Icy response When The Spin heard that Goofus and Gallant of Highlights magazine fame were in town for last week’s SIGUR RÓS show at the Ryman, we tracked them down to get their thoughts on the show. (Kids at home, read on and decide whom you’d rather play with: grumpy Goofus or gracious Gallant?) Goofus: Is it just me, or do all of Sigur Rós’ songs sound the same? I think they played the same number four different times. Gallant: Well, it’s that repetitive, hypnotic thing. That’s kind of their shtick, no? Goofus: Sure, but they could stand to change it up a little. What was with all the open fifths? Have they never heard of a seventh chord? Hello? Maybe a blue note every now and then? Gallant: Maybe they don’t get the blues in Iceland. Yes, they’re quite pastoral—but so was Aaron Copland. Goofus: Aaron Copland wasn’t a pretentious hipster yodeling in a made-up language. Sigur Rós were so over-serious, as if every song they played was incredibly profound. And what about that whole violin-bow-on-the-guitar thing? Gallant: Maybe they don’t show Spinal Tap in Iceland as often as they do here. The bow thing did sound pretty cool though, don’t you think? Goofus: Yeah, maybe the first 14 times he did it, but it got a little old. Much like his falsetto. He sounded like Jon Anderson from Yes. Gallant: What’s wrong with Yes? You watched the Yessongs DVD with me and seemed quite impressed. And at least Jónsi Birgisson’s vocals make no pretense at discernible meaning; Anderson’s lyrics were bloody ridiculous. Goofus: But at least Yes wore appropriately flaky outfits when they performed. If you’re going to play music that would fit on the “Music From the Hearts of Space” radio show, you should at the very least look like an extra from Lord of the Rings. Sigur Rós want us all to take them as seriously as they take themselves, and I’m not buying. Gallant: Dude, just because you were stuck with me as your Valentine’s date is no reason to be so bitter. A lot of Dap’ll do ya They may be from New York City, but SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS play here so much they feel like local favorites, and their set last Wednesday at Mercy Lounge surely stoked the love affair. They were already slammin’ when they first surfaced four years ago, but we feared they might turn out to be a retro-obsessed, one-trick pony. Last week’s show put all such fears to rest. As is their fashion, the DKs started out sans Jones for several tunes, and it was immediately clear they’ve grown even tighter, more complex and more dynamic. The Toscanini of funk, bandleader/emcee/guitarist BINKY GRIPTITE had the group shifting grooves and dramatically changing tempos on a dime. On the Dap-Kings’ MySpace page, Jones says, “Once you get moved by the Spirit, you just gotta let it out and share it with the people,” and as soon as the diminutive singer took the stage, the evening adopted the feel of a revival. Jones hauled up numerous audience members to feel the Spirit; at one point, a young prepster convulsed his way through the crowd, as if possessed, and flew up onstage in a frenzy. We thought he’d start speaking in tongues at any moment. But we understood his jubilation. If you missed this opportunity to cleanse your soul, don’t fret—the show was filmed for Turner South’s upcoming live music series Music Road. Oh, that’s right…Comcast doesn’t offer TSN in Nashville. Ouch. Can’t see the Bush for the Nettles SUGARLAND’s KRISTIAN BUSH should be no stranger to the duo dynamic; he was one-half of folk-rock pair Billy Pilgrim. But judging from Sugarland’s invite-only Valentine’s Day show at City Hall, he’s still adjusting to the mysterious departure of bandmate Kristen Hall last month. From the moment the now-duo kicked off their set with a few lines from U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Bush let lead singer JENNIFER NETTLES dominate, rarely venturing from his stage-left spot or engaging in onstage banter. Nettles, whose spectacular sweet-and-sour voice was in top form despite a year of heavy touring, was a captivating bundle of contradictions—she joked comfortably with the industry-heavy crowd, yet boomeranged around the stage like it was her first taste of audience-induced adrenaline. Only semi-surprise guest JON BON JOVI dared invade her spotlight, for a crackling collaboration on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” that highlighted her Jennifer Aniston brand of sexiness—a flirty approachability that bewitches the boys while keeping the girls at ease. It all did little to quell rumors that Nettles may soon be solo-bound. Bush is a talented songwriter and skilled mandolin player, but with his bandmate’s star power reaching critical mass, he might do well to make himself more indispensable. Prophetable investment Of the many mysterious fringe figures in Nashville’s musical history, few had as enigmatic a career as the PROPHET OMEGA. In the early 1980s, from his “temple” in Madison—“Apt. Q258 at 488 Lamont Drive,” an address he repeated like a mantra—the one and only Omega broadcast drawling, loquacious sermons full of sickbed shout-outs, James Brown-style incantations and paeans to his beloved sponsors, Shipp Moving Service and J&B Boutique. Oddly enough, recordings of his radio broadcasts became a tour-bus staple and underground favorite in the mid-1980s. The Rolling Stones and David Bowie were fans; Melissa Etheridge and Adrian Belew used Omega samples in recordings. In their 2000 documentary Friends Seen and Unseen, DEMETRIA KALODIMOS and KATHY CONKWRIGHT unmasked the Prophet as the late Omega Townsend, a former carny who became a fixture on the “prophet circuit” offering advice, readings and lucky numbers to the spiritually curious. Now the words of the Prophet reverberate again, thanks to Kalodimos and her Genuine Human Productions. Adding record-label impresario to her crowded résumé, the WSMV anchor and documentary filmmaker has just released The Complete Sermons, a two-CD set of the Prophet Omega’s greatest hits. “I truly believe it is verbal folk art,” observes Kalodimos, who says the CDs are as complete a volume of his recordings as she can find. Many reel-to-reel sermons broadcast over Music Row’s WNAH-AM were thrown away by his family after his death, leaving Kalodimos to hunt down various collectors. The Complete Sermons is available at Grimey’s and Tower, and at www.genuinehuman.com . Act now, and Kalodimos may have “Q258” T-shirts for sale. As the Prophet himself would say, “They got some beautiful girls over there doin’ the packing.” Elvis has left the Ryman If you missed last weekend’s amazing Grand Ole Opry taping—where ELVIS COSTELLO made his Opry debut alongside EMMYLOU HARRIS, GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS, and backing players VIKTOR KRAUSS and FATS KAPLIN—you missed more than a scorching version of “Mystery Train” that brought the crowd to its feet. You missed a surprise appearance by DIANA KRALL, introduced horror-movie style as “the bride of Elvis Costello,” who did a slinky duet with Vince Gill that she recorded that afternoon for Gill’s new album. And Costello finished his Oscar-nominated song “The Scarlet Tide,” dedicated to the troops overseas, with a seeming dig at the commander in chief: a new verse that ended with the line, “Admit you lied, and bring them all back home.” God bless the Opry, God bless the Ryman, and God bless America. News you can use • West Virginia native TATIA ROSE, president of Nashville’s Rose Music Group, is flexing her music-business muscle to help her home state. Rose is organizing “Music for the Miners,” a benefit to raise funds for 17 West Virginian families affected this year by three coal-mining disasters. She hopes Nashville will give back to a community that has inspired many of its recording artists. So far, BRAD NELSON, ALL DAY RADIO, MAHAJIBEE BLUES, TANGLEWOOD and RACHEL EDDY & THE MO’TOWN ROUNDERS are slated to perform, with two headlining acts yet to be added. The concert takes place April 12 at the Metropolitan Theater in Morgantown, W.V., and will be recorded for a DVD; a silent auction will feature items donated by Ricky Skaggs and Nickel Creek. To donate or for more info, call 733-0105, or email tatiarose80@comcast.net. • Bottoms up to THE CLUTTERS, who got some national ink in Rolling Stone for their album T&C. We’re glad to see RS writer David Fricke praise one of our own, but his reference to the band as a “Nashville anomaly, a straight-ahead garage-rock band” would suggest he hasn’t visited our fair town in the last, um, couple decades or so. Bless his heart. • Rock ’n’ roll showman/shaman DAVE CLOUD has signed a deal with Fire Records, the legendary British label that has released albums by Spacemen 3, Pulp and Mercury Rev. Due out in April, his forthcoming album, Napoleon of Temperance, will cull tracks from Cloud’s two stateside releases, Songs I Will Always Sing and All My Best, both released on the local indie Thee Swan Recording Company. There’s talk of some European touring in the offing, though for now the best place to experience Cloud’s rock-god theatrics and sky-humping moves is at his longtime home base, Springwater. • MY MORNING JACKET, BEN FOLDS, GOV’T. MULE, CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH and BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY are among the bands that will play Vanderbilt’s Rites of Spring music festival, April 21-22 on Alumni Lawn. Could this be the year for our dream supergroup, Fold Your Jacket Say Thugs? Nepalese bash ANTHONY CORRELL was a fixture on the Nashville music scene for years, both as a longtime employee at Corner Music and as a guitarist in numerous local bands. Though he’s moved far away—Nepal, to be exact—he’s back in town to celebrate his upcoming wedding with a gig/party, Thursday, Feb. 23, at the 5 Spot. Expect some Widespread Panic, some Dead, and guest appearances by ROBERT HOWELL & THE VISITORS, BONES and more. Send news, notes, tips and strange guitar tunings to thespin@nashvillescene.com.