 'bout them Rolling Stones? I don't know if my musical soul is about 20 years older than the rest of me, but I have such a thing for Mick et. al that I feel compelled to release a spurt of lavish praise.
Look, we all know Mick can't hit the notes he once could, we all know that Charlie Watts looks like he'd rather be hitting himself in the head with a hammer than hitting his drums, and we all know the Superbowl halftime extravaganza is filled with more cheese than the fare at a Canyon Road gallery opening, but this was the best halftime show in years. I'm sorry, but in his 60s, Sir Mick can still shake his British-ass tailfeathers better than any 20-something raver and, after so many years, the band still nails the songs rather than phoning them in. Think about it: Before you hop up from the couch to grab another Miller Lite, would you rather be subjected to the greatest band of all time, or another tepid, lip-synched performance by Nelly and Britney Spears? To put it in football terms: You make the call.
