This has been a great week for rock fans in the Twin Cities area. On Tuesday, queens of the scene, Sleater-Kinney, played together with the Quails. Then, last night Clinic, Apples in Stereo, and Touch and Go newcomers, The Standard, played at First Avenue. While one was 90 minutes of pure rock wizardry, the other was singularly disappointing.

The Bad-ass . . .
Sleater-Kinney headlined with a 90-minute set stacked with their sing-along greats from each of their exemplary albums released on the Northwest's finest label, Kill Rock Stars. Given the recent release of perhaps their best album since 1997's Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney devoted a fair portion of the show to promoting their new One Beat. They achieved superb renditions of nearly every single song from One Beat, including the bonus single that accompanied the initial release of the album. They also churned out their classic tunes from 1996's Call the Doctor (including the title track), and Dig Me Out (including the title track and Turn It On). The trio also kicked out more recent jams like Start Together and the anthem, End of You, from 1999's Hot Rock, as well as the first two singles off 2000's All Hands on the Bad One (You're No Rock N' Roll Fun and All Hands on the Bad One). For the duration of the show, Corin Tucker's brilliant howling paired quite nicely with Brownstein's more sassy vocal style — a wholly impressive performance from both vocalists. Brownstein's guitar hooks and riffs were another important factor in the success of this performance. But, Janet Weiss's impeccably precise drumming seemed to be the gel that shaped the band's success on stage, like on the albums. Make every effort to see Sleater-Kinney on this tour — it will fully be worth your time and money. Rawk Factor: 9 out of 10

... and the Plain Bad
Note: the above title really only applies to the headliners, Clinic. Damn, I was psyched to see Clinic, given both how stellar I find each of their releases as well as how much friends had acclaimed their previous performances. Opening up for Clinic were first Portland's The Standard, followed by Denver's own Apples in Stereo. Of the three bands, I was most impressed with The Standard, who sound a bit like the Dismemberment Plan in the way their prevalent use of keyboards helps define a sound with breadth and range. Though most of the tracks off their Touch and Go debut release, August, are slow and pensive, The Standard capped their performance with The Five-Factor Model and Behind the Scenes, songs in which The Standard don't fail to rock. In fact, The Standard's lead singer sounded at times (to be precise: at the more rocking moments) like a cross between Lungfish's Daniel Higgs and CCR's John Fogerty. You can download some of their more chill tracks, where my above attempt to categorize the singer's voice totally founders, at Barbaric Records' website. Rawk Factor: 7.5 out of 10.