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Show R4 - THE BEAT - RED 0CT26 The Luck 0 the Irish by Marianne Rasmussen Except maybe a good night's sleep. members of rock band The Young will be the first to admit that they've had a very luclcy year. They'll also be quick to admit it. they "I'm exhausted," laughed front-maKeith Roberts, describing the band's relentless touring schedule. The group has not had a break since June 2 of this year, and it seems to be taking its tolL The weai of five months on the road is as apparent in Roberts' voice as his Dublin n The dese-rv- " i accent "We basically finished with Tull on Saturday 1 ? fj t , m aepiemoer, ana '36 Dy Tuesday, we were flown from California to New York for our own tour," he explained. ' In addition to relentless travel, the band seems to be suffering fatigue from carrying the weight of its own headline tour. "When you're opening for a huge band like Jethro Tull, every single night is sold out, so Catch Thtoung Dubliners (and their accents) Oct. 27-- 8 you concentrate more In addition to luck, however, hard on worrying about your show," work has driven the band's recent Roberts said of the transition from of successes. string opening act to main attraction. This spring, the band "But when you're headlining, you released its major-labe- l debut, Red, worry as much about, you know, if on Higher Octave records. Summer anyone is coming out to see you," soon followed and with it a gig as Roberts said. t "That's when you really start feelopening act for Jethro TuU's crowds. Now well into fall, the group ing the pressure. Monday, Tuesday is still going strong on its own tour. nights aren't always as good as With the album, the experience Thursdays and Fridays and Saturand the exposure the band has days," he said. craved is within reach, it seems the The decision to continue touring group has all it could ask for. through this fall was made in hopes S'f LA-base- d sold-ou- of promoting Red. Roberts describes the album as "the culmination of everything we've done up until now." Included in the catalog of songwriters for Red is veteran lyricist and Elton John Bemie Taupin. Taupin expressed interest in working with the band, and the partnership eventually led to the creation of the album's title track. "He was a fan of the band for a long time, and through his people, we heard that he wanted to write a song with me," said Roberts, who was immediately attracted to the lyrics of Taupin 's "Red" "The first thing that drew me was the word "kerosene." I was like, "What the hell is kerosene doing in this song?' After that, I started reading it and I realized it had a rhythm to it. I saw a tune in my head and it just fit The whole thing took about 45 minutes." While the pieces of "Red" seemed to fall easily into place, things were not quite so effortless for other tracks on the album. "I wrote 'Neverending' with Randy Woolford, who is no longer in the band," recalled Roberts. "I had two different songs and I kind of stuck them together to make it. It actually became the first single, but it was the hardest song to do because there are a lot of intricate, tight harmonies on it. Live, we were pulling it off, but in the studio, we had a little tougher time." It is a concern that seems to continually plague The Young Dublin-era band best known for its ener"l getic live shows. "The studio freaks me out" right-hand-ma- byjenn Henry Entertainment tar and Brad Smith on bass were founding members of the now-defun- ct ink lights, bleeding guitarists, pillar candles and male singers in skirts Club DV8 played host to a show without limits, or, simply put, VAST. Every nook and cranny of DV8 was packed with bodies Oct. 17 when VAST and opening-ac- t Unified Theory played. The small, dark club was filled to capacity and further with people longing to get an earf ul of alternative grooves. Unified Theory opened the show promptly at nine with a smooth, soulful sound, almost reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots' early days. After a few songs, the sound became a bit cleaner, more like that of Blind Melon. It is easy to see why Unified Theory, with current hit "California," would sound like Blind Melon. Christopher Thorn on gui- - band. With the unfortunate demise of Blind Melon due to the death of lead singer Shannon Hoon, Thorn and Smith felt that it was time to start anew. That was when they hooked up with Dave Krusen, founding drummer of Pearl Jam. The trio could rock and write, but they couldn't find a vocalist who completed their sound. That is until Thorn heard a CD by a fledgling LA. band. After contacting and flying in singer Chris Shinn, the trio knew the puzzle had been solved. "When I heard Chris' voice and I met him, I went, 'OK, the search is over.' I felt this was it. I will bribe, break people's legs, to get this guy," Thorn has said. And so the band Unified Theory was born. Unified Theory rocked and rolled at the show, in a mel low kind of way. The band's cover of a Pink Floyd song helps define its sound. It is '70s power folk. Lead singer Chris Shinn has presence on stage. Statuesque, sporting long dreadlocks and clothed in a sarong-stylskirt, he was the embodiment of the music being played. Unified Theory is definitely a band with a future. These guys won't be playing the club scene for long. After a brief intermission and the addition of pillar candles and hundreds of and all. e iMi VAST spooks out a DV8 Ms crowd-blo- od, candles 1 - by Jeremy Asay and Brian Watts No pink twinkle lights, VAST was ready to perform. Opening with possibly the band's best known song, "Touched" featured in the television commercials for that, ahem, wonderful Leo film "The Beach" VAST wound the crowd into a frenzy that lasted the rest of the evening. Video Audio Sensory Theater was the brain child of frontman Jon first album Crosby. The held the hits "Touched" and "Pretty When You Cry." Crosby compiled that album a la Trent Reznor all by himself, playing every instrument and doing all the vocals. It was a trippy, dreamy sound cake that was iced with techno frosting. The second album, Music for the People, has a much harsher sound and features touring bandmates Steve Clark, Justin Cotta and Thomas Froggatt.The difference is very noticeable on the CD and even more so in concert. Playing hard, thrashing about the stage, VAST played nothing like the earlier album would lead you to think and it rocked. Crosby, dressed in the definitive rock-sta- r outfit of leather pants and a white, shirt, pounced on stage. Meanwhile, guitarist Justin Cotta, looking more like a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" reject than a musician, glowered at the audience. At one point, as Crosby did a solo number, Cotta lay down on stage smoking and relaxing. self-title- d open-cuffe- d see VAST, poe RS label p.oco ' . Experimental, electronic trip hj&zn&izzz- - . - rnbiUh similar to Amon TobJn .rnentai k?V G- - j 1 wf& eltmmmUy4m firfvJl!J sigh ofthe ' t!gCUK. VWiUS, exft-bet- 'jtSyT'Sf'"' KrlitenWi! r.nw wieft - - , M ": VJjgrjrmaV -- ' S&e alburn X'm$ iisl3tli?4lyfel4w? 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Hey," a song th&t is vary reminiscent of Alice in Chains' acoustic "Got Me Wrong" perhaps toe rnvjch so has a catchy guitar iins and tittinR vocal harnwny. ' vallgper shows similarities to Rusted 'Root The final , uacK, seven seconds," can bo seen as a rock veisten of a Cash number, with joetic, scmewhat vulgar jyrics The highlight of the aium vould have to be Uack five, May. it opens with a crisp acoustic guitar strununing - fiih i,'l! SliUi UXU1US accornpapy the suitar and lavtl w t,?' verse to speculate about an impossible relationship: '1 noped, I hoped, I piayed, but I have always gone away." Joel layers the chonis with arpeggios and then moves on ,,to an acoustic guitar solo. Orange Whip shocks Utah audiences with its tight, comll plete display of potential. rock-and-ro- Asay Rf.Drmvimw continued on paga ft 5... " -- V |