Monday, February 28, 2011
Coming soon Hendrix soon to open Christopher Janney's "Harmonic Pass"
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture," Martin Mull first quipped some 30 years ago. Meanwhile, architect/artist/composer Christopher Janney has spent much of the last 30 years demonstrating how not-ridiculous the second-half of that metaphor is.
On March 9, with the help of the Hendrix College Dance Department, Janney will demonstrate just how easy it is to dance to architecture. The occasion is a small (read: semi-private) unveiling of the latest of Janney’s urban musical series, “Harmonic Pass: Hendrix.”
Contained inside the two tunnels of the underpass beneath Harkrider Street that connect Hendrix’s main campus to its athletic complex, the “Harmonic Pass,” or as students voted to call it, “The Grotto,” is motion-activated sound and light sculpture. Each tunnel has 10 touch sensors, 17 computer-controlled LED lights and five speakers that will emit a group of harmonic tones, which, according to Hendrix’s Rob O’Connor, will harmonize in the middle opening where the two tunnels meet.
Janney's done similar projects all over the country, but he's perhaps most known for his Sonic Forests, which have been at Bonnaroo and elsewhere. Aziz Ansari dissects the appeal here (NSFW without headphones).
The installation was paid for by an anonymous donor and the senior class gift of the class of 2010. Hendrix’s O’Conner said he hopes “it’s something the public will enjoy.”
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Film Lisa Blount left out of Oscar "In Memoriam" montage
You can watch the montage here.
Corey Haim and Peter Graves were also slighted.
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Music / Coming soon Willie Nelson to christen Springdale amphitheater a month after playing North Little Rock
Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown and Willie's Picnic is coming to the Osage Creek Amphitheater, a new venue west of Springdale. The concert event, scheduled for July 3, includes Willie, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice, Jack Ingram and more artists to be announced.
Even though this release just went out, according to the Country Throwdown website, regular tickets are already sold out. VIP tickets, at $199, are still available.
UPDATE: Also, Willie & Co. will land in North Little Rock a month earlier, Saturday, June 4, for another all-day festival at North Shore Park. The Braided One will be joined by Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Craig Campbell and Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real. Tickets, which range from $34 to $74, are available via Ticketmaster.
UPDATE II: The Country Throwdown website was misleading. Only fan-club pre-sale tickets are sold out. Plenty remain via the Osage website, ranging in price from $43 to $95.
The Osage PR department also wants me to make it clear that the event the Northwest Arkansas amphitheater is hosting is a Willie's Picnic, while the NLR one is not. It's the first Willie's Picnic held in Arkansas and unlike a regular Country Throwdown, Willie and Friends will headline, there will be more artists on the bill and a longer day of entertainment.
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Music / Coming soon Bob Seger to Verizon
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Friday, February 25, 2011
Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round Four pics
- BRIAN CHILSON
- CHRIS OF GINSU WIVES
If a picture speaks thousand words, this one says "a lot of people woke up with headaches this morning" and then it just takes an Alka-Seltzer and tries to go back to sleep.
Check out more pictures after the jump.
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Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round Four video recap
Last night's winner, Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost.
More video of last night's other semi-finalists after the jump.
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Music / Coming soon Lucinda Williams, Billy Joe Shaver to AMP in Fayetteville
- Jeff Holder
Tickets, which range from $17 to $77, went on sale via waltonartscenter.org this morning.
Also announced: The Band Perry on Thursday, May 26. Tickets on sale now. And Primus on Friday, May 27. Tickets on sale Friday, March 11.
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What's going on Saturday To-Do: 'The Ultimate Performing Art'
'THE ULTIMATE PERFORMING ART'
7 p.m., Wildwood Park for the Arts. $30-$100.
Lucy Lockett Cabe is spinning in her grave. Or maybe the namesake of Wildwood Park's theater, who for years propped up the park and the local opera scene, secretly adored a good brawl. Either way, current Wildwood director Cliff Baker had no qualms about renting the Lucy Lockett Cabe Theater to SUBzero Fighting for "The Ultimate Performing Art," a mixed martial arts bout staged in a cage.
"It sounds terribly exciting. There'll be a whole crowd who'll never have been here," he said. And perhaps unlike a lot of events Wildwood stages, the theater will be full. "We'll sell this venue out," promised Roli Delgado, half of the Little Rock-based SUBzero promoting team as well as one of the top fighters on the card, in a phone interview two weeks ago. Before SUBzero started advertising, it sold five VIP tables for $1,000 each, Delgado said.
That demand reflects MMA's growing national audience, which can now see MMA fighting on The VS channel, MTV2, CBS, Spike and Showtime. Delgado appeared on Spike's "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2008 and has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the sport's biggest promotion. Even with those bona fides, Delgado said Little Rock police officer Josh Black, a born and bred fighter with "an enormous following," will be the night's big draw. He'll fight a veteran of the Strikeforce MMA promotion, a rival to UFC. David Lindsey and Harry Johnson also feature.
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What's going on / Music Saturday To-Do: Pinetop Perkins and Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith
PINETOP PERKINS AND WILLIE 'BIG EYES' SMITH
9 p.m., Stickyz. $20
Last Sunday, when blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins and iconic vocalist, harmonica player (and Helena native) Willie "Big Eyes" Smith snagged a Grammy for best traditional blues album with their recent collaboration, "Joined at the Hip," Perkins not only received another golden gramophone to put beside his Lifetime Achievement Award, he also became, at 97, the oldest Grammy-winner in history.
Let's sidestep all of the, well, frankly morbid insinuations of why you should cancel your plans to pay your respects to a nearly 100-year old iconoclast. Heck, let's not even talk about the recent Grammy: the award pales in comparison to their solid status as bona fide blues legends. Instead, let's talk about the fact that we're in 2011 with the chance to pull back the curtain on the past to see and hear Perkins and Smith, members of Muddy Waters' best backing band and founders of the Legendary Blues Band, combine nearly 175 years of blues mastery for a live audience. Don't even think of this as the best show of the night; Saturday, it's probably the best blues show in the entire world. Local electric blues trio Voodoo Sauce opens the night.
Take a look: "Grindin' Man" (live at the Backstage Jazz Club)
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What's going on / Music Saturday To-Do: 101 Runners
101 RUNNERS
7 p.m., Dreamland Ballroom. $35
It's hard to get appropriately geared up for Mardi Gras when you're hours away from dear New Orleans. Like most, we won't make the early March trip down to the shore for Mardi Gras. But we're not fussy. A bit of gumbo and a case of Ibita beer after work on Tuesday should suffice just fine for yet another year. (That is, until someone forms a Little Rock second line, in which case, call us immediately, please.) But this year, 101 Runners, a "heavy percussive funk band" of elaborately colorful Mardi Gras Indians in gorgeous, traditional suits, will take to Arkansas for a three-day goodwill tour to spread the celebration to their neighbors to the north.
Fronted by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, formerly of the legendary Wild Magnolias funk group and — don't forget — the Biggest of Big Chiefs, 101 Runners have been Crescent City favorites for years, laying down driving, tribal beats and hypnotic voodoo call-and-response both on stage and the streets.
Thursday, Feb. 24, the Indians take to Fayetteville for a show at George's Majestic Lounge before heading down to Hot Springs on Friday for a night at the Arlington Hotel and, finally, to Little Rock for this show, at Dreamland Ballroom. $5 of the ticket price goes to the Friends of the Ballroom fund, dedicated to restoring the historic ballroom.
Take a look: 101 Runners live at French Quarter Fest
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What's going on Friday To-Do: Adam Faucett
ADAM FAUCETT ALBUM RELEASE
10 p.m., White Water Tavern.
If you've recently started to attempt the frustrating, more-often-than-not-laborious task of wrenching a tune out of a guitar and slipping into the ether to peel off a few words to tack onto your new tune, then, young songwriter, stay away from this one. Adam Faucett and, more so, the music of Adam Faucett are notoriously devastating.
Three weeks with Faucett's new album, "More Like a Temple," and I've given a thought or two to just trading in my instruments for a shovel and good pair of gloves. There's a very short list of area songwriters who command as much respect from both audiences and fellow musicians like Little Rock's "folk swamp soul brother." Faucett evokes a sound between Otis Redding's soul shout and Cat Power's swampy poeticism. Throw in a dash of John Fahey picking and the occasional glimpse of Rufus Wainwright vocal operaticism and you're almost there. The precise craft on display in the album's string-colored arrangements and crystalline production is strong by any standard, but as always, Faucett's melodies are the highlight: inspired, innate and effortlessly gorgeous. After a dozen-plus spins, "More Like a Temple" is far beyond just good. It may just be one of the most vital documents of a young musician to come out of town in years. Expect to hear about this album for a long while.
He's joined by his backing band, the Tall Grass, and joshua, the Velvet Kente frontman who also occupies one of the rare spots on the aforementioned "shortlist."
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Weekend: 'The Jam Session 3,' The Libras, Charlie Robison
FRIDAY 2/25
SeanFresh and Epiphany, fresh off of releasing new mixtapes in "Freshlove" and "Respect, Pt. 3: The Wait," respectively, bring a live band and a slate of guests to The Afterthought for "The Jam Session 3," 9 p.m., $10.
Stickyz gets another visit from Widespread Panic guitar hero George McConnell and his backing band, The Nonchalants, 9 p.m., $8.
Victorian "aristocrunk" rap duo Lord T & Eloise return to Revolution, 9 p.m., $10.
In local theater, August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" returns to The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m., $10-$14, and the Community Theater of Little Rock performs Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men," 7:30 p.m., $14.
SATURDAY 2/26
Little Rock's best cover band, The Libras, returns to White Water for a night of Louisiana music, including songs by Bobby Charles, Slim Harpo, The Meters, Professor Longhair and Lee Dorsey, 10 p.m., $5.
The Little Rock Kickball Association returns to Dickey-Stephens Park for its annual "Chili With a Kick" kickball tournament and chili cook-off competition to benefit Youth Home Inc., $10.
Nashville country singer/songwriter Charlie Robison rambles back into Revolution, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.
Vino's hosts a Mardi Gras ball from the local "Krewe of Hogs," featuring music from Rip Van Shizzle, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $10 d.o.s.
The Mallard Bar inside the Peabody Hotel hosts its own Mardi Gras shindig with live R&B and jazz from Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers, 9 p.m., $10 general, $15 V.I.P.
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What's going on / Music Thursday: Musicians Showcase, Namania Bogunovic, Josh Abbott Band
The Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase returns to Stickyz for its fourth of five rounds, featuring electrorock from local freak icons Ginsu Wives, country twang from Mandy McBryde and the Unholy Ghost, pulsing indie rock from Perry (Perry County) up-and-comers Thunder Thieves and last-minute add, The Safe and Sounds, 8:30 p.m., $5.
The Afterthought hosts Serbian classical guitarist and composer Nemanja Bogunovic from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. before handing the stage over to Andy Warr until midnight, $7.
Ol' Puddin'head shores up for his weekly stint at Thirst n' Howl, 7:30 p.m., free.
Revolution continues its "Southern Nights" concert series with the Little Rock debut of Red Dirt outfits Josh Abbott Band and Whiskey Myers, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s.
Juanita's opens its doors for a solo show from Damon Johnson, frontman for '90s hard rockers Brother Cane and guitarist for Alice Cooper, 9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.
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Music / Showcase Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Round Four goes to Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost
Congratulations to Mandy McBryde & the Unholy Ghost!
Check back tomorrow for comments, pictures, videos and more.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
What's going on / Music Thursday To-Do: Lara Downes
LARA DOWNES
7:30 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church. $25 general, $10 students
For nearly 60 years, the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock has provided a huge service to Little Rock's arts community, taking over St. Mark's Episcopal Church to provide four annual concerts from celebrated names of the classical community. This show marks the only concert performed with a soloist during their 2010-2011 season. A member of the prestigious Steinway Artist society, Lara Downes has performed in a dizzyingly impressive list of venues: Queen Elizabeth Hall London, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy and Lincoln Centers, to name a few. NPR flipped over Downes after her appearance on "Performance Today" and lists upon lists of boutique magazines dedicated to classical music have compared her unique interpretive skills and an expressive, lucid technique with everything from Rachmaninov to Philip Glass.
Thursday sees Downes tipping her hat to Arkansas with a special performance of "Fantasie Negre" by Florence Price, the Little Rock-born classicist, remembered as the first black woman to be widely recognized and accepted as a true symphonic composer by her white, male peers.
Take a look: George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (live at University of Vermont, 2009)
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