Weekend Updates
Let the imagination run wild: Marilyn Chambers and Duckbutter
We'll say this for the jam-band nation: it seems much more open to different forms of music and less quick to label—and dare we say it's less segregated than much pop music as well? At least jam fans have had the good taste to embrace Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise and its heavy blues-based Motor City soul. More R&B than Delta these days, as evinced by their 2003 CD Still Lovin' You, the group puts its supple grooves at the service of Bradley's commanding rasp of a voice. Recently seen in the HBO movie Lackawanna Blues—he's also on the soundtrack—Bradley and Blackwater Surprise swing through Nashville Sunday night at the Mercy Lounge.
♦ With acts like Asia and Damn Yankees, it seemed the term "supergroup" was an oxymoron. At last, here's a supergroup that doesn't suck. Actually, "at last" may not be entirely accurate—Duckbutter, featuring mandolin ace Sam Bush, bassist to the stars Byron House, blue-eyed soulster John Cowan, guitarist Kenny Lee Smith and drummer Jeff Jones, actually formed in 1982. Organist Reese Wynans joined the fold in the last few years. There are several keys to their longevity. "We only ever play like twice a year," Bush said on the Gibson Instruments website, "which is why we're still together after 24 years. We've never had a bank account together, and as Kenny Lee says, when Duckbutter plays, if you want a T-shirt, make it yourself. If you want a Duckbutter CD, make it yourself. If you want a picture, make it yourself. We own nothing together and that's why we still get along." Don't expect your typical Sam Bush affair—he doesn't once don a mandolin, instead sticking to electric guitar, and the band romps through blues-rock and R&B classics by Cream, The Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and more. They hit the stage 10 pm Friday at 3rd & Lindsley.
♦ While the Nashville artists who exhibited work at The Fugitive art center await a new space, a stopgap "The Fugitives" show at Belmont's Leu Gallery, 1900 Belmont Blvd., offers a chance to see the work of artists who are remarkably attuned to new ideas and inspirations. Represented in the show are Carol Mode, Terry Glispin, Iwonka Waskowski, Hans Schmitt-Matzen, Robert Durham, Greg Pond, Lesley Patterson, Donna Tauscher, Bryan Hunter, Mark Hosford, Julie Roberts, Patrick Deguria and Lain York. The exhibit runs through Apr. 13; an opening reception will be held 7 p.m. Saturday. Call 460-6770 for more information.
♦ Wear your raincoat with pride—over your face, as you tiptoe into Inside Deep Throat when it opens this weekend at Regal Green Hills. A look at the 1972 porn phenomenon that became one of the highest-grossing indie films ever made, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's film comes stamped with the documentary seal of respectability. Just like Behind the Green Door was a penetrating look at the hazards of décor. Also opening this week: the comedy-drama Imaginary Heroes, with Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch.
♦ Speaking of Behind the Green Door, porn icon Marilyn Chambers will be among the guests at this weekend's Full Moon Tattoo Festival and Horror Convention at the Nashville Airport Marriott. Why Chambers at a horror convention? She was in David Cronenberg's awesome 1977 film Rabid, you dunce. Turn out for appearances by Gunnar "Leatherface" Hansen, Kane "Jason" Hodder, Bill "Choptop" Moseley, and the mighty Sid Haig from Jack Hill's '70s drive-in classics. Be sure to ask Haig and Moseley about The Devil's Rejects, in which they reteam with House of 1,000 Corpses director Rob Zombie: the trailer looks like nirvana for connoisseurs of blood-soaked '70s nihilism. The convention runs through Sunday; for more information, see http://www.lonewolfbodyart.net/index2.html.
♦ We hear the Born into Brothels screening, panel discussion and reception Saturday at the Belcourt is close to selling out. See our Critics' Picks for more information, or try www.belcourt.org.
♦ Speaking of Behind the Green Door, porn icon Marilyn Chambers will be among the guests at this weekend's Full Moon Tattoo Festival and Horror Convention at the Nashville Airport Marriott. Why Chambers at a horror convention? She was in David Cronenberg's awesome 1977 film Rabid, you dunce. Turn out for appearances by Gunnar "Leatherface" Hansen, Kane "Jason" Hodder, Bill "Choptop" Moseley, and the mighty Sid Haig from Jack Hill's '70s drive-in classics. Be sure to ask Haig and Moseley about The Devil's Rejects, in which they reteam with House of 1,000 Corpses director Rob Zombie: the trailer looks like nirvana for connoisseurs of blood-soaked '70s nihilism. The convention runs through Sunday; for more information, see http://www.lonewolfbodyart.net/index2.html.
♦ We hear the Born into Brothels screening, panel discussion and reception Saturday at the Belcourt is close to selling out. See our Critics' Picks for more information, or try www.belcourt.org.
