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Beat Street
By Todd S. Inoue

Crack Vs. DC Talk:
Moshing in the name of ...

Went to see San Jose noise pollutants Crack and Christian rock/rap faves DC Talk last weekend. Which is the better band? Judging them on fashion, showmanship, multimedia, stage dives, hair, cover songs, beats, pit etiquette and message; hmmm, let's see.

Fashion: DC Talk looked like it stepped out of a Mervyn's back-to-school catalog. The Crack-heads look like they stepped out of a Century 21 seminar presided over by Mr. Furley. Advantage: Crack.

Stage Dives: Crack: 1; DC Talk: 4. Advantage: DC Talk

Multimedia: The Talkers had a full-on projection screen of The Discovery Channel-type scenes to amplify their show: snowboarding, aerial pastoral shots, waterfalls. During an acoustic set, roadies lugged out a couch and lamps for the fellas to lounge on and sing three "intimate" songs. Oooh. Crack? Cliff had a whistle. Advantage: DC Talk.

Showmanship: DC Talk injected lots of anaerobic energy into its set but is still doing belly bumps left over from Milli Vanilli. Advantage: Crack.

Hair: Tough call. DC Talk's members are freaking that played-out, close-cropped Caeser-do-and-sideburns look, except for Michael Tait, who has knotty dreads like Busta Rhymes. Crack's members use a Flowbee on each other. Advantage: DC Talk

Cover songs: Crack performed a great version of Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio." DC Talk did a portion of the Beatles' "Help," the Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright" (called "Jesus Is Still Alright") and a Ned Flanders version of R.E.M. called "It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine ['Cause I Know Where I'm Going])." DC Talk gets docked points for reading off a lyric sheet and still flubbing lines. Why couldn't they do Run-D.M.C.'s pro-God "Down With the King"? Advantage: Crack, definitely.

Pit Etiquette: Gotta go with DC Talk, here. Moms, dads and kids were mixing it up, polite as polite can be. People who fell were immediately scooped up; the Golden Rule was in full effect. Yeah I pitted at DC Talk; you got a problem with that? Advantage: DC Talk.

Message: DC Talk: Slightly preachy odes to diversity ("Colored People") and the band's quest for God's approval ("What If I Stumble?"). Crack: Squatting on grenades, napalm bombings, an unfortunate date that ends up with a frontal lobotomy. Tossup.

Beats: DC Talk couldn't find the funk in their own armpits. Advantage: Crack.

Line of the Night: "When you're jumping around, pogoing, whatever, remember to direct that energy to the one who's most worthy," said a member of DC Talk openers, Audio Adrenaline. Can you mosh in the name of the Lord? What would Pat Buchanan make of it?

Ed. Note: DC Talk has home page with their own domain name--this could even the score...

Lighter Than Air Guitar

Fluf's threesome--Otis (guitar), Johnny Donhowe (bass) and Miles Gillet (drums)--are a clever lot. The San Diego band released a full-length effort in three formats (CD, cassette and LP), each under a different title. The CD is called Home Improvements, the cassette is Stocking the Lake With Brown Trout and the record Whitey on the Moon. Call it overkill, but the band rocks so well, that pangs of financial regret from purchasing all three are whisked away. Fluf does catchy guitar rock a la Hüsker Dü, infused with some poppier moments that echo a loosened-up Fastbacks.

Otis is a big galoot who can make guitar strings shudder with quick blasts. Donhowe looks like he just installed a new tranny in the band's minivan, and we all should rest easier knowing Gillet pummels drumkits instead of house pets. Fluf, along with Curbside, SPS (a punk band from the former Czech republic) and Smile play Friday (March 1) at the Los Gatos Teen Center.

And Lastly

The Edge in Palo Alto has a few bookings of note, hooking up with Spacehog, God Lives Underwater and Mr. Marainga on April 14 and Frank Black on April 28.

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