Columnist Spencer Patterson: With Mothers’ blessing, a column is launched

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 1, 2002 | 10:06 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers music for the Sun. His music notes column appears every Friday. Reach him at 259-2309 or spencer@lasvegassun.com

If you happened to be making photocopies one night last week at the Kinko's on Maryland Parkway, you probably couldn't help but notice some strange sights and sounds emanating from the building next door.

Crowded onto a tiny stage inside Cafe Expressa Roma -- more coffee shop than concert hall, really -- were four Japanese men, two with hair down near their waists, thrashing away on their instruments.

In front of that quartet was a chain-smoking woman, playing with an effects box and occasionally wailing into a microphone.

Known collectively as Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., the group put on what might be one of the year's most inspiring shows in Southern Nevada. And only about 60 lucky Las Vegans were there to witness it (not counting the curious onlookers in Kinko's, that is).

No sooner did I leave the "venue" and reach my car, than I realized I had the lead item for my first music notes column, which you see before you. "Feedback" will run each Friday, touching on all facets of Southern Nevada's music scene.

That scene was hopping on Maryland Parkway last week.

Hailing from Tokyo, the Acid Mothers specialize in droning space-rock (think Mogwai or Bardo Pond, but a bit heavier at times). Guitarist Kawabata Makoto, the group's founder and leader, has earned a reputation as one of Asia's leading rock musicians.

He is also something of an unusual character, to say the least.

"One day, I felt a shiver run over me. Then suddenly that long name (Acid Mothers Temple) just popped into my head," Makoto explains in an e-mail exchange we've had since the show.

In AMT album liner notes, Makoto lists Tsuyama Atsushi's instrument as "Monster Bass," himself as the band's "Speed Guru" and Cotton Casino's contribution to the live performance, in part, as "beer and cigarettes."

Incredibly, the Acid Mothers' Las Vegas appearance was almost derailed before it even began. Just prior to his set, Makoto discovered two tuning pegs on his guitar had broken off during the previous performance, leaving the Las Vegas show's status in doubt.

"Does anyone in here play guitar?" the band's road manager asked the crowd. Fortunately, someone did, and after running home, he produced a guitar for Makoto to use.

The group played four long pieces for approximately 80 minutes, alternating between melodic work emphasizing their skills as musicians to heavy psychedelia bordering on heavy metal.

During the final number, Makoto switched back to his own guitar, and it immediately became clear how he damaged the instrument in the first place. Swinging it over his head and behind his back in a wild frenzy, he produced some intense noise passages to close the show, sending many in the crowd scrambling to the merchandise table before AMT rolled out of town.

Music notes

Oscar on skins: Popular hard-rock band Creed invited Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman to sit in on drums for a few minutes during a sound check Tuesday night at Thomas & Mack Center. Goodman had never played drums before.

"They play my favorite kind of music -- very, very loud," Goodman said. "I was so thrilled they let me play the drums. Those boys were so nice and polite and personable. And what they were doing was such a good thing.

"Rock and roll needs more like them."

The mayor was on hand to present Creed with a key to the city, in appreciation for returning to town for a $5-per-ticket "fan appreciation" concert, three weeks after a show at the venue was marred by singer Scott Stapp's rough vocals. Stapp later announced he had suffered severe laryngitis, and rescheduled several tour dates.

Proceeds from the second performance went to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth and Street Teens. A "Bleed for Creed" blood drive sponsored by Mix 94.1, which awarded free tickets to blood donors, also helped the city replenish its dwindling blood supply.

Kiss at the races: Original Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley served as grand marshals for the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals over the weekend, appearing (sans makeup) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday and Sunday.

The duo also met with speedway General Manager Chris Powell, reportedly to discuss the possibility of staging a Kiss concert at the track sometime next year.

To commemorate the occasion, three cars in the race featured Kiss paint schemes.

Quick hits

A look at a few of the shows scheduled for the next week:

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