Monday, January 31, 2011
TV Televisionist: 'Being Human'
'BEING HUMAN'
Mondays, 8 p.m., SyFy
These days, it's looking like if you want a half-ass decent American TV show, you have to go looking in Britain for the raw material. As we wrote last week, "Skins," the deliciously raunchy UK show about drugged-out and horny (read: normal) high school students, recently jumped the pond to land as a new U.S. version on MTV. Then there's NBC's "The Office," which was a well-regarded British show well before Steve Carrell got hold of it. The latest transplant from Mother England is the supernatural/sci-fi show "Being Human." We've caught the original a few times on BBC America, and it's a whole lot of fun. Basically "Three's Company" with death and bloodsucking, it features the adventures of 20somethings Mitchell, George and Annie, roommates who are a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost, respectively. While the show goes a lot deeper than who left the cap off the blood jug again and whether or not the werewolf should pay the full cost of getting his wiry hairballs snaked out of the tub drain, at its heart, it's a moving treatise on the perils of being different. Though the transfer process from British TV to American TV isn't always smooth (witness the always-brilliant UK version of car-church automobile show "Top Gear," versus the dull, dismal and stupid U.S. version of the same) we've got high hopes for the SyFy turn. The bones are there. All they have to do is not screw it up.
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'True Grit' vs. 'True Grit'
Here's a little early morning dose of cool: a side-by-side comparison of the 1962 1969 and 2010 versions of "True Grit." And the worldwide The Duke vs. The Dude debate keeps a-going. As far as the Maddie Ross argument is concerned, I'm solidly old-school. Team Bieber!
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What's going on / Music Monday To-Do: Peter Wolf Crier/Retribution Gospel Choir
PETER WOLF CRIER/RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR
8:30p.m., Stickyz. $8 adv., $10 d.o.s.
Over the last handful of years, Little Rock has become a tour hub for buzzy folk revivalists. We've seen Dawes, Vetiver, Bon Iver and Band of Horses plug in on local stages and, with the locals of The Natives carving out a reputation for themselves by backing both Chris Denny and Luke MacMaster of The Romany Rye, we've seen Little Rock contribute to that in-demand, woodsy sound. Now, Peter Wolf Crier (above) is set to return to town, bringing a little more notoriety since its last visit in October thanks to the success of "Inter-Be," a full-length debut written overnight that earned warm, if not loud, praise and caught the ears of NPR and AOL as well as taste-making music blogs like Stereogum.
PWC is joined by Retribution Gospel Choir, a guitar-whipping, anthemic rock trio fronted by Alan Sparhawk of slow-core great Low. The two bands find a sonic middle ground in rural melodics, but are dozens of decibels apart in energy. Retribution Gospel Choir's three veterans of the Duluth music scene make heavy musical epics as rib-rattlingly loud as their tour mates are deliberate. And, to these ears, the elders who open the night are more interesting by a Minnesota mile.
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Monday To-Do: Nachtmystium
NACHTMYSTIUM
8 p.m., Downtown Music Hall. $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
It means "Encompassing Darkness" in a cobbled-together mix of German and Latin. Now that we've got the whole name thing out of the way, we can say that Nachtmystium is one of the best metal bands in the world. Heck, they're probably the biggest black metal band in America. At least that seems to be the consensus, according to pages upon pages of interviews, profiles and articles about Chicago's flagship psychedelic black metal exports. In the last 10 years, front man Blake Judd and a revolving cast of band mates have proven to be as prolific as they are dark, issuing a relentless stream of LPs, EPs, live recordings and the like. Last summer saw the release of "Addicts: Black Meddle, Part II," a sinister nod to Pink Floyd acclaimed by tastemakers of the metal domain.
It's no shock that they'll play with Rwake, Arkansas's greatest contribution to the metal-loving world. But it's not just that: Nachtmystium keyboardist Sanford Parker just wrapped up recording Rwake's latest, tentatively titled "I've Given My Hands to the Devil." Our hometown heroes may be hard, but Nachtmystium isn't for beginners.
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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round 1: Judges commentary on Tyrannosaurus Chicken
Sometimes it's best to let the audience reaction speak for itself, like this comment from this weekend.
For those fans who didn't catch this set, it was kind of like having watched this beautiful vibrant dangerous caterpillar, a caterpillar that was content being the greatest caterpillar around, and then having looked away for a second and finding out that while you weren't looking, this caterpillar snuck away and went into a cocoon and then emerged as this enormous monster moth of flame and dirt that burned and sullied the souls of everyone within a mile radius.
The Barling-based busking duo of Tyrannosaurus Chicken absolutely slayed a packed house while winning over the judges panel, racking up an average score of 44/50 from the panel. They advance to the final round on Friday, March 4, at Revolution.
Check out what the judges had to say about the first winners of the Showcase after the jump.
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Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round 1: Video recap
Check out the rest after the jump, compliments of Brian Chilson. (But beware of some blown-out sound. It got loud, y'all.)
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Friday, January 28, 2011
Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round One goes to Tyrannosaurus Chicken
Congratulations to Tyrannosaurus Chicken!
More to come.
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What's going on / Music Weekend To-Do: 'Reformation'
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: 'REFORMATION'
8 p.m., Robinson Center Music Hall. $14-$48.
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra returns to Robinson Center Music Hall under the direction of Philip Mann for another installment of its "Masterworks" series, this time with cellist Julie Albers as featured soloist. The orchestra will feature the overture from "The School for Scandal," a classic composition from the 1930s and composer Samuel Barber's first piece written for a full orchestra; Sir Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto," a reserved, aural threnody written in response to World War I, and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, "Reformation," a piece originally panned after its 1830 debut but rediscovered and celebrated after the composer's death. The ASO reprises the performance on Sunday at 3 p.m.; same place and price, though students, grades K-12, can go for free if accompanied by a paid adult as part of the Entergy ticket program on Sunday.
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What's going on / Music Weekend To-Do: Knuckfest 2011
KNUCKFEST 2011
Downtown Music Hall. $10-$35.
This weekend, Little Rock is set to play home to hardcore, metal, screamo fans from around the area with Knuckfest 2011, a three-day festival of all things heavy, fast and, God knows, angry. What started in 2005 as a night of hardcore acts from Memphis soon turned into a multi-day showcase by 2007 and since has attracted hordes of carpooling out-of-towners to what must be one of the toughest mosh pits in the country. Expect more than 30 bands including Crankbait, Ashes of Augustine, Zucura, Fallen Empire, A Darkend Era, The Kill Crazies, Wraith, Before There Was Rosalyn, and many, many more.
Doors open 6 p.m. Friday, $10; 1 p.m. Saturday, $15; 1 p.m. Sunday, $10. Three-day passes available for $35.
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Music / Year in Review Friday To-Do: Alpha Rev
ALPHA REV
9 p.m., Stickyz. $7.
Of all the MOR radio rockers currently humming through the airwaves, not many are as musically ambitious as this Austin orchestral-pop act. Alpha Rev may be yet another band whose bare, emotional core was strip-mined from Jeff Buckley's tragic legacy and the minor-key warbling owes a debt to any number of inoffensive "Dawson's Creek" bands, but it sets itself apart, if not in scope, in size. It's a seven-piece band with six vocalists and cello and violin that doesn't sound terribly gimmicky and a high, ethereal tenor in front of the mix (lead vocalist and primary songwriter Casey McPherson) that bites, tastefully, from a "Bends"-era Thom Yorke. Formed in 2005 after the breakup of McPherson's previous, modern rock band, Endochine, Alpha Rev soon found a footing in its fiercely competitive home town, was named the best indie band from Texas by Myspace, signed to the Disney-owned Hollywood Records and became a regular fixture on VH1 with their biggest single, "New Morning." Along the way, the band also provided the soundtrack to MTV's "True Life: I Hate My Plastic Surgery" and contributed music to "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" and "The OCD Project." It may be a ham-handed soundtrack for your next pity party, but hey, at least the band's aiming for grandeur.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
'Grit' too gritty?
Sure, sometimes the quickest way land an Oscar nomination is to throw on your goofiest accent and go to town. Big wheel awards don't help the audience understand what the hell you're saying, though.
Case in point: the new adaptation of Charles Portis' "True Grit," in which Jeff Bridges landed an Oscar nomination while speaking like he had a throat full of the title material. For those who don't speak Grizzled Marshal, here's a handy new video: True Grit with Sub-Titles.
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What's going on Tonight: Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round One
It's been said ad nauseum because it bears repeating: Arkansas has more great bands per capita than anywhere else in America. For the next six weeks, beginning at 9 p.m. Thursday, we're showcasing 20 of the best the state has to offer in our annual battle of the bands, the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase.
Here's the deal: Over the next four Thursdays, 20 semifinalists, hand-picked from scores of entrants across the state, will compete at Stickyz. The winner of each semifinal night then advances to our final round, to be held Friday, March 4, at Revolution.
Each week's winning act will be chosen by our four-person panel of whip-smart, music-loving judges and a rotating, weekly guest judge.
It's a Little Rock institution: you know the drill.
Round one goes town tonight! Four bands! Bringing their A-games! Come have a drink and a shimmy, won't cha?
Zach Williams and the Reformation
Catskill Kids
Tyrannosaurus Chicken
Cody Ives Band
Stickyz, 9 p.m. $5.
(That's, like, $1.25 per band.)
Also, we're giving away fistfuls of gift certificates to bars and restaurants across town all night long. I mean, I've got beaucoup certificates in my bag right now. Come get one.
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Thursday To-Do: Eric Sommer, Graham Wilkinson, Dr. Rex Bell
Eric Sommer, one of the most mind-blowing acoustic guitarists in recent memory, comes to Vino's alongside Fort Smith blues rockers Cloud 9 and anthemic indie rockers Ellison's Cage, 8 p.m., $6.
Dreadlocked Hendrix alum Graham Wilkinson and his band, the Underground Township, play taut, groovy Americana for the crowd at White Water Tavern, 10 p.m.
In Hot Springs, Maxine's Pub brings the hook-a-minute throwback dance sounds of Sugar & Gold and electroboogie from the Of Montreal-remixing Yip Deceiver, 8 p.m., $3.
Dr. Rex Bell rallies his lineup of local musicians for a night of jazz at The Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5.
The jazz keeps rolling downtown, as well, with the guitar sounds of the Ted Ludwig Trio at Capitol Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., and pianist Jim Dickerson holding down Sonny Williams' Steak Room, 7 p.m.
"A Raisin in the Sun" returns for another weekend at The Rep, 7 p.m., $25-$40.
And at Hendrix College, Matthew Pitt, whose new collection of short stories has been garnering praise as of late, speaks in the Murphy Seminar Room, 1:15 p.m.
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Music Your least favorite Baldwin brother is in town to direct a music video
Erstwhile actor Stephen Baldwin, famous more recently for baptizing Spencer Pratt, regretting a Hannah Montana tattoo and suing Kevin Costner over oil spill technology, is in town today to direct a music video for Cory Lamb, a local musician who's spent some time in LA and opened for Ryan Cabrera.
This morning, they did some shots at Argenta Market. This afternoon, they'll be at The House.
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Showcase 2011 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round One: Zach Williams and the Reformation
This Southern-rocking Jonesboro act sports the most impressive tour schedule of the competition. Spring 2010 saw the five-piece embark on a European tour, taking to Belgium, Spain and France before spending July playing for Armed Forces stationed in Japan. Globe-trotters, sure. Time-travelers, maybe: Zach Williams and the Reformation look just like Dixieland soul-rockers of yore and sound like the Stones at their most Southern.
Think: Dazed & Confused & Bearded & Shredding & Fist-Pumping.
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