Sunday, July 7 ♦ Tweet

An alumnus of the girl group Sugah and a protégé of Missy Elliott, Charlene Keys—better known to her audience as Tweet—is one of the best new R&B acts to come along in years. Her debut single, “Oops! (Oh My)”—whether about masturbation or overcoming insecurities—was a clever, sexy radio coup that for a time turned cars into rolling saunas. The New Yorker’s Timbaland-produced debut, Southern Hummingbird, deftly combines disparate influences (Björk, Tracy Chapman, The Dixie Chicks) with her own gospel roots. Tweet opens for Mary J. Blige at AmSouth Amphitheatre.

—C.D.

This week’s picks written by Todd Anderson, Martin Brady, Chris Davis, Jonathan Flax, Paul Griffith, Jonathan Marx, Noel Murray, Margaret Renkl, Jim Ridley, Jack Silverman, Ben Taylor, Angela Wibking and Ron Wynn.

Thursday, 4th

Poppy Fields Rumor has it that Poppy Fields have been banned from 12th & Porter for either excessive volume or trashing the house gear. Vocalist Poppy, who’s from Israel, first met Urban Peasant, her Finnish guitarist/partner, while studying art in London. The two, along with drummer Sunflower, were on their way from San Francisco to New York when they made a stop in Nashville on 9/11. Suddenly Music City seemed like the perfect place to nurture their “Finnish Folk,” which Slow Bar owner Mike Grimes, who frequently books the band, has described as “The Velvet Underground meets Can meets a hippie version of Sprockets.” This week the band turn up at The End with Not Without Willie and Flesh Machine.

—P.G.

5th Annual Rooftop Jamboree at the Boardroom The Boardroom, at 43 Hermitage Ave., is hosting its fifth annual rooftop jamboree to coincide with that little riverfront celebration known as Independence Day. There’s no cover charge, and rumors are circulating that barbecue will be served. The evening’s bill includes Charlie Moore & the Natchez Tracy Lords, Jim Calvin, The Clutters, Trophy and The Obscure.

—T.A.

Music City Jazz Equation Local jazz fans should be on the alert for this, one of the better and more experienced trios in town. Featuring Bruce Radek, Rick Hendricks and Tony Marvelli, the Music City Jazz Equation play everything from straight-ahead 4/4 to bossa nova and samba. They’re appearing 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday at Raz’z Bar & Grill.

—R.W.

The Allman Brothers Band Chances are good that many who will be celebrating our nation’s independence with the bloozy jams of the Allmans at AmSouth Amphitheatre will just be coming down off that trip to head back out to Antioch on Tuesday for the groovy, New Agey jams of Dave Matthews. So there’s really no point in recommending either show, since it’s these bands’ remarkably consistent audiences that bring them back to Music City like clockwork every summer. The only thing left for the rest of us to do is marvel at the continuing endurance of these bands—and their jammy neo-hippie peers like Phish and Widespread Panic—while groups in other genres either disappear or see their followings diminish over time. Joining the Allmans Thursday are Derek Trucks and Government Cheese.

—B.T.

Corey Feldman What the? While I personally don’t care for anything Coreys Haim or Feldman have done since going solo, I was prepared to give the latter’s Former Child Actor LP an unbiased listen. I’ll spare you the shudder-inducing results, but be forewarned that the title track is a Rick Springfield co-write and that John Lennon’s “Imagine” is, um, covered. But even if the kitsch factor compels you to see the star of The Goonies, Lost Boys and Meatballs 4 at Exit/In, consider this: On the new album’s “Megalo-man,” Feldman takes a harsh swipe at former best-pal Michael Jackson. It seems Jacko had provided limos for Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando to escape NYC on 9/11, but not for Feldman. As he explains it, “Let’s just say I was one of the people that was not taken care of in that manner.” What a guy.

—J.F.

Friday, 5th

Company/The Dutchies/Entrance/Paul Booker’s Dynamite Operators In Brooklyn, where you’d think alt-country would be an exotic mode of expression, Company have an audience of hipsters convinced they’re “authentic.” However, in a locale liberally stocked with good, albeit unheralded, alt-country acts—The Sad Apartment, Ole Mossy Face, Spiritual Family Reunion and The Limitations, among them—the indie-rock approximation of alt-country isn’t really something to get excited about (just as, say, Ryan Adams isn’t anything to get excited about). Meriting serious attention, on the other hand, is Entrance, the man-and-his-guitar solo project from Guy Blakeslee, who also plays bass with the Baltimore punk band Convocation Of.... Entrance has assimilated the music of Roy Harper, Tim Buckley, Mike Cooper and John Fahey, while adding whimsical, counter-melodic vocals that recall both Robert Wyatt and Marc Bolan’s acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Dutchies, a merger of local favorites Slipshaft and the short-lived Shits ’n’ Giggles, open this Springwater show with Paul Booker’s Dynamite Operators.

—C.D.

Rosie Flores If you missed your opportunity to be part of Rosie Flores’ solo live recording at Douglas Corner a few weeks back, you have another shot. To get some alternative takes for her forthcoming record, she has booked a third date at the Eighth Avenue nightspot. Flores is well known for her good-rocking bands and her state-of-the-honky-tonk-art guitar playing; her solo acoustic performances, though, place the emphasis on her ability to deliver a song. Rosie’s a treasure, and we’re lucky she lives here. What better way to show our appreciation than to turn up and provide some good-natured ambient noise for the proceedings.

—P.G.

The Thinking Plyers This local jam trio combine the familiar elements of the genre—heavy bottom, jangly guitar, funky Southern rock grooves, lyrics that alternate hallucinatory imagery and banal platitudes—and then vamp on them until they pretty much turn to mush. Those who can’t get enough of this sort of thing can have it served to them steaming at Guido’s New York Pizzeria.

—N.M.

Saturday, 6th

Maia Sharp The daughter of an accomplished producer and songwriter who’s written hits for Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, Sharp is making news of her own as the first non-jazz signee to Concord Records. In addition to being a polished writer and striking vocalist, Sharp plays saxophone, piano and guitar. Her self-titled Concord debut is out now, and you can catch her live at 3rd & Lindsley, along with Jason White.

—R.W.

Gran Torino It’s about time for this funk-pop act from Knoxville to record the follow-up to 2000’s entertaining Two. Plenty of bands work the same vein of danceable, horn-pumped rock, but few do it with Gran Torino’s ease, or with their level of catchiness. Come to 12th & Porter ready to move.

—N.M.

Against Me/The Ladderback/Serotonin Against Me are the most melodic of the bands at the Red Rose Coffee House this Saturday. Their “folk punk” may be patterned after Billy Bragg and The Clash, but their barely restrained vocals reveal the influence of hardcore punk. Labelmates The Ladderback and Serotonin share a propensity for sudden changes of direction within their songs. What might start out fast and overdriven will abruptly become clean and smooth—an approach that relies heavily on the dexterity of the band’s players. Even if the music doesn’t appeal to you, watching them pull it off just might.

—T.A.

trio San Rafael San Rafael are one of Nashville’s few Brazilian and Afro-Latin jazz combos, and they’re cutting a new CD this week. The band will be recording at the new headquarters of Ed Smith’s invaluable store Jazz, which is reviving its weekly local artist performance series in its new location at 265 White Bridge Road. Things get under way at 2 p.m., and door prizes will include a pair of tickets to Sunday’s Mary J. Blige concert at AmSouth Amphitheatre. Donations are also being accepted all month for MusiCares, an organization that benefits musicians in need.

—R.W.

Sunday, 7th

Mary J. Blige She’s been billed as the queen of hip-hop soul, but Blige’s most recent LP, No More Drama, shows she’s capable of doing more than just using her voice to embellish the production or ad-lib between raps and samples. Blige’s vocal technique has matured and evolved, and while she’s still not the greatest pure singer, she sounds far more confident and convincing on ballads than ever before. She also has a reputation as a more daring, experimental live performer than might be expected. Blige appears at the AmSouth Amphitheatre with Tweet.

—R.W.

Tracy Shedd/Uva Mala This pairing of Boston-based singer Shedd and the Murfreesboro trio Uva Mala should appeal to fans of sweet, sad-eyed guitar pop with subtle hooks. Shedd is one of the more recent signings to the TeenBeat roster (best known as home to the now defunct band Unrest). Like some of her label-mates, Shedd has a penchant for delicate, chiming guitar lines and a quiet, melancholic flavor that never lapses into mopeyness. Her voice, like the songs she writes around it, is hushed, unhurried and direct. But on her latest EP, Shedd also evinces a growing appreciation for dynamics akin to that heard on Uva Mala’s self-released EP. But where Shedd’s music is crystalline, Uva Mala’s is denser and muddier, betraying the group’s self-professed love for the “shoegazer” rock of the late ’80s and early ’90s. However much they may love Ride or My Bloody Valentine, though, they don’t overindulge their influences, making sure that the guitar haze doesn’t overtake their songs. Sharing the bill at Springwater with Shedd and Uva Mala are the local band Hitchcock, about whom we know nothing, save for the fact that they slapped a Nashville Scene logo on their flyers for the gig. (Note to Hitchcock: Send us some music first; then maybe we’ll endorse it.)

—J.M.

Kevin Welch Frank Marstokk, Frank Birch Pontoppidan, Gustaf Ljunggren and Fredrick Damsgaard aren’t the usual suspects to back a Nashville songwriter. Nevertheless, Welch and co-producer Marstokk have created an absorbing disc, Millionaire, using just this inspired aggregation of Danish roots-rockers. “The Danes,” as they’re known, were featured on a few songs on Welch’s 1999 album, Beneath My Wheels, but here they are the band. Contrary to typical American expectations of overseas roots-rockers, The Danes never resort to mimicry or sound clichéd; instead, they create a vibrant, Euro-tinged canvas for Welch’s understated delivery and lyrical gifts—in particular, his knack for saccharine-free love songs. Pick up a copy of Millionaire at either of two CD release celebrations this week: 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 3rd & Lindsley or at Tuesday’s Western Beat Revival show at Exit/In. No telling if The Danes will be represented, but Welch needs no more than his guitar and a mic to command attention.

—J.S.

Beggarz Opera This mighty-sounding duo offer neither the bluster nor the Brecht one might expect from their “z”-pluralized moniker. A more apt description of their America-tinged guitars and harmonies might be “Audio Vasectomy.” They play a 6:30 p.m. Artist Spotlight at Bluebird Cafe.

—C.D.

Monday, 8th

Johnny Depp’s Peeps Here’s what we can tell you: The band name is pseudonymous, the act using the name is responsible for one of the best pop-rock albums of the year (local or otherwise), and this show is taking place at the Slow Bar. Start lining up now.

—N.M.

Tuesday, 9th

Graham Elvis In the mid-’80s, with singer-songwriter Elvis on bass, snappy Chicago trio The Elvis Brothers released two albums of effervescent, Dave Edmunds-ish power pop on Epic—including 1985’s Adrian Belew-produced Adventure Time, a keepsake box of disarmingly chipper melodies and shaken-cola choruses. (Both albums are available on a swell single-disc reissue on Recession Records.) With his new trio Big B and Spot, relocated Nashvillian Elvis performs at the Slow Bar’s New Faces Nite with Angela Hurt and another transplanted Chicagoan, Ian Crockett, a rootsy R&B-inflected bandleader whose players include former Col. Bruce Hampton drummer Nick Buda.

—J.R.

Mindy Smith and Hillary Lindsey Smith, a compelling performer with an enchanting voice, exemplifies the vulnerable-yet-tough equation that serves many great singer-songwriters. Her stage presence—an alluring tug-of-war that has doe-eyed fear ceding dominance to a more prominent aura of self-assurance—suggests an artist who is onstage not to impress, but out of an unrelenting need to bare her soul. Hillary Lindsey is no slouch either. Recently, she’s been heard adding dulcet backing vocals to Ragman Son Revue’s live shows, but she’s a formidable singer-songwriter in her own right. She also co-wrote (with Troy Verges) Martina McBride’s No. 1 hit “Blessed” at an age when most successful Nashville songsters were barely through the first chapter of Pat Pattison’s Writing Better Lyrics.

—J.S.

Tinsley Ellis Ellis remains right on the fringes of blues stardom, making good albums for labels like Alligator and now Telarc, yet he just hasn’t generated the buzz or the breakout single necessary to elevate him beyond the ranks of a hardcore favorite. Ellis is a solid, sometimes compelling singer and a fast, often flashy guitarist, as well as a fine entertainer. He returns to Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar.

—R.W.

Luther Wright & The Wrongs We’ll give this Canadian act the benefit of the doubt and presume that they did not come up with the idea to do a bluegrass version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall after watching Hayseed Dixie’s album of bluegrass covers of AC/DC songs become a surprise hit. Nevertheless, this kind of bloodlessly quirky yoking of genres is the touring band’s equivalent of junk bonds: easy to cash in on in, and fundamentally worthless. Even Hayseed Dixie have become somewhat nauseated by what they’ve wrought, and reportedly plan to abandon their shtick in the near future (although not before collecting the gate receipts on their latest tour). The Wrongs’ Rebuild The Wall would be OK if the band had any feeling for Roger Waters’ original material or for traditional bluegrass, but the album is mainly a triumph of arrangement and transposition—the stunt of a music theory student. It’s for people who liked the sound of the O Brother soundtrack but were uncomfortable with what the songs were about. Wright & the Wrongs play at The End.

—N.M.

Wednesday, 10th

Apple Scruffs “Those elusive butterflies from the garage,” as Scruff Sherry Rich describes her co-conspirators, are returning to the stage for one of their all too infrequent thrash fests. Rich is joined by a formidable lineup—mod mom Amy Rigby, swinger-turned-rocker Audrey Malone and 17-year-old drummer Jerry Roe. (Roe, who is Malone’s stepson, is in the band both for his talents and to drastically lower the average age of the Scruffs’ members.) All three frontwomen are accomplished songwriters, but this project is an outlet for their love of garage rock covers. Rich says the Scruffs plan to answer that most profound of musical koans, “Is there such a thing as an obscure classic?” when they play the Slow Bar.

—J.S.

Concrete Blonde On Group Therapy, Concrete Blonde’s first album since disbanding eight years ago, husky-voiced Johnette Napolitano returns to moody and feisty form. From “Roxy,” a tribute to fellow recent comeback artists Roxy Music, to the atmospheric “Inside/Outside” and the startling swagger of “Fried” and “Violent,” the L.A. trio are still making music for grown-ups; their characteristic mystery, dark subject matter and textured arrangements remain intact. Still more intriguing, though, is the album’s fresh-sounding and cynic-thwarting experimental bent; the lilting, south-of-the-border ballad “Tu Llorana” and the bracing career memoir “When I Was a Fool” sound as vital as anything in the group’s catalog. Concrete Blonde play Uptown Mix.

—J.F.

Old Crow Medicine Show/Hackensaw Boys A stellar double-bill for 12th & Porter, as two up-and-coming, out-of-time collectives share the spotlight. Old Crow Medicine Show are perhaps more familiar to Nashvillians, having relocated here from upstate New York a few years back and promptly making their mark as Music City’s most talented and exuberant neo-traditionalists. Their ability to unearth and adroitly reimagine obscure, pre-Bill Monroe Americana is consistently impressive. Hackensaw Boys, however, bring an equally punky, busking vibe to the proceedings. A 10-piece co-op from Charlottesville, Va., the Boys played more than 200 dates last year and are set to join Cake, Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse on this summer’s Unlimited Sunshine tour. Their ensemble includes the requisite washboard, Dobro and squeeze box, as well as a wholly original percussion contraption known only as “Charismo.” Old Crow Medicine Show also play a 6:30 p.m. show at Opry Plaza with Jason Ringenberg on Friday.

—J.F.

Mayhemporium If grunge did little else, it taught metal bands to stop dressing and singing like sissies. Gone are the high shrieks and tight pants of the ’80s hair bands; today’s metal is a little bit more comfortable and not nearly as “castrato.” The only problem is, we seem to have traded one fad for another. Lunge are one of these nu-metal bands with the low voice and chugging guitars. With dharmakaya and Less Than Perfect, they play the first night of Mayhemporium, the four-day showcase of bands (mostly metal) sponsored by “The Coalition,” a collective of bands who want to support each other and not compete. Their Web site (thecoalition.net) states that “We all agreed that ALL music, no matter what style it is, is good.” Which begs the question: Have they ever heard Phil Collins?

—T.A.

MilemarkerOn record, this Chicago (by way of North Carolina) art-punk band sound pretty dismal; with their grinding synths and guitars, their strident rhythms and their “society’s got me down” lyrics, they’re like The Dismemberment Plan without the wit or sense of purpose. But we hear that, in concert, Milemarker’s stagecraft and light show create an overwhelming sensation that has to be experienced firsthand. Stop by The End to get the full effect.

—N.M.

Storytelling Finally, the controversial, taboo-busting satire by Happiness/Welcome to the Dollhouse writer-director Todd Solondz makes it to a local theater. Should we be pleased or frightened? In the movie’s first section, “Fiction”—the one that made headlines when it was crudely censored to escape an NC-17 rating—a white writing student (Selma Blair) becomes a link in the sexual and emotional chain of hurt between her palsy-stricken boyfriend (Leo Fitzpatrick) and their loathing black instructor (Robert Wisdom). The second section, “Nonfiction,” sends a documentary filmmaker (Paul Giamatti) to poach on the lives of a troubled teen (Mark Webber) and his affluent Jewish suburban parents (John Goodman and Julie Hagerty). Is this exploitation? Sadism? Or simply telling the truth? Don’t expect easy answers when the movie opens Friday for an exclusive run at the Belcourt.

—J.R.

The Powerpuff Girls Movie The bumblebee-shaped preteen superheroes who put the riot in riot grrrl hit the big screen with their crime-fighting powers intact—not to mention their seizure-inducing graphics. Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup battle the nefarious Mojo Jojo and his posse of evil-genius primates in the movie version of Craig McCracken’s Cartoon Network mainstay, slugging its way into theaters Wednesday.

—J.R.

Men in Black II We got excited about this franchise extension of the sci-fi comedy hit when we heard it starred Tommy Lee. Somehow we missed the part where they said “Jones.” Oh well, he’s cool too—even if he needs to beef up his Behind the Music appearances and amateur-porn résumé. Jones again joins alien-busting agent Will Smith to stop a slithery interplanetary vixen (Lara Flynn Boyle) in Barry Sonnenfeld’s sequel, which opens Wednesday in time for the lucrative July 4 weekend.

—J.R.

Umberto D. You have one day left to see Vittorio de Sica’s 1952 classic at the Belcourt in a restored 35mm print—which means this movie probably hasn’t looked this good on the big screen in half a century. See the review in our Movie Guide on p. 65.

—J.R.

Batman Tim Burton’s ultra-Goth vision of the Caped Crusader’s nocturnal adventures kicks off the Belcourt’s month-long salute to the summer blockbusters of the 1980s—including such faves as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Ghostbusters.

—J.R.

DVD

1776 This 1972 film adaptation of Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’ Broadway musical about the birth of our nation comes to DVD in a long-awaited (by fans, anyway) expanded edition that adds nearly half an hour and a couple of songs. Also included are a commentary track by Stone and director Peter Hunt, and outtakes of the cast screen tests. 1776 came at the long tail end of the big studio musical era, and it’s considered by many to be bloated and awkwardly anachronistic, but the original musical has its fans, who should appreciate the chance to see a crisp, unedited version of their favorite.

—N.M.

The Giallo Collection “Giallo” isn’t a person, but a style of Italian suspense cinema known for lurid colors and excessive gore. (The word literally means “yellow,” as in the yellowing pages of old pulp novels.) This Anchor Bay box set packages three early ’70s giallo classics—Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Bloodstained Shadows and Who Saw Her Die?—with three shocking short subjects.

—N.M.

Grand Theft Auto Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard’s filmmaking debut, a Roger Corman car-crash comedy suitable for the whole family, comes to DVD. It should be worth buying for the commentary track alone, which features Howard and Corman in what’s sure to be a good-spirited discussion of low-budget filmmaking.

—N.M.

Theater

All That Glitters The Opryland Hotel has launched an ongoing series of murder mystery dinner theater presentations. Brooks Marshall is the author of this particular interactive play, the setting of which is an awards banquet for a big-time country music record label. Audience members are encouraged to help solve the crime. The production runs Friday and Saturday evenings in the hotel’s Magnolia Room, July 5 through Nov. 30. For info and reservations, call 381-2345.

—M.B.

The Singles W/O Sex Club The main mission of a “celibates-only” singles club goes awry in this one-act comedy by Ruth Tyndall Baker, a prolific playwright with some 20 years of regional and university theater credits. Jennifer Day is the producer of this mixed-bag evening of entertainment, which also includes music and poetry from the Tara Moonshadow Band, Jill Sissel, Sai the California Club Kid, Ellen Olson and Bethany Reynolds. The play runs July 5-13 at the Darkhorse Theater; for information, call 228-1838.

—M.B.

Art

Stanford Fine Art Artists have been drawn to the Cape Ann region of Massachusetts since the mid-19th century. Fascinated by the cape’s dramatic contrasts of land and sea, its busy harbors and the glowing light, painters of the late 1800s and early 1900s created exquisite impressionist and post-impressionist works there. The town of Rockport became the most popular summer artist’s colony, and the town’s artistic reputation was solidified by the founding of the Rockport Art Association in 1921. With its quiet streets, rambling lanes and jagged coastline, Rockport attracted a number of well-known artists, including Emile Gruppé, Carl Peters, Vladimir Pavlosky and Anthony Thieme. Oils and works on paper by these and other Cape Ann artists are included in a new exhibition at Stanford Fine Art that runs through Aug. 15.

—A.W.

Reading & Writing

Lorian Hemingway Emotional repression and stunted sentences may be the trademarks of Ernest Hemingway, but for his granddaughter Lorian, exactly the opposite is true. Her memoir, A World Turned Over: A Killer Tornado and the Lives It Changed Forever, is a passionate and gorgeously written tale about the day in 1966 that an F5 tornado flattened parts of Jackson, Miss., her hometown. Revisiting Jackson 30 years later, Lorian interviews survivors of the tornado, integrating her own memories of a perfect small-town childhood with images of total devastation, a world literally blown apart. Hemingway signs A World Turned Over at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 6 p.m. July 9.

—M.R.

Events

Fourth of July Celebration There hasn’t been a more meaningful Independence Day since the first post-Pearl Harbor one back in 1942. This year’s celebration will be more emotional than ever, as Nashvillians pause to remember the attacks on the country 10 months ago. Despite—or perhaps because of—that, expect an especially spirited display of the red, white and blue this year, especially at Riverfront Park on Thursday. The musical entertainment starts at 7:30 p.m. and ranges from Christian artist Michael W. Smith and country chanteuse Mandy Barnett to patriotic classics from The Nashville Symphony. There’s also a carnival area for the kids, with rides and games and such, plus a salute to the men and women in the armed forces. The fireworks blast off at 9 p.m. Like America, the event is free. (Hey, my dad served in World War II and my nephew is in the Marines—so sue me if you think that’s corny.)

—A.W.