Chemystry Set, Pumped for Dumplin
Valentine’s, Friday

The multicultural backgrounds of the Chemystry Set’s five members—including German-born guitarist Sven Eberlein and mandolin player Baba Ndjhone (née John White)—comes through in their music, which is rooted in the free-spirited traditions of their Bay Area forefathers (the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane). On their latest CD, The Last Real Experience, elements of world music—that’s “world,” meaning bluegrass, Middle Eastern, Southern rock, and funk—are added to the jammy mix. Opening act Pumped for Dumplin will make their first, and possibly last, appearance at Friday’s show. Albany’s answer to Fleetwood Mac, the band features the boyfriend-girlfriend teams of Nick Matulis (knotworking) and Katie Haverly, plus Frank Moscowitz and Martha Kronholm (both of Princess Mabel). Despite their relatively tame and folky musical pedigrees, Pumped for Dumplin have promised a performance chock full of rock—and dumplings. No word on whether those will be steamed or fried. (July 10, 7 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)

David Allen Coe
Northern Lights, Saturday

David Allen Coe is a country-music original. He’s written songs for and toured with some of the biggest names in country, though he may never be forgiven for coining the phrase “Take this job and shove it.” Coe has enjoyed a long, colorful career, with crossover successes in both movies and music. Called “The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy” long before the Glen Campbell song hit the airwaves, this “longhaired redneck” has made a career of playing by his own rules. Not limiting himself to either country or rock, Coe dedicates himself, instead, to putting on a memorable show for his audience. Currently, he’s working with Kid Rock and Pantera on an album to be released sometime this year. His latest release, Whoopsy Daisy, is a two-disc spoken-word compilation of recollections of his life, including the time he allegedly spent on Death Row. Erin Harkes and the Rebound and the Waterdogs open the show. (July 17, 7:30 PM, $20, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)

The Waxwings, New Radiant Storm King
The Elevens, Northampton, Mass., Saturday

Though the Waxwings hail from the Motor City, their press makes sure to distinguish them from that city’s greasy musical legacy; it’s not that there’s anything wrong with garage rock, it’s just that the Waxwings are working a different tradition. As one critic has said, “Imagine what sort of records Brian Wilson would have made if he had been chasing the Stones and Syd Barrett instead of McCartney and the Beatles.” Their brand-spanking-new album, Let’s Make Our Descent (Rainbow Quartz), was produced by popmeister Brendan Benson; he’ll also join the band on guitar for this tour. The Waxwings will be joined by New Radiant Storm King, who can boast the great honor of counting among their fans Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices, who said that his own song “I Am a Scientist” was inspired by NRSK’s “The Opposing Engineer Sleeps Alone,” and Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers, who hired the band’s mainstay, Peyton Pinkerton, as his own road guitarist. (July 17, $5, 9 PM, 140 Pleasant St., Northampton, Mass., 413-584-4100)

Carole King
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Sunday

Carole King is simply one of the great songwriters of our time. From “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” to “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” she’s the woman behind so many classic songs—probably more than you realize. She and her husband, Gerry Goffin, even wrote “The Locomotion,” the song that made their babysitter, Little Eva, a star. King started out as a songwriter in the legendary Brill Building, but when it became popular to write and sing your own songs, she became a successful musical act in her own right with the release of 1971’s Tapestry, one of the best-selling records of that decade. Last year, King released her most recent album, Love Makes the World. She invites the public to download the songs off this release at her Web site, www. caroleking.com. Catch her when she performs at SPAC this Sunday as part of her Living Room Tour. (July 18, 7 PM, $19.50-$75, Saratoga State Park, Saratoga Springs, 583-8998)

Kéléké
Revolution Hall, Tuesday

Are you tired of the racket being made by the kids and their new school of Congolese rhumba? Do you long for the days of the laid-back approach of groups like OK Jazz and Ry-Co Jazz? Or do you embrace the future and the more danceable beats of the soukous style? Do you have any idea what we’re talking about at all? Well, don’t worry about it if you don’t. Honestly, Kékélé are new to us, too. This Congolese band will come to Troy on Tuesday via Paris, a hotbed of world music, and will feature legends of the form both old and new. Singers Bumba Massa and Loko Massenga, who have been famous since the ’60s, have teamed up with members of the soukous group les Quatres Etoiles and lead guitarist Papa Noel to form a veritable supergroup of Congolese rhumba. How you gonna say no to that? (July 20, $10, 8 PM, 425 River St., Troy, 273-2337)

	Send A Letter to Our Editor
	Back Home