The Bands Of Oz: Club Becomes A Notable Showcase

Oz, the nonalcohol dance club on Taylor Avenue North, in the shadow of the Space Needle, is becoming a notable performance venue. Last week Boy George started his first American tour in years there, and Monday the jazzy, laid-back rap group known as A Tribe Called Quest warms up for its upcoming tour with Public Enemy with a show that starts at 10 p.m. The Tribe has one of the hottest rap songs going with "Check the Rhyme," the No. 2 rap single in the country (after P.E.'s "Can't Truss It") according to Billboard, and one of the most requested videos on "Yo! MTV Raps." The tune is from the Tribe's second LP, "The Low End Theory," the follow-up to its debut, "People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm," which spawned the funny, memorable "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo." They also provided the rap in Deee-Lite's platinum single, "Groove Is In The Heart." After the Oz show (tickets are $10 at the door), the Tribe joins the giant rap tour headed by P.E. and including Ice-T, Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Geto Boys, Naughty by Nature, Queen Latifah, Heavy D & the Boyz, MC Lyte, D.J. Quick and Son of Bazerk. The tour opens Wednesday in Cincinnati. It hits the West Coast next month, with shows in Los Angeles and Oakland, but no Seattle date has been set.

-- Nirvana has a good chance of having the No. 1 album in the country next week. "Nevermind" is No. 4 with a bullet this week, and the three competitors above it - Garth Brooks' "Ropin' the Wind" at No. 1, followed by Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit" and Ice Cube's "Death Certificate" - don't seem as strong. The only one who may beat Nirvana is Hammer. And if he does, Nirvana could leap into the coveted top spot the week after. Meanwhile, the local heroes have announced another show at the Paramount, which they packed on Halloween. The show is at 8 p.m. Dec. 28, with "special guests" to be named. Tickets, at $12, go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster outlets.

-- The packed house at Dr. John's first set Wednesday night at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley got to sing happy birthday to the New Orleans piano legend, born Malcolm Rebennack in that city 50 years ago. One fan in the crowd, Thom Gunn, owner of Whidbey Fish (yes, that Thom Gunn, the controversial University of Washington student body president in the '60s), presented the good doctor with a side of smoked salmon. Backed by his band, including guitarist Stevie Gurr, saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, bassist Chris Severin and drummer Freddy Staehle, the Night Tripper (one of his other nicknames) sang "Right Place Wrong Time," "Iko, Iko," "Such a Night" and his other hits, as well as some new songs. Dr. John and his band play the Alley through tomorrow night, with sets at 8:30 and 10:30.

-- Greil Marcus, the noted rock critic, here earlier this week to promote his new book, "Dead Elvis," and to do a reading from it at the Elliott Bay Book Company, is well-versed in Seattle rock. In an interview he had praise for Nirvana, Soundgarden and other local leading lights, but reserved his strongest accolades for the Fastbacks, which he called "my favorite American band." He has collected everything the punky pop band has ever recorded, which can be difficult because the group has been putting out singles, EPs and albums since the late 1970s (Duff McKagan, now of Guns 'N Roses, once was a member.) The Fastbacks, whose newest release is "Fastbacks . . . And His Orchestra," a 20-song compilation on PopLlama, play Wednesday night at the Off Ramp, on a bill with Girl Trouble and Sybil. Incidentally, Marcus loves Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. "It's so evil, and it's so sulfurous and spooky," he said. "It's like the maw of hell is opening up, and everybody's having a good time." Couldn't have said it better myself.

-- Who says there are no good politicians anymore? A strong candidate for president of the United States is visiting this weekend, a man who can lead us out of the present economic morass. It's Pat Paulsen, of course, the perennial candidate whose slogan this time is, "I've upped my standards . . . now up yours." The hangdog funnyman opens tonight and plays through Sunday at Giggles.

-- Remember Roger, the funky singer who processed his voice through synthesizers to give it an otherworldly sound? The singer-guitarist's big hit was 1987's "I Want To Be Your Man," which went all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart. He's back, with a new album, "Bridging the Gap," which has yielded a hit single, the rap-influenced "(Everybody) Get Up." And he's playing tonight through Sunday at the Turning Point in the Central Area, backed by his band, Zapp, which has scored a few hits of its own, including the funk classic "More Bounce to the Ounce."

-- Other notable nightclub events include Jamaican reggae stars the Mighty Diamonds and Mutabaruka tonight at RKCNDY; the versatile jazz violinist, and former member of Jefferson Airplane, Papa John Creach, Sunday at Parker's; the great jazz keyboardist Chick Corea and his Elektric Band Monday, also at Parker's; talented, highly entertaining folk singer Claudia Schmidt Wednesday at the Backstage; and volatile rock and rap band 24-7 Spyz Wednesday at RKCNDY.