American Music Club                          Cicero's,St Louis,MO  December 19th 1994
	For a guy whose gloomy reputation makes Morrissey look like Raffi, American Music Club lead singer Mark Eitzel was downright jolly throughout much of his performance Monday night at Cicero's.He blushed and smiled at the near-capacity crowd's warm applause, cracked jokes and razzed fans between songs. If you did not know the words to the morose songs that dominated the evening, you might have gotten the impression that Eitzel was, generally speaking, a pretty happy camper. Perhaps things are finally looking up for him. Compared to earlier releases, his band's latest album, "San Francisco," constitutes an optimistic world view. But comparisons aside, the release makes the band's hometown sound like psychodrama city. "This is the story of a friend who fell in love with a woman - who had not been a woman for very long," Eitzel said by way of introduction to the finest cut off the new release, "It's Your Birthday": "You know she loves you - you could make her pain count for something/Even though she hasn't been a girl for very long/Her heart is beautiful, beautiful and strong." In an era dominated by bands indulging in pop anachronisms for the sake of irony, and usually coming off as either brittle or as whistlers-in-the-dark, American Music Club is a band of hardy romantics. "I came to St. Louis to find love," the terminally heartbroken Eitzel exclaimed before leading the band through a rendition of "The Revolving Door," from the new album: "The revolving door, I'm stuck in it, my love/Your cold, cold heart that never opens and never tires/What chance do I have?" Eitzel's band served as a vehicle for his languorous ballads, which dominated the set. In that service, they were unremarkable. Unless you were a die-hard fan, Eitzel's depressing delivery on the long, slow selections bordered on tedium. But on power pop songs such as "Wish the World Away" or "It's Your Birthday," the band was utterly electrifying, especially considering the funky dynamics of Cicero's. The club's low ceiling and poor sight lines always produce a heavy gab factor in the portion of the crowd with no view of the stage. If you were not among those in the crush up front, it was nearly impossible to make out the vocals over the shouts of those who simply ignored the show in order to socialize. Lead guitarist Vudi was particularly stunning, hacking his way out of tangled mixes. However, many of his solos were crushed by Danny Pearson's over-amplified bass. Eric Voeks' Sandbox opened the show with a mod-inflected set that recalled the Style Council. The band performed spare but elegant pop gems highlighted by flawless harmonies. We're not sure if there's a breakout possibility for this local act. Would anyone have heard of the Style Council if there had not first been a hook-crazy band called the Jam? Review by Paul Hampel for St Louis Post Dispatch   December 22nd 1994                                                                         Return to homepage here