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Will Teen Wolf Survive? By Mike Connor A CERTAIN MUSIC CRITIC dressed as Teen Wolf was lucky enough to check out a bunch of shows on Halloween that he wormed his way into with the old, "Give me a keg of beer" voice, which works for shows, too. SuperBooty got superfreaky at the Catalyst with their bad, bad selves, attracting what seemed like some of the older, more established superfreaks to their '70s nostalgiafest. Despite the $35 cover, there was still a line of monsters clamoring to get in. The Lyrics Born show at Moe's Alley and the INFERNO at the Vets Hall were not so successful, even if they did have a world-class MC and a two-story playground of all kinds of beats, respectively. It's a damn shame, considering all the people turned away from the Catalyst and the Freaker's Ball at the 418 Project. But it's no wonder so many people wanted to get into the Ball, considering everything they had going on: Brazilian revelers SambaDá, a drum 'n' bass room, a bunch of DJs, psychedelic visuals and an outside area--complete with drummers, fire dancers, a tasty snack bar and a big chill-out area--made this crowded party worth the wait. Speaking of wolves, by the way, the very next night Los Lobos sold out the Catalyst and rocked it like the old pros that they are. The place was packed from front to back with happy-faced couples bopping around to favorites like "Corazon" and their faithful cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come On, Let's Go," but unlike the rest of the crowd, Wolfie was pooped from the previous night's exploits, and so retired home to get some rest and lick his wounds. Slut in a Jam Guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque (of Garaj Mahal fame) made a startling confession last Wednesday night at Moe's Alley, much to the surprise of the enthusiastic audience. Despite his glossy reputation as one of the most brilliantly chaste guitar players in the jam band scene, Haque revealed at long last that he is, in fact, a slut. "At the High Sierra Music Festival, I was awarded 'Most Valuable Player,' because I played in, I believe it was, 16 bands at the time," recalls Haque. "The award was titled 'Most Valuable Player,' but secretly we all know ... I'm a guitar slut." And it didn't stop there. "It's time to talk to the guitar slut!" Haque yelled. "When I give you the signal, everybody on this side of the room say 'Hey!' You people over here, I'm sorry to say, are all 'Hos.'" His cherubic face all smiles and in-the-groove expressions of rapture, the guitar slut from Chicago then went on to deliver crisp, fluttering arpeggios that sounded more like piano arrangements than guitar licks. "Who's a guitar slut?" he yelled defiantly, working his nonfiltered electric guitar over with lightning-quick hands, dramatic starts and stops perfectly synchronized with the tablas, bass, keys, drums and digi-DJ. When they broke into Crosby, Stills and Nash's "Everybody I Love You," Haque smiled like he meant it--that little slut! At one point, he blew away the crowd with his "guistar" (a sitar/electric guitar hybrid), and it became pretty obvious that, in his hands, instruments are mere clumsy physical manifestations of Haque straight-dabbling his fingers in the sonic ether. Howlin' at the Moonies Local B-boys and B-girls are slowly but surely reanimating the hip-hop scene in Santa Cruz, which all but dried up right after Palookaville (R.I.P.) folded. Dominant Intelligence, the Latchkey Bros, the Moonies and Duce Company did it live at Cabrillo College on Saturday night, showing some promising skills on the mics and behind the turntables. Despite numerous claims of hangovers, car exhaustion and food poisoning, Duce Company (& friends) came correct with the dope rhymes and Natalie's jaw-dropping vocal skills. Look out for them at the Vibes Get Hotter show at the Catalyst this coming Friday. [ Santa Cruz | Metroactive Central | Archives ]