A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
Jungles, South By Southwest. While in Austin, Texas, I saw a four-piece all-girl Japanese punk band called Jungles. There was a chalkboard behind the drum set, and before they played they drew a turd on the board and wrote the word poop next to it.
Kashmere Stage Band, SXSW. There is an amazing documentary, "Thunder Soul," on Netflix about this reunited high school R&B show band. They've still got it live — and then some.
Bo Ningen, SXSW. Although I missed the set myself, a pal of mine saw this Japanese noise/punk quartet and strongly recommended I check it out. He was right — I can't stop listening to them.
eric foss, Secret Stash Records VP, Mpls.
E-mail popmusic@startribune.com.
Sena Ehrhardt, Famous Dave's. She doesn't have much stage presence, but the Rochester blueswoman has a tremendous voice. Replacing her dad on guitar with young, talented Cole Allen was a mighty smart move.
LP Music, Icehouse. Making its debut, this Twin Cities instrumental quintet — led by saxist/flutist/keyboardist Eric Leeds and bassist Paul Peterson — impressed with its chemistry and improvisational instincts. LP may be the initials of the leaders' surnames, but it also refers to "long player," as in the 25-minute opening selection. Their secret weapon is outstanding jazz keyboardist Peter Schimke.
