MusiCal (January 2010)

Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons

Tried 'n' true, Columbus performers Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons bring a backroads-bumping, steady-rolling approach to Perley’s original songs, with appeal to fans of Love & Theft-era Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams. Much younger than those worthies, Perley sounds adventurously observant. She describes herself as “drawn to the fleeting, magical moments  of life and fiery theatrics of this place we call home. “ Still a family affair; look out now.

1/02 @ Rumba Café, 2507 Summit St.

10 p.m.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The first half of a current Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert seeks ideal fellowship, in dramatic narration and dynamic vocal solos. The second half presents dazzling gifts, as classical-times-metal orchestrations of TSO originals and cover versions of pop hits encounter lasers, videos, pyrotechnics and chorus lines.  It’s not all seasonal music, but TSO’s epic expressway provides a holiday feast for eyes and ears.

01/03 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W Nationwide Blvd.

3 p.m & 7:30 p.m.

Lights of Autumn

Lights of Autumn are five lively young performers from upstate New York, whose immediately winning sound blends pop exuberance with punky bluntness and metal-educated guitar solos. Music from the boy’s clubhouse, eh? Not really: co-founders Lauren Ciarpelli and Danielle LeBeau work with their bro’s to keep lyrics as cohesively variable as the music, with all points of view in the mix.

01/06 @ Skully’s, 1151 High St.

10 p.m.

Diana Jones and Jonathan Byrd

Diana Jones and Jonathan Byrd’s Appalachia-based harmonies are filled out by her rich alto and his limber tenor.  Each artist’s award-winning songs travel parallel tracks: Byrd gets drunk and goes off to an unspecified war, which just might be the one Jones’s “Soldier Girl” was already headed for. All their characters keep comin’ ‘round the mountain and corner, including what more cautious souls consider the wrong direction, which can be exciting.

01/09 @ Columbus Performing Arts Center, 549 Franklin Ave.

8 p.m.

Cheater Slicks

Together for twenty-three years, Columbus OH’s Cheater Slicks  maintain their no-nonsense cool, without getting locked into one stance. They’ve toured and recorded with garage rock kingpin Jon Spencer, often backing r&b cult figure Andre Williams as well. They also move in and out of their own moody, battering grooves, taking melodically improvisational flights. Dark humor doesn’t hurt either: the Cheater Slicks’ well-worn, all-weather style still looks good on ‘em.

01/14 @ Rumba Café, 2507 Summit St.

10 p.m.

Mojoflo

 Mojoflo started started out playing funk-fried Christmas music on the frozen streets of Columbus. They’ve since gotten even hotter, while expanding their range and lineup. With up to ten instruments and various voices (including adeptly adaptable lead singer Amber Knicole), Mojoflo applies brass, reeds, keyboards, guitar, bass and percussion to various vintages and blends of r&b, hip-hop, latin—whatever sounds right for the moment, on any given night.

01/15 @ Martini Park, 4040 Easton Station

8 p.m.

Dianne Reeves and trio with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra

Fearlessly exploring many kinds of music, four-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves is especially esteemed for the thoughtful vitality she brings to jazz classics. Reeves celebrates the legacy of chanteuse Sarah Vaughn on this evening of CSO’s Pops series, with conductor Jerry Steichen. Reeves also performs with her longtime pianist-arranger, Peter Martin; Wynton Marsalis’s ace bassist Reginald Veal; and drummer Terreon Gully, a notable associate of Christian McBride.

01/16 @ Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, 300 W Broad St.

8 p.m.

Pat Dailey

If ever a man was born to sing for his supper, that man is Pat Dailey, the bard of Lake Erie’s Put-in-Bay, Ohio. Generations of tourist town contemplation still inspire this sly, salty, and sincere singer-songwriter (sometime collaborator with Bard of Chicago, Nashville, and Key West Shel Silverstein), whose own performances sail around the bend, as Dailey relishes the simple and sometimes crazy pleasures that get us through life (or somewhere).

01/16 @ A&R Music Bar, 391 Neil Ave.

8 p.m.

Brad Paisley

Country star Brad Paisley knows how to balance succinct sentiment and wry humor, as on his 2005 breakthrough, Time Well Wasted. Paisley’s serious turns don’t always come from directions (yet) typical of country singers, as on his recent “Welcome To The Future,” saluting Rosa Parks and Barack Obama. To an extent unusual for Nashville, agile guitarist Paisley records with his touring band, so if you enjoy his albums, check out his show.

01/22 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W Nationwide Blvd.

7:30 p.m.

Owl City

“I prefer daydreams to reality…these songs are all I have to show for my sleepless nights.” So wrote Owl City’s Adam Young, on the MySpace page where his insomnia-tronic excursions began to reach other daydream believers. “Fireflies,” Owl City’s current single, continues to winter amidst the peaks of Billboard’s Top 100. Meanwhile, O.C’.s reveries go 3-D live, as violin, cello and drums expand their synth-pop’s sturdy bubble.

01/28 @ The LC Pavilion, 409 Neil Ave.

7 p.m.

Wolfgang Parker

Columbus punk swing pioneer Wolfgang Parker describes his new Petty Standards as “a return to center.”  But it takes the expert assurance of vocalist-bassist Parker’s quartet to tackle comparison-begging classics “Minnie The Moocher “ and “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” They’re chased with  Frank Sinatra’s “Bim Bam Baby,” Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That A Kick (In The Head,” and “I’m Dead,”  by contemporary swingers the Moon Dogs.

01/30 @ Skully’s, 1151 High St.

7 p.m.