You won’t be able to turn around without running into a great show this coming week. Halloween must be part of it — but only a small part. That’s certainly what Brian Healey of Paradigm had to say about his group’s special late show Friday, Oct. 27 at Bluegrass Brewing Co. (3929 Shelbyville Road, 899-7070). They’re doing an all-Radiohead set.
Why an adventurous instrumental band would want to take on the best Brit alt/prog outfit isn’t so hard to fathom. But why do it for Halloween? It’s not as if Healey is going to be dressing up as Thom Yorke. “I’m not sure how it came about. Me and the bass player, Will
, were probably the cause of it. We’d been playing ‘Idioteque’ for a while.” The five-piece, which has been hitting local stages since March ’05, took the idea and ran with it, not looking back to see if Radiohead fans would question the viability of doing without some rendition of Yorke’s lyrics and vocals. Paradigm found themselves with too much material, in fact — Healey says it was “hard narrowing it down to a single set. But one thing we managed is that we’ll have at least one song from each of their albums.”
This show will get going at 10:30 p.m., and it’ll be $5 at the door. This looks to be a fun experiment for the musicians, and the audience shouldn’t imagine that they’ll be gambling their time and money. Paradigm’s one of the more sophisticated outfits coming up through the club scene in town today. Healey came to town from Maine some years ago for graduate music study at U of L. In fact, the only native son is sax player Myron Koch. And they usually play originals. But Friday night, they’ll take direct inspiration from Kid A and OK Computer — and the results should be more than just OK.
[img_assist|nid=2984|title=Marcial Ball|desc=brings her blues-pop/zydeco band to Phoenix Hill Tavern on Friday. Photo by Mary Bruton |link=|align=left|width=189|height=200]Award-winning pianist and singer Marcia Ball is bringing her blues-pop/zydeco band to Phoenix Hill Tavern (644 Baxter Ave., 589-4957) on Friday, Oct. 27. This woman has been bringing a musical party around for a couple of decades now, but only recently could her live renditions be heard on disc. Down the Road shows off a bandleader who effortlessly gets majestically danceable swing going between a horn section and guitarist Pat Boyack. Ball’s not one for long showy soloing on her piano, but she’s a sly powerhouse on the instrument. One clear perspective on her recent direction is that Ball doesn’t take her Louisiana/East Texas musical influences as an excuse to vamp. The lady’s consistently fiery but won’t coast along on sultry attitude (though there’s a righteous dollop of that in her own “Just Kiss Me”). Anyone who knows someone hurt by Hurricane Katrina is going to be struck to the core if Ball brings out her fine elegiac reading of Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927.” Showtime is 8 p.m., tickets are $20, and www.phoenixhill.com can tell you more.
Here at LEO, we have a very special relationship with jambands. But despite that, here’s an unqualified recommendation for a show that’s sure to have its meanderin’ moments. The Derek Trucks Band is playing the Brown Theatre (315 W. Broadway, 584-7777) on Wednesday, Nov. 1. This outfit, one of countless spawn of the Allman Brothers Band’s extended family, is headed by the best slide player around today (witness Eric Clapton sometimes borrowing the young Mr. Trucks to get Duane Allman-initiated parts played onstage just right). This spring, Trucks released Songlines, an album that takes blues song structure as just one of many options to get tracks going. With plenty of Eastern influences and the inimitable eclecticism of a true modern jazzband (even recurring flute), the album was carefully and beautifully balanced in a way that so many groove-noodlers can’t manage. The album’s success resulted in a near-immediate follow-up DVD (“Songlines Live”). As if he didn’t have enough different creative outlets, Trucks has brought his band together in tour with wife Susan Tedeschi’s band. Tedeschi holds to a more traditional blues-pop/rock style (often weaving in hints of gospel), but she’s been a force to reckon with for a decade now, both vocally and on guitar. It’ll be particularly interesting to see what happens if the spouses take to the stage together at some point. This concert starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $28 and up.
When it comes to mainstream metal, it’s hard to think of a more reliable outfit than Godsmack. Sully Erna and his boys are spirited enough to put on twisty stomps and roaring riff-rockers, but they take a measured approach that looks before leaping toward buzz-n-growl extremes. This relatively rare metal-with-thought process probably explains their radio success. “Voodoo” may never have been the most original five minutes of barely-shaded menace, but the performance is still catchy and the ominous pagan pounding still delivers shivers. Breaking Benjamin is a likewise solid opener. Show’s Friday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. at Louisville Gardens, with tickets at $37. Call Ticketmaster at 361-3100.
Speaking of reliables, two bands that get to town regularly, the Reverend Horton Heat and Legendary Shack*Shakers, show up Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Jim Porter’s (2345 Lexington Road; 452-9532). Both of these outfits rip into gutbucket roots riots like Flannery O’Connor stories that have been brought to life by some boogie-driven Dr. Frankenstein. Show’s at 8 p.m., tickets are $20.
Frank Black’s at Headliners (1386 Lexington Road, 584-8088) on Saturday, Oct. 28. Showing that he, as much as any of us, got a charge out of that recent Pixies reunion, Black cranked out an ambitious (and delicious) double album and is now promoting it in a new quartet. Reid Paley opens. Show’s at 9 p.m., tickets are $20.
Local rapper Derrick Bond is set to release his debut album. Hood Medicine is a collection of fairly hard rhymes that’s as catchy as it is illuminating of the troubles Bond has faced over a series of unfortunate circumstances. The party, a mix of live performances and cuts off the album, is Friday, Oct. 27, from 7-10 p.m. at Old Louisville Coffeehouse (1489 S. Fourth St., 635-6660) and will also feature DJ Nate and Ish.
Send suggestions and correspondence for “Sight Unsound” to music editor Stephen George at [email protected]