|
|
 |
Concert Preview
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Times Argus, Concert Preview >>
Along with half the people I know, am exhibiting a telltale sign of the change of the seasons – sickness. I'm sitting here writing this at deadline, as I've felt too under-the-weather to tackle it the last few days, but deadlines being what they are, here goes:
The Black Door should be hoppin' tonight when psychedelic Dixieland band The Primate Fiasco returns to town on the heels of their highly successful appearance at the Langdon Street Café's Street Fest a few weeks back. The tuba-driven ensemble musically incorporates everything from "The Muppet Show" to Guns 'n' Roses in their highly entertaining sets, and they are sure to throw down quite the party in the cozy third floor lounge high above Main Street. They'll kick off about 9:30 for the usual honor cover.
Around the corner at Langdon Street Café tonight, Miriam Bernardo will host the Happy Heartbreak Hour at 6 p.m., with special guests. I'll spare her a marriage proposal like another esteemed local music columnist offered, though anyone that knows her can understand the sentiment. Following her will be Julia Brown, an eclectic and gifted singer-songwriter from NYC who's making some waves with her new album "Strange Scars." She's also known to give a heckuva live show, as the emotional intensity of her original material really shines in the concert setting. Catch her at 8 p.m. To close out the night, local soul-diva Myra Flynn brings her newest project to debut at LSC, a duo that does more subdued material featuring Myra on piano and vocals. If you can't catch Myra tonight, you can catch her Saturday night over at The Black Door when she plays with her more-established neo-soul band, Spark, starting at 9:30.
And speaking of Saturday night, a very special show happens at The Langdon Street Café when the Chip Smith Project, which features Billy Conway, who happens to be the drummer from the legendary Boston band Morphine. Yes, that's the Morphine, the baritone sax-driven group whose career tragically ended upon the death of bandleader Mark Sandman. The CSP is quite a gifted group themselves, however, and they really impress with their well-performed repertoire of material that can best be described as eclectic Americana. They've also got some understatedly humorous stage-shtick built around the myths of their "daddy," Chip Smith. Catch this enormously talented foursome starting at 9, for donations.
Around the corner at Charlie-O's tonight, Boston indie-rock act Aloud take the back of the barroom with their energy-filled live performance. The band features dual male-female lead vocals and strong songwriting, making them a rock 'n' roll band that has a lot of potential. A rare touring act at our esteemed local dive, they'll kick off about 10 p.m. Saturday night at the Ol' World Famous, local cowgirl Rachael Rice brings her band The Cosmic Americans to the back of the barroom for an alt-country hoedown, also at 10 p.m. … yahoo!
For a different type of musical flavor, and some hot Latin-style dancing, pop over to Positive Pie II on State Street in ol' Montpeculiar tonight to hear DJ Hector spin salsa-merengue tunes for your dancing pleasure. The gig is 21+ and kicks off at around 10 p.m. for no cover. Anyone itching to use those Latin-dance class moves, this is your chance!
Beyond the city of the Golden Dome, there's a lot going on as well this weekend. Tonight down at The Big Picture Theater in Waitsfield (just off Route 100), local honky-tonk favorites the Starline Rhythm Boys headline a swing dance party, along with another group, VT Swings. Should be a rollicking good time with the most authentic honky-tonk this side of Lake Champlain for your swing-dancin' pleasure, starting at 8 p.m. – no word on the cover at press time.
Saturday night, down at the Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, another very special show happens when Nordic folk band Frigg brings their interpretation of traditional Scandinavian folk music to central Vermont. The band infuses the folk of their Finnish and Norwegian homelands with touches of American Appalachian and country and western music, creating a sound that is at once new and entirely familiar. The Chandler has quite the impressive lineup this fall season, with an appearance by rising alt-folk darlings The Avett Brothers scheduled for November as a highlight. But back to tomorrow night's show – tickets are $27, $22 for students and seniors, and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. For more info as well as for a complete listing of their upcoming events, visit www.chandler-arts.org.
On Sunday, it's well worth the trip up Route 12 North to the bustling village of Mo-Vegas to catch local multi-instrumentalist Colin McCaffrey at the Bees Knees on Lower Main Street. One of our areas more gifted musicians, Mr. McCaffrey's got a repertoire that covers many decades and styles of Americana: blues, honky-tonk, Appalachian, swing standards, bluegrass, and traditional folk music among them. Check him out starting at 7:30 at Morrisville's only venue for live music.
As for the rest of the week, for anyone who enjoyed The WhatCheer? Brigade's performance a few Sundays ago at the Langdon Street Festival, you won't want to miss the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble this Tuesday at LSC. The self-described "anarchist marching band" brings a dose of politics to go with their rowdy twist on the traditional marching band, and are sure to be too much fun, as well as very loud in the confines of the cozy Montpelier venue. They'll get the party started at 8 p.m. for donations. Finally, on Thursday, a very special double-bill happens at LSC when Raina Rose and John Elliot are joined by Olympia, Washington's Southern Skies for a night of awesome original Americana. Switching from banjo, bass, guitar and dobro, Southern Skies bring 20 years of musicianship to their performance, pickin' original songs, bluegrass, and old-timey traditionals. Of Raina Rose, singer-songwriter Tracy Grammer has said "If a bottle of champagne could sing, it would sound a lot like Raina Rose: positively effervescent, sparkling with youthful exuberance — she's a joy." Along with excellent instrumentalist John Elliot, she delivers quite the entertaining show. Catch this great double-bill of male-female duo's starting at 8 p.m., for the low, low price of a donation.
Until next week, everyone that's in the sick boat with me – get well soon and go see some live music!
Ed DuFresne is the talent coordinator for the Langdon Street Café and occasionally produces concerts. He lives in Montpelier with an aspiring lawyer, a budding artist, a bird named Lucy and a clutter of submitted CDs that are steadily being replaced by Web links 10/10/08 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
