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Southside
Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
Northern
Lights, Friday
The
big R&B sounds of South-side Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
emerged just after the Boss kicked open the doors to the Jersey
shore. In fact, the family trees for the E Street band and
the Jukes are pretty intertwined. The Jukes were cofounded
by “Little Steven” Van Zandt, garage-rock radio hero and E
Street guitar man who managed the Jukes after leaving for
Bruce, and you may well recognize the trombone player, LaBamba
from the Max Weinberg 7, Conan O’Brien’s TV band. This nine-piece
with a hot-rod horn section specialize in blowout blues and
soulful slow burns, but seldom fail to rock. On Friday, they’ll
try to blow the roof off of Northern Lights. (Nov.
28, 7:30 PM, $18, $20 at the door, 371-0012)
Livingston
Taylor
The
Van Dyck, Friday
If
you check out the FAQ at Livingston Taylor’s Web site, you’ll
see that lots of folks are interested in checking on the well-being
of Livingston’s slightly-more-famous brother, James. (He’s
fine, by the way.) It’s tough having talented siblings. But
if you take a look at the bulletin board, you’ll see that
those who dig the work of the other Taylor really dig
him. Fans thank him for live performances in terms beyond
glowing: For some, it seems, Livingston’s mellow, soothing
and easygoing folk music and manner constitute a self-help
industry. So, for area residents feeling blue as the holiday
season looms, look to the Van Dyck Friday when Livingston—that’s
Livingston—Taylor plays the Schenectady club. (Nov. 28,
7 and 9:30 PM,$25, 381-1111)
 KISS,
Aerosmith
Pepsi
Arena, Friday
KISS
and Aerosmith have had a hugely successful summer tour as
coheadliners—so much so that they extended the tour, adding
dozens of fall dates, one of which is a show Friday at the
Pepsi Arena. So we’re sure that these two notoriously rockin’
bands will have slammin’ after-show parties, right? Well,
dispel those stereotypical rock-band notions, people: In a
recent interview with FHM magazine, Aerosmith’s Steven
Tyler claims that there are no after-show parties. “Our rider
still has green M&Ms but there’s a little less Jack Daniels.
We bring our own cook too; I’m on a salmon diet. It’s about
longevity. I don’t want to look stupid and fat onstage.” By
attending this concert, you’ll be doing a good deed for humanity:
In an effort to help battle hunger and poverty in the United
States, Aerosmith have formed an alliance with World Hunger
Year. The band are asking their fans to help make a difference
by bringing two cans of nonperishable food to the show. The
donations will benefit Food Pantries for the Capital District.
(Nov. 28, 7 PM, $46-$126, 476-1000)
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Zebrahead
Saratoga
Winners, Saturday
Upbeat
SoCal punk-rap dudes Zebrahead don’t mind being happy, and
they’re not afraid to show it. Yeah, Fugazi and the Descendants
gave them the inspiration to start their own fucking band,
and they struggled to make a name for themselves within the
flourishing Orange County punk scene, but they wanted to be
different—and have fun. Zebrahead, a band since ’96, decided
not to take themselves, or much of anything, too seriously.
So with this mission in mind, they created a blend of rap
and punk, got themselves a rapper (Ali Tabatabaee), and set
out to spread their love, which resulted in a major-label
bidding war. Columbia got the prize, and released Zebrahead’s
debut LP, Waste of Mind, which placed the band on the
alt-rock charts with their hit single “Get Back.” Zebrahead
have just released their fourth long-player, MFZB,
and their tour behind the album brings them to Saratoga Winners
on Saturday. Lucky Boy Confusion, Plain White T’s and Public
Access open the show. (Nov. 29, 8 PM, $13, $15 at the door,
783-1010)
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The
Hotheads
Club
Helsinki, Saturday
Imagine
how you’ll feel this Saturday—your physical, emotional and
spiritual state after enduring Thanksgiving and so-called
Black Friday. You’ve eaten plateloads of bird, guzzled a gang
of wine, endured waves of negative family vibes, and spent
way too much money on people you don’t like all that much.
You’ll need something to renew your soul; why not let the
funk do it? This Saturday, New York City-based funk-hiphop-soul-fusion
combo the Hotheads will preside over a dance party at Club
Helsinki in Great Barrington, Mass. The Hotheads (whose late-’90s
release on Flip records, World Wide Vibe, is worth
tracking down) were, at least around these parts, known as
“NYC’s best kept secret” until they opened for the Tom Tom
Club at Helsinki back in the summer of ought-two. Since then,
they’ve become regular ambassadors of funk to the Berkshires.
Let them help you find your groove. (Nov. 29, 9 PM, $15,
413-528-3394)
Cassandra
Wilson
The
Egg, Saturday
Vocalist
Cassandra Wilson is one of contemporary jazz’s giants. Her
sultry and smooth voice uniquely delivers jazz and blues standards
with a pop sensibility that keeps her work accessible. Her
newest album, Glamoured (Blue Note), was released last
month, and it includes songs borrowed from the likes of Bob
Dylan, Muddy Waters and Abbey Lincoln. Wilson’s smoky voice
is tremendously flexible in range, and her unconventional
reads do just what jazz singing should: interpret, consume,
manipulate and invent. Saturday marks Wilson’s first visit
to the Egg, and she’ll perform as part of its Roots &
Branches series. (Nov. 22, 8 PM, $24, 473-1845)
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| also
noted |
 Thanksgiving-week
music offerings are always a good way to get out
and reconnect with old friends back home for the
holidays. Though the offerings are understandably
fewer during holiday weeks, they are likely livelier—due
to the fact that folks are so damn glad to get out
of their relatives’ digs about a half-hour into
the visit—so it’s a great time to get out and socialize.
Spend the night before Thanksgiving at All Sports’
Git Yer Bird Stuffed Party, featuring rockabilly
heartthrobs Rocky Velvet and garage-rock
superheroes the Lawn Sausages; don’t forget
your bird (9 PM, 687-0064). . . . Spend Black Friday
at Valentine’s with black-metal juggernauts Wasteform;
Mortician, Full Blown Chaos and Through
the Discipline are also on the bill (8 PM, $10,
$12 at the door, 432-6572). . . . There’s a hot
show on the downstairs stage of Valentine’s on Friday
as well: The Switched On, Arrow Down and
the Sixfifteens will rock your world in one
way or another (9 PM, $5, 432-6572). . . . Likened
to a blend of Queen, George Harrison and Air Supply
by one music reviewer, power-pop singer-songwriter
Kyle Vincent will play the Larkin on Saturday.
Vincent was a onetime member of mid-’80s L.A sugar-popsters
Candy (they toured opening for Rick Springfield
way back when); his fifth solo LP, Solitary Road,
has the artist slowing things down a bit with his
moving, piano-based arrangements—and pissing off
some pop purists in the process. (He was expecting
this, which is how he came up with the title Solitary
Road—“Choosing to go at it on your own road
no matter what anyone says . . . about moving on,”
Vincent has said about the name.) Quirky NYC-based
pop musician Marly Hornick will open (8 PM,
$5, 463-5225). . . . The Johnny Cash tribute, I
Still Miss Someone, takes place Saturday at Valentine’s,
with Hayseed, Grainbelt, Michael Eck, Jackinany,
Karen Hudson and others channeling the Man in
Black (8 PM, $5, 432-6572). . . . And finally, Paul
Revere & the Raiders frontman Mark Lindsay
makes a trip to Schenectady to perform at the
Van Dyck on Saturday, and it’s a safe bet that this
will be a high-voltage show (7 and 9:30 PM, $28,
381-1111). |
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Columns
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