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The big rain/snow storm didn't shut down the city so everyone should get out of the house this weekend. Her is a list of a few things that happening for your enjoyment:
Tonight (2/6) at the Rudyard Kipling, 422 W. Oak St., music fans get to see a work in progress. PA Project is a band that recently moved out of the practice space and onto the stage. Founded by brothers Josh and Zac Singer, who actually hail from Pennsylvania, PA Project has only played one official gig. Josh Singer said they never planned on actually starting a band.
“Chris (Shireman) our drummer has played in a few bands like Drowning Wilbur ans Flying Saucer,” Josh Singer explained. “My brother Zac played in some bands in Pennsylvania. When Zac moved here he had some songs, and our friend Nate (Little) had a keyboard. I picked up a bass and we just started learning how to play Zac's songs and few covers. Sometimes it sounded good and sometimes it didn't. That's why we started referring to it as the project.”
Singer said the PA Project is influenced by jam bands and classic rock. They already have a Facebook page with a few hundred followers. PA Project has also started to do some recording and there are a couple of songs available on the Facebook. The show tonight starts at 10 p.m.
Also tonight, Gallery Exvoto, 634 E. Market, is hosting “Artist for Haiti,” a benefit for Burners Without Borders. For the 9 days, Burners Without Borders has a plane and pilot that can get med supplies from Florida to Haiti for $1 a pound. The group is rounding up the supplies, then shuttling them onto the plane, and making sure they get where they are needed. But BWB needs cash for fuel to keep the plane going. So, come out and buy some art. This takes place from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Local hip hop fans might want to check out “The Hottest Party in the Ville.” J Double of Country Gutta, who brought Haystak to town a few months ago, put together this event that is hosted by Sauce Money Connects and the Dro Boyz from Benton Harbor, Michigan. Local artists include: Kenzo, Louis Keyz, HurraSeason, T-Razor, Country Gutta, Neisha Bdot, Dirty Carleone & TY, Father Jah, Dub Key, Young Bell, White Durty and DJ Slikk on the 1's and 2's. This is happening at Slammers Sports Bar, 2800 Crums Lane, from 9:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.
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FuNkY CaPrIcOrN
sat feb 06 2010
at 4:54 pm
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I have too much food to make tonight for the biggest party of the year tomorrow to go do anything. |
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When it comes to instruments, Calexico never seems to have enough. Over the course of six official albums and countless self-made tour cds, the Tucson, Arizona group has incorporated steel guitar, vibraphone, harmonica, and even accordion into its potent mix of Southwestern indie rock and '50s jazz. The band's co-founders – and multi-instrumentalists – Joey Burns (guitar/bass/vocals) and John Convertino (drums/percussion/piano) even took a mariachi band on one of their European tours. So, it's no surprise that they jumped at the chance to perform with the 71-member Louisville Orchestra on Saturday (1/30) as part of the BB&T Strings Attached Series.
“We've had strings on our records, but we've never played with a full orchestra before,” Burns said in a telephone interview. “It's something that has been talked about several times, but it's never come together until now. We use elements of symphonic music in our songs so it's a natural extension of what we do.”
The Strings Attached Series pairs the orchestra with adventurous indie rock bands. The series kicked off in November with the Dashboard Confessionals. In addition to Calexico, Saturday's show includes the Airborne Toxic Event (“Sometime Around Midnight”). Burns said Calexico's 45 minute, 7-song set will feature a combination of new songs and older, re-imagined material.
“We gave them (the orchestra) some live recordings so they could have someone do the arrangements,” Burns explained. “I was happy with the end result. There are more transitions, segues. There are elements of surprise. I think the crowd will be impressed.”
Although he is known for playing contemporary music, Burns has a classical music degree from the University of California-Irvine. That's where he first met Convertino in the early '90s. At the time Convertino was playing drums for Giant Sand, a band Burns soon joined on standup bass. Calexico began as a side project after Giant Sand moved to Tucson in 1994. It turned into a full-time gig for Burns and Convertino after a couple of years.
Calexico's latest album is “Carried to Dust,” but most of the music they've been making lately has been for film. The band's music has appeared in two Michael Mann films, “Public Enemies” and “Collateral,” and in the Bob Dylan-themed “I'm Not There.” In the latter film, Calexico backed Jim James of My Morning Jacket on “Goin' to Acapulco.” Calexico is working on several film projects, including one that involves another collaboration with James. Burns said he's a longtime fan of Louisville talent.
“Louisville is a very interesting town,” Burns said. “It's always been an important place because of all the great bands like Slint, Rachel's, and now My Morning Jacket. We've played Louisville many times and I'm excited that we get to do our first orchestral show there.”
The Airborne Toxic Event/Calexico show is at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, 501 W. Main St. It starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and up, but if you buy a $33 ticket it includes admission to Phantasmagorical at Headliners on Sunday.
Phantasmagorical is benefit for Jason Noble (Rachel's, Shipping News, and Rodan) who was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Wax Fang, D.W. Box, Second Story Man, and other bands are donating their talents to help Noble raise money to defray his medical costs. The benefit starts at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and admission is $10 unless you take advantage of the Calexico show deal. To attend both shows call 502-587-8681 for tickets (use the promo code NOBLE).
Photo: Joey Burns
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Serious jazz fans know that the Comedy Caravan has been doing the community a service by hosting a weekly jazz showcase anchored by the Bobby Falk Group every Monday night. Tonight's lineup (1/18) is a special treat for people who view music as more than just background sound. OK Kino plays jazz with an indie rock sensibility and the Sandpaper Dolls is an all-vocal trio that owes more to Tom Waits than the Andrew Sisters.
The lack of instruments is both a challenge and emancipation for the Sandpaper Dolls: Suki Anderson, Rebecca Dennison, and Amber Estes. The responsibility for filling the entire space of a song with their voices requires the Dolls to step outside traditional songwriting and performance conventions. The result is music that is groovy, soulful, and communal.
In “Betrayer and Enemy,” Anderson can be heard inhaling and exhaling in the background as one of her bandmates sings, “I feel the curves of my betrayer beneath the skin of my forearms/it throbs with a pulse that is almost my own/that rambles, that grows from the blades of my shoulders/wrap me with thorns that never quite break the skin.”
“In most bands, the vocalist is not considered a musician,” Anderson explained. “But our voices are the only instruments that we have. Each of them has a different quality and that is a unique palette to work with. We can make any sound we like if we work hard enough at it.”
Anderson, 36, grew up in Cincinnati and she started performing music as a member of the Squallis Puppeteers. The group of musicians supporting the puppet shows morphed into the soul band A.M. Sunday with Anderson as lead singer. About three years ago, after A.M. Sunday disbanded, Anderson was working as a bartender at the defunct downtown Jazz Factory when she and co-worker Estes (Liberation Prophesy) started brainstorming a collaboration. The original concept for the group included several musicians, but with each conversation another instrument was whittled away.
“I wanted to start a band without guitar, just bass and drums,” Anderson remembered. “Then Amber suggested that we take away the bass. It went from one thing to the next until we were left with just the vocals.”
With Dennison, a frequent collaborator of local favorite Jamie Barnes, the Sandpaper Dolls were born. Anderson said that Dennison turned out to be a proficient writer and the band members are constantly influencing one another. The group has released one record, “Live at 21c,” and appeared on several compilations. The band is currently recording an official debut with Kevin Ratterman (Elliott, Your Black Star). The Comedy Caravan is one of the few shows the group has planned because the members are focusing on songwriting and recording.
“I like performing for a jazz crowd because they are good listeners,” Anderson said. “We've done a lot of indie rock shows. They can be a lot of fun, but the crowd is usually not that quiet. They miss the subtle parts of songs. What we do is almost more like performance art than rock-n-roll.”
OK Kino, Sandpaper Dolls, and the Bobby Falk Group will perform tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Comedy Caravan, 1250 Bardstown Road. Tickets are $6 online and $8 at the show. The Sandpaper Dolls' “Live at 21c” is available at ear-X-tacy.
Photo: Sandpaper Dolls
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brigid kaelin
mon jan 18 2010
at 7:42 pm
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They are one of my favorite groups in town ... Suki's voice gives me chills. Together, it's mindblowing. |
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chuck
tue jan 19 2010
at 9:40 am
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Must. See. This. Band! :-) |
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It's the end of a decade which is a nice time to look back on the great music released so far this century. I tend not to like Best Of lists because they are so subjective. These lists say more about the tastes of the critics picking them than actually what is the best music. I've perused both the Pitchfork Media's Top 200 of the Decade and Rolling Stone's Top 100. I probably agree with 40 percent of their picks. But what these lists are good for is helping people discover some good music that they might have missed. In that spirit, I present my Top 10 Albums of the 2000s:
10. Dead Prez, “Let's Get Free” – This is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. Group members Stic.Man and M-1 combine the social sensibilities of Public Enemy with the raw power of NWA. “Hip Hop” was a big hit for them, but this album is full of socially-conscious bangers.
9. Cody Chestnut, “The Headphone Masterpiece” – Chestnut knew what he was talking about when he named this thing. This is one of the few double-albums that hold up from beginning to end. “Serve This Royalty” is “Superfly”-era Curtis Mayfield, but Chestnut also services up slices of folk, rock, and hip hop.
8. The Libertines, “The Libertines” – This British group should have been the biggest rock band in the world, but it was sidelined by Pete Doherty's drug use. This Mick Jones-produced, self-titled album has enough raw energy and beautiful melodies to ensure they won't soon be forgotten. “Can't Stand Me New” is one of the best songs of the decade.
7. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black” – We all know about the drugs, the divorce, and the fights, but lets remember why we care about Amy Winehouse in the first place. Other artists like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Duffy, and even Alice Smith captured the same retro-vibe as Winehouse. But “Back to Black” and her first album, “Frank,” have a driving-pop sheen that makes them irresistible.
6. Bob Dylan, “Time Out of Mind” – My wife can't understand my fascination with Bob Dylan, but I don't think you can be a writer and not appreciate him. With this album, a testament to heartbreak, Dylan shows again that he's one of modern music's great wordsmiths.
5. Outkast, “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” – Hip hop artists have become so disposable that it is not often we get to see them grow and mature, but Outkast has done just that. It's hard to believe this is the same group that produced “Playa's Anthem.” "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" is actually two solo albums. Bib Boi's “Speakerboxx” is a great party album, especially the Sleepy Brown-assisted “I Like the Way You Move.” Andre 3000's “The Love Below” is proof that emcees are artists too.
4. Kanye West, “Late Registration” – Any one of West's albums could have made my list. He's always interesting and he never repeats himself. I picked this collaboration with Jon Brion because even more than “College Dropout” I think it shows that West was way ahead of his hip hop peers. Besides, “Gold Digger,” will probably be around for the rest of the century.
3. Radiohead, “Kid A” – There really isn't anything new that can be written about this album. I love Radiohead and even I'm sick of hearing how great they are. Fortunately, I never get sick of “Kid A.” It really is a breakthrough.
2. Dangermouse, “The Grey Album” – Producer Dangermouse got into trouble when he combined the lyrics from Jay Z's “Black Album” with music from the Beatles. But this mash-up set the stage for his future collaborations, most famously with Cee-Lo Green as Gnarls Barkley. Besides, Jay Z's never sounded as dope as he does on Dangermouse's version of “What More Can I Say.”
1. TV On the Radio, “The Return to Cookie Mountain” – TV On the Radio receives almost as praise as Radiohead, and they deserve it. Its major label debut is the band's most accessible record, but they are all great. “Wolf Like Me” is a classic rock song.
It was hard coming up with 10 albums that I really liked this year. Instead, I'll give you my 10 Favorite Songs of 2009:
10. Das Racists, “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” – This is the dumbest song I heard all year, but it is so catchy. I prefer the band's “Rainbow in the Dark” or “Chicken and Meat,” but “Combination” was a big sensation. I love how Das Racists plays with the expectations of a hip hop group.
9. Adele, “Hometown Glory” – The English have a patent on mournful ballads. This song reminded me of early Smiths. That means I love it.
8. Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash” – This producer and former member of Tony! Toni! Tone! released a homage to '50s soul, “The Way I See It.” “100 Yard Dash” is my favorite track. It sounds like Saadiq is channeling Frankie Lymon.
7. Kanye West, “Heartless” – “808s & Heartbreak” is a classic album, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. No matter what you think about the autotune singing, this song is awesome. I think it is a testament to West's songwriting that there are so many rock covers of this song.
6. Kid Cudi, “Day N' Nite” – Kanye West might have pioneered the idea of the emo-rapper, but Kid Cudi is the embodiment of the concept. In most of his song, he refers to himself as the “lonely stoner.”
5. Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” – I have a lot of good friends who swear by the Kings of Leon. The band has never really done it for me. But even I couldn't resist this song.
4. Jay Z, “Run This Town” – Kanye West kind of steals the song with his verse at the end, but it's good to see Jay Z has his swagger back.
3. Lady Gaga, “Pokerface” – I know very little about Lady Gaga, but she makes good pop songs. I like the music if not all of her costumes.
2. Rick Ross, “Mafia Music 2” – This is a 50 Cent diss track. In fact, it is the only decent song that came out of the feud between the two rappers. Rawse is old school cool on this track.
1. Drake, “Forever” – This was Drake's year. Never has someone garnered so much press without having an album out. Then he has Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, and Eminem on a track.
That's my list, love it or hate it. Let the argument begin.
Photo: TV On The Radio
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Michael L. Jones