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Tad, Nirvana
July 13 at Maxwell's, Hoboken NJ True to Tim's word, Nirvana are a cut above the usual SubPop slop. With a skinny little vocalist who makes a neat static-y lizard sound every time he screams, the troupe moved through the customary ground, occasionally going that extra mile and turning themselves into an over-fuzzed skree machine. They also jump around as much as Mudhoney, so look for them at a Sam Goody's near you... Tad put on a better show here than they did in Philly, but that's just cuz the Philly show didn't have the added entertainment bonus of Mr. Doyle accidentally toppling off the stage on top of our dedicated photographer. How exactly do you stop a stage-diver roughly the size of a small buffalo? Answer: You don't, you get out of his i way. As far as music goes, Tad has a couple of great songs ("Pork Chop", "Nipple Belt", "Sex God Missy", "Ritual") and the rest is pretty much rote sludge-rock. But when "Boiler Room" builds into a shuddering two-note bludgeon, it's gorgeous and breath-taking. Some have moaned about Tad's schtick being contrived and all that, but at this point in time it's pretty pointless to sling aesthetic concerns at anyone, seeing as how the underground has turned into a whole new working class plugging away at their respective genres. It's just a matter of who does their job well. Let me up, I must blow my brains out. -Ed Sullivan |