June 28, 2001

Red House Painters : Atlanta Variety Playhouse

Mark Kozelek goes from 'Almost Famous' film to almost famous pop star.

Red House Painters haven't released an album in four years after becoming embroiled and entangled in major label merger turmoil. Finally, however, main man Kozelek managed to buy back the rights to Red House Painters' latest, 'Old Ramon', and release it on Sub Pop.

Live, their sombre, haunted melodies offer even more of a somnambulist heartbreak, as the band, dimly basked in purple, shimmer and echo as Kozelek's almost Appalachian wail roundly reverberates in the spaces between every living cell in the room without overpowering the sound.

Primarily pulling from 'Old Ramon', though liberally peppered with older songs, such as a new, unreleased number, a Ween cover from and the threat of playing some Skynyrd when somebody who knows about Kozelek's part in Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous' yells for 's 'Tiny Dancer', Red House Painters' tender, almost two-hour performance is one great stretch of chiming, charming, disarming, electrified and electrifying slow building, deep breathing drones. Even as a child, summer air never smelled or sounded so sweet.

Tony Ware