Infected Mushroom

w/ Pirate Booty Crew

Wednesday, October 10 @ Georgia Theatre

originally published October 10, 2007

Warwick Saint

Infected Mushroom

Israeli psy-trance duo Erez Eizen (also known as I.Zen) and Amit Duvdevani (also known as Duvdev) could be considered the best in their genre. Captivating audiences that literally span the globe, it's no small wonder as to why Infected Mushroom has remained vital in the psy-trance scene for the last decade. Combining elements of prog, New Wave, industrial, pop and even classical music, the duo proves there are few unbreakable boundaries. Citing influences as diverse as Pink Floyd, System of a Down, Depeche Mode and Shpongle, the band's direction is as predictable as evolution. Surprisingly, Infected Mushroom has managed to garner a substantial cult following with virtually no promotion.

"Suliman," a track off the guys' latest release, slams into the aural cavities with pulsing upbeat rhythms, raucous guitars and feverish synths. Anyone caught in the mushroom cloud of acid-laced grooves and dancey drum-and-bass electronoise should appreciate the band's rare appearance here in the United States.

Formed in Haifa in 1996 amidst the turbulent Israeli political situation, Infected Mushroom began buying equipment and shaping its sound. The Israeli music scene offered little in the realm of trance music, so the guys soon found themselves in a position to create a scene all their own. The duo has since released six critically acclaimed independent albums, Classical Mushroom being the most well-known. Their latest effort, Vicious Delicious, explores the musical avenues of flamenco, hip-hop and thrash-metal. Known for their mind-bending live shows, Infected Mushroom has headlined some of the world's largest festivals, including the OMIX Festival in Mexico, Miami's Ultra Festival and Tribe in São Paulo, Brazil. Recently, they were awarded 12th place in DJ Magazine's "Top 100 DJs" list. This fall marks the beginning of a worldwide tour in support of Vicious Delicious.

Charley Lee

Bobby Valentino

Wednesday, October 10 @ University of Georgia

originally published October 10, 2007

Bobby Valentino

Bobby Valentino might not be anything like R. Kelly, but he represents an equally important slice of the R&B pie - the slice devoted to cuteness. It's where Tevin Campbell was. It's where Chris Brown is. Valentino's just always (and by always, I mean over the course of two albums) managed to dip his cute in layers and layers of sparkly, candy-like production. When he had his first hit with his first single, "Slow Down," you could hardly even remember that the song was, essentially, about looking at girl's asses because of the waves of strings that washed over your ears, drowning you in gorgeousness. His second big hit, "Tell Me," was pretty much the same thing: asses plus ridiculously twinkly, pretty production.

This year brought his second album, Special Occasion, which reinforced the idea of Valentino as primarily a singles artist who still has hardly a weak track on his records. However, when you listen to a full album of ear candy, the effect sometimes tends to wear off, as though you've eaten a pound of fancy chocolate and can't appreciate the subtleties anymore. When Special Occasion's "Anonymous" leaked online, it was easy to ignore it at first, until you found yourself hooked, nay, trapped in its sticky, jittery goo that both seemed to emanate from and surround Valentino's lovely, velvety voice. He never sounds like a kid (he doesn't lisp like Chris Brown), but rather like a confident yet not pushy young man. He knows how to formulate a come-on if you like long eyelashes and a little shyness, which is what undercuts the glittery surface of the production and makes it more organic than mere hard glam as applied to R&B.

It may be thoroughly artificial, but it's very good at pretending like it's not. Is he a wolf in sheep's clothing? Perhaps you'd better watch your own ass around Bobby Valentino when he performs at the Georgia Hall in UGA's Tate Student Center.

Hillary Brown

Trey Boyer Band

Thursday, October 11 @ No Where Bar

originally published October 10, 2007

Donna Elam

Trey Boyer

With apologies to Wolfe, singer-songwriter Trey Boyer has proved that you can indeed go home again. And again. The former Athenian, who cut his teeth fronting the undervalued alt-country act Dimestore in the late '90s, returns to the familiar, snug stage of the No Where Bar this week. "My first regular gig was at Skye's Place: 'Ladies Night With Trey Boyer,' every Wednesday," Boyer recalls fondly. When the owners shut down Skye's and moved the operation to Lumpkin Street, the No Where Bar was born. Boyer ultimately became a bartender and an assistant manager. "It was cool, transitioning from a college kid to a townie," he says.

Armed with impressive country tunes like "Whitewash" and "Cowboy With No Gun" and a warm, bourbon-soaked drawl, Boyer dropped both the Dimestore moniker and Athens address to set out for Nashville. Among other things accomplished in Music City, Boyer is credited in a Rolling Stone article as being an integral player in the discovery of nostalgia-rock outfit Kings of Leon. "I played at the Bluebird one night and when I got off-stage, I met Nathan and Caleb [Followill,]" he says. "They told me they had just moved to town and they wrote songs - which in Nashville is like saying you breathe air - but they didn't play any instruments." The future Kings got together with Boyer shortly thereafter. Boyer added guitar accompaniment, then auditioned for and landed a Bluebird slot with the brothers, but ultimately the trio parted ways. See Boyer for the gory details.

Unfortunately, he didn't enjoy the same meteoric success his former Nashville neighbors attained, and soon left town for his boyhood home of Atlanta. The Chamblee High grad's most recent effort, 2003's self-released On My Way, finds Boyer in a less countrified, more pop-Americana corner of the record shop. Think Pat Green meets Hootie & the Blowfish, and head to No Where if you're so inclined.

David Eduardo