MusiCal (November 2010)

 By Don Allred

Bellydance Superstars

Exoticism gets pulled beyond decoration, when the Bellydance Superstars’ live and vividly pre-recorded, bass-centric musical accompaniment draws performers and audiences through veils of cultural politics. The Superstars’ frankly pop, professional style thrives on creative tension with the living, world-wide tradition of grassroots dance. Their new production, Bombay Bellywood, also builds on Indian cinema’s ever-morphing musical foundation, as folk, classical, hip-hop, jazz, reggae and other elements continue travelling together, through the looking glass.

11/03 @ Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St.

8 p.m.

Bob Dylan

Expert eyewitness reports, and other posts from our contacts among the lumberjacks, indicate that Bob Dylan’s recently resurgent Endless Tour still gathers no moss. Texas guitar-twister Charlie Sexton’s dynamic support may implicitly challenge Mr. D. to step away from the keyboards and sing expressively at center stage, re-focusing ever-changing arrangements. Current highlights consistently include ” Ballad of a Thin Man,” “Cold Irons Bound,” and the especially soulful “Workingman’s Blues #2.”

11/04 @ Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Dr.

8 p.m.

Sarah McLachlan & Friends

This summer, the mixed results of Sarah MacLachlan’s reconvened Lilith Fair tour included gradual economic collapse. Nevertheless, McLachlan’s jumped right back in the saddle, for a sociably scaled down show.  Along with a set of favorites, plus recent songs from Laws of Illusion, she’ll accompany Melissa McClelland and Butterfly Boucher. McClellan delivers lucidly introspective ballads  Boucher brings unexpectedly urgent vulnerability, deftly forthright electric guitar, and bracingly responsive pedal effects.

11/09 @ Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St.

7:30 p.m.

Kate Nash with Peggy Sue

Long after midnight, a young woman calmly urges, “Lie to me/ And we can lie together.”  The atmospheric groove of “Watchmen” is undisturbed by being a secretly kissin’ cousin to pep rally classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll pt. 2,” as UK folk-rock trio Peggy Sue rebound from modern love’s stalemate. Sharp-eyed sidewalk pop princess Kate Nash is equally outspoken and confidential, while extending her spinning sonic palette into My Best Friend Is You.

11/11 @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St.

Doors Open: 7 p.m.

Stefanie Spielman Cancer Benefit

This benefit for OSU’s Stefanie Spielman Fund For Breast Cancer Research features Columbus’ thoughtfully theatrical Lost Revival and stylishly scruffy Bicentennial Bear. It’s also a Stones-a-thon, with Lost Revival covering “Sweet Virginia,”“Shine a Light,” “Love is Strong,” and “Get Off of My Cloud.” Any originals hopefully include selections from LR’s recent To Hell With Them All,  plus  Bicentenntial Bear’s new speed bump saga, “Year of the Ladybugs,” chased by their paranoid thriller, “Cardinal Codes.”

11/12 @ The Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit St.

9 p.m.

Phantods

“I am my own creation,” Gretchen King testifies on the Phantods’ new Creature. Earning and burning her way through the prison of self, she hijacks the juicy subtexts of Frankenstein and Dracula. Brave, witty mischief is tautly timed by shadowy musical starbursts, rolling out a polka-ska-metal-new-wave barrel of surf-rock undertow.““Some things never change,” King stoically notes, over a blood-chugging beat. Or is it “zombies”? Either way, we know the feeling.

11/13 @ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St.

9 p.m.

Experience Hendrix

Billy Cox, Jimi Hendrix’s fellow 101st Airborne paratrooper and Band of Gypsies bassist, now tours with tribute band Experience Hendrix. He joins r&b’s Ernie Isley (the powerhouse Isley Brothers having employed and recorded with pre-fame Hendrix), blues-rockers Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Bonnie Raittesque singer Susan Tedeschi, cosmic guitar stylist Eric Johnson, plus flashmaster Steve Vai, times brainy, brawny Living Color. Also: Los Lobos’ Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo, fresh from from two 2010 albums---deftly committed One Time One Night: Live Recordings Vol. 2, and cogently cinematic studio set Tin Can Trust---meet steel guitar visionaries the Slide Brothers. Special guests often appear.

11/16 @ The Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St.

8 p.m.

Floorwalkers

On The Natural Road, the Columbus-based Floorwalkers’ funky hippie folk-pop curves mellow electric rainbows around acoustic reveries, as each succinctly distinctive track checks out its own situation. Romance can be bittersweet, but never petulant. “You’ve got to learn to walk away,” the Floorwalkers advise themselves, over wiry reggae. Versatile players provide a variety of feel as well as style, and when Jon Elliott occasionally evokes Marvin Gaye, his reach requires no stretch.

11/19@ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St.

10 p.m.

Bilal

Sweet breezes brush glowering sounds, as Bilal complains: ”I walk a thin line/In this double life/Just can’t do it no more!” But of course, “Cake and Eat It Too” is only the beginning of Airtight’s Revenge. Classically trained neo-soul singer and futuristic arranger Bilal, featured guest on Beyonce and Jay-Z’s singles, also continues to make his own acrobatic, clearly conversational way, serving  the freshest cake and most combustible candles.

11/21 @ Vonn Jazz Lounge, 245 E. Campusview Blvd.

8 p.m.

Mary Adam 12

Columbus soul patrol Mary Adam 12 cite innovators of funk and progressive jazz as influences. True, “Fuzz” could make J. Edgar Hoover bust a move. Horns spiral free-style while the backbeat grows new vertebrae for “Dentist Drill.” Along with a wry,sometimes hopeful, almost undercover heart, Michelle Ishida’s cool lyrical clues and electric piano always bring intrigue to the party. New songs “Crush” and “The Cure-All” continue MA12’s  investigation of outright jubilation.

11/26 @ The Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit St.

6 p.m.

Dance Or Die

The Dance Or Die shows live on, courtesy of Columbus DJs Self-Help and Barticus. Self-Help’s  Clusterfunk mixes Jamaican dancehall, Brazilan chants, indie rock, hip-hop, and much more. Typically, harpsichords flirt with Bowie’s rueful “Fame,” while Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” chirps vibrant drama, over bluesy, undulating beats. DJ Barticus’s equally epic The 80s suggests “On Broadway” as parent of “Billie Jean,”  just for openers.  Rap trio Alleyes Path, which includes Self-Help, also perform tonight.

11/27 @ Kobo, 2590 N. High St.

10 p.m.