Friday, Jan. 17, 2003 | 9:22 a.m.
Spencer Patterson covers music for the Sun. His music notes column appears Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-2309.
Walking through the cavernous maze that was the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show last week, I was surrounded by devices purported to make recorded music sound better.
I tried on headphones that duplicate the multichanneled effects of surround sound, sampled the high-end quality of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD and listened to a signal from a single speaker that costs more than my car.
And the more I heard, the more I couldn't wait to get home and listen to my vinyl copy of Pavement's lo-fi classic "Slanted & Enchanted," pops, clicks and all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-digital. Far from it. I do the vast majority of my listening on CD and have done so for years.
But somewhere between the north and south halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, I arrived at the conclusion that most of the devices only seemed to strip away the raw quality integral to so many of my all-time favorite recordings.
Sure, I'm all for cleaning up a little hiss or boosting low bass levels. But I'm not sure I need to hear the Doors' "L.A. Woman" raining down on me in multichanneled DVD-Audio out of five main speakers and a subwoofer.
That's not to say I'm not concerned with quality. I generally balk at the opportunity to download MP3 tracks due to the losses incurred in the process, and I've been known to upgrade CDs when noticeably improved remasters are issued.
But no one can truly convince me that taking out a second mortgage on my house to upgrade my home stereo system will ever make Iggy Pop and the Stooges' "Raw Power" sound any better that it did when it was originally issued 30 years ago.
Music notes
Top of the rack: Pop-punk band Local 15 captured first place at last week's "Bike Rack Battles," a contest between eight local high school bands at the Huntridge Theatre. The trio edged Jr. Anti-Sex League for the top prize, which is six hours of recording time in the John Lennon Tour Bus mobile studio.
Jr. Anti-Sex League, best described as a a genre-crossing outfit in the Violent Femmes mold, received a new electric guitar for placing second, while punk band September Star took home a set of skate decks for finishing third.
The event drew a crowd of about 600. "It was a huge success," Huntridge director of promotions Kat Kellams said. "I definitely want to do it again."
The Billy and Elton show: Singer/songwriters Billy Joel and Elton John have announced two Las Vegas dates on their upcoming U.S. tour. The duo will play MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 28 and March 29, with both shows starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75, $150 and $300 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and through Ticketmaster.
Raging at the Joint: Audioslave, a hard-rock band featuring three former members of Rage Against the Machine and former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, will play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on March 15 as part of their first U.S. tour. Ticket prices and on-sale information have not been announced.
Cancellation: Pop-punk band the Alkaline Trio has canceled all January and February tourdates, including a scheduled Feb. 6 appearance at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, due to vocal chord damage suffered by lead singer Matt Skiba. Refunds are available at original points of purchase.
Stones on air: Rolling Stones fans who can't wait for the band's next Las Vegas appearance on Feb. 8 should tune to HBO Saturday night at 9, when the network will broadcast the band's live show from New York City's Madison Square Garden. The concert will be re-aired Thursday at 9 p.m.
Quick hits
A look at a few shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:
Punk/hardcore band Finch, which scored rave reviews for last March's debut album "What it is to Burn," hits the Huntridge tonight at 7. From Autumn to Ashes, Steel Train and 7ft Midget open. Tickets are $12.
R&B/soul singer Erykah Badu plays the House of Blues Saturday night at 7. Badu's two studio albums, 1997's "Baduizm" and 2000's "Mama's Gun," both produced Top-20 hit singles. Tickets are $37, $50 and $60.
The Huntridge hosts emo rockers Juliana Theory Sunday night at 7. The six-year-old band's latest release and first for Epic Records, last October's "Love," was hailed as Juliana Theory's best effort to date. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the show.
Alt-metal act Papa Roach performs at the House of Blues Thursday night at 6:30. The Northern California-based band released its third full-length album, "lovehatetragedy," in June. Tickets are $16.
On sale
Tickets for reggae-pop singer Shaggy's Feb. 15 show at the House of Blues go on sale Saturday at noon at the House of Blues box office, by phone at 632-7700 or 474-4000, at Ticketmaster outlets or online at hob.com or ticketmaster.com.
Tickets for three other House of Blues events -- Cowboy Mouth on Jan. 29 and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Feb. 5 and Los Lobos on Feb. 21 -- went on sale this week, at the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.
Alt-metal girl group Kittie plays the Huntridge Feb. 11 with Biohazard, 18 Visions and Brand New Sin. Tickets $15 in advance, $17 at the show, and are available now through Ticketmaster or at Balcony Lights record store at 4800 S. Maryland Parkway.
The Huntridge will also showcase jam band Big Wu on Feb. 16. Tickets are $12 and are on sale now through Ticketmaster and Balcony Lights.
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