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Pop Hot Ticket
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 20, 2003
Dancing machine
VHS or Beta has a decidely anachronistic name and the band's sound, too, is a throwback to the funky dance music of the late 1970s and 1980s. If Studio 54 nights are something you want to relive -- or pretend to relive -- this Louisville, Ky. quartet, which plays dance music with real instruments, heavy on grooves, vocoder vocals and rumpumpumpum electronic drums, may be your cup of tea.
Team Pop can't vouch for the band's live performance, but its 2002 Le Funk disc has enjoyed heavy rotation at some of our more energetic affairs, inspiring head bopping, (possibly inebriated) perma-grins and requisite bootie shakin'.
It's no crime to unwind. Make no mistake. Especially in these days of global gloom, it's sometimes mandatory to put on those boogie shoes.
VHS or Beta performs with Vic Thrill at 8 tonight at Twilight, 1507 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. Tickets are $10.
Crooked Fingers goes straight to the heart
Crooked Fingers is headed by the brilliant Eric Bachmann, formerly of North Carolina indie rock icons Archers of Loaf. Bachmann brings to the new band his signature sense of irony. Didn't Crooked Fingers get its start covering Queen and Neil Diamond tunes?
But, Bachmann has that other side. Yes, his penchant for writing melancholy originals. The brand-new Red Devil Dawn, the band's third full-length release, is its finest so far, packing all the drunken punch and desperation of the most powerful Tom Waits -- and isn't Bachmann's raspy croon sounding nearly as wise and woeful as that guy's? -- as well as plenty of spare, bluesy tunes.
Yep, gone are the fuzzy guitars, the effects pedals and Bachmann's screaming. His tunes with Crooked Fingers get the messages across gently, with his sinewy guitar picking, and also mandolin, lap steel guitar, strings and ragged-out trumpet.
Crooked Fingers performs with with Koester and Clairmel at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Orpheum, 1902 Avenida Republica de Cuba, Ybor City. $7 advance, $8 day of show. (813) 248-9500.
Pop-flavored Juice
[Publicity photo]
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Juice Newton hasn't been much on our minds since she was playing with the Queen of Hearts back in 1981, but Newton, 51, was one of country's most successful pop crossover stars there for a spell, paving the way for the likes of Shania and Faith. Actually, the singer -- who really should be given more props by today's Nashville divas -- scored more hits initially in the pop Top 10 than on the country charts.
Born Judy Newton -- yeah, you may have guessed "Juice" is a nickname -- the singer was more influenced by folk singers such as Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins than the country crooners. Newton kicked around California coffeehouses in the late 1960s, then dabbled in country rock with a band for several years.
Solo was the way to go for Newton and by the early 1980s, she had scored big time with a string of hits that would sound fresh today on both pop and country airwaves, including Queen of Hearts, Angel of the Morning, The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known), Love's Been A Little Bit Hard on Me and Break It To Me Gently.
Juice Newton performs with Darkhorse at 9 p.m. Friday at Bourbon Street, 4331 U.S. 19, New Port Richey. $15 advance, $20 at the door. (727) 843-0686.
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