Our Critics Picks

Eight years after the death of seemingly irreplaceable lead singer Michael Hutchence, veteran Australian band INXS elected to find a new frontman the way all important decisions are made nowadays: with a reality show. After 13 weeks and 39 episodes, Rock Star: INXS crowned Canadian J.D. Fortune, the closest thing to a hissable villain among the show’s touchy-feely contestants. Amazingly, he turns out to have been just the guy for the gig. The album the retooled band came up with, Switch, is perhaps its best since 1993’s underrated Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. That’s largely because Fortune’s breathy baritone naturally plays against the insistent grooves of INXS hits like “Need You Tonight” and “New Sensation” much the way Hutchence’s did (these guys were making rock danceable when Franz Ferdinand were in short pants). Fortune also carries a touch of his predecessor’s swagger, if not his charisma—but then, that’s what made Hutchence irreplaceable in the first place. Ryman Auditorium —CHRIS NEAL MUSIC THURSDAY, 20TH SOUND TRIBE SECTOR 9 Far more than just a jamband with a splash of electronica thrown in for good measure, Sound Tribe Sector 9 mine the electronic elements of dance music at the meta level to create a fusion of live instrumentation, beats and samples. The fact that STS9 consist mostly of live instruments shouldn’t mislead, because the band’s sense of structure, composition and flow is heavily shaped by a trance and DJ-culture blueprint—it’s as if they’re live players inhabiting an electronic world. Sound Tribe Sector 9 may not be the first to tread this ground, but the band have rightfully achieved status as progenitors because they’ve plunged further into the depths of jam and dance than their forebears. If nothing else, Sound Tribe’s sound is distinct and ever changing—each show varies wildly from the next, with little emphasis on noodling instrumental proficiency, instead focusing on mood and groove. City Hall —SABY REYES-KULKARNI FRIDAY, 21ST CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are the poster child for the power and influence of Internet tastemakers like Pitchfork Media, who love nothing more than plucking a band from obscurity and watching the masses shift and scramble under the force of their will. Last fall at The Basement, those masses were out in full force for the band’s first Nashville performance. In front of the eager crowd, lead singer Alec Ounsworth came off as a bit tortured and more than a little exhausted. But throwing on the band’s eponymous debut is a reminder why this band, with no record label and no organized publicity, scored slots on Conan and Letterman and now, gigs at major festivals like Bonnaroo. The album is bright and jangly, a wonderful contrast with Ounsworth’s love-it-or-hate-it-whine. And as much as listening to CYHSY’s music can sometimes feel like a game of Name That Influence, a distinct, idiosyncratic sound emerges that can really be no other band’s. ( www.clapyourhandssayheah.com ) Rites of Spring, Vanderbilt Alumni Lawn —LEE STABERT IN THE ROUND BENEFITS FOR AUTISM AWARENESS April is Autism Awareness Month, and for the last several years Christian country singer-songwriter Tammy Lee Vice has organized an enjoyable, no-cover benefit show meant not only to raise money via donations, but to draw attention to the mysterious but often devastating developmental disorder. This year, the ante’s been upped with the addition of a second round (this one with an admission charge) that features Jerry Salley, Larry Cordle and Carl Jackson. Each has a considerable and well-deserved reputation for success as a mainstream country songwriter (and sometimes singer, player and/or producer, too) while preserving an interest and engagement in bluegrass and other rootsy forms that offer better platforms for displaying all of those talents. Close friends and colleagues, they’ve developed an engrossing joint presentation over the years that, for a variety of reasons, is only rarely available to Nashville fans—making the evening’s 9:30 round an unusual opportunity not only to support a worthwhile cause, but to catch three of the city’s best at their best. The Bluebird Café —JON WEISBERGER THE WILDERS This Kansas City acoustic string band play their wooden instruments like they’re trying to set ‘em on fire. They’ve always emphasized rampaging rhythms and a hellbent attitude, but on their upcoming album Throw Down (due out April 25), they mature into a can’t-be-denied group that relies on virtuosity and tight ferocity more than on novelty. They’re still out to have a good time, but with exceptional fiddler Betse Ellis leading the way, the quartet now captures not just the eccentricity and wildness of heroes Jimmy Martin and John Hartford but also the talent behind the fun. Co-producer Dirk Powell no doubt had a hand in focusing the band’s high-speed hijinks, but here’s betting the live show has benefited just as much as the studio work. Fans of hometown wonders Adrienne Young and Old Crow Medicine Show will want to add The Wilders to their must-hear list. ( wilderscountry.com ) Station Inn —MICHAEL MCCALL The Floating Men There is nothing remotely nautical about the long-running Nashville band the Floating Men, except that for 15 years they have charted their own course through the treacherous waters of the music business. Since 1990, guitarist-vocalist Jeff Holmes, bassist Scot Evans and a revolving band of musical allies have released a boatload of authorized “bootlegs” and ship-shape studio releases. The most recent, 2004’s The Haunting, is the third consecutive studio album and third album fully funded by an enthusiastic fan base, who paid up to $1,000 per team to watch the Floating Men record—and were then awarded an executive producer title. Each recording project was in the black before it ever reached record-store shelves. Musically, the Floating Men trade in the same post-Beatles pop as Crowded House and Squeeze, with the sharp songwriting, instrumental proficiency and sweet harmonies that frame the genre. Look for local musicians Steve Ebe, David Steele, Chris Cottros, Jody Nardone and Andra Moran, who appeared on Haunting, to show up and add mirth to the proceedings. The Basement —COLLIN WADE MONK Drakkar Sauna Approximating a nitrous oxide-induced hallucination of a vaudeville act, Drakkar Sauna are high on the list of bands most likely to cause flashbacks. They circumvent the self-seriousness and elfin pretensions of many neo-avant-freak-folk acts, and though they are sometimes called old-timey, they understandably cringe at such designations. (Perhaps they are old-timey, if you’re talking about the 1920s on Planet Zneep in the Remrad Galaxy.) Looking like a cross between the Music Man and carnival barkers, Jeff Stolz and Wallace Cochran strum, kick or bang acoustic guitars, a Harmophone suitcase organ and all manner of percussion while singing in harmonies at times campy, at times heavenly. At their last Nashville show, they were fearless, kicking off with an a cappella number delivered from atop a table in the audience, then proceeding to wow a crowd of predominantly first-timers with one of the more offbeat (and entertaining) performances of the year. But don’t expect a circus act—amid the antics are some fine singing and playing, great melodies and infectious choruses that beg for drunken sing-alongs. 7 p.m. at Family Wash; Kieran Kane plays at 9 p.m. —JACK SILVERMAN SATURDAY, 22ND LYLAS Belle and Sebastian, The Kinks and Nick Drake are among the influences cited on LYLAS’ website, and echoes of all three can be heard on their new disc Lessons for Lovers. It’s carefully crafted and sharply produced, especially considering that it’s the Nashville band’s first full-length CD. Kyle Hamlett’s songs are impressionistic renderings of quiet longing and dashed expectations, and he delivers them in a sweet, delicate voice that borders on a whisper. Though some of his lyrics seem to get personal, his singing rarely betrays emotion, maintaining an observer’s detachment that can be both enticing and frustrating—like the boy or girl who refuses to tip his or her hand, but whom you can’t resist. The Basement; also playing Sunday at Grand Palace in Murfreesboro —JACK SILVERMAN Bobby “Blue” Bland/Dick Gregory Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory opening for blues shouter Bobby “Blue” Bland is somewhat akin to Al Franken warming up the audience at a Tom Jones concert, except that Gregory is funny. Bland started out in the early ’50s working with BB King, and is credited with taking the blues from the barroom to the bedroom, with hits like “Farther On Up the Road” and “Turn On Your Love Light” thrilling the ladies for decades. Gregory was the first black comedian to cross the color barrier without stooping to caricature. His observational humor, which leaned heavily on race issues (he once joked about opening a restaurant named “Nigger” so he could get free publicity every time a racist uttered the word), paved the way for comics like Richard Pryor. As an activist, Gregory marched with Martin Luther King, and took a bullet in the leg at the 1965 Watts riots. He would have been with Medgar Evers the night of the murder had Gregory’s son not died of pneumonia. His recent years have been spent as a health food promoter and conspiracy theorist. King of Clubs —COLLIN WADE MONK A Flock of Seagulls Yes, yes, Mike Score’s hair was ridiculous, fine. But for all the snickering A Flock of Seagulls have endured over the past two decades for a single (albeit highly visible) bad tonsorial decision, one fact has always been conveniently ignored: they were really good. And not simply “I Ran”-as-early-’80s-nostalgia good, either; their self-titled debut is as strong as anything from the New Wave era, with an effortless facility for catchy and satisfying hooks, and songs that captured the cold distance inherent in synth-pop without sacrificing the human heart beating underneath. As anyone who managed to catch last summer’s dopey but weirdly respectful where-are-they-now series Hit Me Baby One More Time knows, the modern-day iteration of the band has only Score in common with the group that bore the name A Flock of Seagulls during its heyday. But with a passel of strong material, including the lost classic “Telecommunication,” they just might pull it off. The Muse —MARC HIRSH BILL SHEFFIELD Sheffield’s finger-pickin’ country blues doesn’t so much resemble his pre-war Mississippi models Blind Blake and Mississippi John Hurt as it does ‘60s East Coast folk revivalists like Eric Von Schmidt and Tom Rush. On his new Journal on a Shelf album, it’s clear the Atlanta native is an educated, middle-class guy who’s intently studied the easy-rolling, melodic style of the sweetest, most laid-back Delta bluesmen. He borrows from their work to create an entertaining style that, if not his own, nonetheless keeps alive a hard-to-master sound with flair. He also appears at Tower Records on West End at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. ( billsheffieldblues.com ) Douglas Corner —MICHAEL McCALL SUNDAY, 23RD FRUIT BATS/SAM JAYNE Kind of like the afternoon delight without the skyrockets, Fruit Bats’ last album, Spelled in Bones, is a wispy, melodious thing. It wafts by like a summer day full of clouds: “Look, that one’s Fleetwood Mac and that one….” In any case, comparisons to The Shins—and there have been a few—are not unwarranted, but next to Spelled, the Bats’ better-known label mates sound like downright rock ‘n’ roll ruffians. This show, however, will be Nashville’s first look at Fruit Bats with new drummer Ron Lewis, who as a member of the Seattle outfit Mines was known to throw down something mean on the old skins and tins. If you happened to catch Modest Mouse on Saturday Night Live a while back and wondered who that slightly deranged-looking fellow not named Isaac Brock was, singing his little heart out stage right, it was Sam Jayne, known (where he is known) as the brains behind Love As Laughter—a band that, not unlike Fruit Bats, had one foot in the 1970s, though with more gruff results. ( www.fruitbatsmusic.com ) Mercy Lounge —STEVE HARUCH MONDAY, 24TH GREG MORTENSON In the Muslim areas of northern Pakistan, an outsider who is invited a third time for tea has been accepted as a friend. Author Greg Mortenson has drunk many a third cup, and Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at a Time recounts his success forging relationships in some of the most rugged, hostile terrain on earth—areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan that gave birth to the Taliban and where Osama bin Laden found haven. Mortenson, who wrote the book with David Oliver Relin, nearly died in 1993 during an attempt to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. To repay the people of a tiny Pakistani village who provided him life-saving food and shelter, Mortenson promised to build a much-needed school, a plan that seemed simple enough at the time. It took three years—and completely changed Mortenson’s life. Now the director of the Central Asian Institute, he has supervised construction of 55 schools where 24,000 boys and girls have been educated. Although Three Cups of Tea is told as an adventure story, complete with heroes, scoundrels and raw natural beauty, it is at heart a tribute to the human ability to bridge vast cultural differences by working to improve the lives of children. Greg Mortenson will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers April 24, 6 p.m. —CHRIS SCOTT BIG BLUE HEARTS Eight years passed between this Austin quartet’s Geffen Records debut and last year’s follow-up, but the band made the most of the long recording hiatus. Their sweet-natured, reverb-drenched guitar pop owns plenty of twang—think Chris Isaak without the melancholy, or The Mavericks without the operatic lead singer. The snappily dressed band writes sunny, romantic, concise tunes perfect for David Fisher’s feathery tenor and accented nicely by Scott Minchik’s spare, resonant guitar leads, while the rhythm section swings with a light touch. Support from CMT has sparked interest in the band among Music Row’s major labels, so they’ll saturate the town this week with three performances: Besides this early evening Monday showcase, they’ll be at Borders Books on Tuesday and at Billy Block’s Western Beat show Tuesday night at 12th & Porter. ( bigbluehearts.com ) Mercy Lounge —MICHAEL McCALL TUESDAY, 25TH Hamell On Trial The difference between Ani DiFranco and her opener and labelmate, Hamell On Trial, is the difference between a righteous crusader and a mere smartass. DiFranco, a self-described “songwriter-music-maker-storyteller-freak,” backs up her DIY ethics with blunt, doggedly personal songs that swing from quiet introspection to a vocal delivery just this side of a William Shatner-Shirley Bassey hippie lovechild. By contrast, Hamell’s new Righteous Babe release, Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs, comes off as the left-wing version of those guys who play songs on The Bob & Tom Show. It starts off brightly with “Inquiring Minds,” a shout-out to every parent who’s ever cautioned a child against their own former vices. But it degenerates into the frat-boy humor of a “Wheels on the Bus” parody with Hamell’s young son, which is funny only if you like hearing kids say words like “floozy,” “wino” and “puke.” The rock bottom is “Coulter’s Snatch,” where Hamell’s flaccid idea of a rebuttal to Ann Coulter’s conservative broadsides is to say her vagina smells and Condi Rice likes cunnilingus. All it proves is that Ani DiFranco is twice the man Hamell On Trial wishes he were. This show is sold out. Mercy Lounge —COLLIN WADE MONK CROOKED STILL Old-time string band music is enjoying quite the boom these days, with a plethora of artists either sticking steadfastly to the old paths or else offering a few new and sometimes refreshing detours. Beyond those, though, there are a few acts using the real “real country” music as a platform for breathtakingly adventurous excursions into what is mostly uncharted territory. Among them, Boston’s Crooked Still gets high marks. A well-knit quartet whose best-known member is the engagingly goofy—and prodigiously talented—cellist Rushad Eggleston, their debut CD, 2004’s Hop High, framed singer Aoife O’Donovan’s luscious, plaintive voice with a wider variety of sonorities and rhythms than you’d expect from bass, cello and banjo. Though they’re no less grounded in tradition than most of their more conventionally minded peers, Crooked Still manages to soar over them and into some of the most innovative, freewheeling musical horizons yet offered by 21st century string bands. ( http://www.crookedstill.com ) Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER FLICKERSTICK Five years after winning a major-label record deal on the late, lamented VH1 reality show Bands on the Run, Flickerstick is pretty much back where it started. Ironically, the Texas quintet’s status as instant TV stars doomed their credibility, which in turn kept their terrific debut album, Welcoming Home the Astronauts, from clicking with the rock fans who should have been its natural constituency. Quickly dropped from Epic, Flickerstick returned to the relentless touring they know best and signed with an indie. The band resurfaced in 2004 with the oddly constricted Tarantula, which played down the very grandeur, ambition and wide-eyed sense of possibility that makes them an overwhelmingly powerful live act—but then, anyone who watched Bands on the Run knows that self-destructiveness is part of Flickerstick’s charm. Expect to hear a few new songs, as the group airs out material for its in-progress third album. Exit/In —CHRIS NEAL DANCE MTSU SPRING DANCE CONCERT This annual event features more than 30 members of the MTSU Dance Theatre performing a variety of works that range from contemporary ballet to abstract modern dance. The choreographers include guest artist Teena Custer, whose “Hold That Thought” is an intense, highly rhythmic hip-hop piece, and new faculty member Marsha Tardy, who premieres a quartet examining feminine identity. Other faculty members contributing pieces include Nancy Ammerman, Elaine Husted and company artistic director Kim Neal Nofsinger. Performances are April 20-22 on campus at Tucker Theatre. For information, phone 898-2919. —MARTIN BRADY THEATER JUDAS LIVED HERE; OR, FATHER PHIL REINCARNATES Local playwright/director William Dorian is the author of this original, seriocomic rumination on the nature of reincarnation. The story encompasses biblical elements and incorporates a definite spiritual message, but Dorian approaches his material in an offbeat style reminiscent of Mel Brooks or Neil Simon—lighthearted entertainment is the ultimate goal. Presented April 21-23 at Goodlettsville’s New Day Theatre. For tickets, phone 859-0059. —MARTIN BRADY GUILTY AS SIN The resident theater company of the Oasis Center, The Real Life Players are committed to producing interactive plays designed to stimulate dialogue between teens and adults. This new original effort, with a PG-13 advisory, concerns a mysterious murder that occurs during the filming of a rock music video. Performances are April 20-22 at 6 p.m. at the Darkhorse Theater. All proceeds go to the youth and family programs of the center. For reservations, phone 385-5095. For more information about the company, call 298-3592. —MARTIN BRADY NO EXIT This production of Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential drama marks the launch of Diffusion Productions, a new theater company comprising ambitious college kids from Belmont University. Ashley Beam directs a cast featuring Leah Jensen-Raider, Emily Fitzpatrick, Dan Wood and Benjamin Reed. No Exit will be performed three times on April 21-22 at the Belcourt Theatre. For tickets and further information, visit www.belcourt.org or contact the company at 545-3507. —MARTIN BRADY RECKLESS A surreal comedy with serious themes, this tale of a woman who flees from a hit man hired by her husband will be presented by Belmont’s theater program April 20-30 in the campus’s Little Theatre. Written by noted contemporary playwright Craig Lucas, Reckless premiered in 1988; Mary-Louise Parker and Rosie Perez were featured in the 2004 Broadway revival. For tickets, phone 460-6199. —MARTIN BRADY TURANDOT Nashville Opera concludes its 2005-06 season with Puccini’s exotic and emotionally powerful work, which was staged by the company to high acclaim back in 2001. Performances are April 20 and 22 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall. Call 255-ARTS. —MARTIN BRADY ART “New Blood from WCAD” This year’s Senior Graphic Design Exhibition from Watkins College of Art & Design features the portfolios of a dozen graduating seniors: Andrew Brooks, Nicole Coleman, Elizabeth Flesher, Jeff Jacobs, Carrie Myers, Sarah Parson, Shawna Richter, Amy Scott, Wendy Spence, Susan Striepe, Nat Strimpopulos and Elijah Wasserman. From animation to packaging, a wide variety of work will be on display. The exhibit also serves as a celebration for the entire Graphic Design program, which is breaking the tape at the end of another award-winning year. The event, which includes food and music, takes place 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 21 at St. Bernard’s Ballroom, 2021 21st Ave. S. —JOE NOLAN ALAN LEQUIRE/HARDING ACADEMY COLLABORATION In February, Nashville artist Alan LeQuire met with eighth-grade students at Harding Academy to discuss his career as an artist. He demonstrated how to build a well-proportioned wire armature, apply clay and form a figure. The students took what they learned and made their own sculptures; LeQuire met with each student and gave one-on-one assistance. The works will be on display 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at LeQuire Gallery. —CLAIRE SUDDATH AARON HUSSEY Baton Rouge sculptor Aaron Hussey uses figurative and architectural forms to explore his fascination with human security and insecurity. A design and sculpture professor at the University of Louisiana, Hussey works with all different types of media—clay, wood, plaster, cast and fabricated metal, concrete and digital video—and fashions elaborate installations that look like they sprang forth from a child’s imagination. The show opens Thursday, April 20, at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Gallery with an artist’s talk at 4:30 p.m. and a reception at 7; the installation will be on display through May 27. —CLAIRE SUDDATH BOOKS CHAMBERS STEVENS At first glance, Chambers Stevens’ Hollywood 101 book series is a little creepy. One of the Left Coast’s preeminent kids’ acting coaches, he maintains that his knowledge and experience can help your tiny Brando get face time with Hollywood’s top producers. But Stevens’ mission isn’t as crass as it sounds. Actors, he claims, are good readers by nature, and his books, with titles like Sensational Scenes for Kids and The Ultimate Commercial Book for Kids & Teens, are designed to promote reading literacy as much as guide young ones safely through the soul-sucking world of child acting. Stevens, who began his career in Nashville, has a heavy résumé to back up his claims. An Emmy-nominated actor, he trained at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts and founded the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. He’s performed in commercials too numerous to mention and has appeared on such network productions as The Young and the Restless and Dear John. As a playwright, he’s received the Ingram Fellowship and the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Award. Stevens will hold two free coaching sessions on Sunday, April 23 at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in The Mall at Green Hills: An 11 a.m. session is aimed at younger actors, while the 2 p.m. session is for teens. Call 385-2645 for more information. ––PAUL V. GRIFFITH FILM 2006 NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL Join more than 15,000 iron-butt movie nuts at the city’s 37th annual showcase for features, documentaries and experimental and animated shorts. It kicks off Thursday at Green Hills, offering prime opportunities for people-watching as well as movie-watching. Full coverage begins on p. 20; also check the Scene’s “Pith in the Wind” blog throughout the week for updates, or go to www.nashvillefilmfestival.org for tickets, schedules and more information. —JIM RIDLEY THE HAWAIIANS—REFLECTING SPIRIT Hawaiian filmmaker Edgy Lee (Paniolo O Hawai’i—Cowboys of the Far West), whose subjects reach as far back as her native home’s early cowboys all the way to Hawaii’s current crystal-meth epidemic, will appear 7 p.m. Friday at the Frist Center for a screening of her latest documentary: an attempt to rebut stereotypes about the islands’ people, culture and history. One of only six screenings in the U.S. before the film appears next month on PBS, Friday’s event is free and open to the public. —JIM RIDLEY FRIENDS WITH MONEY A great philosopher (I think it was Cyndi Lauper) once said that money changes everything; writer-director Nicole Holofcener (Lovely and Amazing) examines how in another of her sharply observed comedies of manners, with Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack as old friends at various highs and lows on the economic scale. It opens Friday at Green Hills. —JIM RIDLEY MUSIC FROM THE INSIDE OUT Anyone who plays music for a living—I hear a few live in town—will hear a sympathetic chord in Daniel Anker’s documentary, which presses members of the Philadelphia Orchestra to put their feelings about music into words as Anker follows them through their outside pursuits. Spanning from classical to bluegrass, the film opens Friday at the Belcourt; Mark Wait, dean of the Blair School of Music, will introduce the 7 p.m. screening Sunday, and local singer-performer Carol Ponder, who helped shape the teaching curriculum that accompanies the film, leads an introductory exercise before the 7 p.m. show Tuesday. For more information, call 846-3150. —JIM RIDLEY THE SENTINEL Yes, while Kiefer Sutherland is wandering around the Green Hills megaplex Saturday night for the Nashville Film Festival, you could be watching his latest above-ground joint: a thriller with Michael Douglas as a special agent attempting to thwart a plot against the U.S. president. Hey, that’s Kiefer’s job! Throw in The Wild and make it a Kieferpalooza. Or check out the week’s other wide releases, the videogame shocker Silent Hill and the satire American Dreamz. —JIM RIDLEY SHAWN MURPHY Oscar-winning film recording and mixing engineer Murphy has one of the most impressive résumés in the business—perhaps you’ve heard of Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Braveheart and the final Star Wars trilogy, among his nearly 300 credits. Murphy will be at MTSU in Murfreesboro for a series of lectures at 7:30 p.m. Monday, 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, and 9:20 a.m. Wednesday in Room 101 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building. Call 898-2532 for more information. —JIM RIDLEY