Tricks and Treats

By all reports, Saturday (All Hallow's Eve Eve) was a banner night for music in the ol' town. Couldn't get to all the shows—there's only so many Zippys to go around—but them as was there gave rave reports from the unlikely goth double-bill at Fairbanks Roasting Room (Pegasi 51 & Immortal Chorus) as well as Victory at Sea at the Tomato Head. (Didn't hear back from the Evil Twin crowd at the Longbranch, from which I can only conclude that Rus Harper finally made good on his promise to kill and eat an entire audience.) Meanwhile, Zippy was cooling his heels at one of the hottest and least-noticed shows of the night: the Glenmont Popes and Blue Balls Deluxe at Barley's Taproom. Because of scheduling or promotional complications or who the hell knows why, there wasn't much advance word on this no-cover out-of-towner twofer. The Blue Balls (hailing from Virginia) opened with a blistering set of roots-rock, including an amped-up run-through of former Knoxvillian Don Gibson's "Sea of Heartbreak." Coming off the stage into the crowd of about 25 people, the band's bewildered bass player mumbled "We were s'posed to be at the Barley's in Greenville. I don't know what it is with this town. Everyone's been mean to us." The Baltimore-based Popes gave no hint of being bothered by the lack of attendance, though, blasting out ruthless, punky rockabilly like they were the last band in the world. At one point, the snarling lead singer surveyed the room and growled, "All right, now that we're down to the last [active form of oedipal swear-word] eight people in here, we're gonna [active form of oedipal swear-word] get down!" And they did.

Drugs of Choice

Listen up Knoxville: Beer tastes good (it makes Zippy feel warm inside). Music is good. And, although smoking will eventually kill you, it looks cool.

Cup-A-Joe in the Old City is trying to invigorate the competitive coffeehouse scene in Knoxville. Formerly the JFG Coffee House, the Jackson Avenue establishment hopes to add import beers to its menu by the end of the month, pending approval of a beer permit. The beer will bring later hours on the weekend (currently, it's open 8 a.m. to midnight, every day).

As much as Zippy likes beer, he's even more intrigued by the entertainment that manager Roman Karpynec (formerly of 195 degrees) is lining up. Though the schedule is still being hashed out, it looks promising. Every Wednesday night from 8 p.m. to midnight, DJ Wise (Noah Gross) hosts Coffee Breaks, playing jazz, R&B, and house cuts—without hampering your ability to have a conversation. "He does it tastefully. It's very urban, very coffee like. It's totally suited to this environment," Karpynec says.

Karpynec also hopes to feature, on a weekly basis: Dark Night Theatre, a UT troupe performing one-act skits and plays; Celtic music; and UT student films. Weekends would be more open and might feature an occasional punk band.

"I want a bit of this and that—a bit of jazz, a bit of mellow music, and then get a bit crazy every once in a while with a punk band. I don't want to do the typical thing of putting a guy and girl with an acoustic guitar and a tip jar up there and they sing about how bad life is," he says.

But what's a coffee house without smokes? The shop now allows smoking after 8 p.m.

The alcohol/caffeine/music combination is starting to become a trend for Knoxville coffeehouses—as Fairbanks Roasting Room on Market Street sells booze and regularly features jazz and swing bands. This is a trend Zippy can appreciate.

Feed 'em and Weep

Feed was the victor this past Thursday at the Electric Ballroom's Battle of the Bands. Songs like "One Day" and "Vegetable" rocked the hard alternative grunge band over the top of competitors like Boondoggle, who took a narrow second,as well as the four other competing acts. Applause by the 300 fans decided who the baddest (in a good way) band in Knoxville was. According to Terry Kenner, co-owner of the Electric Ballroom, support was the overwhelming vibe of the night. Kenner called it the unification of local talent and fans for an unbelievable night of rock 'n' roll.

Odds and Ends

Sometimes, Zippy finds himself stuck with a folder full of snippets of info that are looking to be disseminated but don't quite warrant more than a few words. So here are those words:

WUTK 90.3 will boldly step into the new technological millennium with a live webcast by ska-band The Slackers. The show will take place in the studios on Monday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m. and will be simulcast via Real Audio (for those outside of the WUTK listening area) at http://web.utk. edu/~abrams or via the traditional airwaves. After the show, the band will sit down for a live chat at http://www.egroups. com/ChatPage ?listName=rude awakening. For more info, call Keri Abrams at 544-5815.

In the toot our own horn department: Metro Pulse art critic Heather Joyner and regular "Yikes!" writer Scott McNutt have placed poems and a short story respectively in the latest edition of New Millennium Writings. You can hear (and see) them at a reading at Davis-Kidd on Sunday, November 7 at 2 p.m.

More odds, more ends

Thursday: George Clinton and the P-funk at Thompson-Boling Arena. Who got the funk? Give it up, already.

Friday: Scott Miller's Mule Train at Bird's Eye View. Do you dig great songwriters? Check out Miller, Tommy Womack, and Chad Pelton, already.

Saturday: Lusty Lit 101 at Bird's Eye View. Are you a grown-up who likes to hear good poetry and music and see unique dance, each of which explores late-night themes? Get lusty, already.

Sunday: Go to bed early, already.

Monday: Melissa Etheridge at Civic Auditorium. Have you seen her new talk show? Enjoy what made her famous (and that she is actually good at), already.

Tuesday: Widespread Panic at Civic Coliseum. Can you do the hippy dance? Put on your patchouli, already.

Wednesday: Old School at Barley's. Have you 'grassed out to a show in the WDVX 89.9 "Behind the Barn" series yet? Hop on board with this traditional bluegrass band, already.

—Zippy "Beat an idea into the ground" McDuff