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The
Queers
Valentine’s,
Thursday
February,
for all its brevity, seems a long bleak month, and while we’re
mopey sorts for whom 28 days of seclusion with our Morrissey
collection isn’t absolute torture, even we are ready for something
a little more upbeat: The Queers show should be just the thing.
Legends of pop-punk for their energy and their unrepentant
early-adolescent goofiness (mental-health advocates, take
note, they mean “retarded” in the junior-high sense of the
word), the Queers dare you to take yourself seriously. The
Unloveables match their billmates for youthful exuberance,
bringing a feminine perspective to songs of preteen/teen love
and confusion. Speaking of confusion, locals Blasé DeBris
also will be on hand to do their chimneysweep punk thing,
and Hed 1st and Society High will round out the bill. (March
3, 8 PM, 17 New Scotland Ave., $8, 432-6572)
Lou
Barlow
Iron
Horse Music Hall, Thursday
Hey,
Lou, we have a few questions. Ten years ago, you and your
pal Jason (Loewenstein) were making audiences swoon with that
sensitive little indie-rock outfit of yours (Sebadoh). Then
you made a fun little single with your buddy John (Davis),
scoring one of the coolest fluke-hits of the ’90s with “Natural
One.” Last year, you reignited Sebadoh for a surprise tour,
and even made peace with your old bandmate, J. Mascis. So
what’s up with this new “solo” album, Emoh? All of
your old friends make appearances on the record, and some
of its songs rank with your best (by the way, that “Willing
to Wait” song still gets us all teary-eyed), so why the star
turn now? Could cocaine binges and slutty groupies be far
behind? We’ll see about all that tonight (Thursday) when you
play the Iron Horse with your new friend, Mark Schwaber. (Mar.
3, 10 PM, $13, 20 Center St., Northampton, Mass., 413-584-0610)
Hoex
Records Showcase
King’s
Tavern, Saturday
Hoex
Records will host a show case at King’s Tavern this Saturday
boasting some of its acts: on the bill are Small Axe, the
Wasted, and Pete Labonne. According to Hoex Records’ founder,
Adam Lawrence, the label’s repetoire includes three CDs from
Small Axe, two from the dearly departed Beef, one by the mysterious
witch-rock band Kate Mosstika, one from Gay Tastee (Stephen
Gaylord of Beef and The Wasted), and its most recent release,
the Wasted’s We Are Already In Hell. Attention hopefuls:
Hoex Records will accept demos at the show. Also, make sure
you stay for the whole show—Hoex Studios will raffle off a
full day of studio time during the night, but you have to
be present to win. (March 5, 9 PM, $3, 21+, 241 Union Ave.,
Saratoga Springs, 581-7090)
Hot
Rod Circuit, Mae, the Snake the Cross the Crown
Saratoga
Winners, Sunday
Here
are four reasons why we shouldn’t necessarily write bands
off for being categorized as “emo,” or for playing the Warped
Tour: 1) Alabama’s Hot Rod Circuit, who do something more
akin to power-pop acts like Superdrag than to the whiny pap
of New Found Glory or Taking Back Sunday; 2) Mae, who’s new
album, The Everglow, finds the Virginia Beach group
hinting at a Northwestern indie-pop sound a la Death Cab for
Cutie; 3) The unwieldily named the Snake the Cross the Crown,
who reference artists ranging from Coheed and Cambria to Conor
Oberst on their Equal Vision release Mander Salis;
4) Long Islanders the Goodwill (the most “emo” of the bands
on Sunday’s bill), who will treat this show as a release party
for their new album. (Mar. 6, 4 PM, $12, Route 9, Latham,
783-1010)
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breaking
benjamin
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Breaking
Benjamin, Theory of a Deadman, the Exies
Northern
Lights, Sunday
Hollywood
Records artists Breaking Benjamin have been pretty busy lately
riding the wave of their growing popularity. They’ll drop
in at Northern Lights just a day after the debut of their
new video for their song “Sooner or Later” on MTV2’s Weekend
Rock Countdown. They have a new EP, which includes an acoustic
version of the radio hit “So Cold,” “Blow Me Away” (featured
on the popular video game Halo 2), “Ladybug” and more. Theory
of a Deadman (who just finished a tour with Shinedown) and
the Exies will open. (March 6, 7:30 PM, $18, $16, 1208
Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
Blue
Floyd
Revolution
Hall, Wednesday
Certainly,
you’ve heard your fair share of “Wish You Were Here” covers;
and chances are that—Wyclef excepted—you could give a damn
if you ever hear another again. Well, what if somebody offered
you the chance to hear Pink Floyd covered by, say, Willie
Dixon or Howlin’ Wolf? What about Muddy Waters? Well, too
bad. They’re dead, so that isn’t gonna happen. But what if
somebody offered you the chance to hear ex- members of Phil
Lesh’s band, the Black Crowes, Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brothers
“deconstructing” Floyd tunes to “elemental” versions heavily
informed by the aforementioned blues masters? No, it’s not
a rhetorical question. It’s Blue Floyd, performing in honor
of the Floyd’s 40th anniversary. No word on the exact setlist,
but the prospect of a Mississippi Delta-style run through
“Careful With That Axe, Eugene” has got some of us laying
bets. (March 9, 9 PM, $20, 425 River St., Troy, 237-2337)
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Noted |
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matisyahu
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The
best stuff is on the outskirts tomorrow (Friday)
night: Merge Records artist M. Ward will
take the Iron Horse stage in support of his latest
CD, Transistor Radio; Neva Dinova
will open (10 PM, $13, 413-584-0610); Stand,
a ragtag band of Irish expatriates, will bring
their high-energy live show to Club Helsinki (9
PM, $12, 413-528-3394); and closer to home, the
forward-thinking pop of +/- (or, plus/minus)
will be in effect at Falstaff’s (on the Skidmore
campus), along with Say Hi to Your Mom;
+/-’s lineup features ex-members of Versus, but
we hear they’re way better (8:30 PM,
$8, 580-5000). . . . Man, those college kids have
it good: On Saturday, brainy Brooklynites Calla
will make a stop at Bennington College’s Downstairs
Café (9 PM, $5, 802-442-5401). . . . It’s a pair
of twangy Texans at the Egg on Sunday: Guy
Clark and Slaid Cleaves will perform
as part of the American Roots and Branches series
(7 PM, $22, 473-1845). . . . There are two chances
to catch the shticky double-bill of the Mathematicians
and Mini Band this week: Sunday, they’ll
play King’s Tavern with the Sixfifteens
and Parwana (5 PM, $8, 581-7090); on Monday,
they’re at the Fuze Box, along with the Press
(8 PM, $5, 432-4472). . . . Figure out once
and for all what the hell “simmiommaweh” means
on Tuesday night when Rusted Root play
Northern Lights (7:30 PM, $23, 371-0012). . .
. Finally, Matisyahu will do the Hasidic
reggae thing at Savannah’s on Wednesday (8 PM,
$10, 426-9647).
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Columns
& Opinions
