POP MUSIC REVIEW : Napolitano and Friends in a Talent Night

It was like Mad Dogs with out Englishmen Wednesday night as Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano turned her casual solo show at Be Bop Records into a veritable hootenanny of local talent.

Joining Napolitano at various times were Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate, Julie Christensen of Divine Horsemen, Rik L. Rik, Gerry Mohr of the Miracle Workers and the ever-goofy Texacala Jones of Tex and the Horseheads.

But from the beginning of this warm, intimate set, as Napolitano and Blonde guitarist Jim Mankey delivered a poignant version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Castles Made of Sand,” the evening developed an integral consistency. The glue was provided by Napolitano’s husky/sweet voice, rock ‘n’ roll gypsy movements, fearless emotional vulnerability and an unshaken belief in keeping personal values faithful and true.

What Napolitano is to local songwriters, Pamela Karol (who calls herself La Loca --the crazy woman) might become for local poets. Reading a long piece titled “The Mayan,” Karol employed both street language and deliberately exaggerated metaphors to convey a sense of personal pain balanced by sociological insight and ecstatic humor in a confessional piece detailing child abuse and the triumph of adolescent spirit.

Leading off the evening was Dos, a duo of newlywed bassists Mike Watt (of Firehose) and Kira Roessler (formerly with Black Flag). The pair’s tandem bass explorations, ping-ponging jagged rhythms, smooth melodic lines and Roessler’s fragile vocals carried the ingenuous imagination that filled this ingratiating showcase of the new L.A. Bohemia.