Village Voice
May 21, 2003
Shortlist:Cobra Verde

Since his mid '80s in the great Death of Samantha, Ohio renaissance man John Petkovic (Plain Dealer columnist, aide to Yugoslav royalty, dandy dresser) has been our nation's trustiest defender of '70s glam in its most artsy and Roxy guises. More impressive than CV's links to Guided by Voices and Dinosaur Jr. (whose J. Mascis helps out tonight) is their own increasingly accessible oeuvre, peaking with the Pet Shop Boys--trouncing '99 Nightlife and lately enduring via the near-pop Easy Listening, where tear gas rioters, nine-to-five Frankensteins, terrorists, and whores succumb to the queen-bitch power of regal riff and hosanna harmony alike. Friday with Tiger Mountain, Need New Body, and All City Affairs. Friday at 8:30, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, 212-260-4700; Saturday at 8:30, Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-230-0236.
— Chuck Eddy