If the size of the crowd for Gigi Dover’s solo CD release party is any indication, she may see her on CMT before you know it. Dover, the raven-haired chanteuse of the Rank Outsiders, released her new solo album, Unpicked Flowers, Friday night at the Double Door. The record is a push for the big time for Gigi, and it showed in the gig accoutrements. The brick area behind the stage was draped with cloth, and a large poster of a cat-like Gigi placed front (well, back) and center. Gigi, not to be outdone, was dressed in. . .actually, I have no idea what she was wearing, as I couldn’t see past the cowboy hat-wearing folks in front of me. Ordinarily, this would have been enough to set me off — like I’ve said, if you ain’t punchin’ dogies and it ain’t rainin, you don’t need to wear a hat, especially indoors. No matter, however. It was frottage city from front to back — I did so much rubbing from the entrance to the bathrooms in the rear, I had the urge to light up a post-coital cigarette. No matter, however. Dover’s got a voice that rubs you the right way, even if you can’t see her. — Tim C. Davis
One Man’s Junk. . . I had two good reasons to head out to Fat City Saturday: the show was a CD Release Party for the ever-evolving Superficials, and it was also be a temporary homecoming for a former well-known local, percussionist Kris Krull. Krull, though, has landed a gig touring with David J (ex-Love & Rockets) and couldn’t make the show, but his band from Richmond, Red Lady 21, showed up and provided a good opening set, along with jokingly accusing Krull of living it up in posh hotels. During the set break, I took a quick venture up North Davidson St. Pat’s Tavern is never a disappointment. It’s an odd little, longtime neighborhood joint were the motto’s gotta be “the more bizarre, the better.” A quirky outfit named The Side were playing in the adjoining 23 Studio — a little rough around the edges, but with plenty of potential. Down on the corner, The Evening Muse was packed full of folks for a show with Baleen — the club’s nicely sized windows came in handy. Back down at Fat City, the club’s main room was filled with friends and fans of The Superficials, who have a buzz going on in Nashville, and with good reason. The acoustic duo have evolved into a rockin’ trio and not many people left disappointed. Club owner K.C. Terry was an exception, though. With Krull a no-show, Terry was stuck with a pile of makeshift instruments (note: junk) he had spent the day collecting for the junk-funk master. — Lynn Farris
Running for Mayer: We encountered shades of early Mayermania Saturday at a sold out Tremont Music Hall. If you haven’t heard of John Mayer and you’re under 25, you’re in the minority. A singer/songwriter touring on the strength of his latest album, Room for Squares, Mayer’s sell out of Tremont doesn’t seem like a big deal until you realize that Iggy Pop didn’t sell out his last show there, for chrissakes. So who is this house-filler? A guy with a street buzz with the kiddies unseen since the likes of the Fab Four, at least in the Southeastern US. Walking in, I heard of a couple from New Jersey turned down for tickets. Maybe it’s just me, but would you drive down from frickin’ New Jersey to see a show you didn’t have tickets to? As far as Mayer goes, color me impressed. Now, it’s not that hard to consistently impress a bunch of 16-year-old girls who know all the lyrics to your songs, but I noticed more than a few older chaps there, and all of them seemed to know the damn words too! Talk about feeling outdated at 29. Mayer’s a good name for this guy, as he could probably beat Pat McCrory 2-1 if they’d lower the voting age. And at least this time our mayor could actually be a frat boy instead of just looking and acting like one. — Tim C. Davis
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2002.
