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Bob
Dylan Tribute
Old
Chapel, Union College, Thursday
Hard
to believe that little Bobby Zimmerman is all growed up, isn’t
it? I remember when he was just a scruffy little coffeehouse
beatnik, cruising around the University of Minnesota campus
on his motorcycle with that battered acoustic on his back.
OK, I don’t really, but for anyone who’s seen Don’t Look
Back in the neighborhood of a million times, it’s tough
to think of Bob as Grampa Dylan. Yet, on May 24, Dylan turns
61. The times they are a-changing—but the more they a-change,
the more they a-stay the same: Just last year, Love and
Theft proved that Dylan is still America’s preeminent
songwriter. Appropriately, a host of local songwriters are
turning out tonight to give the old man his props by performing
renditions of their own favorite Dylan tunes. Michael Eck,
David Malachowski, MotherJudge, Mitch Elrod, Albie, the Decadent
Royals, Bowtie Blotto, Super 400, No Outlet, Jason Martin,
Howard Glassman, the Legendary Ramblers and someone, or something,
called Zimmerbeat will all be on hand to celebrate. Plus,
there’ll be cake. (May 23, 7:30 PM, free, 388-6124)
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Thedamnwells,
5 Alpha Beatdown, the Sixfifteens, Boss Gremlin
Valentine’s,
Friday
With
the demise of alt-country darlings Whiskeytown, the scattered
members had to go somewhere—and it seems you can’t swing a
dead cat without hitting one of them playing our area. Steven
Terry, Whiskeytown drummer during the Stranger’s Almanac
era, is the most recent to come through. He’s part of
the New York-based band thedamnwells, and they’re playing
the downstairs stage at Valentine’s tomorrow (Friday). But
don’t expect the alt-country that has the kids going nuts
these days from thedamnwells: The quartet’s singer-guitarist
Alex Dezen, at the tender age of 23 or 24 (somewhere in that
ballpark), writes angst-ridden hook-filled pop gems. After
playing all over New York for the past couple years, thedamnwells
have garnered quite a following there, and now they have hit
the road, at times opening for rock gods Cheap Trick. The
band recently released an eponymous six-song EP (they choose
to call it a PMR, for poor man’s record), which is
available online and at select NYC music stores. The Sixfifteens
(equal parts Dryer and the Users), 5 Alpha Beatdown and Boss
Gremlin open the show. (May 24, 9 PM, $5, 432-6572)
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Leftover
Crack, the Virus, OFN, Plastic Jesus
Valentine’s,
Friday
When
they formed in 1999, Leftover Crack were punk rock’s version
of a supergroup. Featuring members of such underground punk
and ska groups as Suicidal Tendencies, Blindsided, BS2000,
Agent 99 and Choking Victim, Leftover Crack embodied the spirit,
if not the sound, of hard-edged punk. The group’s Web site
traces their humble beginnings to their shared “intense hatred
of white people and their pathetic milk-drinking, Gap-wearing,
R.E.M.-listening, 90210-watching culture.” Since then
Leftover Crack have embarked on several club tours of the
United States and have released a series of spiteful albums
and EPs. The group will play tomorrow (Friday) on the upstairs
stage at Valentine’s; the Virus, OFN and Plastic Jesus open
the show. (May 24, 8 PM, $10, 432-6572)
 Reggae
Cowboys
Club
Helsinki, Friday
Picking
up where Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” left off, the Reggae
Cowboys combine Caribbean reggae with the stories and styles
of traditional Western (you know, as in “Country & . .
. ”) music. Formed in Toronto in 1993, the Reggae Cowboys
spent the last nine years touring throughout North America.
The Reggae Cowboys have appeared on a variety of bills and
festivals, mixing such diverse genres as R&B, reggae,
jazz, blues and rock & roll, and sharing the stage with
the Wailers, Lauryn Hill, Widespread Panic and Los Lobos.
Adding dashes of six-string and slide guitar to their sound,
the Reggae Cowboys aim to reset reggae in an Americana context.
Songs like “Searching for the Outlaw” and “Geronimo” tell
tales of the Wild West. Many of the group’s songs also tell
of the experiences of the oft-overlooked African-American
cowboys. The group will play Club Helsinki tomorrow (Friday)
before they gear up to release their third album this summer.
(May 24, 9 PM, $10, 413-528-3394)
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Jerseyband
The
Larkin Lounge, Saturday
Jerseyband,
who are from Ro chester, not New Jersey, generate a sound
influenced by such diverse genres as classical, jazz, rock
and the current hardcore scene. Instead of blending these
genres, Jerseyband attempt to represent them individually,
with their instrumental compositions including baritone, alto
and tenor sax, drums and guitar. Jerseyband describe their
music as abstract and laughably dramatic, and compare their
style to music heard in video games and commercials. After
nine months of practicing and recording as artists in residency
at Keuka College in upstate New York, Jerseyband have released
Jake, which features a blending of sounds from both
humans and machines. Jerseyband will bring their original
sound to the Larkin Saturday night. (May 25, 10 PM, $5,
463-5225)
Shadows
Fall, Lamb of God, Darkest Hour, Unearth, At War With Shadows
Saratoga
Winners, Saturday
Massachusetts-based progressive-metal band Shadows Fall formed
in 1996, and over the years, they’ve gained visibility by
opening for acts such as Fear Factory, Staind and Cannibal
Corpse. In 1997, the band self-financed their first album,
Somber Eyes to the Sky, which, without any label support,
sold 11,000 copies worldwide. The album landed in the CMJ
Loud Rock Top 10 chart and became the highest charting album
from an unsigned band in the trade magazine’s history. Shadows
Fall then signed with Century Media, and their label debut
album, Of One Blood, was one of the most talked-about
metal albums of 2000. Shadows Fall’s new album, The Art
of Balance, is due out this fall, so expect to hear some
songs from it when the band perform on Saturday at Saratoga
Winners. Lamb of God, Darkest Hour, Unearth and At War With
Shadows open the show. (May 25, 8 PM, $12, 783-1010)
also
noted
 Part
of the continuing improvised music series, Ghost Names
8, featuring J’ai Truck (turntables and machines),
Matt Loiacono (drums), Tom Burre (electronics
and synths) and Jessie Pellerin (tap shoes and triggered
platform), will perform Saturday at the Hilton Center for
Performing Arts. Sharing the bill is Clawdaddy, with
Mitch Elrod, Peter Sheehan, Albie and Sten Isachsen
(8 PM, 453-1048). . . . Rosanne Raneri is visiting
from her new home in Boston, and she’s putting on a show at
Saratoga’s Parting Glass on Saturday (9:30 PM, $8, 583-1916).
. . . Celebrate BUMfest 2002 at Northern Lights on
Saturday, with local bands Monkey Gone Mad (Scotia-based
ska-punk funksters), Roper (rock-jazz-funk), Small
Appliances (folk-rock jammy featuring members of Conehead
Buddha and Ominous Seapods), Sirsy (rock) and the DAs
(all-girl punk) playing the night away. The celebration, open
to all 16 and older, also offers food, drinks, prizes and
other nifty things (7:30 PM, $7, 371-0012). . . . There will
be a Super 400 sighting at the Larkin on Sunday, when
the retro-rockers will take you back to the time of Cream
and Hendrix, aided and abetted by John Brodeur and the
Suggestions and Carl Smith (8:30 PM, $5, 463-5225).
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Columns
& Opinions
