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Usher,
Nas, Faith Evans, Mr. Cheeks
Pepsi
Arena, Thursday
With
a new desire to maintain symmetry, we’re sandwiching this
page with Pepsi Arena shows. The first of which is hiphop
heartthrob Usher—playing the arena tonight (Thursday)—aka
Usher Raymond, who was discovered by LaFace Records as a wee
14-year-old gospel singer in Atlanta. The boy’s eponymous
1994 debut found P Diddy (they knew him as Puff Daddy in those
days), as coproducer, and the album’s single, “Think of You,”
went gold. Usher’s second release, My Way, came out
just after he graduated high school, and the graduate cowrote
the majority of the songs in an attempt to prove his maturity,
recruiting Puffmeister yet again, as well as Babyface and
Jermaine Dupri to help produce. The resulting disc hit the
ground running, and the single “You Make Me Wanna” propelled
Usher to the R&B hotlist—he even made it to the top of
the pop charts with that one. Usher then performed a reverse-J.
Lo when he starred in the 1998 horror spoof The Faculty
and the 1999 urban high school drama Light It Up,
and he’s had some other releases since, the latest being last
year’s moody release 8701. Joining Usher will be Nas,
Faith Evans and Mr. Cheeks (June 20, 7:30 PM, $45.75, $40.75,
476-1000)
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Harlow
Valentine’s,
Thursday
 Harlow
may not have won VH1’s Bands on the Run, but their
two-month stint on the hit TV show has helped spread their
hard-rock sound. The four-piece female group are in the middle
of an extensive cross-country tour, and recently released
an album produced by Foo Fighter guitarist Pat Smear. But
the members of Harlow had already lived the rock & roll
lifestyle before VH1 found them. Lead singer Amanda Rootes
played in the English band Fluffy, and shared the stage with
the likes of the Sex Pistols, Marilyn Manson and the Foo Fighters.
Bassist Chimene Gonzalez also has an impressive music résumé,
playing in L.A. band the Penny Dreadfuls and having been on
bills with Weezer and Korn. Rounding out the group with Rebecca
Gibb and Melody Patron, Harlow play a mix of metal, hard rock
and punk, and admit to being equally inspired by Kiss and
Black Sabbath. Tonight, the quartet will play an 18-and-over
show at Valentine’s, with Audrey’s Stone opening. (June
20, 8 PM, $10, 432-6572)
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Greg
Trooper, Michael Eck
Valentine’s,
Friday
Writing
about Straight Down Rain, Greg Trooper’s fifth and
most recent album, Playboy magazine reports that the
New Jersey native “deserves about 12 times the attention he’s
received. He knows how to play country against rock and position
the pressures of adulthood against the longing for adolescent
freedom.” High praise, but, given Trooper’s background, unsurprising.
Trooper spent his high school years hanging out in the clubs
of Manhattan, catching as many musical acts as he could: Merle
Haggard, Artie and Happy Traum, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen—anyone
and everyone he could get in to see. After dropping out, he
headed down to Austin, Texas, where he continued to partake
liberally of the musical offerings, soaking up Townes Van
Zandt, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and the
like. Then it was back to NYC (guess what he did there), and,
after securing a publishing deal, down to Nashville, where
he quickly earned the high regard of residents such as Steve
Earle and Emmylou Harris. Look what you can do with a GED.
Opening for Trooper will be Michael Eck. (June 21, 7:30
PM, $8, 432-6572)
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Nickelback,
Jerry Cantrell
Saratoga
Performing Arts Center, Saturday
Nickelback,
Nickel Creek, Nickel Bag—it’s hard to keep ’em all straight.
But we believe the ones that the kids go nuts for are Nickelback.
They’re the ones without the mandolin. And, they’re
from Canada. Still confused? They sing that “How You Remind
Me” song that’s all over the mainstream-rock airwaves. Joining
Nickelback at SPAC on Saturday is ex-Alice in Chains guitarist
Jerry Cantrell—whose metal-grunge roots we old geezers have
a better grasp on. Cantrell formed AIC with vocalist Layne
Staley, and the band battled internal strife and Staley’s
addiction throughout their career. While AIC were still a
somewhat going concern, Cantrell recorded his first solo album,
1998’s Boggy Depot, and sounded the death knell for
his longtime band. Boggy Depot included AIC members
Mike Inez (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums), and AIC producer
Toby Wright, which sorta confirmed the band’s end. Cantrell
toured with Van Halen in support of the release; since then
he’s been generally quiet, with the exception of assisting
with an AIC box set and a greatest-hits album, until this
week’s Roadrunner Records release, Degradation Trip.
Nickelback and Cantrell will perform a pavilion-only show
(June 22, 7:30 PM, $35, $25, 476-1000)
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Korn,
Puddle of Mudd, Deadsy
Pepsi
Arena, Sunday
One
of the most popular bands to emerge during the post-grunge
era, Korn, will make a stop in Albany on Sunday to play the
Pepsi Arena. Korn got their start in 1993 in Huntington Beach,
Calif., when longtime friends and guitarists James “Munky”
Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch returned to their hometown
of Bakersfield and stumbled upon vocalist Jonathan Davis fronting
the local band Sexart. Davis, whose day job was as a coroner’s
assistant, was asked to join the band—which also included
former Bakersfield inhabitants Reginald “Fieldy Snuts” Arvizu
(bass) and drummer David Silveria. In 1994, the band released
their self-titled debut album, which was ignored by critics
but adored by fans who related to the quintet’s fierce music
and cathartic lyrics. The album went platinum almost two years
after its release. Korn are now touring in support of their
new album, Untouchables, their fifth to date. Also
on the bill are Puddle of Mudd and Deadsy. (June 23, 7:30
PM, $38.50, $28.50, 476-1000)
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also
noted
 Guitar
great and Alabama getaway Dickey Betts will play with
his band, Great Southern, tonight (Thursday)
as part of the Alive at Five Concert Series; House Project
will open (5 PM, free, 434-2032). . . . The George
Boone Blues Band will play a gig at Savannah’s tomorrow
(Friday) before heading out for a nine-state tour that will
tie up the band until early July (10 PM, $5, 426-9647). .
. . There’s gonna be a rumble on Friday. It seems the Fuze
Box was double booked or some such thing, and the show Crabapple’s
Don Bazley has been pimping as his going-away party
(Bazley’s leaving us for Ithaca soon, and the show on Friday
was to be his last), which included Hungry Jack, seemed
to fall to the wayside as Todd Pasternack’s new outfit, Marlow,
and the Dayjobs shimmied their way onto that night’s
booking. But there will be peace in the valley again, as all
four bands booked on Friday will take the Fuze Box stage (apparently),
and that means Crabapple, Marlow and the Dayjobs will all
fight, er, perform (What time? Who knows. How much? Got Me.
432-4472). . . . Six Feet Under, Skinless, Sworn Enemy,
Bad Luck, 13 Riot Extravaganza will all play Saratoga
Winners on Saturday (7:30 doors, $15 door, $13 advance, 783-1010).
. . . The Wait and the Bomb Site Boys will play
upstairs at Valentine’s on Saturday; sludge-rockers Small
Axe will be downstairs (up: 9 PM, $7; down: 9 PM, $5;
432-6572). . . . The Staziaks will play Artie’s Lansingburgh
Station on Saturday, with a Staziak spinoff band, Mime
Choir, opening. Helmed by Staziak bassist Scott Dorrance,
who is the songwriter-guitarist role in Mime Choir, the group
also includes Staziaks drummer George Lipscomb (who
will stick to drumming), Charlie Morris (guitar) and
Dave Dean (bass), and plays original tunes in the Cheap
Trick, Bad Company vein. Also on the bill is Erin Harkes
(9 PM, $3, 238-2788). . . . Bedroom folk artists P.G. Six
are back, this time at Caffe Lena, and will play a show
on Sunday with backroom folk locals the Kamikaze Hearts
(7 PM, $5, 583-0022).
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Columns
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