MusiCal (June 2012)

 By Don Allred

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real/Molly Winters

Wasted keeps Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real swaying on a rope bridge of good times, good luck and good faith. Likewise onstage: amid the rhythm section’s percussive investigations, Nelson squeezes an occasional scream from his deep-toned, skybound, Allmanesque guitar, parting the strata just enough to confide, "I can hear the wind/Whisper like a kid/’I treat you like I want to be treated.” Columbus balladeer Molly Winters is a compatible keeper of the flame and midnight oil, as a gracefully diligent, candidly romantic, expert observer of herself and others. 

06/05 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W Third Ave., 8 p.m.

Battles

Battles guitarist/bassist Dave Konopka draws on the sleek complexity of Lynx, drummer John Stanier is shrapnel from metal-math-mosh vets Helmet, while Ian Williams, who tends to play keyboards and guitar simultaneously, is a party particle from artcore’s Don Caballero. Battles’ collective legacy of meta-mutant fun took more leaps after frontman Tyondai Braxton split: they gene-spliced guest vocalists into 2011’s exhilarating Gloss Drop, now magically mirrored by Dross Glop’s mixologists. Live, Battles’ inventiveness gets suspenseful: will they melt down, or pull more neon-eyed chocolate rabbits out of their hats? Both, if we’re lucky!

06/05 @ Outland Live, 95 Liberty St., 7 p.m.

Vanity Theft/Enemies!

On The Right Amount of Distance, Springboro-launched Vanity Theft’s goth-pop sonic armor becomes ever more telling in the graveyard of wimpy boyfriends, as VT briskly confess/command, “My Eee, Gee, Oh,/Is not ready to let you go/Make me/Work with you.” For Desolation Dreams, ex- OSU staff brat/new Enemies! ringleader Aaron Lee Tasjan would  “watch the warehouse across the street get robbed, write a song, and wait for the cops. For once, they weren’t there because of something I did.” Uncaught and catchy, Enemies! seize each fresh excuse to party.

06/06 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N High St., 8 p.m.

Girl Talk/G-Side/Expensive Sh*t

Punk, crunk, bubblegum, bounce; hotel, motel, your Mama’s Top 10: all are catnip for the mashups of DJ Girl Talk. Rap duo G-Side’s live-from-Sweden “Stay-cation” beguilingly preaches that you too can have a home away from home while still at home, given the right vibe. They’re traveling with singers Joi Turner and PH, plus DJ CP of Block Beataz. Club monks Expensive Sh*t eternally renew rowdy vows:”In the name of the phasor, the drum, and the 808...while you ride the wall and try to figure out the deep signal chains.” Amen!

06/08 @ The LC, 405 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.

Dancehall Queen

For this event, Jamaica-born MC/DJ Abba Blade, whose theme song is “Path to Success,”  hereby summons courageous dancehall contestants and other music lovers from “all over the world.” Blade’s co-hosts, the irrepressible Fudgie Springer and Breezy Banton, no doubt second that commotion. Blade’s Columbus colleagues, Roots High Power Sound System, whose recent cookout on The Everton Blender Spring Reggae Mix was quite tantalizing, will pump the bass culture galaxies. Ditto Cleveland’s New Horizons and Lady Dynamq, who specializes in spinning reggae, dancehall, soca, and calypso, seasoned with hip-hop, r&b, and zouk.

06/09 @ Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Rd, 9 p.m

Lindsey Buckingham

Vocalist/composer/guitar virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham’s gifts can be matched by sheer flash, as ingeniously seasoned popcraft and reflection spin off into jangle and wail---no wonder he and Stevie Nicks vaulted venerable voyagers Fleetwood Mac over the mega-platinum moon. Relationship drama compulsively risked group implosion, but also compressed into crystalline Mac tracks and Buckingham’s solo hits, such as “Trouble” and “Go Insane.” On this unaccompanied acoustic tour, determined to “express more with less,” the still excitable ol’ boy brings selections from his new Seeds We Sew, previous LB album highlights, and deftly adapted Mac classics.

06/16 @ The Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St., 8 p.m.

Tony Monaco Trio

The Tony Monaco Trio is something of a Columbus-to-the-world jazz supergroup, delivered via the magnetic crossroads of Hammond B3 organist Monaco, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Derek DiCenzo, and drummer Reggie Jackson. They’re solid, mobile citizens, converging and diverging, yet commonly ruling clubs, classrooms, and concert halls. Their sound is effervescent and potent, whiskey and soda, with funky grooves swirling and surging around and over the chilly rocks of bop-based modernist constellations. There’s no need to park your brains or your carcass too far from the dance floor, or wherever you find your most congenial scenes.

06/22 @ Comfest, Goodale Park, 120 West Goodale St,10 p.m.

Santigold/Theophilus London

“If we can’t fly, we’ll run,” kaleidoscopic art-pop diva Santigold murmurs with bluesy resolution, maybe even resignation: she knows she’ll never sit still. On her recent Master Of My Make-Believe, commitment and freedom keep Santigold darting and hovering in the twilight valley of electro, hip-hop, alt rock, and world music. Rapper/singer Theophilus London feels and builds on a similar tension in songs from his forthcoming Rose Island, as faithfully elusive angel “Lisa” and “Big Spender” ‘s sample-rich, regally whimsical siren keep him reeling out and in.

06/28 @ Newport, 1722 N. High St., 7 p.m.

Paleface/Matthew Sullivan & Black River Gypsies/Cowboy Hillbilly Hippy Folk/Hocking River String Band

Singer/songwriter/picker/painter Paleface is truly indie, yet empathetic enough to work with obsessive visionary Daniel Johnston and mellow fellows the Avett Brothers. He promises a “high energy” folk-rock trio, with drumming songbird Mo Samalot and guitarist/harmonist Grey Revell. Columbus-based Matthew Sullivan & Black River Gypsies, formerly Tin Hearts, now seek greater variety, while tracks in progress retain characteristically tuneful electricity. Cowboy Hillbilly Hippy Folk’s sociable adventures also suit their Ohio neighbors Hocking River String Band, whose covers and originals roll with traditional and contemporary Americana, periodically boosted by “Scruggs-style banjo riffs and turnarounds.”

06/29 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W. Third Ave.,  5 p.m

MusiCal (July 2012)

 By Don Allred

Joe Walsh

Convivial singer/songwriter/lead guitarist Joe Walsh spent much of his childhood in Columbus, then ascended from Kent State with the Cleveland-launched James Gang, Walsh leavened 70s rock star heaven with wry lines, squeaking past the dramatic intro of his solo hit, “Life’s Been Good”: “My Maserati does 185/I lost my license, now I don’t drive.” Nevertheless, his lifestyle went habitually wild, especially while flying with the Eagles. The catchy candor of his 2012 Analog Man will meet and greet Walsh’s career-spanning audience favorites with sobriety’s star-spangled sonic tonic, on Independence Day.

07/04 @ Dublin Coffman High School Stadium, 6780 Coffman Rd, 5 p.m.

No Coast Fest

Reggae and rock shake a musical family tree tonight, especially when Brooklyn’s Folkadelics spark Jamaican traces of hip-hop’s roots. They’d “rather be a lover than a fighter--start the commotion!” “Folsom Prison Blues” morphs into a mighty chain-gang ripple, while fresh inflections rouse the careful cool of “Norwegian Wood.” Equally organic Columbus hybrids Devil’s Lettuce and Shrub (whose studio projects currently ingest the massive cred of rock producer Sylvia Massey and Ohio beat transformer Blueprint) also provide cogent smoke signals over the rugged rainbow. Ditto Minneapolis trio Jon Wayne and the Pain, who promise “reggaetronic dub.”

07/07 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W Third Ave., 8 p.m.

Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s/Winter Makes Sailors

Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s’ Rot Gut, Domestic tilts through fractured stained glass love hangovers and breeze-blessed “Prozac Rock.” Margot multi-instrumentalist Erik Kang will sit in with Columbus neighbors Winter Makes Sailors “for a couple of numbers. He’s all over the new record,” says WMS’s Sean Gardner. This show includes some forthcoming songs, like "Swearing at Motorists,” which Gardner describes as ”a tribute to the band, also a true story of pure road rage turned melodic anthem.” As with Margot, we’ll hear just what can sound so good about feeling bad.

07/13 @ The Basement, 391 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.

All Good Festival

Along with the Grateful Dead’s living legacy of Phil Lesh & Friends, the Mickey Hart Band, and Bob Weir with Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis (yet no typically overlapping festival sets), AGF includes The Flaming Lips’ psych-pop hijinks, Lotus’s rocktronica, Yonder Mountain String Band’s joy-riding Americana, and Michael Franti’s funky crossroads commentaries. Charities and the arts groove together; various local legends launch the Late Late Night series of dubstep, house, and other electric dreams. 

07/19-22 @ Legend Valley Concert Venue And Campground, Thornville, noon

Columbus Rocks The Cure

Columbus Rocks The Cure’s charitable events are helmed by Amee BellWanzo of Black Eyed Betty, whose resourceful practicality also applies to musical self-expression. They’re classic punks; nevertheless, “Slipped Away” matches undulating verses with abrasive breaks, like the Pretenders meeting Motorhead. The Girls! slyly apply booze to romantic wounds, versatile Millur Boyette specialize in stress-testing TV themes, Post Coma Network channel plush dance rhythms, and Fresh Wreckage rock some funky, juicy positivity. All proceeds purchase gas cards and wigs for local cancer survivors, via American Cancer Society Patient Navigator and Columbus’s Hair Theatre Fund.

07/20 @ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St., 9 p.m.

Indigo Girls/Shadowboxers

“Now when the springtime comes around/I’m gonna lay it down/Gonna give ‘em a smile/And just a little doubt.” No doubt about that vow from the Indigo Girls, who, like many a good-hearted, well-meaning woman, “just can’t keep from makin’ promises.” Although the folk-rocking indie role models have maintained their mindful momentum for nearly thirty years, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers show no complacency. On Saliers’ birthday, the Indigo Girls greet us with full-band support from the robust vocal and instrumental harmonies of Atlanta’s Shadowboxers, who also get their own opening set.

07/22 @ The LC Pavilion, 405 Neil. Ave, 7 p.m.

Best Coast/Those Darlins

On Best Coast’s second album, The Only Place, Beverly Cosentino stares down a break-up, though sharp edges curve back into shades of reflected gray, so she rides an emotional undertow, balancing increasingly rich melodies and succinct strength, sometimes with a tough East Coast-associated Italian-American accent, Cosentino and her multi-instrumental Merlin, Bobb Bruno, currently cruising with their shimmering garage-pop quartet, are supported by twangy janglers Those Darlins: three sharper-than-rhinestone gals and their drumming pal Linwood, often armed with another smart answer to bad love, and even the mirror.

07/23 @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 High St., 7 p.m.

Shockwave Metal Festival 2012

With its three surviving founders back on board, times guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain, thrash-prog visionary quartet Voivod provides strenuous inspiration for Shockwave 2012. Matt DeVries, veteran of Cleveland’s Chimaira, now extends his guitar smarts into bass tentacles, shadowing Fear Factory lead guitarist Dino Cazares’ seven- and eight-string probes. Fear Factory’s The Industrialist projects the progress of a Frankensteinian pilgrim. Cattle Decapitation’s Monolith of Inhumanity, though more pessimistic, reaches ravenously for new infusions of melodic mayhem. Shockwave’s dark, hearty catharsis also blood harvests Revocation, served with the viciously nutritious stew of Havok, Dirge Within, Vildhjarta, The Browning, and Forged In Flame. 

07/27 @ Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Rd., 2 p.m.

New Riders of the Purple Sage

Jerry Garcia and singer/picker David Nelson’s pre-Dead country adventures morphed into New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Nelson, with Garcia’s steel guitar successor, Buddy Cage (participant in Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks), reformed New Riders in 2005, recruiting Hot Tuna guitarist Michael Falzarano, plus two from self-stamped “swamp groove“ unit Stir Fry, bassist Ronnie Penque and drummer Johnny Markowski. NRPS roll deft jams and tight tunes, many (from 2009’s Where I Come From and 2012’s 17 Pine Avenue) written with Garcia lyricist Robert Hunter, who keeps Riders swirling around a “Barracuda Moon,” and curtly invokes the “difference between a bad loan/And a debt.” Nelson’s subtly Dylanesque delivery underscores such lines with dry wit. Expect their aromatic hit, “Panama Red.”

07/27 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W Third Ave. ,8 p.m.

Hoodoo Soul Band

Audience-wise, the eleven-man, umpteen-instrument, almost eighteen-year-old Hoodoo Soul Band’s Boomers and Gen Xers get regenerated, while twenty-somethings learn to burn through “Sex Machine,” “What Is Hip?,” “Ring of Fire,” and a customization of the Black Crowes’ version of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle.”  Plus: Parliament-Funkadelic, Average White Band, Marvin Gaye--not to mention Columbus cowboy Dwight Yoakam’ s “Guitars, Cadillacs.” Paul Simon’s “Late In The Evening” and “You Can Call Me Al” provide percussive trade-offs. Also offering voices, horns, guitars, keyboards, and a harmonica, everybody is a star, ‘cause opportunity’s always knocking.

07/29 @ Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit St., 10 p.m.

MusiCal (August 2012)

By Don Allred

The Band Perry/Dustin Lynch

The Band Perry’s mostly self-written country-pop hits never get trapped in country-traditional fatalism. True, “If I Die Young” is a tad morbid, but Kimberly Perry is luxuriously stretching her wings, knowing she’ll make a good-looking angel. She also learns selling out doesn’t pay: “I never liked the taste of crow/But Baby, I ate it,” she tells her guy in “You Lie,” or would, if he ever showed up. Like the resourceful Perry siblings, young Dustin Lynch is fascinated by love’s drama, without getting (too) hung up: “I guess God kinda likes/Cowboys and angels.”

08/02 Ohio State Fair, Celeste Center, 717 E. 17th Ave., 7p.m.

The-Dream/Miguel

The-Dream and Miguel are steadily rising stars, easing and squeezing contemporary r&b between hip-hop, rock, funk, live bands, electronica--whatever it takes to score each man’s own hits, and ones in collaboration with other artists. The-Dream sometimes includes hip-hop staccato in his singing, where rap-associated boasts can encounter vulnerable moods. Miguel’s vulnerability is a given: he carefully applies melodic solace, while floating over anxious beats, and even when requesting a “Quickie.” Both artists are commonly compared to Prince, with whom they share a classically quirky approach to uncommon delights.

08/03 @ Ohio State Fair, Celeste Center, 717 E. 17th Ave., 7 p.m.

Dublin Irish Festival

The Dublin Irish Festival delivers a variety of active and relaxed enjoyment. You can take singing lessons with unpretentiously cosmic folkie Niamh Parsons, and fiddle with the masterfully classy Eileen Ivers. Or just groove with the Tannahill Weavers’ freshly traditional dances and ballads, a range honored by the folk-punk of Mahones and Black 47.  Gaelic Storm’s Celtic-global atmospherics include barroom weather advisories like “Chucky Timm,” named for their formidable drinking buddy, also Dayton’s 1968 Olympic bobsledder. Area artists include singer/storyteller Bob Ford and his band Ragamuffins, plus the stout-hearted General Guinness Band.

08/03/04/05 @ Coffman Park, 5600 Post Rd, Dublin, first shows:4:15 p.m./11:15 a.m./10:45 a.m.

Dethklok/Lamb of God/Gojira

Cartoon Network’s metal stars Dethklok boldly bestride both sides of the ever-thinning line between flesh and fantasy. Vast images of Dethklok’s virtual virtuosos rule the screen above the stage, where a live soundtrack is channeled by Gene Hoglan, whose drums drove both Dethklok albums, bassist Bryan "Liberty" Beller, who materialized on Dethalbum II, and Mike Keneally, successor of Steve Freakin' Vai as Frank Zappa’s designated “stunt guitarist.” Keneally was born for Dethklok’s deftly deadpan humor, and the brawny harmonic agility of “Black Fire Upon Us.”  Virginia’s Lamb of God revel in their righteously woolly Resolution, and France’s Gojira unveil L’Enfant Sauvage.

08/10 @ The LC, 405 Neil Ave., 6 p.m.

A Tribute To Queen

Columbus Queen tribute band Mr. Fahrenheit And The Lover Boys began in the 2006 brainstorm of Phil Cogley and Jacob Wooten, colleagues in the Weezer tribute band Pinkertones. Rising above indie irony, Queen’s electric rainbow is a challenge and a release, especially for Cogley, whose other self-challenge, the valiantly live-mixing one-man-band Saturday Giant, finds no time for glamtastic glory. Members of sludge metal’s ravenous White Wolves, tempestuously progressive Sleepers Awake, funktronic Shemale Fiesta, and OU’s Math Department also meld with chamber-rocking combos Ghost Shirt and Milano for two hours of Queen classics, plus some curveballs.

08/10 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Wino & Conny Ochs

Inspired by classic death-of-the-60s early metal (the kind with a psychedelic afterglow), singer-guitarist Wino Weinrich has always demonstrated how just electrically the positive and negative can connect. While keeping several bands on his speed-dial, Wino also brings the dark and light to stripped-down folk-metal sets. Heavy Kingdom, with poetically inclined picker Conny Ochs, finds the power duo mixing it up like Beowulf and Grendel, down at the old mead hall. They’re energetically ready to “Take it all the way around/As the wheels are spinning off/Don’t let it bring you down/Too fast!”

08/19 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 10 p.m.

Black Swans

Long known for their thinking-out-loud, freebird approach, Columbus’s folk-rocking Black Swans were hatched by singer-guitarist Jerry DeCicca and violinist Noel Sayre, playing together since 1995. When Sayre drowned in 2008, the band set aside their album in progress, Don’t Blame The Stars. 2010’s wryly exploratory Words Are Stupid sported Sayre’s recently discovered tracks. 2011’s completed Don’t Blame... included Sayre at his peak, while the new Occasion For Song candidly deals with his tenacious influence, via the Swans’ steady-rolling rhythms, searchlight guitars, and other immediately engaging sounds, centered by DeCicca’s all-weather reveries.

08/24 @ Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit St., 10 p.m.

Skitzo Show

The multi-media Skitzo Show is the living dream of Electro Cult Circus, conceptual artists dedicated to giving all senses and audiences a tune-up, long before morphing into an actual band. They namecheck Beck as a cheeky inspiration for the paisley-beat core of their own mischief. Music is the springboard for live and video apparitions, including much comedy. ECC’s Madlab colleague Stephen Woolsey predicts “interviews with Columbus pseudo-celebrities.” All in all, Electro Cult Circus’s ringmasters welcome us to a “hot bath of enlightenment and laughter for the pineal gland to open and devour with joy.”

08/28 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N. High St., 9 p.m.

MusiCal (September 2012)

By Don Allred

Giuda

Italy’s Giuda take us back to to the early 70s, when real men wore satin and had lots of big glam hits.  Faces’ cage-rattling “Borstal Boys” is the only cover frequently performed, but Giuda’s own songs, including “Get It Over,” “Racey Roller,” “Here Comes Saturday Night,” and “Tartan Pants” channel classic soccer stadium-rocking sounds. Expect echoes of T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On),” Gary Glitter’s pep rally essential “Rock And Roll Part 2,” and Slade, originators of later hair metal chart-toppers like “Mama Weer All Crazee Now.” And how!

09/05 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 9 p.m.

Whiskey Daredevils/Righteous Buck and the Skull Scorchers

Cincy’s Whiskey Daredevils guitarist Gary Siperko recently toured with Cleveland’s resurrected garage astronauts Rocket From The Tombs. Such experiences give the WD brand of country punkabilly punch a little more spice, which is always nice. No matter what happens, the tireless Daredevils live to refuel: “There ain’t no champagne in this bottle/There ain’t no diamond in this ring/That man there ain’t no doctor/But he has/ Just the thing!” C-bus movers Righteous Buck and the Skull Scorchers thrive on what they specify as Olentangy Delta blues, electrifying atmospheric originals and traditional murder ballads too.

09/07 Ace of Cups,  2619 N. High St., 9 p.m

Nobunny/Bad Sports/Dead Girlfriends/Pink Reason

Nobunny can only offer you his fuzzy bunny head, undies, and garage-pop combo. That’s enough, especially when his anthem, “Nobunny Loves You,” based on Youngstown’s Human Beinz hit “Nobody But Me,” transforms a thousand “no”s into an Easter egg hailstorm of shiny affirmations. Nobunny knows that a lot of people, places and things can only be reconciled in songs. His funny-to-spooky solutions are emulated by sparky, high-octane Texas refugees Bad Sports, shadowy yet sociable Dead Girlfriends, plus Columbus cases Pink Reason, who currently mix rising guitar lines and descending vocal melodies into classy catastrophes.

09/10 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Sleepers Awake

Sleepers Awake share their name with Bach’s cantata concerning Judgement Day, and they were always ready for that. On 2009’s Priests of The Fire, they responded to “The Summoning,” not by getting in line, but by “dancing beneath a shattered moon,” then undertaking an epic, prog-metal journey toward Judgement. They’re still paying their toll with red-hot notes. “Playing it live is like getting mauled by a beast,” SA happily report about “Burdened,” on Transcension, officially unleashed September 29. Tonight’s pre-release listening party also includes an unplugged, probably un-mellow set of older and newer tunes.

09/13 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Rush

As more bands blend progressive rock and metal, while more US politicians invoke laissez-faire polemicist/novelist Ayn Rand, well-preserved Canadian libertarian power trio Rush seems ahead of the curve. They’ve long since learned to test their early notions with the tension of adventurous urges and complex results. On Rush’s recent Clockwork Angels, a questing youth struggles to sort out imposed and rebellious ideals. Drummer/composer Neil Peart dynamically battles the controlling “Watchmaker,” aided by Geddy Lee Roth’s Yoda-like vocals and maze of bass, in sizzling synch with Alex Lifeson’s six- and twelve-string guitars. Their shows know about visual appeal and Spinal Tap too.

09/20 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd., 7:30 p.m.

Werk Out Music & Arts Festival

Werk Out is curated by The Werks, Dayton and Columbus’s proudly proclaimed “psychedelic dance rockers,” whose enterprising energy is imaginatively extended in this year’s line-up. Electro-rockers Lotus, EOTO, and punk guitarist/rapper/DJ Solo encounter Central Ohio’s live painter/DJ Heady Ruxpin, DJ Mangua, and Carma/Attak, all co-founders of Bass Jam. Hookahville Festival’s parents, ekoostik hookah, bring rootsy jams, ditto Under The Sun, who launched Columbus’s charitable Music For Peace Festival. Also: funk, reggae, fusion, bluegrass, world music, and the Everyone Orchestra.

09/20-23 @ Legend Valley Concert Venue And Campground, 7583 Kindle Rd, Thornville, gates open: noon 09/20-23

Phillip Fox Band/George Elliot Underground/Slim White & The Averys

The Phillip Fox Band combines rock, country, and a little Latin in the rippling drive of  adaptable musical vehicles, as Fox’s watchful, rough-edged warmth draws from Mellencamp's and Seger’s heydays. Motor City Blood, out tonight, tracks the migratory roots of long-married couples still putting on “dancin’ boots,” and long-distance lovers confiding, “Sometimes the open road/Helps us to really know ourselves.” Fox’s folks ride an all-weather learning curve, ditto rowdy travelers in The George Elliot Underground’s self-described “swampternative” hybrid machines, while Slim White & The Averys promise the classic country crossroads of “suffering, redemption, and full-on honky tonking. “

09/21 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds/Hollis Brown

When you hear Sister Sparrow give instructions to “Shake your thing/Make it rain,” you’ll know the garden will grow. Husky-voiced and articulate, sometimes speedy but never hasty, Sparrow also veers through bluesy, restless contemplation, with the eight-man Dirty Birds’ brass, reeds, bass, drums, guitar, and guitar-like harmonica appropriately supporting her every mood and point. Equally bold young New York City indie roots rockers Hollis Brown took their name from one of Bob Dylan’s most elemental songs, and they recently covered Willie Dixon’s classic “Spoonful” with Deer Tick’s formidably intense John McCauley.

09/21 @ The Basement, 391 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.

São Paulo Underground 

Brazil’s São Paulo is one of the world’s biggest cities, and its somewhat surreal, rough-edged industrial vitality seems an intriguingly compatible challenge for composer/performer Rob Mazurek, veteran of the pioneering collective Chicago Underground. São Paulo Underground, comprised of Mazurek and three versatile Brazilian instrumentalists, also reflects his time with UK synth-pop combo Stereolab and Chicago’s jazz-influenced post-rockers Tortoise. Most typically, SPU evokes the spirit of Miles Davis’s shape-shifting melodic grooves, as Marzurek’s cornet makes a rich, sometimes darkly smoldering impact on the urban earth of 21st Century Brazilian  acoustic/electric/electronic soundscapes.

09/23 @ Wexner Center Performance Space, 1871 N. High St., 7 p.m.

Dane Terry

Columbus-to-Brooklyn singer/songwriter/sci-fi fan Dane Terry’s cabaret space odyssey began as he discovered secret connections between little ditties about, for instance, “Earth predators in space, and a fun day out with my uncles.” With influences including Cole Porter and country classics, Terry’s always relished musical narrative, further developed via well-timed improvisation, as he sharpens his piano and acting skills.  Tonight’s show, The Parring Estate, explores the legacy of a strange and marvelous inventor. This concert, CityMusic Columbus’s annual fundraiser, will be in a residential area; you’ll know it by CMC’s signs and balloons.

09/27 @ CityMusic Columbus, 4272 Dublin Rd. 6:30 p.m. 

Karate Coyote/The Receiver/Indigo Wild/Charles Erickson

Tonight’s bands ride and guide potentially mellow melodies and harmonies into urgent mergers. “Undulate and oscillate/I can’t change what I am,” Karate Coyote’s male and female voices confess on their brand new self-titled second full-length album, where art-pop acrobatics play off straight-ahead drive, as concise notes (to selves and significant others) get nailed to KC’s songswept drama. Meanwhile, The Receiver’s space station perspective melds with the translucent blue views of Indigo Wild’s forthcoming “Highpoint” and “Pacific,” spinning around an imperiled world. It’s all good; Clampdown Party DJ Charles Erickson’s got everybody’s back.

09/28 @ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St.. 9 p.m.

Zac Brown Band

“Dixie Fried,” the Zac Brown Band’s biggest hit so far, got them tagged as country, and ZBB has no problem with that. Nor a problem with bluegrass, folk, reggae, Southern rock, jams, and even yacht rock, if you include their collaboration with Jimmy Buffett. They’ve also performed with Alan Jackson, Trombone Shorty, the Dave Matthews Band, and Gregg Allman. 2010’s live Pass The Jar is a good place to start; 2012’s Uncaged extends their studio approach. The Latin and r&b background of recently added percussionist Daniel de los Reyes doesn’t hurt either.

09/28 @ Crew Stadium, 1 Black & Gold Blvd.,7 p.m. 

MusiCal (October 2012)

 By Don Allred

Ryan Smith

“I think I’ve had too much/’Cause I’ve stopped telling lies.” Equipped with urgently concise vocal delivery, elegantly economical keyboard sounds, and probably a long-page legal pad, Columbus singer/songwriter Ryan Smith works out the strategies and stages of a relationship. On Waiting, he persuasively pictures the present and several steps ahead, while life runs a longer game (maybe). Smith’s show, especially recommended to Tim Easton fans, is in the free weekly Local Brews and Burgers series. Tables and chairs will be set up on the Rich Street side of the Commons, near the Carousel.

10/04 @ Columbus Commons, Main Garage: 55 E. Rich St., 5:30 p.m.

Shovels & Rope

Shovels & Rope are Americana singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalists Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent, a committed couple who never settle down, or settle for less than true love and cheap (or at least no-frills) thrills. 2012’s O Be Joyful tracks risky ramblers teaming up, learning the mixing and measuring of pleasures. Thrills-wise, when Hearst later calls, “Come down here and make some sense of it all,” she’s affectionately addressing someone known as Wrecking Ball. Appropriately so: after all, Hearst sent “Hell’s Bells” prowling through True Blood’s third season, and S&R’s sly, Southern Gothic beauty travels many a moonlit mile.

10/06 @ Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit St., 9 p.m.

Fiona Apple

“I just want to feel everything” is singer/songwriter Fiona Apple’s musical motto, and though she evidently has limited choice in the matter, she’s determined to make the creative most of it. Apple’s 2012 album, The Idler Wheel..., traces the way pain “fits me like a second skeleton,” leading her to try out deft leaps of logic and fair-minded balancing acts, especially inspired by suitably complicated romantic relationships. Hard-won maturity gets tested on stage, as Apple also relives the drama of earlier songs, while her band recharges her rich voice, piano, percussion, and globe-spinning dance moves.

10/07 @ Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St., 8 p.m.

Tiesto/Dada Life

Tiesto was one of the first DJs to perform epic solo stadium sets, drawing his audience from dance club voyagers and pop-rock living room listeners. “Silence,” Tiesto’s 2000 remix featuring Sarah McLachlan, was a crossover landmark, and he’s always had a knack for mixing ethereal voices with bold beats. 2012’s Club Life Volume Two: Miami even gets Coldplay’s “Paradise” and Goyte’s “Someone That I Used To Know” chasing zebra heatwaves. Also featuring several shades of house, traces of trance, and newer infusions of dubstep, Tiesto’s five-hour all ages show opens with mischievous DJ duo Dada Life.

10/10 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd., 7 p.m.

Cadaver Dogs

Offspring of ska combo Sofapunch and Famecast-winning pop-punks Look Afraid, Cadaver Dogs shred most of their pop component like the Sunday paper, although the punk-metal-boogie trio does flaunt its rabidly catchy, Mad Max-worthy turns, while scarring the partylyptic desert highway of song in cracked mirrorshades. This Rover's night out will include some enchanted peeings from their December-aimed release, Superloose. Also pumped by touring, C. Dogs advise, “We'll be ready to rock our hometown fans harder than ever. Bring a poncho.” Other bands will appear; names are still to be announced at presstime.

10/13 @ Kobo Live, 2590 N. High St., 8 p.m.

CHHF Fest

Exploratory roots crew CHHF’s roundup lassos local heroes and twang-stars from afar. We foresee song stylizer-deviser Molly Winters watchfully sailing by the Rumpke Mountain Boys’ trenchant trenchmouth “trashgrass”(their own tag), while the John Turck Trio and Matthew Sullivan’s Black Water Gypsies pursue cosmic cowgirl muses. Dynamic duos include the Paranormals and Crushed Out (formerly Boom Chick). Pigeons Playing Ping-Pong live up to their name. The Ramshacklers are most of the versatile Spikedrivers, in the mood for rock. Rusticated renaissance man Pete Anderson stirred up Dwight Yoakam’s best records. Prize-winning acoustic flat-picker Larry Keel’s Natural Bridge spans trans-genre goodness.

10/18-19 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W. 3rd Ave., 6 p.m.

Tinariwen

Tinariwen are members of Africa’s stubbornly independent Turareg collective, who are often restless, sometimes rebellious, necessarily adaptable, and, in Tinariwen’s case, ready to rock. They started playing together about 35 years ago, around desert refugee campfires, where Tinariwen’s eerie, bluesy, Mali-based sounds also channeled late-night radio and bootleg cassette influences: psychedelia, reggae, Latin rock, and folk-rock. Tinariwen returned to less-amplified or acoustic atmospherics on much of 2011’s Tassili, but their shows build around such moments, in metamorphic, truly electric grooves, as vocal harmonies rise through guitars, bass, wooden flutes, handclaps, and other handmade percussion.

10/24 @ Wexner Center, 1871  N High St., 8 p.m.

Ekoostik Hookah/Under The Sun

Ekoostik Hookah keep their signature mix of psych-rock, jazzy urges, funky blues, and mountain sounds spinning out of Central Ohio, dedicated to finding fresh connections between time-tested routes. They invite comparison to other strong performers at a number of festivals, including their own Hookahville. Without seeming anxiously responsive to the currently surging trend of jamtronica, EH also aren’t too Dead-centric. Recent covers have ranged from the Beach Boys’ expansively mellow “Sail On Sailor” to the Doors’ sardonic sing-along, “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar).” Under The Sun plug into the same spirit, regenerating more specifically electric juice.

10/27 @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Halloween Glow Bash 2012

Party rapper Meechie Nelson is The Fresh Prince of Columbus: self-crowned, but he’s earned it. The promising athlete jumped to music, inspired by lacrosse’ lifestyle--playing to win, winning to play. That’s the all-sporty art of it, from 2010’s fearless Therapy Session to 2011’s frathouse-levitating Hot Chicks and Lacrosse Sticks, to his latest, “Urban Nation/Ohio State Anthem.” Nelson’s “official DJ,” veteran studio/dancefloor wizard Corrupt, spins hip-hop, house, electro, whatever ingredient’s expedient. Gifted Minded Entertainment’s leader, Jet Pack JJ, further fuels enlightening opportunities to achieve lift-off and get your glow in gear.

10/30 @ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St.,  9 p.m.

MusiCal (November 2012)

By Don Allred

Assemblage 23/Espermachine

Assemblage 23 and Espermachine apply modern beat science to classic 80s synthpop and industrial rock. A23’s Tom Shear, a longtime video editor, structures dynamically inclusive atmospheres, connecting mind and body music for private and public consumption. Solo studio artist Shear is engagingly up front and armed only with a mic on stage, while backed by A23’s multiple keyboards and live drumming. Another strong voice, James Esper, morphs his own Shear-produced tracks into the touring Espermachine band, with rich, shadowy layers of melodies and grooves to further electrify what Esper calls “the dark dance floor.”

11/05 @ Skully’s, 1151 High St., 8 p.m.

Dethklok/All That Remains/Machine Head/Black Dahlia Murder

In concert, vast images of eternally animated Metalocalypse stars Dethklok rule the screen above the stage, where a live soundtrack is generated by band creator/singer/guitarist Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, whose drums drive all Dethklok albums, bassist Bryan Beller, who materialized on Dethalbum II, and gets resurrected on the brand new III, plus their longtime touring companion Mike Keneally, once Frank Zappa’s stunning “stunt guitarist.” All That Remains and Machine Head celebrate recent releases For We Are Many and Machine ****ing Head Live!  Black Dahlia Murder flaunt new bassist Max Lavelle, unsanitary shard of Despised Icon.

11/09 @ The LC, 405 Neil Ave., 6 p.m.

Black Moth Super Rainbow

Black Moth Super Rainbow’s 2006 Dandelion Gum conjured suburban meadows and wooded lots touched by a homegrown electronic haze, periodically invaded by the sound of hippies learning to ride motorcycles. It wasn’t surprising to learn they were from Pittsburgh, currently a lovely town, transcending heavy industrial karma. Nevertheless, BMSR’s studio sorcerer/vocalist Tobacco now melts mellow moments into the garage gusto of 2012’s Cobra Juicy. Still, Tobacco’s sonic mask reflects some truly cosmic constellations. BMSR’s live incarnation also includes steadfast guitarist Ryan Graveface, keyboardist Seven Fields of Aphelion, drummer Iffernaut and bassist Bullsmear.

11/09 @ Skully’s, 1151 N. High St., 8 p.m.

She Bears/Sidekicks/Saintseneca

She Bears moved from Athens to Columbus in 2010, as the cascading, complex momentum of the six-piece band’s debut album, I Found Myself Asleep, proved itself to be realistically, resourcefully responding to emotional peaks, earthquakes, everyday plot tweaks, and simple twists of fate. Their influences include: "...deep sleep, no sleep, literal walls of fire, cigarettes...” Now slimmed down to the original quartet, She Bears currently tend to zing with succinct complaints, curveball commentary, sneaky guitar, and restless, robust rhythm. Sidekicks merge punky urgency with power-pop flair; Saintseneca’s folk-rock is fortified by their sharp-eyed Appalachia-to-Columbus saga. 

11/10 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 9 p.m.

Whitey Morgan & 78s/Slim White & Averys

Two Midwestern crews brew the honky tonk blues tonight. Whitey Morgan and the 78s are from Flint, Michigan, also home of Michael Moore. Like Moore’s documentaries, Morgan’s “Buick City” graphically follows Flint’s lost wages, although his sing-along theme song is the equally stubborn, living truth, “Waylon’s Still The King.”  Merle Haggard is another inspiration, shared with Columbus’s Slim White & the Averys, who can take Haggard and Buck Owens’ migrating Cali-visions further afield than Morgan’s backstreet outlaw jukebox. Both bands find the party in classic country, so let your history books have the night off.

11/15 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W. 3rd Ave., 8 p.m.

Caravan of Thieves

Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni kept their Caravan of Thieves shows relatively simple at first, with both singers/guitarists faithful to basic early swing. Having added violinist Ben Dean, double bassist Brian Anderson, secondary acoustic stringed instruments, and kitchen percussion, CoT’s unplugged electricity now incites dancing and other spontaneous behavior, onstage and in the audience. Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz time-travels with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and  CoT’s “The Funhouse Exit”: “Don’t go outside, dear/There’s goblins, monsters and politicians everywhere.” We’re invited to bring seasonal ornaments and “odd decor” for the stage (the band will post pictures).

11/18 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W. 3rd Ave., 7 p.m.

Tim Lee 3/Wussy

At least two veteran mom ‘n’ pop indie rock operations grace the stage tonight, with a third band still to be announced at presstime. Taking a caffeinated break from recording, Knoxville’s Tim Lee 3 bring studio-sharpened focus to the stage, tuning up punky blues and catchy jangle. Tim Lee plays guitar, Sara Bauer Lee plays bass, Bill Van Vleet plays drums; all three sing. Cincy’s Wussy is co-led by guitarist/songwriter/sometime singer Chuck Cleaver, whose Ass Ponys gave us the lonesome, active “Little Bastard” (even on MTV), and Lisa Walker, whose piloting vocals vividly shade Wussy’s commitment to attitude and romance.

11/25 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Aerosmith/Cheap Trick

At the cracked dawn of the 70s, Aerosmith were sometimes busted for being Stones-wannabees, but that just gave the glammy upstarts more motivation. While most arena rock settled into the mid-70s, Aerosmith’s albums delivered increasingly distinctive excitement. This fall’s all-new Music From Another Dimension reaches to tap the motherlode of their rhinestone prime, as advance tracks boldly suggest. Cheap Trick continue to combine tastefully chiming melodies with bash-it-out showmanship. They seem like alternate universe Beatles, ones who never stopped touring, while going from being cheeky chappies, to old and expansively sarcastic. Looks good on ‘em.

11/25 @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd., 7:30 p.m.

Trampled By Turtles/Spirit Family Reunion

Duluth’s Trampled By Turtles began in 2003, as the acoustic side project of alt-rockers from several bands, some with metal tendencies. Still acoustic, TBT is now full-time, playing self-described “speedgrass.” Starting with a few bluegrass tunes, pre-bluegrass folk, and tradition-bound originals, they’ve learned to move “out of our comfort zone” when writing, taking it all their own way ‘round the mountain. Also converging via various musical routes, Brooklyn’s Spirit Family Reunion sing and stomp with an old-time, street-corner gospel influence, while testifying to whatever they instigate, witness and hear about, so look out.

11/28 @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St., 7 p.m.

MusiCal (December 2012)

 By Don Allred

Patrick Wolf

Singer/songwriter Patrick Wolf transforms personal trauma into art-pop drama, evoking classy images of words flying from a windswept diary. But if he ever needs a silver page-cutter to get started, Wolf’s probably got one handy. Always seeking to keep an edge to his polish, he peels away signature electronic settings and associated fan club memories on Sundark and Riverlight, a double-disc collection of re-recorded career highlights, now arrestingly tested in acoustic settings. Longtime listeners and new believers will witness Wolf and his touring crew mixing dynamic music with deftly theatrical lighting and video surprises.

12/04 @ Wexner Center, 1871 N. High St., 8 p.m.

Christmas Party With The Randys

Versatile Columbus combo The Randys’ holiday punch includes stratospheric seasonal hits of Alvin and the Chipmunks, balanced by mellow, Dean Martin-ized visions of “Christmas Island” and “Mele Kalikimaka.” Those will be chased by Brave Combo’s polka stomp, “Must Be Santa,” which was faithfully recreated by Bob Dylan, and the Randys-ized version of Dylan’s original classic, “Winterlude.” Plus: the coastal ghost of surf guitar surgeons The Ventures' customized “Jingle Bells,” and “Marshmallow World,” toasted Brenda Lee-style. “Christmas Time is Here,” among other magic chestnuts, will also appear. Vocalist/bass guitarist Canaan Faulkner reveals, “We'll be peppering our regular set with them throughout the night.”

12/07 @ Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St., 9:0 p.m.

Mod Sun/The Come Up/Pat Brown

Completely at home on Warped Tours and Rolling Stone’s Top 15 Unsigned Acts, giving mad props to  Dylan, Jim Morrison, and rap pioneers, Mod Sun (AKA  Derek Smith, former drummer for turbulent idealists Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Four Letter Lie) is the Johnny Appleseed of what he’s dubbed hippy hop, dropping homegrown science of positive vibes, while going rogue in a friendly way. Young duo The Come Up reach for a balance of vintage East Coast rap and current trends. All-weather singer/songwriter Pat Brown also appears on Mod Sun’s theme, “Happy As F--”.

12/11 @ The Basement, 391 Neil Ave., 7 p.m.

Over The Rhine

While combining Americana’s shadows and light with suggestions of late night jazz, Over The Rhine named themselves for their Cincinnati neighborhood, an area with a complex, mercurial history. OTR singers/multi-instrumentalists Linford Detweiler and Karen Bergquist are also inspired by their pre-Civil War farmhouse. Not to mention their marriage, among other rich material. Tonight’s set, further flavored by guitar stylist/percussionist Nick Radina, will include songs from 2011’s The Long Surrender, plus selections from previous releases, and maybe some forthcoming seasonal originals, along with a few traditional carols.

12/14 @ The Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St., 8 p.m.

Flex Crew

The Flex Crew’s mind-and-body musical odyssey began when future FC founder Troy Jones was 12. Columbus became a launching pad for drummer Jones’s global explorations of fusion jazz, funk, r&b, and reggae, balancing electronic and organic energy. This proved to be the basis of the Flex Crew, who also add hip-hop elements, relating modern rap to dancehall and other styles of reggae, via Jamaica's D.J. and M.C. strands of hip-hop’s roots. The Flex Crew bring diligent originals and cogent covers, with plenty of expertly creative muscle to flex.

12/16 @ Skully’s, 1871 N. High St., 9 p.m.

Erika Hughes & Well-Mannered/Brittany Reilly Band/Boondogglers

This evening’s Central Ohio Americana crossroads pacesetter Erika Hughes often saddles up “Muleskinner Blues” and “I Know You Rider,” favorites of mountain-high musicians and Jerry Garcia as well. Agile, speedy guitar licks gleefully contradict the title of Hughes’s own “Pull The Brakes.” Brittany Reilly beep-beeps through Western Swing classics like “Route 66," and road-races with Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” The roots-rocking Boondogglers’ mostly original setlist includes “Hats Off,” inspired by a one-man audience; “Jeff Davis,” inspired by another man’s audience of justifiably outraged citizens, and “Rogan’s Song,” inspired by the bass player’s son. 

12/20 @ Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W. 3rd Ave., 8 p.m.

Papadosio/Emancipator

“This album is dedicated to the next horizon, which is revealing itself little by little.” So declare Athens, OH-launched, currently Asheville, NC-based quintet Papadosio, christening their new musical spacecraft T.E.T.I.O.S., which stands for To End The Illusion Of Separation. The set explores bar-raising possibilities for Papadosio’s forthright themes, vocal clarity, and calm-to-combustible electro-psych grooves, extended onstage amidst equally kinetic visual art. Electronic keyboard sorcerer Emancipator and his traveling apprentice, violinist Ilya Goldberg, conjure choirs, orchestras, and various individual instruments, morphing into Asian and/or Americana motifs, among other border-crossing effects.

12/21 @ The LC, 405 Neil Ave., 8 p.m.

Mike Perkins

Just past the final stampede to Christmas Day, consider chilling out with Columbus singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike Perkins. “Chilling out” may seem like an unfortunate phrase in the dead of winter, but fear not: when Perkins marvels, “There/s something in the water/In Mansfield” (pronounced as “Man’s field”, cosmically and naturally enough), summer’s not far away. Perkins generates a warm, low-key commitment to rhythm, tunefulness, and community, sought and found onstage and in his audience, which has been known to dance. This is open mic night too, so come on in, the water’s fine.

12/26 @ Scarlet & Grey Cafe, 2203 N. High St., 5 p.m.

Clutch/Mondo Generator/Saviors/Wino

Blast off for the lucky 13th year of this century with Clutch, who have always broken off big chunks of the late 60s and early 70s, for their own gnarly blend. Call it hard classic Southern boogie biker rock, also filling the gap left by desert stoners Kyuss. Openers: Mondo Generator, led by Kyuss/Queens Of The Stone Age remnant Nick Oliveri, stoners/ doomsters Saviors, and early-Sabs-inspired, grassroots metal legend Wino. Wino’s solo acoustic set will probably include indelible originals from Adrift, Heavy Kingdom, and hopefully his scary, metal-appropriate Texas Gothic country (Townes Van Zandt) covers as well.

12/29 @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St., 7 p.m.