By Don Allred
January pitches:
Parquet Courts
Children of the Clintonverse with 90s alt-rock appetites find ways through youth-reforming boot camp to fluid, laid-back melodies over compulsively precise beats, with lyrics shifting from deep brewing to streetwise, straight-ahead views.
01/07 @ Cafe Bourbon St.
Pat Dailey/Reese Dailey Band
Ex-cop, ex-Marine, and eternally migrating snowbird, Singer/songwriter Pat Dailey is the Bard of Put-in-Bay OH; also, a hearty, very musical bratwurst fart in the direction of auto-comparisons to Jimmy Buffet, which are not uncommon. Zestier Buffet fans may indeed go for the gusto of Dailey, who somewhat wryly relishes charting the chartering of fellow romantics, while they all sail over and way under the rainbow. His son Reese Dailey’s own vocals, original songs, and slide guitar lead RSD through focal points shaped in part by Southern Rock, as well and folk and pop.
01/12 @ The LC, 405 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.
Hawthorne Heights/JT Woodruff/Mark Rose
Dayton’s emo-screamo vets continue their indie EP series with Hope, which also seasons the emotional and musical range of resources, incl combination of apparently experience-shaded lyrics and pop’s pleasure principle. HH lead singer JT does a solo set of new material and re-versions; Mark Rose opens with R&B-flavored folk-pop.
01/17 @ The Rumba, 1151 N. High St., 8 p.m.
February complete:
Nick D. and Believers/Matt Munhall Trio/Joey Hebdo/DJ Jon Elliott
Vocalist/keyboard player Nick D., whose Believers include members of Bella Ruse, Them Labs, and The Floorwalkers, unveils tonight-only set designs by Columbus’ Kaity Hoard, framing a new music video and vividly convivial new tunes, including “We Grew Up Wild.” Singer/pianist Matt Munhall’s trio will spin us through elegantly moody originals, judiciously juiced with Dylan, Newman, and perhaps The Beatles. Joey Hebdo, of tasty Prosciutto fame, can be quite the one-man-band. DJ Jon Elliott (AKA The Floorwalkers’ lead singer) pumps up classic and rare groove soul, funk, r&b, plus several schools of rap.
02/07 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 8 p.m.
Walk The Moon/Pacific Air
Cincy-based Walk The Moon took their name from “Walking on the Moon,” a space-reggae album track by the Police, which became a concert favorite, and an inspiration for WTM’s own performance-enhanced, studio-smart, contemporary art-pop. Artful touches include those of paint, which Walk The Moon like to wear onstage, and share with their audience. San Diego’s equally atmospheric Pacific Air are basically brothers Ryan and Taylor Lawhon’s voices and keyboards. With a guitarist, bassist, and drummer added for shows, Pacific Air’s sky-brushed textures and implied destinations should para-glide by more invitingly than ever.
02/07 @ LC Pavilion, 405 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.
A Short History of Jazz
The Columbus Jazz Orchestra and Columbus Youth Orchestra’s excursions through blues, ragtime, swing, bop and beyond are accompanied by saxophonist Tia Fuller, who’s played with jazz/blues singer Nancy Wilson and Beyonce, plus drummer Lewis Nash, an accomplished accompanist for formidably individualistic improvisers, such as Betty Carter and Branford Marsalis. CJO Artistic Director Byron Stripling, who played first trumpet in the Count Basie Orchestra and also performed with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, places Basie and Gillespie on a flight map with Scott Joplin, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and others.
02/07 @ Southern Theater, 21 E. Main St., 7:30 p.m. 02/08-10, 8:00 p.m.
Rascal Flatts/Band Perry/Kristen Kelly
Tonight’s established and rising country stars thrive on pop appeal. Rascal Flatts deliver signature ballads and toe-tappers, via the three-part harmonies of Columbus-raised cousins, lead vocalist Gary Levox and multi-instrumentalist Jay DeMarcus, along with lead guitarist Joe Don Rooney. LeVox’s carefully modulated, mountain-high sound is discreetly compatible with the Appalachian folk-pop of spooky, sparky young siblings (two guys and a galvanizing gal), The Band Perry. Kristen Kelly cheerfully kisses her “Ex-Old Man” (“and my ex-best friend”) goodbye, while dancing with a cheeky, chirpy guitar hook, resembling the springy offspring of OMC’s “How Bizarre.” OMG, y’all!
02/09 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd., 7:30 p.m.
Punch Brothers/Anais Mitchell
Featuring ex-Nickel Creek mandolin virtuoso/vocalist Chris Thile, Punch Brothers’ musical medicine show mixes acoustic adaptations of Radiohead with elements of classical, Americana, and distinctively original material. They’re even better live: driving Thile’s wry, passionate, divorce-sourced suite, “The Blind Leaving the Blind,” for instance. Our answer to Mumford & Sons? USA! USA! Equally ambitious singer/songwriter Anais Mitchell, creator of the Broadway musical and concept album Hadestown, deftly guides the struggling, roots-fueled hero of 2012’s acclaimed Young Man In America: "My mother gave a mighty shout/Opened her legs and let me out/ Hungry as a prairie dog/Young man in America."
02/12 @ Southern Theater, 21 E. Main St., 8 P.m.
Umphrey’s McGee/Mike Dillon Band
Both bands on tonight’s bill lead with the variety and agility of their jams, at the heart of which are strong songs, demanding to be heard in fresh ways. Umphrey’s McGee write searching, yet intensely committed relationship updates---challenges channeled into crisp, sometimes dazzling progtronic workouts and expeditions. Vibraphonist/percussionist/vocalist/composer Mike Dillon cites John Coltrane’s free jazz breakthrough “Giant Steps” and Iggy & The Stooges’ proto-punk classic "I Wanna Be Your Dog” as crucial, still shakin' inspirations. Dillon’s current quartet includes Carly Meyers on trombone and (say it loud) Moog Taurus pedals.
02/15 @ LC Pavilion, 405 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.
Sirens
When Kay Parker and Molly Pauken aren’t wailing Sirens---alongside guitarist/bassist/singer Pete Cary and drummer Jeff Peters---they’re studio session mainstays, and frequently on stage with other groups. Especially Ohio country rockers, including McGuffey Lane, The John Schwab Band, and Jonalee White & The Late Nite Drivers. Multi-instrumentalist Pauken, who tours with Nashville sage Rodney Crowell, has Celtic connections with Columbus’s Ladies of Longford; also various jazzy experiences (ditto Parker, who’s sung with the Columbus Jazz Arts Group). This adventurous way of life suffuses their original material, along with folk, funk, blues, and intense self-expression.
02/20 @ Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza, 5001 N. High St., 9 p.m.
Cash Only
This Johhny Cash tribute benefits Andymanathon’s fund for disadvantaged children. Smoking Guns and Apple Bottom Gang will play “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Ring of Fire” respectively; Third Degree Sideburn gallop through JC’s rockabilly years; Jinxed spotlight Johnny’s duets with June Carter Cash and others. Joshua P. James and the Paper Planes fly from “Egg-Sucking Dog” to Cash’s vision of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” while Unit 1 unleash “The Beast In Me” and “You Are My Sunshine.” Also: Outlaw Deluxe, Boondogglers, Brothers, and The Song Bird Band---with over 60 Cash covers in all (no repeats allowed).
02/23 @ Shrunken Head, 251 W. 5th Ave., 6 p.m.
Ra Ra Riot/Pacific Air
Long known for counter-balancing brainy alt-rock with soulful strings, Ra Ra Riot have lost the cello, kept the violin, and nurtured the poptronic valentines of 2013’s Beta Love. The title track is an eerie serenade: “In this city of robot hearts, ours were meant to be...” Be what? Or is it “beat”? That comes to seem enough, as RRR’s catchy sincerity gets reassuring----although “When I Dream” ‘s Caribbean-tinged electro-romance might make cosmic crooner Miguel sweat the competition. As they did for Walk The Moon on the 7th, ambient pop combo Pacific Air opens.
02/28 @ A&R Music Bar, 391 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.
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