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by Mike Sheahan
A fter the craziness of the last two
weeks (the Meltdown most recently and the widespread euphoric
madness of the week before), this week's marked slow-down actually
comes as something of a relief. Even for seasoned veterans such as
yours truly and, presumably, most of y'all, to keep up such a pace
would eventually require serious therapy or even a little time in
the thug jug. Maybe both. It is with that thought in mind that The
Goods' major recommendation this week is to chill out for a couple
of days. The thought of staying home in order to befriend your
television set, or as a last resort, your roommates or family, is
no news on this page. This week, though, most of us need the rest
as much as Donald Trump needs a haircut. After a day or so of
crashing at 10 p.m. and sleeping until noon, you'll be ready to hit
the bricks again, and there will be no shortage of
diversion.
The lightened atmosphere
of this week lends itself well to the two-night stand. For example,
if you passed on the first night of nighttime fun because
"Caddyshack" and "Blazing Saddles" were being shown on one of your
uncensored movie channels, you can always catch the second night.
This week finds us with two-night stands galore.
Local rockers
Freewill Recovery
will hold court at the
Summit on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24. Assurances have
been made that each night will provide entirely different shows all
the way down to wardrobe. Wardrobe, eh? That might mean that on
Saturday someone different will be wearing the David Letterman
t-shirt. Although this next fact smacks of payolla or at least
plug-olla, I have it on solid authority that this little bit of
promotion has earned me the right to request and, in all
probability, force the band to learn any song at my fancy. That
said, be on the lookout for Freewill's interpretation of the
Bachman-Turner Overdrive classic "Takin' Care of Business." That
alone will be worth the cover price for both nights.
The two-fer week of fun
continues at Scoot 'n Blues on Friday and Saturday. The seemingly
just post-pubescent Santa Fe guitar virtuoso Alex Maryol will make what seems to be his monthly
stop. Maryol is much more than just a dude to check out because of
his youth and ability to rock. With a style that seems to come
firmly from the Stevie Ray Vaughan world of blues, everything I
know of the guy says that he can play that Texas blues style with
enough originality to avoid being called derivative. Shows at
Scoots usually get running around 8 p.m.
One of the biggest
fantasies of nonathletic, prepubescent boys (and some other people
for sure) is to one day emerge bleary-eyed from one's basement or
garage, storm some local stage and kick major ass at the
battle of the bands
competition. Thanks to
Storyville and another two-night run, you have the chance to hear
what many of our local bands sound like in person rather than from
a garage two houses over just as you got your kid to sleep for the
night and were digging into the couch with a really big vodka
drink, only to be ripped from your reverie by simultaneous screams
from the baby's bedroom and that evil garage. For example, that is.
This two-day event happening on Friday and Saturday will be the
perfect chance for many of us to check out the Amazing Larrys or
Ralph Dinosaurs of Durango's tomorrow while also affording some the
chance to do a little creative bulldozing with the knowledge none
is actually in that blasted garage.
The winner of the
contest gets 10 hours of recording time at Eagle Sound and the
chance to open for a "mainstream band or artist" at the FLC
Community Concert Hall. The label "mainstream band or artist" could
range anywhere from John Tesh to Ozzy Osborne, so I've pinned my
hopes on the heavy metal piano band called "Mercyful
88."
 After
the big fun at Storyville on Friday and Saturday, the hard-working
crew gets a day break before having to do it all again on Monday
when The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash make a return to the venue.
The April 26 show marks a long-awaited return to Durango since
the cancellation of a show a couple of months ago. Not only
do the Bastard Sons deliver a night filled with sincere, straight-from-the-heartland
country rock and roll, but they are some of the nicest boys
you'll ever meet. To paraphrase a line from The Blues Brothers,
the BSOJC play songs that cover all three types of music: country,
western and rock 'n' roll. This is the don't-miss billing of
the week.
Album of the Week: A quick two-part disclaimer: The minute
I heard that Jack White (of "White Stripes" fame) had been hired
on to produce an album of songs wholly written and sung by Loretta
Lynn , I was convinced it was a winner; and it should be known
that I am reviewing this album based solely on a six-song advance
copy of the 13-track final album that will hit the stores April
27. Exceptions aside, and with  little
hyperbole, I can say that the album "Van Lear Rose" will go
down as the most important marriage between country music and
rock 'n' roll since Jerry Lee Lewis hitched up with his 13-year-old
cousin. The second lady of country music (Patsy being the first)
is imbued with new life under the direction of the current reigning
king of alternative guitar. On her own website, Ms. Lynn cautions
fans to be warned that this new album sounds "a little more
rock and roll" than long time fans may be used to, amounting
to a classic country music understatement. Jack White's Stripes-ish
guitar riffs aside, Lynn sounds more raw, unfettered and, most
importantly, more real than so-called punks like Courtney Love.
When you buy the album
that will certainly top the best of 2004 lists of most music
lovers, remember that while Jack "Mr. Alt-rock" White produced and
arranged the record, in the end Loretta Lynn wrote every single
song. Including the lyrics "I'm almost drunk from the drinks I
turned down" and "I looked at him, he looked at me, I knew right
then we were takin' it free." This and so much more from a woman
who has owned herself for the better part of six decades. This
album will win Grammies and cause youngsters like Sheryl Crow and
Shania Twain to flee Diva galas in embarrassment.
As it should be. Real
country was punk long before there was a thing called punk. This
album shows that.
Loretta Lynn is a ham
sandwich in Hungry Town. mpsheahan@yahoo.com
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