POP MUSIC
Monday, January 9, 2006; Page C05
Supersystem
Teaching the indie kids how to dance is difficult. Many of these unfortunate souls were born with two left feet and a deep self-consciousness, which limits them to performing fake Irish jigs or wacky break-dance moves. Very few of them know how to just let loose and bust a move or three.
At the Supersystem show Saturday at the Black Cat, a house full of indie-rockers tried to shake that thang -- and many of them did just that, at length, without acting like shaking your booty is something to be embarrassed about.
  Supersystem (from left, Justin Moyer, Joshua Blair, Rafael Cohen and Pete Cafarella) had the audience on its feet Saturday at the Black Cat. (By Erik Lang) |
Supersystem was formerly known as El Guapo, which over the course of four CDs created a lot of irritating art rock. But on 2003's "Fake French," the trio started playing with new-wave dance grooves. Then came a name change, a new label (Chicago's Touch & Go), a new CD ("Always Never Again") and an expanded lineup with a new drummer (Joshua Blair). The punk-funk makeover was complete.
Playing 10 taut songs in an hour-long set, Supersystem had the crowd pogoing, shaking and shimmying to a potent blend of Devo, A Certain Ratio, Liquid Liquid and other early-'80s groups that married the tense energy of punk with the hypnotic rhythms of Africa and disco. Bassist Justin "Destroyer" Moyer, keyboardist Pete Cafarella and guitarist Rafael Cohen traded sing-shouted vocals as Blair kept techno-like time on his drums. Highlights included "Born Into the World," "The Love Story," "Click-Click," "Six Cities" and "Everybody Sings." But Supersystem's songs tend to sound enough alike -- sharing Arabic- and African-tinged guitar bits, spiky bass lines, squealing synths and nonstop percussive thump -- that the 10 tunes worked almost like one long medley. Plus, it's much easier to boogie down to one incessant sound when you have two left feet.
-- Christopher Porter
Mike Clem
Friday was quite the night for Mike Clem at Jammin' Java: It was the release party for his first-ever solo CD ("1st and 40"), the club was packed with family (he's a McLean native) and fans of his band, Eddie From Ohio, and it was his 40th birthday.
Naturally, the consummate performer rose to the occasion in a generously portioned concert that revealed his strengths as a songwriter, a guitarist and an observational comedian. Think Blink-182 with words by Todd Snider and you get an idea of what Clem does within the confines of folk rock.
Clem accompanied himself on acoustic and the occasional electric guitar for songs such as "I.S.O.," "Virgil's Refund," "Sprawl" and "Rosencrantz," which tipped off the audience as to who has been writing intelligent and witty lyrics that have made EFO a national favorite in the last decade. In fact, at one point he apologized to Julie Murphy Wells, the band's principal singer, who has had to memorize his wordy lyrics all those years.
One by one, EFO members -- singer/guitarist Robbie Schaefer, who has a solo album of his own in the works, percussionist Eddie Hartness and Wells -- joined Clem onstage until the whole band was together, a rarity since Wells began battling breast cancer last summer. It was heartwarming to see the ensemble together and reassuring to hear them as vocally tight as ever.
The opening set by Irish singer/songwriter Sarah Croker was charming and touching, with her songs highlighted by evocative dobro picking by Dan LaMaestra, a pianist on his night off from the Navy's Commodores.
