Here we are bouncing through the first weekend in November on the tail of Halloween and headed toward the holidays. It looks like the music roundup is solid as ever with a few twists.
Our week kicks off with a bang as the Martin Barre Band plays the Curve Inn this Thursday evening. Who, you say? If I said he was the main guitarist for Jethro Tull during the English rock and folk band’s heyday, would that help? I thought so. Martin is a brilliant musician and brings many of his own works to the show along with a respectable amount of Tull tunes, as one might expect. The Curve is calling this an “Up Close Concert” with reserve seating already sold out, but standing room is still good to go for the time being. Look forward to more of these “legendary” acts appearing on Skip’s stage in the future, as they look to book a good draw that’s out on tour and available when the occasion arises.
Friday is hopping downtown this week when things kick off at Robbie’s (5:30-7:30 p.m.) on the south side of the Old Capitol Plaza with Chahrm, featuring the indomitable John Crisp and the incomparable Ada Lou playing some darn-good music and singing some equally darn-good songs. Down on the corner of Monroe and Fifth, Larson, Larson & Harte hit the Craft Beer Bar (8-11 p.m.) for some family style rocking and rolling as Kimberly, Jay & Tim take some classic songs of the American folk and rock world to task. Down around the bend over on Second Street, Positively Fourth Street and Tom Beverly bounce into the Butternut Hut (8-10:30 p.m.) for some Dylan, Petty, originals and more.
Saturday gives us jazz Johnnie Owens-style at the Craft Beer Bar (8-11 p.m.) as the golden-voiced J.O. brings in his friends, and that means a helluva good band shows up to play. Bar None jukes the joint with The Smoking Popes joined by Amuse to create a classic show of bands you may not know doing their duty to light up your world. The Smoking Popes roared out of Chicago’s punk scene in 1991 by combining the stylings of a lounge-singer frontman with the raw power of a punk rock band. The band recently hit the road again in celebration of a reunification with their original drummer and to support some rereleases of the important and good stuff from the days of yore. Check them out and be amazed – again. Out on Dirksen Parkway at Boondocks Lake Jackson and Texas natives Blue Water Highway hit the stage to prove why they are considered one of the top live indie bands today. Out with a new record delivering a harder-edged sound than the previous folk-rock and harmony laden releases, BWH is out and about making a move to be heard, felt, seen and appreciated.
Another Sunday evening (5-8 p.m.) gives us another fantastic Bedrock 66 Live! concert, this time featuring the Quebe (sounds like maybe) Sisters, a trio of 20-something siblings from Texas who each plays the fiddle. Beginning their performance careers as preteens, they’ve been touring for more than a decade now, releasing three albums and opening for the likes of Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Riders in the Sky, Merle Haggard and other top stars along the way. Their three-part playing is amazing just to think about and even more astounding to hear. Even Eddie Stubbs, the great and seasoned announcer and DJ on WSM at the Grand Ole Opry, sang their praises to the high heavens. That’s plenty good for me.
Welcome to November with all the leaves a-falling to a rhythm beyond reach.
