Wrecking Ball
With a name like Dead Confederate, you might expect to hear a southern rock-influenced band. This album is that and more. Combined with a certain mournful, hot-tempered sound, these rockers from Georgia fall somewhere in between indie and alt-country. Nearly every track hits you with an instant raucous energy, penetrating guitar and drum lines, and…
Taming the wild West
Mariann and Wayne Dunkerley bought a home five years ago deep in west Louisville’s Shawnee neighborhood. Two decades of living in Nashville was enough for Mariann, a Paducah native ready to return to the Bluegrass. The new house was missing doors, had significant flood damage and rotten wooden floors that had collapsed to the basement,…
Sunday school
Despite being raised Catholic and attending the affiliated schools, I did not turn out a fearer of God. Haven’t been to church in quite some time. Don’t think about the Christian/Jewish/Islamic/etc. deity except when He’s thrust into American politics. I have a fundamental distrust of organized religions for a rather simple and straightforward…
Aftertastes
Carly Rae’s, 103 W. Oak St., 365-1003. With the arrival of Chef David Clancy (of the late Bistro New Albany), Carly Rae’s is emerging as a strong contender to break the spell of the doomed location at the corner of First and Oak streets in Old Louisville. The attractive and fair-priced casual bistro offers a…
WHAT A WEEK
-7Two good ol’ boys are “extremely sorry” for hanging an effigy of Barack Obama from a tree at the University of Kentucky. UK student Joe Fischer, 22, and his buddy Hunter Bush, 21, were arrested for the prank, which has done a lot to boost the Bluegrass state’s reputation as a haven for bigots. Despite…
The Video Tapeworm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY 2008; $29.95-$69.95, UR With all the great adult comic-bookers out recently (Iron Man, Hulk, etc.), we were glad to see director Guillermo del Toro let Hellboy grow and evolve a bit. With his live-in girlfriend demanding he clean up his act, Ron Perlman’s HB has to…
It’s our 50th season … can’t you two try to get along?
Conductor Jason Seber is hopscotching the Louisville Youth Orchestra through a Bach toccata, working on this spot and that, applying the finishing touches in the last rehearsal before the group’s first concert of the season, Sunday at the Brown Theater. Seber asks each of the string sections to listen and follow each other’s leads as…
Holland’s opus
Jolie Holland stumbled into her musical vocation at a young age. Though never formally trained, as a toddler she always gravitated toward the toy piano. Historical perspective came later, when the teenage Holland began exploring both past and future realms of folk music. “I don’t like the term ‘folk music’ though,” Holland says. “It is…
Assisted living, among the mainstream
Stephen Zaricki works for a company that, by his own admission, says it hasn’t promoted itself well. Since 1976, Community Living Inc. has placed adults with mental retardation in staffed residences — home-living situations, rather than an institution or hospital setting. Locally, Zaricki says, it maintains about 20 homes and provides care to 85 individuals,…
What was promised?
“We have troops in that country, we have personnel there, we have money there. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have more information coming out of these countries where there is such a U.S. presence,” says filmmaker Roshini Thinakaran. Her latest documentary, “What Was Promised,” explores the U.S.-led initiative to train and recruit women into…
I know I’m not wrong
Over the years, I’ve listened to more music than I probably should have. In recent years, it’s gotten harder to find a record that gives me the buzz I used to get from finding a new favorite. I keep looking, but it all sounds like stupid nonsense. At least it did until I found the…
What his hands can’t do, others’ will
It started with, of all things, a pain in the neck. A couple months back, former NRBQ member Steve Ferguson decided he’d had enough discomfort and went in for an X-ray and lung exam. Sure enough, two tumors showed up, and the cancer had attacked his lymph nodes. Last week, Ferguson finished his second round…
Hail Mega Boys
J. Roddy Walston & The Business mean business — searing, first-rate, old fashioned rock ’n’ roll business — but business nonetheless. In a time when bands like The Hold Steady and The Parlor Mob are reminding us of what we miss about the golden age of rock, J. Roddy has offered up a wonderfully undemanding…
U of L’s Hamlet is a man of action
(The University of Louisville presents William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” directed by Rinda Frye. Continues through Nov. 9 in the Thrust Theater. For tickets, call 852-6814.) As vengeful incest stories go, it’s a slow boil — Prince Hamlet takes his sweet time contemplating revenge against his fratricidal uncle Claudius, doodling notes on treachery and delivering artful snark…
Music, marriage and a mosh pit
There was a lot going on in New Vision Ministry Center’s sanctuary. Robotic lights pivoted on shiny metal trusses that hung over the stage. Huge woofers pumped out Gospel-infused rock while lyrics flashed on video screens. But the Church Hoppers’ overwhelming first impression of the church was people. Folks were crammed into the modified gym…
Staffpicks
Thursday, Nov. 6 Where have all the media critics gone?It’s been said that media criticism is essential to defending democracy. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, something to make columnists and bloggers who spend their days and nights reviewing the news seem more ostentatious. And while plenty of national organizations are dedicated to tracking the accuracy and…
Silence Is Wild
It must be the weather, something in the water or the two-pronged electrical plugs that makes Sweden the current capital of melancholic, poppy female singer-songwriters. There’s the acute introspection of El Perro Del Mar, the underplaying of electronics by Lykke Li and now the narrative compositions of Robertsfors, Sweden’s own Frida Hyvönen.Her second album, Silence…
Franti returns to the Brown
Wednesday, Nov. 12 Michael Franti is a poet, author, filmmaker and peace-loving musician who travels the world promoting social justice. He will return to town next week with his rock-reggae-rap hybrid band Spearhead for an intimate performance at the Brown Theater (315 W. Broadway, 584-7777). The support act for this must-see all-ages show will be…
Something old, something new … sort of
This week let’s make quick visits to a couple of St. Matthews-area eateries where you can fill the tank for a reasonable price and go away satisfied. Shady Lane Café, a homey storefront nook in Brownsboro Center, qualifies as “old,” sort of, by local restaurant standards: Owners and cooks William and Susi Smith have been…
Read your Glossary
Friday, Nov. 7 Murfreesboro’s sensational alt-country rockers Glossary play with Two Cow Garage and Dangerbird at The Rudyard Kipling (422 W. Oak St., 636-1311) Friday night. Of late, Glossary have been delighting fans and critics alike, so be sure to look them up when they hit town. Their latest album, The Better Angels of Our…
I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful
There’s a haunting quality to the late Nimrod Workman’s voice. Without any accompaniment, the voice of the former coal miner and union activist seems disembodied, perhaps lost, singing sad songs about places to which it can never return. I Want To Go Where Things Are Beautiful collects 27 traditional and original songs recorded by Workman…
Stay Golden, Smog: The Best of Golden Smog
Golden Smog is a slightly irreverent rock collective that never quite measures up to the bands from which the participants are on loan (Wilco, Jayhawks, Big Star, Soul Asylum, etc.). That said, the songs that the Smog members bring to this side project are usually still pretty great. Together these players make a whole lot…
Deadly delay
It had been two days since Christy Caldwell last spoke with her daughter, and she was beginning to worry. The two typically talked on the phone at least once a day, sometimes more. As the morning gave way to afternoon on Sept. 19, 2000, she called her daughter’s Old Louisville apartment again and again, until…
Stray Age
This is what I’d call nighttime drive music: songs for chilly autumn roads winding through the lonely wastelands of Kentucky. Not surprisingly, these are the very places that spawned Mr. Moore, and by proxy, his Nick Drake-esque somber folk. The Cold Springs, Ky., native holds the distinction of being maybe the only act to be…
You see Demons
Griffin Rodriguez says he could be making four times the money he makes now, but why? He’s got a studio, The Shape Shoppe in Chicago, and a prolific project in Icy Demons, his collaboration with members of Tortoise and Man Man. The possibility of a new national mood isn’t lost on Rodriguez. “It’s gonna be…
JJ Got Live RaTX
A quick recap: Chinese Democracy leaked (and sucked) while Axl bartered a deal with Dr. Pepper. The Darkness wasn’t ironic (?), and Bret Michaels has turned giving strippers tattoos into a reality television show. Hard Rock isn’t what it used to be in this country. Enter RTX and their new album JJ Got Live RaTX,…
Dads. Who needs ’em?
I learned something interesting this week: Men are becoming obsolete. This, of course, is due entirely to the undaunted tenacity and sheer brilliance of womankind. I mean, think about it. In the last hundred or so years, what male-dominated strongholds haven’t we infiltrated? While the guys have been busy swaggering around declaring war, shouting about…
Inbox — Nov. 5, 2008
Corrections, Amendments and Clarifications Mazzoni’s, which recently moved to 12003 Shelbyville Road, was left out of last week’s Dining Guide. Also, Gelato Gilberto is located at 9434 Norton Commons Blvd. Participatory Debate Thank you to Francene for her recent column on the lack of candidate participation in forums and debates during this election season (LEO…
Community Listings
LEO Weekly is happy to list events of community interest, but if you’re trying to sneak an ad in here, forget it. Items are published on a space-available basis. The deadline is WEDNESDAY at 4 p.m. Mail to 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202, fax to 895-9779 or send e-mail to listings@leoweekly.com. No listings…
Morality playoff
The scariest thing about Halloween this year wasn’t the costumes or the fact that the price of chocolate went up 14 percent. The scariest thing about Halloween was the grotesquely bitter politicking being waged over the airwaves and the Internet. By the time you read this, the United States of America should have a new…
Blame it on the game
Remember that “I’ve had enough” speech Barack Obama made back at Slugger Field two years ago? It marked the start of the 2008 political season. Now we, the public, can write our own “I’ve had enough” speech. We’ve all had enough of the dirty campaign ads, the media’s obsession with polling, the debate-ducking incumbents of…
Around the world in my Bug
I’m starting in Louisville this week, and I will drive south through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. From there I will take a boat — probably to Ecuador — then drive through Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. From somewhere in South America, I’ll ship my car to Africa. From the window of…
The Bar Belle
Zomething zifferent no more Last week, Mug Shots writer Roger Baylor lamented the demise of the popular Denmark pub Mouse & Elephant. I’d like to lament this week the demise of something much nearer and dearer to my heart — the death of Zima. Not since the creation of Clear Pepsi had such a drink…
Labyrinth
First of all, you have to love a band that includes Claude Debussy, Ravel, Frank Zappa and The Mars Volta as direct influences. Of course, with a range that wide, how can you tell what that’s supposed to sound like? Labyrinth is an excellent, excellent little record. Masterful guitar playing mixes fluidly with mandolin, ukulele…
Caught In The Trees
Damien Jurado has offered up a fourth album that is filled with mid-tempo ballads and little else. Each track has a formulaic and repetitive arrangement, and by the time you sift through 13 different songs, it begins to wear a little thin. Everything here sounds like a musical melting pot where no one was quite…
Dear Science
Dear Science capitalizes on TV On The Radio’s already solid experimental rock legacy. Their third and arguably best to-date finds the band moving toward new, dance-inspired tracks, while improving upon their preexisting talent for slower, dramatic soundscapes. The production and melodies on “Golden Age” and similar upbeat tracks like “Red Dress” are robust with horns…
You Wish
On “Flight of the CrowBear,” the fourth track on Scott Mertz and His Panel of Experts’ LP You Wish, the mandolin, pedal steel and banjo give way to a steady acoustic guitar underscored with a series of radio sounds. It’s reminiscent of Beck’s folkier early albums. The lyrics turn back on themselves as he repeats…
