The talk around town says that Sweden, and other northern nations as well, is the new Motown or Brill Building of the time.
     Sensational exports like The Hives and The (International) Noise Conspiracy are churning out big hits for American airwaves, thus making the talk that much truer and the rewards that much nicer.
     Lesser known acts such as The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and the Cato Salsa Experience are also reaping the rewards, simply because of their affiliation with the Land of Ice. However, when TSOOL, Citizen Bird, and the CSE played at Bimbo’s in San Francisco, there was no doubt that at least two of these bands could be popular on their own right, the exception being Citizen Bird.
     Citizen Bird, who were second billed, are apparently loved by the pop critics of the world, as the postcards that were scattered around the venue touted, even going so far as to say they sound like “the Strokes on acid.” Yeah, they might be on acid, but it wasn’t a good batch.
     While incorporating ceramic bell solos (like the kind your grandmother has in her knickknack cabinet), and drawn-out keyboard experiments over screeching vocals and indistinguishable lyrics, the six-man band seemed to impress only one woman. And at that, it’s not much of a compliment, because it seemed that, as she threw herself at the stage repeatedly, every band was the woman’s favorite band.
     This is not to say that Citizen Bird was a truly bad band musically-they probably sound really good on their albums. But as live acts go, they were awful.
     In contrast to the awfulness of Citizen Bird were the other two bands, the Cato Salsa Experience and The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, who performed wonderfully.
     The Cato Salsa Experience, who have a more pop-ish sound than the other two bands, opened up to a reluctant crowd and a half-full venue but played energetically anyway. Also, it must be noted that the bassist was wiggly.
     By the time TSOOL started performing, the club had filled up, and people other than the aforementioned woman were really enjoying the band’s performance.
     As live acts go, TSOOL are very much worth seeing. The lead singer, Ebbot Lundberg, was very affable and happily wandered around in the crowd a good deal while performing, even belly-bumping me then busting a move on my foot (which he did not intend to do) during their semi-hit “Sister Surround.” How I cherish that moment (yes, I really do).
     If you get the chance, see The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and you might get belly-bumped too!