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This week finds me returning for just a week to the bachelor
life. My house is already a wreck, and 48 hours after Cari left
town I was eating Taco Bell. It’s sad really, but I’ve
clawed my way through the pizza boxes and beer bottles to provide
you with these entertainment ideas. I thought this brief reprieve
from the rigors of family life might be fun but I realize that
I’m better off not left to my own devices. I break things.
I bet the only thing Dianne
Reeves has broken lately is glass when she hits the high C on
the highest of the seven octaves in which she sings. If you
don’t know, seven octaves is a real lot to be able to
sing; the average guitar neck covers around five. Reeves does
not, however, strive to prove to you (a la Mariah Carey) that
she can sing every note at once or in the same song. She has
taste. The Grammy winner will be bringing her jazz show to the
concert hall at Fort Lewis College on the 25th. Soon after her
appearance here, Reeves departs for a tour of all of Europe.
Once again the concert hall has provided us with “a once
in a Durango lifetime” chance; she probably won’t
be back our way.
Reeves is widely considered
to be in the upper tier of female jazz singers, and it is quite
the coup that she’s playing here. Tickets are $25 to $30-go
to durangoconcerts.com for specifics.
I often recommend shows to
see outside the Four Corners area, and for some reason all the
ironic and silly shows seem to happen in Albuquerque and the
real, vital stuff happens in Denver. That’s a column for
another day, but if you are going to Denver this week, make
time to see Doug Martsch play at the Bluebird on the 26th or
at the Fox Theater, in Boulder, on the 27th.
Martsch is the only constant
member, and by default frontman, of the legendary indie rock
band Built to Spill. He currently is touring behind his recent
solo album, “Now You Know.” This release finds him
playing rootsy slide guitar and folk music that’s a big
departure from his angle rock background, but Built to Spill
fans will not be disappointed-this music sounds right.
The idea of tribute bands
confuses me. On the one hand it seems as if the tribute bands,
love another band enough to devote their music career to re-creating
the songs of the group they love so much. That seems fine. On
the other hand, it seems tribute bands are filled with musicians
who have great chops but lack the imagination to make their
own music. So, I’m not sure how I really feel.
Either way Phish fans will
be happy this weekend because Phix, a Phish tribute band, will
be at the Summit on the 25th and 26th. That’s right, two
days of Phish lovin’ fun. Trey won’t be there, but
I’m sure if you close your eyes, it’ll seem like
he is. Come ready to Phish out. The cover charge should be nominal.
I’m breaking with tradition
now and writing about something that happens next week. Halloween
is next Thursday, and KDUR’s annual Transvestite Ball
brings us something very special (should be legendary). Ex-porn
star/current Tupperware saleswoman Candye Kane brings her jump
blues revue to the ball, held this year at the Diamond Circle
Theater. I’ve seen Candye Kane a couple of times, and
I must say that she puts on a show unlike any you’ve probably
seen. Her offering is one that is as much a gospel tent revival
as it is an unfettered sexual celebration. The bottom line is
that either way, no one leaves the room unconverted. If she
can make me dance, and she has, then anybody will or can dance
during her show. Candye Kane will make you party and maybe think
a little at the same time. That’s cool. Call 247-7262
or 247-7628 for tickets.
This weeks sign that the end
is near: A friend of mine, who’s name I won’t say
but whose initials are a letter away from C.C. and E.E., recently
lost a tooth at a rock-n-roll show. This fellow is a jazz and
blues aficionado who was, for some reason, in the front row
of a Seattle grungeman’s concert. Word is hazy as to what
tooth was lost but the real question is why go to a Jerry Cantrell
show?
This week’s album to
consider: When I first discovered the Old ’97s, I was
sure I found something nobody else knew about. They were a country-punk
band with two records and a sound that I thought no one had
heard. I began telling my friends about them and dubbing tapes
to spread the news. Like the Ramones and the Replacements before
them, the Old ’97s were here to save rock and roll, I
said. Of course that didn’t happen, but Rhett Miller,
the singer and primary songwriter for Old ’97s, seems
to be here to save pop guitar rock with his solo release called
“The Instigator.” As much as I like Miller’s
song writing, I’ve had a hard time liking this record.
At times, it is as smart as it can be. Behind a driving guitar
and talking about his own song writing in “This Is What
I Do” he says, “I can hide it in the attic/ I can
bury it in static/ I can only put it out in Japan./ I can tape
my mouth closed/ I can take another dose/ I’m dancing
as fast as I can.”
This is an honest self-assessment
of all of his writing and most importantly the writing on this
record. In the next song Miller wonders if he’s “gonna
be lonely for the rest of my life.” He’s all dressed
in blue “because he’s remembering you and the dress
you wore when you broke my heart.” Miller gives us an
incredibly cool lyric, one track away from an incredibly banal
one. You decide, I can’t.
Do you know someone who lost
a tooth? mpsheahan@yahoo.com
Next week: A tribute band I can sink my teeth into.
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