Politics and Asleep at the Wheel

by Lindsay Nelson

Everybody knows politics don’t belong in entertainment. Which is precisely why this space will contain absolutely no mention of the forthcoming departure of a certain high-ranking White House official (Karl Rove). Except to say that it’s damned entertaining to watch the powerful (some would say invincible) step off the stage when it’s “no fun anymore.” Presumably, running the country from behind the curtain stops being fun when those pesky Democrats started going around acting like they had a right to speak up against the Bush juggernaut, maybe also to speak for those who’d been ignored for six years. What is Bush going to do without his brain? Oh, wait … nevermind.

And that’s why you will never read about politics in this column. It’s icky and boring, and it upsets the base. I’m afraid Moe’s might pull their advertising account if we start insulting the Commander in Chief. And if I were to say anything negative about, oh, I don’t know, Sean Penn going to Venezuela to suck Hugo Chavez’ cigar, never mind the fact that he’s a totalitarian dictator dedicated to taking away freedom from his people … well, if I did that, we might lose the Hollywood dollar. So we’ll just keep it light, stick to the society page, shut up and sing, etc. (But don’t forget to vote Nelson/Nelson in ’08!)

Thankfully, it won’t be too hard to stay on-message this week – there are diversions aplenty. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we said summer was pretty much over, you might as well give up now? Well, it’s not over until the Ska B Q emits its near-death rattle and goes to sleep for the nine colder months of the year. Happily, there are still a few more of these cookouts for the working class, including this afternoon. The featured band is Boxcar (not to be confused with the New Jersey punk band of the same name), sort of an Americana rock band with a lap steel guitar. So check it out, before summer really checks out.

Friday is a busy night on the scene, this being the second-to-last weekend before school starts. The long-running rock band from San Francisco Void Where Prohibited will be re-uniting with original guitarist Larry Carver for two shows at Scoot ‘n Blues this weekend. The first of two shows is Friday at 8 p.m., with a happy hour set by Jack Ellis at 5:30 p.m. The band returns again at 8 p.m. on Saturday night. The Void plays classic rock and blues from Hendrix, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd to the Doors, Cream, Tom Petty and the Stones. Rock on!

If you haven’t been to Gem Village lately, you’ve been missing out! Come see all the exciting developments in this darling town, just 13 miles from Home Depot! It’s the place to be

Asleep the Wheel

If you haven’t been to Gem Village lately, you’ve been missing out! Come see all the exciting developments in this darling town, just 13 miles from Home Depot! It’s the place to be

Friday night to catch local suburban country and Western garage band, the Lawn Chair Kings. Play some foosball, drink some Bud, and get down with “Trailer Park.” Best of all, it’s the owner’s birthday party, and we all know what that means: Free drinks! She may regret it in the morning, but you only turn 26 once, right Ashleigh?

For the more well-heeled among you, the Concert Hall offers Austin-based Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel on Friday night at 8 p.m. It’s not often you find a Western swing band with golden credentials, but these guys have ’em, with nine Grammy awards under their bejeweled belt buckles and a hard-partying yet loyal fan base. Boasting of “thirty-some-aught years of hard-fought Western swingin’ fun,” the band has been through a lot – a lot of members, a lot of touring and a lot of boot heels. In keeping with the fine tradition of Texas music, the original band came from someplace else: Paw Paw, West Virginia, to be exact. Then they move to California, and in 1973 they settled in Austin, Texas. Picture, if you can, a band that reaches the height of its popularity during the 1970s, an era marked by several emerging musical styles none of which were quite what you might call Western swing. These guys have pioneered this old-fashioned music into a new millennium, and for that they deserve another Grammy.

For a taste of New Orleans, look no further than Fort Lewis College again on Tuesday, when the Concert Hall hosts Dr. John, (Mac Rebennack Jr.) and his unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm & blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots music. Since the 1960s, Dr. John has been channeling the spirit of New Orleans and bringing the funk to stiff white folk all across the land. Lord knows we need a little loosening up in here; let’s hope the notoriously staid atmosphere of the Concert Hall is not powerful enough to dampen the voodoo magic of Dr. John.

The crap-wave of summer movies is finally ebbing, as evidenced by the opening of a real, live, good grown-up movie at the Abbey on Friday. “Rescue Dawn” stars Christian Bale (“American Psycho,” “The Machinist,” “Batman Begins” and of course “Newsies”) and Steve Zahn, and is the true story of an American fighter pilot imprisoned in Laos during the Vietnam War. It is directed by Werner Herzog, famous for “Nosferatu” and perhaps best known locally for his 2003 documentary “Grizzly Man,” in which one half of a bear-loving couple in Alaska is eaten by, well, bears. Notoriously hard-to-please critics almost universally praise “Rescue Dawn,” and Bale’s performance in particular. This will be an excellent film, so go – it won’t kill you to see a movie that isn’t about today’s political situation, the current war, the environment or cartoon rats. •

Lindsay_damico@yahoo.com.