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Charlie
Louvin
WAMC
Performing Arts Studio, Thursday
Charlie Louvin, one-half of the famous Louvin Brothers act,
who got their tenuous start playing gigs at country fairs
singing gospel tunes and twangy down-home favorites for the
mostly red of neck, will perform in Albany tonight (Thursday).
Louvin, a country idol from way down in Alabama, seemed unlikely
to achieve national stardom but certainly made good. Members
of the legendary Grand Ole Opry of Nashville, the Louvin Brothers
have sung their distinctive “shape note singing,” gospel-based
duets infused with good old country soul, in an arena that
has housed the likes of such greats as the King himself. Though
Louvin is now traveling and crooning solo, he has continued
to sell out shows everywhere he plays. Though his most recent
big hit, “See the Big Man Cry” last saw a spot on the Top
10 way back in 1965, Louvin has proven that he has staying
power. (Oct. 5, 8 PM, $20, 339 Central Ave., Albany, 465-5233
ext. 4)
The
Iguanas
Club
Helsinki, Friday
This roots-rock New Orleans group will bring their tour, and
the sounds on their latest album, Plastic Silver 9 Volt
Heart, to the area this weekend. After their fifth album,
they are still able to take their signature sound and shake
it up with a new groove. The Times-Picayune dubbed
Plastic Silver 9-Volt Heart as Album of the Year in
2003. Using R&B, Latin and Caribbean rhythms, the Iguanas’
live performance is said to “conjure up a seductive latenight
atmosphere.” Check out their spirited mix of music and bilingual
lyrics tomorrow in Great Barrington. (Oct. 6, 9 PM , $20,
254 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass., 413-528-3394)
Joanna
Newsom
Bennington
College, Friday
We can already hear the prog-folk kids wetting their pants
over this one. While Devendra whets their whistle and Sufjan
turns their crank, only Joanna Newsom can so gingerly pluck
at their heartstrings. And, as it goes, her own harp strings,
as that’s her instrument of choice. Over two self-released
records, Yarn and Glue and Walnut Whales, she
established herself as one of the most enchanting weirdos
on the quiet-music scene, a flaxen-haired wisp with a voice
like a hiccup. (A Drag City release, The Milk-Eyed Mender,
followed in 2004.) This year, she went full-on freaky with
Ys, a five-track, double-LP release (due Nov. 14) engineered
by Steve Albini and produced by Jim O’Rourke, with orchestral
arrangements by the one-and-only Van Dyke Parks. The perfect
indie-prog storm. Newsom will perform in the Greenwall Auditorium
at Bennington College tomorrow (Friday) night. (Oct. 6,
10 PM, $10, 500 Jennings Drive, Bennington, Vt., 802-442-5401)
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| GREAT
BIG SEA |
Great
Big Sea
The
Egg, Wednesday
O, Canada: You have given us, the residents of the middle
part of the North American continent known as the United States,
so very much. For instance. . . . Hockey. SCTV. Mary
Pickford. Cold fronts. Alan Thicke. Labatt’s Ale. Rush (the
power trio, not the right-wing fathead-doper). Now, this weekend,
you are sharing one of the musical jewels of Atlantic Canada,
the Great Big Sea. “Fusing Newfoundland traditional music
with modern pop, Great Big Sea has emerged as one of Canada’s
most popular bands.” Frankly, this one-line description is
all we need to know. “Popular in Canada” is good enough for
us. Also, Great Big Sea, a trio of fine musicians, have been
nominated for multiple Juno awards. We Canuckaphiles revere
the Junos as some love the People’s Choice Awards. This concert
is part of the Rhythm International concert series; we eagerly
await the arrival of Canadians with rhythm. (Oct. 11, 7:30
PM, $24, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)
The
Sword, Seemless
Valentines,
Wednesday
What is it that makes stoner rock and doom metal go hand-in-hand?
Sure, there’s the sludge, but really, in the words of W. Axl
Rose, “What’s so scary about being stoned anyway?” Well, my
friends, that is a question better posed to Austin’s the Sword.
According to their MySpace, the Sword sound like “a herd of
bison being pushed off a cliff.” In reality, they sound more
like a gaggle of stoners being pushed into a recording studio—lazy,
paranoid, their heads full of grand ideas they can’t quite
articulate, but that they’ll pound out of their instruments
regardless. The bison will be accompanied by Seemless—the
Queens of the Stone Age-esque project of ex-Killswitch Engage
singer Jesse Leach. (Oct. 11, 7 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland
Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Bullet
for My Valentine
Northern
Lights, Wednesday
The Welsh quartet Bullet for My Valentine will bring their
punk-infused metal to Northern Lights this weekend. Vocalist-guitarist
Matt Tuck, guitarist Padge Padget, drummer Moose Thomas, and
bassist Jay James make up the group, who have really come
into their own in the past couple years. In a review of the
guys’ new EP, Hit Parader said, “Bullet for My Valentine
are huge over in their native England, and thanks to Trustkill
Records, the hard rock community stateside can get a taste
of what all the freaking fuss is about. Hand of Blood
is a 6-song, guitar driven EP that isn’t afraid to reveal
its melodic side.” This show, sponsored by Channel 103.1,
will also feature Drop Dead, Gorgeous, and Alliance. (Oct.
11, 7:30 PM, $12, Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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| Also
Noted |
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| BLUE
MAN GROUP |
Arlo
Guthrie presents
his Annual Fall Revival at the Guthrie Center
in Housatonic, Mass., tomorrow (Friday) through
Sunday (8 PM nightly, 413-528-1955). . . . The
always-weird-and-wacky Blue Man Group bring
their How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.0 to the Pepsi
Arena Friday night (8 PM, $40.50-$86, 800-30-EVENT).
. . . “Walking in Memphis” songwriter Marc
Cohn should be walking a little lighter when
he rolls into Northampton, Mass., this week—he’s
fully recovered after being shot in the head during
a botched carjacking just over a year ago; this
week, his assailant was sentenced to 36 years
in prison. Vienna Teng will open the Friday
night show at the Iron Horse Music Hall (7 PM,
$40, 413-584-0610). . . . The Radio Takeover tour
hits Valentine’s this Saturday night; among the
featured acts are If Hope Dies, Versus
the Mirror, Oh Sleeper, and the Human
Abstract (8 PM, $10, 432-6572). . . . The
Al DiMeola Electric Quintet will play the
WAMC Performing Arts Studio on Sunday. ’Nuff said
(7 PM, $35, 465-5233 ext. 4). . . . Hot Buttered
Rum will, um, butter the rum (or something
like that) at the Parting Glass on Wednesday (9
PM, $12, 583-1916).
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Classifieds
