Renowned indie talents to take 'Sco stage by storm

Perhaps to the dismay of some misinformed students, Sonic Youth will not be playing at the 'Sco any time soon. However, Lee Ranaldo, Sonic Youth's guitar player, alongside free-jazz drummer William Hooker, will play there this Saturday.

The duo are here to support their second live release, entitled Clouds, which was recorded at a May 1997 gig at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle. On Clouds, and in concert with Hooker, Ranaldo plays his guitar in a more intricate fashion then he does with Sonic Youth, while reciting poetry taken from his numerous notebooks. Hooker, who also contributes poetry, plays powerfully and precisely in ways comparable to the great Milford Graves.

Ranaldo's work in Sonic Youth, a band who has had an exciting creative revival recently with three excellent self-released EP's, assures a good turnout for the show. However, those excited by the prospect of seeing a sort of mini-version of a seminal band, something like Ace Frehley's mid-'80s Kiss Tribute Shows may be surprised by Saturday's performance. Ranaldo's guitar work with Hooker has been called "psychedelic" and "ambient."

That description doesn't exactly paint a lucid picture of what the band will be like in concert, especially when one is dealing with a talent like Ranaldo, whose musical influences include both the Grateful Dead and Glenn Branca. Perhaps the only thing one can expect from Ranaldo in advance is an engaging and intense showing from one of post-punk's most diverse and powerful players.

Hooker, himself a full-fledged downtown New York legend, is described as being fierce but controlled. Sometimes his drumming is the focus of the duo's music, as he wails behind his kit with fevered energy. At other times, he taps out a relaxed pattern on the drums in support of Ranaldo, whose guitar hums, squeaks and squeals as he reads his poetry.

The duo's tour was organized by Knitting Factory Works, an extension of the Knitting Factory - New York's premier progressive club. The club has received much attention for bringing together jazz and pop in an organic, uncontrived way. Saturday's show will surely give non-New Yorkers a first-hand look at how that ongoing melding of genres is progressing.

Lee Ranaldo and William Hooker perform at the 'Sco on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 p.m. The cost is $4.

Strumming into oblivion: Lee Ranaldo and William Hooker will visit straight from NYC's Knitting Factory (photo courtesy of Concert Board)