[ Music Index | San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]

2000 Recap Taking stock of the year's events and hopes for the future By Sarah Quelland IT'S BEEN A BOON YEAR for local and regional music. The biggest music news of the year was Papa Roach's smashing success with its DreamWorks Records debut Infest. Selling upward of 2 million albums, the Vacaville four-piece--which has been considered an honorary local outfit for years due largely to manager Gary Avila's San Jose ties--became the hottest new band of the year. Surely my personal year-in-review reflections won't be the only place Infest is listed as one of the best albums of the year. My other favorites are Marilyn Manson's Holy Wood: In the Shadow of the Valley of Death, (hed)pe's Broke , Limp Bizkit's Chocolate St*rfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water and Kasey Chambers' The Captain. San Jose band Remoter sneaks in under the wire with its December release gun. Back on the home front, Smash Mouth was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal" category for "All Star."... San Jose's rap-rockers Insolence signed to Maverick Records. The new album is due out in April 2001. Insolence contributed "Natural High" to Adam Sandler's Little Nicky soundtrack. ... Aggro tribal metal outfit Stitch got itself a distribution deal through Prosthetic/Metal Blade Records. The heavy self-titled debut generated a good buzz and consequently the band has gotten a few nibbles from the major labels. ... Several local bands broke up, including favorites Boy Kicks Girl and True to Form. TTF drummer Kevin Jackson joined Primer 55 and spent his summer touring on OzzFest with Pantera, Soulfly, Disturbed, Static-X, Kittie and the other bands on the epic metal outing. While the OzzFest date at Shoreline Amphitheatre was a blast, it doesn't make the cut for best concert of the year. It's the nature of the multiband beast that the day ends up a bit of a blur. The most memorable concerts I saw in 2000 were Kiss' so-called "Farewell Tour" at the Oakland Arena, Prince's "Hit 'n' Run" date at the SJSU Event Center, Stone Temple Pilots' "Return of the Rock" show at the Event Center, (hed)pe at the Cactus Club and the Dixie Chicks "Fly" outing at the San Jose Arena. I see a lot of bands perform in the Bay Area, and it's a magical thing when a band starts playing and you find your eyes riveted to the stage, your ears drinking in the music. That combination of talent and star quality is a rare thing. Some of the best bands in the area remain unsigned for now, including Swarm, Luxt, Spitkiss and Remoter. While Triple Seven and Moodfrye have generated some industry interest, Krenshaw shows real promise. Welcome newcomers to watch for in the next year include Movement, Los Bastardos de Amor and Breach. Other remarkable bands may never be discovered by a large audience, yet that doesn't take away from their appeal. It's sad the Bay Area never got acquainted with the songwriting genius Stuart Davis before he moved from Palo Alto back to his home state of Minnesota. San Francisco's Dura-Delinquent (which is currently contemplating a new name) and the East Bay's Venus Bleeding are two amazing bands that stand out. The year 2000 held one particularly sad note for South Bay music when the Edge, an intimate all-ages club in Palo Alto that brought in bands about to break and allowed locals to open for big names that were already established, shut its doors in April to make room for a new upscale supper club, the Icon, which has yet to celebrate its grand opening. PLAN AHEAD: A complete schedule of New Year's Eve events is available online. Remoter, Hippy Aggression and Chris Landon, Dec. 28 at the Usual; Joe Satriani, Dec. 28-29 at the Fillmore in San Francisco; Peeled Back, Sik Kid, Prop 808 and N.F.M., Dec. 29 at the Chemical Free Zone (Cottle and Poughkeepsie in San Jose); Eddie Money, Dec. 29 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz; Adverse Side-FX, Jan. 5 at the Gaslighter Theater in Campbell; Funkranomicon, Jan. 6 at the Agenda Lounge; Marilyn Manson and Godhead, Jan. 10 at the SJSU Event Center; Slow Gherkin, Pirate All-Stars and Short Round, Jan. 13 at the Fishbowl in Sunnyvale; SnoCore Icicle Ball, Jan. 19 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium; Samiam, Jan. 20 at the Cactus Club; SnoCore Rock Tour, Jan. 21 at Maritime Hall; Sprung Monkey and Slightly Stoopid, Feb. 1 at the Cactus; the Smithereens, Feb. 2 at the Cactus; Pantera, Soulfly and Morbid Angel, Feb. 6 at the SJSU Event Center; A Perfect Circle, Feb. 8 at the SJSU Event Center. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]