A good article and a bad article......the t-shirt idea in the first article is
way cool.  i will write some comments on both shows as well as provide the set
list for charlotte, which was very similar for columbia,  in the next day or
two.

michael



The Free Times (Columbia, SC )  February 2-8, 2000
http://www.free-times.com/music.html


Southern Pop Pops Back Up

The Connells, Mayflies USA
Elbow Room, Saturday February 5

by Kevin Oliver

Few places in the country have been as fertile for burgeoning pop geniuses as
Eastern North Carolina, a region that during the 1980s nurtured (among others)
Let?s Active?s Mitch Easter, The dB?s (which featured Peter Holsapple and Chris
Stamey), and The Connells. That pure pop spirit has taken a back seat to the
alt-country crowd in recent years, but signs are good that it hasn?t gone away.
Exhibit A is The Connells, still plugging away despite recent setbacks. Exhibit
B just might be Mayflies USA, whose new album was produced by Chris Stamey in a
sort of passing the torch of the pop flame.

In the annals of Southeastern rock bands, few have lasted as long as Raleigh?s
Connells. Since their formation in 1984 by brothers Mike and David Connell, they
have released a string of consistently hummable pop-rock albums. The group?s
fans have been cult-like supporters from the start. My most vivid memory of a
Connells show was at Greenstreets in the late 80s when two audience members
showed up in white T-shirts with the respective phrases ?It?s You,? and ?I
Swear,?  printed on them. It was an adulatory reference to the chorus of
?Scotty?s Lament,? from 1987?s Boylan Heights (TVT), a stylistic high point and
perhaps The Connells? best-loved album.

In the 1990s the group found more success in England and Europe than here in
America, but continued to tour and record for TVT until this year, when they
were finally dropped from the label. Regardless of commercial success, The
Connells have made an impact on the pop music of the Carolinas simply through
longevity.

If the title of The Mayflies USA?s new CD, Summertown, brings to mind one of
1999?s most critically-acclaimed albums--Wilco?s Summerteeth (Reprise)--rest
assured that the similarities are more than superficial. The Chapel Hill
residents, like Tweedy and Co.?s recent effort, sculpt their three-minute
bittersweet sugar pop in the classic mold of Big Star and The Beach Boys. The
full length debut CD, just out on the homegrown Tarheel label Yep Roc (following
a self-released EP in 1997), reveals a young group with a grasp on the elder pop
statesmen like Brian Wilson and Alex Chilton. What makes them special is an
ability to update the sound that could draw favorable comparisons to a slew of
like-minded groups such as The La?s, High Llamas, Matthew Sweet, Superdrag, or
Teenage Fanclub--and yes, probably Wilco.




Creative Loafing - Charlotte, NC   Feb 5, 2000
http://www.creativeloafing.com/charlotte/newsstand/current/mmenu.htm

The Connells   If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. The Raleigh-based
jangle-pop outfit that is the Connells were formed way back in the spring of
1984 by guitarist Mike Connell and his brother David, who played bass. The group
reached a popular pinnacle of sorts with "Stone Cold Yesterday," a moderate pop
hit back in 1990, then returned to popular acclaim in 1998 with the album Still
Life, which might have been better titled "stillborn." The band was never a
juggernaut of musical energy, but newer songs sound more flaccid than ever,
despite admirably hooky songwriting. Which is not to say you have to play your
whole life like you did when you were 19, just that you should play the music
you feel and not what you think people want to hear (usually, they don't even
know themselves). That said, they're still better than 80 percent of the bands
on alternative radio today. The real star of this bill would be the Mayflies
USA, previewed separately. Also at Tremont tonight: Bucket Party, featuring the
Alternative Champs. Friday, Tremont Music Hall. -- TD
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