MusiCal (March 2010)

By Don Allred

Stretch Lefty

“The city skylight’s glowin’ in the background/The daily grind’s got me feelin’ kinda empty now.” Columbus-based Stretch Lefty reach into that glow, tapping the city’s energy and allure, re-charging reggae and hip-hop based pop that’s socially aware and sociable too, in a restlessly down-to-earth way

03/03 @ Skully’s, 1151 High St.

6 p.m.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears find expedient ingredients to sweeten their bruising groove, which chain-chain-chains killin’ floor blues to dance floor R & B. Lewis knows the need for musical consolation. He’s been bruised too, as he testifies on the Honeybears’ album, Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is. If only he hadn’t mistaken Roxanne for Melissa! The horns quickly second, third and fourth that emotion.

03 04 @ The Basement, 391 Neil Ave.

Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly are hairy heirs to the punk-poetic legacy of Ireland's Pogues. Armed with electric and acoustic guitars, further fueled by fiddles, mandolins, bass and drums, they herald the heaven and hell of the lyrical, the lost, and the loud. 2006's Whiskey on a Sunday etched many facets, and now Live at the Greek Theatre brings a world of indomitable spirits home, still potent and focused.

03 04 @ The LC Pavilion, 405 Neil Ave.

John Mayer

Singer-guitarist John Mayer's interests currently include Taylor Swift and Haitian relief (donated $500,000 to the latter). Romance and realism meet in the blues-pop atmospherics of recent albums, while current concerts include extended explorations of songs like "Waiting for the World to Change" and "Friends, Lovers or Nothing." Funk vet Steve Jordan's drums smoothly propel, and the horns have been replaced by a soulful female vocal duo.

03/12 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W Nationwide Blvd.

7 p.m.

Billy Zenn & The Ringers

If Columbus singer-songwriter Billy Zenn only had his expansively dynamic voice, with the vibrato of Elvis Presley and the passion for detail of Elvis Costello, that would be more than enough. But he’s also got the concisely combustible Ringers, in hot pursuit of a “Runaway World.”  This show is their first together since Zenn’s heart attack and open surgery last fall, though he’s already been performing solo.

3/13 @ Vic’s, 614 W 5th Ave. 

8 p.m.

Kittie

Real metal isn’t “pure” metal, which is why Kittie are so metal! These babes brave the  ever-winding way between old school truth and self-expressive youth, while delivering  goth-pop’s lacey melodies and metal’s basic meltdowns. Lead vocalist-guitarist Morgan Lander sings pretty for her people and shrieks higher than a steeple, as Kittie’s current album, Into the Black, traces some new musical curves in the darkness.

03/19 @ Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Rd.

6 p.m

Eddie Palmieri

In 1961, Eddie Palmieri inventively contrasted the roaring agility of trombones with Latin music's typical flutes, percussion and piano. He greeted the '70s with an electric mix of more instruments, genres, and moods, still unmistakably Latin. Palmieri's records also provide sizzling samples for Latin hip-hop and house. His crew’s still stirring the brew, as 2009's Lincoln Center concert with Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis amply demonstrated.

03/20 @ The Lincoln Theatre, 769 E Long St.

8 p.m.

Karate Coyote

Columbus sextet Karate Coyote’s sound is sweet as springtime, and just as sneaky. Bright and dark moments slip through firecracker plot twists, peppering the momentum. Tonight’s show celebrates the release of KC’s full-length debut, Inner Animals. An advance track, “Tunnels,” directs us through “The wrecked apartment/You can’t ignore/The one who took your arm/Who pulled you up.” She does it again, as Karate Coyote’s clocks and maps fly by.

3/26 @ Skully’s, 1151 High St.

10 p.m.

David Gray

British singer-songwriter David Gray's sound isn't a million miles from Elton John's, but as his 2001 hit "Babylon" established, Gray's thoughtfully rolling groove can develop its own edge, at just the right moments. His 2009 album, White Ladder, combines warmth, wryness, self-assertion, even confrontation, with confident piano, mercurial acoustic guitar, and deft use of samples. All of this is even more evident in Gray’s concerts.

3/27 @ The Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St.

8 p.m.

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend blends international flavors with suburban pop, inviting comparisons to Paul Simon and Talking Heads, but this quirky young quartet is more self-reliant than those distinguished hosts of 80s safaris. VW’s versatile Contra builds on the skills of their 2008 self-titled debut, while cutting back on latte, venturing aboard the espresso express, and sometimes dancing irony dizzy. Pretty fly for some white guys!

03/29/10 @ The LC Pavilion, 405 Neil Ave.

7 p.m.

Tegan and Sara

Twins Tegan and Sara Quin were folk-rocking teens in 1996, when they joined Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair caravan of female singer-songwriters. Even earlier new wave roots helped raise the urgency level of recent albums, especially 2009’s Sainthood. Its art-pop vehicles reach just the right spin to observantly orbit stubborn love-objects. The storytelling engagingly continues on stage, in and between all of Tegan and Sara’s musical intrigue.

03/30 @ The LC Pavilion, 405 Neil Ave.

7 p.m.