Far better is Kyli Forever, the Stupid Records debut of, yes, Kyli Forever, whom Wonderful describes as her protege. "Way Way Down," "Lisa," "Insanity" and "Alley Way" (as well as a more complete rendition of Wonderful's "On My Mind") are stacked upon electronic beats, but Forever uses them to her advantage rather than allowing them to use her. Her relaxed singing and deadpan lyrics are matched perfectly on songs that come and go quickly but linger considerably longer. In fact, the only thing that's wrong with Kyli Forever, as far as I can tell, is that it's on cassette, not vinyl, and therefore doesn't really belong in this column. But that's my fault, not hers (Stupid Records, 865 Northridge Road, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126).
You had to figure that the scheduling of a Smashing Pumpkins/Queens of the Stone Age date at the Ogden Theatre, rather than at an arena, would piss off thousands of people who wanted tickets but were unable to get them. But a series of snafus surrounding the peddling of passes for the Monday, April 19, concert led to more acrimony than anticipated. Typical is the account of Donna Childers, who claims to have stood outside the Ogden in the middle of a snowstorm on April 2, the day the show went on sale, only to be told that the computers had crashed, making it impossible to buy tickets there. Subsequent attempts to make a purchase online or over the phone through the Ogden's new ticketing service, Oakland-based TicketWeb, also failed, leaving Childers wishing she could smash some pumpkins--or maybe some heads.
Promoter Jesse Morreale, speaking for nobody in particular presents, which is putting on the performance, understands Childers's frustration, but he insists that the computer meltdown suffered by TicketWeb has been blown out of proportion. "There's a lot of stories that are being passed around, like people calling up radio stations and saying they were first in line and got screwed, and that's total bullshit," he says. "The people who didn't get tickets because they got there at a five o'clock [when the sale began] didn't get tickets because they got there at five o'clock."
The truth, as it turns out, is a little more complicated. Ronda Lee, who was staffing the Ogden Theatre box office on April 2, had fifty preprinted tickets on hand, and when those were gone (after just eight minutes), she was unable to access more from the computer because of difficulty with the server. For that reason, the Ogden box office was closed, leaving folks like Childers out in the cold. Patrons who went to other walk-up outlets were somewhat luckier: When the computer collapsed, early birds were given vouchers that could be exchanged for tickets later. "We had 1,200 tickets total, and we had an allotment for walkups, Internet and phones," Morreale reveals. "And that number didn't change because the server went down. There may have been a delay, but the people who got there first still got tickets."
Morreale concedes that poor communication may have led to much of the confusion over the matter, but he stops short of promising wholesale changes. "This was a fluke circumstance that gives people an excuse to complain about our ticketing service," he says, "but everything was up and running really quickly, and we sold 4,000 Allman Brothers tickets the next day without a hitch. The situation with the Pumpkins was unfortunate, but these things happen."
Feeling better, Ms. Childers? I didn't think so.
On Friday, April 16, the Boulder Theater is hosting "Millions for Mumia," a benefit for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist whose presence on death row has long been denounced as blatant racism by his many supporters. Speakers include Ramona Africa, the minister of communication for MOVE, a controversial organization based in Philadelphia, and hip-hop performer John Africa. For further information, dial Donny Hutchinson at 303-499-2084. Meanwhile, KVCU-AM/1190, the University of Colorado-Boulder's new radio station, is staging a "buy a watt" promotion through April 17. Yes, it's a pledge drive, but since Radio 1190, as the outlet is calling itself, is one of the few places on the dial these days that won't induce vomiting, please give generously. Call 303-492-5031 for details.
Backbeat contributor Brad Jones has declared the aforementioned Queens of the Stone Age the critic's choice for this week (see page 96), but allow me to tout two more dates: Built to Spill, with Delusions, Thursday, April 15, at the Bluebird Theater, and Friday, April 16, at the Fox Theatre. Why? Because Keep It Like a Secret, Built to Spill's second release for Warner Bros., is one of 1999's finest discs, thanks to frontman Doug Martsch's lyrical guitar playing and quavery singing, not to mention evocative compositions such as "The Plan," "Carry the Zero" and the cleverly referential "You Were Right". The group is excellent live, too--and tickets are a lot easier to come by than they are for another concert I could mention.
The same can be said about the following. On Friday, April 15, Dan Hicks shows off his hot licks at the Soiled Dove, with G.B. Leighton. On Friday, April 16, Electric Summer heats up the 15th Street Tavern, with the Blast-Off Heads, and New Mexico's Jason Riggs finds Common Grounds, at 3484 West 32nd Avenue. On Saturday, April 17, Sweet Honey in the Rock makes a perfect snack at CU-Boulder's Macky Auditorium; the Nadas end a four-night run at Josephina's; and the Wrigley Sisters double your pleasure at Cameron Church. On Sunday, April 18, Mary Flower and more raise funds for Sing Out! magazine at Swallow Hill Music Hall, and Full Moon in Vegas shines at the Bluebird. And on Tuesday, April 20, crooner Julien Clerc visits Teikyo Loretto Heights Theater, and the Dropkick Murphys punt at the Bluebird. Call for a fair catch.
--Michael Roberts
Backbeat's e-mail address is: Michael_Roberts@westword.com.
