Good double bill at Iota Thursday...Clem Snide with openers Cub Country<P><BR>Alt- country. Its something I have been finding myself getting more and more into over the last year or so. I first noticed when I seemed to be making a slide towards Post- Punk as opposed to the more brutal and full frontal music I had been listening to. Maybe its because Iâ??m returning to my family roots deep in the middle of nowhere. Maybe its because Iâ??m growing slowly more mellow in my old age. May haps it is even a combination of the two. One thing is for certain. It sure seems to confuse the hell out of some people to not only hear me talking about it, but actually learning that I really do like it. Which brings us to the first full- length album by Cub Country. <P>I am convinced Cub Countryâ??s secret lies in its breeding. Its driving force is Jeremy Chatelain is best known in his role as the bass player for infamous Jets to Brazil. Honestly, I never would have guessed him to be such a savvy and skilled singer and songwriter in addition to his more widely known accomplishments. With Cub Country he picks up the guitar and a microphone, and completely blows you away with his heartfelt songs. Chatelain sure wasnâ??t fooling around when he gathered up his all- star roster of backing musicians either. Beginning with his JTB band mates, and culminating with the likes of Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks, Nick Macri of Euphone, Cashe Tolman of Rival Schools, and Chris Traynor of Helmet and Orange 9mm, Cub Country quickly becomes a veritable whoâ??s who of rock, which blends together into something truly amazing and sentimental. <P>On a record teeming with references to driving the open roads and love found only to be lost again, you are enveloped in a variety of songs ranging from folk, to bluesy good times, to straight up country- tinged rock. Listening to it, even when its sad, you canâ??t help but to feel good. Your insides and thought processes drift towards that someone that completes you perfectly, even if you have yet to find them. The songs wrap you up, and you canâ??t help but know them, the words are for you, and they come from inside, with honesty. It all feels real, and the impossible seems possible. With little exception, each song strikes a feeling inside of me, and resonates. I find myself thinking of the one I care for, but have yet to discover, with a wistful sense of longing and an inner knowledge that its going to happen. <BR>
