Is Janet Weiss the best rock drummer in the world? That question crossed my mind last January when I saw her and her ex-husband Sam Coomes, collectively known as Quasi, open for Elliott Smith. Though Coomes is the focus of the duo since he writes and sings almost all the songs, Weiss's contribution was more than rhythmic.
Quasi has no bassist, so Weiss is the rhythm section, and the musicality of her playing was breathtaking. Built like an Olympic swimmer, she has the shoulders for sustained loud-and-fast attacks, but at the same time she stuffed the spaces between the backbeats with harmonic cymbal and tom-tom fills. When I think of punk drummers, I don't think of people who tune their kits, but Weiss's sounded like a choir.
Her main gig is as the stickperson for Sleater-Kinney, the Olympia, Wash., trio that has been blowing critics' minds since their second album, "Call the Doctor," was released in 1996. Weiss didn't play on that album, since she didn't join the group until "Dig Me Out," S-K's stone masterpiece that was released the following year. Nevertheless, during the band's Tokyo debut at Shinjuku Loft June 28, she sang lead vocals on "Hubcap," which is from "Doctor," while at the same time beating out a complex, off-kilter snare and cymbal pattern that was an immeasurable improvement on the original CD version.