Screaming Trees Pump Up The Showbox

---------------- Nightclub review ----------------

The Screaming Trees last night and at 8 p.m. tonight, Showbox; and 8 p.m. Sunday, RKCNDY (sold out).

Rock on, Gary Lee Conner!

The guitarist for Screaming Trees was possessed; he was in the zone, he was on fire. Pumping up the energy at a packed, eagerly awaited hometown show last night at the Showbox, the big, long-haired, goateed Conner helped spark the band into a powerful, stellar performance. Whipping windmills a la Townshend, stomping on the wah-wah pedal, leaping from the stage monitors, he was a blur of activity but never missed a note, playing tight, classic riffs and short, eloquent solos, and having a ball.

And he wasn't the only guitar ace showing his stuff. Mike McCready of Pearl Jam sat in on the Trees' great song about the heroin plague, "Dying Days," re-creating the brilliant solo he played on the recording.

Young, energetic Josh Homme of Kyuss has joined the Trees for this West Coast tour, and his rhythm and lead guitar added a lot of texture and detail, especially to the more intricate songs from the band's latest (and best) album, "Dust."

Mark Lanegan again proved himself to be one of the best rock vocalists working today. His rich, emotional baritone was in fine form, especially on the melodic "All I Know," the whirling, spiritual "Halo of Ashes" (which opened the show) and the dramatic, eclectic, trippy "Gospel Plow." Lanegan is more his own man since "Dust," although he still sometimes sounds like Jim Morrison (and, with his new facial hair, looks like the bearded version of Morrison).

Barrett Martin kept it all together with his expert drumming, with Van Conner (Gary Lee's brother) also adding to the rhythms and playing some funky bass solos.

Martin got to shine in the goofy final encore, singing wildly while pounding the skins (what was that song? A Devo cover?); McCready also joined in. At the end, Martin picked up his great big bass drum and held it over his head, then threw it onto the stage. Van Conner completed the destruction, stabbing his bass guitar through the drumhead.

The hour-long set emphasized material from Eastern music-influenced, spiritually themed "Dust," one of the best albums released last year - a critical but not commercial success.

But songs from other albums were also a part of the set, including the harmony-driven "Nearly Lost You" from the "Singles" soundtrack, the band's one modest hit single; the surprisingly soft-edged "Butterfly" and the cynical "Dollar Bill," both from the 1991 "Screaming Trees" album.

The excitement in the crowd was reminiscent of the glory days of the late 1980s and early '90s, when Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were all playing clubs around town. As Lanegan surveyed the crushing mass filling every inch of the Showbox floor, he quipped, "About half of ya were on the guest list, weren'tcha?"

Last night's show was opened by Huge Space Bird and Praying Mantis. Tonight the opening acts are Old Lady Litterbug and Mayfield Four. Tad and Suitcase Nukes open the all-ages RKCNDY show Sunday.