HEADLINE
 pick wed thu fri sat sun mon tue upcoming
Wed.
July 23, 9pm
The Blank Club
44 S. Almaden Ave, San
Jose
408.29.BLANK
$20
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The
Blasters
MASH-UP:
“Music exists in order to bring forward the
collective knowledge of people that came before us,”
says Phil Alvin, the barrel-chested lead singer of the
Blasters. The Blasters started in 1979 when brothers
Phil and Dave Alvin decided to create a band that
absorbed rockabilly, soul, country, blues and punk into
one entity. But, while most people associate such a mix
with easy listening grooves, the Blasters shared the
stage and held their own against some of the West
Coast’s nastiest punk acts including Black Flag, X and
the Gun Cub. Now led by Phil, the Blasters are known for
their aggressive, rocking live show.
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Thu.
July 24, 5:30-9:15pm
Plaza de Cesar Chavez
Market
Street and Park Avenue, downtown San
Jose
408.279.1775
Free
buy tickets |
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Vanessa
Carlton
NOLITA
FAIRYTALE: The bubbly pop-rock pianist has grown as
a musician since her debut album, Be Not Nobody,
hit the stores in 2002. Carlton rose to the top of the
adult contemporary charts with her first single, “A
Thousand Miles,” but in spite of a duet remake of “Big
Yellow Taxi” with Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz being
played in every major retail outfit, her follow-up
album, a more solid and mature offering in 2004 titled
Harmonium, didn’t fare so well. The
singer/songwriter pressed on, touring (with Stevie
Nicks, even) and working on her 2007 release, Heroes
and Thieves, alongside producers Stephan Jenkins of
Third Eye Blind, Linda Perry and Irv Gotti, and Carlton
again received acclaim as “Nolita Fairytale,” the first
single from the Heroes and Thieves, took off on
mainstream radio and cable music video network rotation
last summer. Dusty Rhodes and the River Band open for
the three-time Grammy–nominated artist.
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Fri.
July 25, 8pm
Little Fox
2209 Broadway, Redwood
City
650.369.4119
$20/$22
buy tickets |
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Antsy
McClain and his Trailer Park Troubadours
TONGUE
IN CHEEK: Antsy McClain and his Trailer Park
Troubadours are loved for their satirical tunes, but
McClain doesn’t rely on mere novelty. Instead, his songs
have a muscular, middle-American heft that identifies
him as a member of the maligned liberals of the
heartland, rather than an urban outsider playing at
Americana with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It’s a
thankless job, but someone’s got to be the wry voice of
the working class, and McClain does an admirable job of
his appointed role. Hailing from Kentucky, McClain turns
a smart—but not smart-ass—eye toward the Bible Belt,
finding both humor and pathos in song topics such as “I
Was Just Flipped Off by a Silver-Haired Old Lady with a
‘Honk If You Love Jesus’ Sticker on the Bumper of Her
Car.” |
Fri.
July 25, 6:30pm
Shoreline Amphitheatre
1
Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain
View
408.998.TIXS
$37-$74
buy tickets |
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Toby
Keith
FORD
TRUCK MAN: Toby Keith came from humble beginnings—he
was a football player who didn’t make the team and took
to playing honky-tonk bars instead. He got his big break
when one of his fans passed on Keith’s demo to a Mercury
Records exec, who finally signed him, and not for
nothing—his first single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” hit
No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
Keith is probably best known for being the “Ford Truck
Man,” for which he wrote the compelling, no-nonsense
lyrics, “I’m a Ford Truck man, that’s all I drive/ I
ain’t got no boundaries, I don’t compromise,” and for
his controversial “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
(The Angry American),” Keith’s fair and balanced
analysis of 9/11 and its aftermath. The Dixie Chicks
said Keith’s lyrics are “ignorant” and cast an
unflattering light on country music; Keith responded by
rebelliously PhotoShopping Natalie Maines’ picture next
to Saddam Hussein and displaying it behind the stage at
his concerts. Take that, Chicks.
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Sat.
July 26, 7pm
Rasputin Records
1820 S. Bascom Ave,
Campbell
800.350.8700
Free
buy tickets |
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The
Dandelion War
SOUL
FOOD: During summer, Rasputin Records beefs up its
live in-store performances, showcasing local and touring
acts in a variety of genres. This week’s offering is the
Dandelion War, a San Francisco rock sextet that presents
lush guitars and keyboards with a slight edge, sappy yet
powerful vocals and percussive flourishes via maracas
and xylophone. Despite its mellow sound onstage, the
Dandelion War always brings a party, and at a recent
Retox Lounge show the members came bearing cake, soda
and crackers and meats. First they feed the stomach,
then they feed the soul. |
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Sun.
July 27, 7:30pm
Mountain Winery
14831 Pierce Road,
Saratoga
408.998.TIXS
$40-$58
buy tickets |
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Emmylou
Harris
GRAMMY-WINNING
VOICE: For nearly 30 years, Harris—a 12-time Grammy
winner—has straddled the fence between the traditional
Nashville establishment and the so-called progressive,
or New Country, movement—the only country artist welcome
in both camps. She began as a student of country-rock
pioneer Gram Parsons, a onetime Byrd who blended
elements of country’s down-home past with the
back-to-the-earth sentiments of ‘70s rock. Actually, it
was ex-Byrd Chris Hillman who discovered Harris and
introduced her to Parsons. Harris struck up a close
friendship with the troubled musician before Parsons’
1973 death, contributing her trademark sad soprano
harmonies to a pair of records—G.P. and
Grievous Angel—that included some of the finest
duets ever recorded. Harris went on to record with
Parsons' Hot Band, releasing her first true country
album, Pieces of the Sky, in 1975. Over the
years, she has forged a soft country-rock sound,
sometimes lending her immaculate tone to folk and
bluegrass settings and at times even flirting with rock.
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Mon.
July 28, 7:30pm
Campbell Recital Hall
Stanford
University campus, Palo
Alto
650.725.2787
$10-$20
buy tickets |
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Sylvia
Cuenca
JAZZ
HANDS: There are several ways to measure the
distance jazz drummer Sylvia Cuenca has traveled since
moving from San Jose to New York City. When she left
town in 1985, Cuenca was a promising young player with
energy and drive. In the past two decades, she’s evolved
into a force on the trap set, a masterly accompanist
sought out by jazz legends, revered veterans and rising
stars. As a bandleader, she’s recorded two acclaimed
albums, while assembling a repertoire of challenging
post-bop compositions by some of jazz’s most visionary
composers. For her annual trip back home to visit her
family in the South Bay, Cuenca has lined up a series of
gigs with her hard-charging organ trio featuring young
Hammond B3 expert Jared Gold and ace guitarist Ed
Cherry, a top-shelf New York player who spent more than
a decade touring and recording with Dizzy Gillespie.
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Tue.
July 29, 9pm
The Fillmore
1805 Geary, San
Francisco
408.998.TIXS
$24
buy tickets |
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Chromeo
RETRO
STYLE: Dubbed “the only successful Arab/Jew
partnership since the dawn of human culture,” the synth
pop revisionist duo Chromeo makes one stop in the Bay
Area on their Fancier Footwork tour. Best friends Dave-1
(vocals) and P-Thugg (keyboards, synthesizers and talk
box) prove there’s still a demand for ’80s
electronic-funk music. Their 2004 album, She’s in
Control, defined their indie, retro style with
tracks like “Needy Girl” and “Mercury Tears.” But it was
their sophomore effort, Fancy Footwork, that
firmly established Dave and P’s talent for creating a
funky, tongue-in-cheek pop sound that’s here to “heal
the fractured soul of dance music.”
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 coming
up |
--This week's newsletter by: AF, AG, JG, MC, GW & CY
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