Tara McManus Superstar

At one point in time, Tara McManus was the drummer in three of my favorite bands (local or otherwise) concurrently. Although the Highwaters broke up when singer Eric split for Portland, Oregon, I'm happy to report that Tara is still soldiering on with the 2007 editions of Mr. Airplane Man (recently back together after a long break) and the Turpentine Brothers (now a thuggish three-piece). In other news, Margaret is now a mom and Justin and Tara are now man and wife. Anyway, here are a few "vintage" 2001 live reviews from the era when Tara's two duos and a trio were virtually at the center of my rock/roll universe.

MR. AIRPLANE MAN/THE KONKS/TRIPLE THICK
Abbey Lounge/Somerville, MA
April 27, 2001

I've seen so many Mr. Airplane Man shows since this one that the highs have begun to blend together into one drunk and happy memory, but I'd have to say this was far and away their best as measured by the amount of goosebumps I felt at the time. Playing the first of two back-to-back record release dates in celebration of the new Red Lite and playing only their second set back after a six-month hiatus, Margaret and Tara locked onto one of those perfect-sounding "grooves" that seemed equal parts passion, inspiration and good old-fashioned floor-shaking mayhem. A lot of writers get all bent out of shape trying to pinpoint whether the duo's more Howlin' Wolf-inspired or "just" a garage band these days, but this was one of those in-the-moment type "moments" where the sheer carnal abandon of their down-in-the-bottom rockin' made such hairsplitting irrelevant. One of the few bands around town that could hold their theoretical own on a bill with one of those old Fat Possum aces and the vintage Gun Club on the night that Jeffrey Lee Pierce and company set their monitors on fire through overzealous use of feedback.

TURPENTINE BROTHERS
Tir Na Nog/Somerville, MA
May 23, 2001

I think Justin and Tara are pretty great of course, but I'm not sure how many others are even aware of them given their low-key penchant for seemingly only playing 25-minute opening sets on bills with their friends. Figures that the first time I got to see 'em stretch out on their own for not one but two full 45-minute workouts, they ran out of songs and had to play a couple twice for the pumped-up people who wouldn't let 'em leave without a second "Ragged and Dirty" before bedtime. Not that anybody seemed to mind. You can tell that the couple actually enjoy creating this racket, and high charisma quotient tunes like "Jezebel" and Billy the Kid Emerson's "If Lovin' Is Believing" offer yet another example of how ideal the duo format is for this type of stripped-down r&r/barroom stomp. Super-cool/super-basic/anti-shoegazer rock from a boyfriend/girlfriend combo that just might be one of the top three live acts in town at the moment (not spelling out who the other two are, but one of the bands was on the cover of our last issue and the other one has been fucking shit up since the '70s).

LYRES/THE PSYCHO DAISIES/SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN/RED CHORD/TRIPLE THICK/THE HIGHWATERS/THE LAST ONES
Abbey Lounge/Somerville, MA
September 9, 2001

I don't want to get into what a fiasco (S)crapstock was now that it's nearly six months later, but what kind of an asshole books three weekends' worth of bands to play outdoors without pay and then doesn't even get the permits together to let 'em wail for their fans as publicized? Bailout show at the Abbey at least had its moments, the Highwaters and the Lyres turning in absolutely stellar sets that offset THE HORROR of the Last Ones (toothless "60s rock") and the even more dreadful Sunburned Hand of the Man (inept hippie jam band-isms). Triple Thick and the Psycho Daisies also turned in mostly OK sets (missed Red Chord, though), but I'll always remember this as a day of extremes. Anyway, surprise scene-stealers the Highwaters got things going with a unique outburst that managed to combine elements of early '60s soul, Nuggets and even a little V.U. drone action in places. The two Jesse Alexander songs they covered were among the most haunting I've heard in a while, ironic since most rock types not named the Detroit Cobras don't know what to do with a pretty melody anymore. Band's comprised of frontman Eric Gold on rhythm guitar and soulful vocals and Turpentiners Justin and Tara on lead guitar and that Fat Possum beat respectively./After what seemed like an interminably long wait, the Lyres finally put an exclamation point on both the Highwaters' effort and the day in general. Monoman's on drugs if he really believes the Lyres are "better" than DMZ, but this was the type of effort that makes you understand why he at least might think he's right: amazing garage punk-cum-soul squall that plays O.J. and Nicole with both the Lyres' own past and all those genre hacks hopping on and off the "garage" bandwagon. Which means I might've fucked up mightily when I said that their current set wasn't equal to their old one a few pages back. Oops!