Thursday, April 24
Springtime means the famous fish house Mike Linnig’s (9308 Cane Run Road, 937-9888) is open for business, and to celebrate, the Linnig folks are kick off a three-week music festival that lasts until May 11.
The event, cosponsored by Budweiser, Pepsi and WAKY 103.5-FM, takes place on the restaurant’s 40-acre swath along the Ohio.
Scheduled to perform are The Tom and Rockin’ Ricky Band, Crushed Velvet, Midlife Crisis Band and Artie Dean Harris, as well as University of Louisville band member Patrick Hughes, whose family’s house was made over by the ABC TV series “Extreme Makeover.”
For a complete schedule of events and activities, visit www.mikelinnigsrestaurant.com.
Thursday, April 24
Cory Branan, a folk-rock troubadour who has been featured in the pages of Rolling Stone, Billboard and Playboy magazines, returns to Louisville for two shows, one at 3 p.m. at WFPK on Fourth Street, and a second at the Mag Bar (1398 S. Second St., 637-9052). The Mag has had a ridiculous run of good shows lately. Showtime is at 9 p.m. Admission is $6.
Friday, April 25
The Nachbar (969 Charles St., 637-4377) is taking full advantage of its position on Charles Street this weekend. On Friday, R. Keenan Lawler and percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani will play at 9 p.m. for free.
Lawler, whose songs are steeped in resonator guitars, has gigged here and there for years, but his collaboration with Nakatani is a unique diversion from previous solo outings.
Nakatani hails from Osaka, Japan; his forte is traditional Japanese folk music, peppered with bowed gongs, singing bowls, metallic objects and bells, in addition to a traditional drumset. In 2006 alone, Nakatani played 80 cities in seven countries with 163 artists, and he has released almost 50 recordings on CD.
Nakatani lives in Easton, Pa., where he teaches drums and runs his own record label and studio, H&H Production.
The following day, Arnett Hollow and Lucky Pineapple stop by to play for free. Lucky Pineapple is set to release its new album, in late June. That show starts at 8 p.m.
Friday, April 25
The Rudyard Kipling (422 W. Oak St., 636-1311) will host a dance party and screening of “Slingshot Hip Hop.” The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Festival in Utah, and chronicles the lives of young Palestinians living Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, who use hip hop to express their frustration and document life on the inside of a perpetual warzone. Five hip-hop groups are featured in the film: DAM, PR (Palestinian Rapperz), ABEER, Arapeyat and Mahmoud Shalabi. Screening starts at 9 p.m.
Saturday, April 26
Jump blues-rockabilly outfit King Sonic didn’t tumble through mental gymnastics to come up with a name for its latest album, Character Flaws. Like many an album title, the name came on the suggestion of a friend.
Flaws finds the band, an offshoot of the late Jive Rockets, which disbanded in 2002, playing a 13-song paean to boozing, lusting, cheating and the troubles that can accompany each.
“The best we could come up with is bad habits,” said Dale, who joined the band after original drummer Pete Ramsey had a child.
Recorded at Canyon Studios by Chris Cassetta, the album is a collaborative in every sense of the word, right down to the vocals, a duty shared by guitarists Cort Duggins and Richard Powell, upright bassist Jason Embry and Dale.
“We don’t have an actual lead singer,” Dale said. “Now we all know everybody’s style of singing. We try to keep it even.”
On record, Flaws is clean and neat, a stark contrast from Sonic’s live persona, which the band calls a “twisted fireball of sweat, booze, humor and flat-out raucousness.”
“It’s all about having good times, not worrying about too much and just kicking back and having some friends with music,” Dale said. “You don’t have to think about it.”
Saturday’s release show at The Monkey Wrench (1025 Barret Ave., 582-2433) is the first of what will be a monthly “Grease Monkey” party, an homage to the phrase made popular thanks to ’50s auto mechanics and films like “Grease.”
Parking is limited, but Dale says bikers and car junkies are encouraged to bring their rods and rockets. Doors at 9 p.m., cost is $5.
Saturday, April 26
Mixed media is the order of the evening at Pour Haus (1481 S. Shelby St., 637-9611), when a host of musicians will pay tribute to filmmaker and musicologist Harry Smith, who passed away in 1991.
“Heaven and Earth Magic,” an experimental animation 16mm film that features a soundtrack written by Smith, will be shown at 8 and 10 p.m., with performance from: Catherine Irwin, Darren Rappa (ex-VRKTM) and Caitlin Kannapel, Nathan Salsburg, Pokey LaFarge, Joe Manning, Mike Heineman, The Sandpaper Dolls, Chris Wunderlich and Mandi Thompson and others.
Admission is $8, $5 for Louisville Film Society members.
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