What is Love?
This coming week includes the most dramatic of the great holidays, and I am not talking about Friday the 13th. And while I would like to wax poetic on the the philosophical question posed above, I have to get practical this week. And no, that does not mean my girl can look forward to getting a bottle of Febreeze or gallon of Sherwin-Williams flat white – regardless of whether or not that might be exactly what she needs.
No, getting practical this week is all about volume and by volume I mean quantity not loudness (still haven’t done that compression/fidelity post yet have I?). This will be a great week to be in Atlanta for live music. There is so much to cover that I cannot even take the time to talk about the passion it brings to my soul. Of course, fidelity does follow passion (but that isn’t exactly what I was just talking about, is it?).
With something on tap for everyone, let me start with an event that will let you get up close to a few of the people who make and perform the music that really puts this town on the map. The Warren Holyfield Boys & Girls Club will be sponsoring a celebrity happy hour this Friday featuring Atlanta’s own urban impresarios Jazze Pha and Vawn. If the hip-hop edge is a little much for you don’t be afraid, this is all about the kids. Atlanta state senator and mayoral candidate Kasim Reed will be there too. The first 10 people to greet your A-List author there (and he will be there) will get a $10 bar credit. The event is Friday, Feb. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Uptown Restaurant & Lounge, a nice spot downtown at 201 Courtland Ave.
Only Love Can Change the World
Depending on my mood, level of organization, or enthusiasm, I often try to get the best up front. Not this week. I’m going to keep it simple and walk through it day by day, so if you want highlights you better make to the end.
Rest on Monday. You might need it. Get started with Tuesday. Oliver Wood, one half of the remarkable Wood Brothers, will be at Eddie’s Attic. His brother Chris is probably off somewhere playing the kind of jazz that has made him the more famous sibling, but that shouldn’t reduce your interest. While Chris does add a remarkable bass and quality harmony, the driving force behind the duo’s two records has been this Atlanta brother. If he is playing songs from those records, which I expect, you will hear American music ranging from hill music to classic R&B. Really it reminds me most of the great Buddy Holly (no, the real one not the Weezer song) and a song like “Well.. All Right” (and yes that link is to tribute singer since the song wasn’t released until after Buddy’s untimely death, thus making live performances by the original artist exceedingly rare). The point of all that is that Oliver Wood is writing, and will be performing, music that will take you back to the earliest, and very best, days of rock n’ roll.
Another Tuesday option is the Ballroom Book Bash at Highland Inn. This event is the intersection of all that is important in the world (my world anyway) – books and music. The event is hosted by A Cappella Books and regularly consists of beer, wine, a dj, a reading, a book signing and live music. Long time A-Listers may not be surprised to know that this where Bernadette Seacrest first blew my mind (it really hasn’t been the same since). This time the book is Futureproof by Atlanta’s own N. Frank Daniels. Try not to be turned of by the fact that James Frey, the Oprah whore whose crappy little memoir turned out to be a fraud, thinks it is “a great read” it still may be nonetheless. Sometime either before or after the reading, local rockers Schwarzkommando will be playing. I don’t know much about them but from the looks of their myspace presence neither does anybody else – again, that doesn’t mean it will be bad. Fifteen bucks gets you admission and a signed copy of Daniels’ book.
Wednesday night Austin roots rockers Reckless Kelly will be at the Variety. If we still lived in a world where the label we place on a band didn’t determine the limits of their success and where so few companies own so much of America’s commercial radio (you have noticed that there is a Dave/Fred/Bob FM everywhere, right?), you would know about Reckless Kelly. These boys would have flourished in a time when Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers were huge acts, but now the best they can hope for is a chance to be heard on CMT. Yeah, it sounds a little country but they run the gamut from renowned folker Richard Thompson‘s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” to “Wiggles & Ritalin” – which assuredly will not be on GAC anytime soon. Over a decade on the road has given them a loyal following, expect a sing-along when they get to “Wicked Twisted Road”, so it should be a good time at the least.
If you want to skip the Texas thing on Wednesday night and see what may very well be the next big thing to come out of the ATL, check out Death on Two Wheels at the Earl. Trae Vedder’s vocals have grown on me since I first encountered this band and this is a good thing because I have been a sucker for the music from the beginning. This hits my 70′s arena rock soft spot square in the middle. They care about the music, the show and the crowd – all of which come out in the polished performance. The Separation of Church and Fate is their first full-length, and if you don’t make it to the show to pick up a copy at the merch table (another post that still hasn’t been written) then send $9.99 to Steve Jobs and pick it up at iTunes. If you are really risk adverse, or one of last 10,000 people to lose their job this week, you can still get a free download at their myspace page (just scroll down a bit – on that page, not this one).
While I expect the world to change on Thursday, you can expect to take the night off. Unless, of course, you like to think, talk to interesting people, ponder important topics and have always wondered why you fall for that guy. I can guarantee no answers but the conversation should be stimulating as the “Two F” Jeff at Bound to Be Read Books leads a discussion titled Deconstructing Attraction – What Draws us to Others? No music, but remember sex comes first in “sex, drugs & rock n’ roll.”
If I wake up Friday morning (you never know, right? even if it only means you never went to sleep), I will look forward to making the early show at Eddie’s Attic (right after hanging with Jazze at the BGC happy hour) to catch Gary Louris & Mark Olson. These are two of the men behind one of my very favorite bands – The Jayhawks (yes, the Americana is running strong this week). I saw them as The Jayhawks what seems a like an eternity ago (though it was probably less than a decade) at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom. I know I am not the only one excited about them writing and performing together again, the late show is already sold out. Grab tickets to the early show, doors at 6:00, music at 7:00.
In case the early show at Eddie’s closes out before you get a table, you can see Playground Rivals at Lenny’s. While I don’t think these boys will be Atlanta’s next big thing, nor are they of the same quality as Oliver Wood or Gary Louris, they are a damn good time. It’s big rock in a style that falls somewhere between Guns & Roses and the Black Crowes and the fail safe at Lenny’s is always that the beer is cheap enough that anesthesia is only a Jackson away.
I will end my week at Little Five Points Community Bar – Star Bar. I often mention the Selmanaires and they will be there on Saturday night, but that’s not why I will be there. And yes while I have scheduled a tour of Elvis’ Vault for an out of town dignitary, that is not the only reason I will be there on Saturday night. I will be at the Star Bar Saturday night for the most fun I have had since the first time I heard Romeo Cologne spin at the…well, you know, that other place where he plays. I will be at the Star Bar Saturday night to see Judi Chicago, recently returned from a little club tour in the U.K. to make my valentine’s day hot. This is funky electronic dance music with no apologies for the parental advisory lyrics. Don’t expect big club dumb crude though, this is really only dirty if you let your mind go there – which is exactly what these Macbook driven beats will make you do. Album 88.5 introduced them to a friend, who introduced them to me, and I saw the one of their standing monthly gigs (last Sat of the month) at the new 529 in East Atlanta. I can’t wait for the big beats and some “Burger Joy.”
Finally, if you are one of the many who managed to convince their significant other to let you take them to, or let you have the night off so you could go to, Robert Earl Keen (yes, I know one who accomplished the latter on the promise of a romantic comedy and expensive dinner), then congratulations – you sold it out.
That’s the A-List and the road goes on forever.
by Gunter Grass. All are welcome.
