Nearing 30 years as a performing ensemble, this legendary African American female vocal group believe that music can alter nations, preserve history, pass down tradition and let oppressed people without voices be heard—which scarcely conveys what a joyful, rumbling, soul-stirring sound they make. Still led by activist and cultural historian Bernice Johnson Reagon, now curator emerita at the Smithsonian, Sweet Honey’s repertoire ranges from spirituals and children’s songs to Bob Marley’s stirring “Redemption Song.” The group make what is possibly their first Nashville appearance at Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium; since Reagon’s main impression of Nashville was formed during the turbulent 1960s, when she toured with the original SNCC Freedom Singers, make sure she gets a warmer welcome this time around.
—J.R.
Picks written by Todd Anderson, Martin Brady, Chris Davis, Jonathan Flax, Bill Friskics-Warren, Paul Griffith, Jonathan Marx, Noel Murray, Jim Ridley, Jack Silverman, Marcel Smith, Angela Wibking and Ron Wynn.
Thursday, 21st
Weezer It’s a unique recipe for recapturing your audience after a crushing sophomore slump: take a five-year hiatus, scrap the sessions for your third record after several false starts, enroll in and drop out of Harvard, then become a Salinger-esque recluse—but that’s just what Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo did in the wake of Pinkerton, the dark, peculiar and not particularly well-received follow-up to the band’s multiplatinum self-titled debut. Ironically, it would be the cult following that slowly evolved for Pinkerton that saved Weezer from VH1’s where-are-they-now file. Reemerging last year with another self-titled vehicle of three-minute guitar pop (one of 2001’s best), Weezer suddenly found themselves filling arenas. Expect a preview of the already completed fourth album, Maladroit, at Municipal Auditorium.
—J.F.
Carlton Cornett’s Birthday Bash & Fundraiser Cornett, the Democratic challenger for U.S. Rep. Bob Clement’s House seat, celebrates his birthday upstairs at Bongo Java and hopes to make a few bucks for his campaign in the process. Helping Cornett blow out his cake are New Orleans sagebrush-cabaret artists Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul, along with Club Venice house-rocker Chad Trout, Ginni Davenport and Michael Stalcup. Hey, it beats gnawing on raccoon legs with a bunch of ward heelers. Admission is $10; consider it a present.
—J.R.
Friday, 22nd
Danni Leigh & the Souvenirs Talk about hard luck stories. Leigh’s Dwight Yoakam-inspired debut for Decca hit stores just as that label folded, and then Monument bailed on her shortly after releasing its Richard Bennett/Emory Gordy Jr.-produced follow-up. Leigh now records for DualTone, the Music Row indie for which she made the aptly titled Divide and Conquer. Combining first-rate picking and sure-fire material from the likes of Phil Lee, Malcolm Holcombe and Jim Lauderdale—as well as successful forays into reggae and R&B—the album is the best and most expansive of Leigh’s snake-bitten career. Joining her at the Sutler will be Seattle honky-tonkers the Souvenirs, one of the best Buck-bred bands out there today. Both acts appear again as part of the Western Beat Roots Revival at Exit/In Tuesday.
—B.F.W.
Scout Niblett This English singer-songwriter’s debut album Sweet Heart Fever (on the Bloomington, Ind., label Secretly Canadian) has drawn comparisons to P.J. Harvey’s Dry for Niblett’s ability to wrest nasty rock ’n’ roll riffs from sweet and innocent folk ditties without posturing. And like Cat Power, Niblett has a powerful vocal style that keeps the high lonesome sound between a whisper and a shout. Though the record’s great, it only hints at how good her live show should be, so check her out at Springwater.
—C.D.
Character/The Lone Official Local instrumental group Character celebrate the release of their debut CD, A Flashing of Knives and Green Water, with a party at Slow Bar. The CD is also the first on MTSU student Dave Stein’s new imprint, set international records. Character have created an interesting sound out of seemingly opposing impulses—there’s a chaotic element to what they do, although, as with Japancakes’ “out” moments, the music always intends to resolve. Springwater suds-tapper Matt Buttons’ project The Lone Official open the show.
—C.D.
Unknown Hinson Eight years ago, after a three-decade prison stint for 83 offenses ranging from murder one to vampirism and grave robbing, country singer Unknown Hinson set out to settle some copyright infringement debts with the folks who cut his songs without payment or permission. You see, Unknown wrote all those songs credited to (unknown), and by his reckoning “them boys owe me hunnerds o’ cash American dollars.” That’s the conceit of a cable-access phenomenon, The Unknown Hinson Show, hosted by its namesake, who is a crystallization of psychotronic humor, knuckle-dragging pre-Cambrian stereotypes of Southern men, Elvis Presley and circus geek. (He performed with a rooster for years.) Unknown Hinson performs, hopefully with Wondercock in hand, at Exit/In.
—C.D.
Juan prophet organization This Murfreesboro-by-way-of-Louisiana quartet’s music is the sort of whacked hybrid that begs for comparisons, all of them disparate. Driven by guitar, accordion, violin and glockenspiel, the careening cabaret vibe on their new CD Naked and Palletized suggests Brave Combo raised in the post-punk era, while other times there’s a tendency toward freakouts that invokes the Hampton Grease Band. But there’s also a rock-fueled tension that suggests these guys have listened to more than their share of indie/post rock. To their credit, Juan Prophet don’t come off as terribly self-indulgent or jokey, and if they don’t always succeed at what they’re going for, you can at least hear them trying their damnedest. (Better production would help a ton.) Their CD release party at Wall Street in Murfreesboro should be a hoot, boasting guest musicians and, in their own words, “a special intermission of jugglers, fire swallowing and bearded ladies.”
—J.M.
Audity Central The latest installment of this cool electronica series comes to The End, with headliner DJ M.F.R., a San Francisco-based deejay who specializes in deep house music. Also on the bill are DJs Chek and Mindub, hosts of the excellent Abstractions show Monday nights on WRVU-91.1 FM, and DJ Jolby.
Rod McGaha In between touring and making periodic appearances with area groups, the always appealing and exciting trumpeter heads his own group at Cafe 123.
Friday, 22nd-Saturday, 23rd
The Creation Performance poet J. Ivy and flamethrowing vocalist Tarrey Torae (who also perform at the Starving Artist Awards—see “Events,” below) headline this two-night showcase of hip-hop, new-school R&B, theater, comedy and spoken-word freestyling in a live taping at the Belcourt.
Saturday, 23rd
boondogs/Molten Lava Little Rock’s boondogs landed a record deal by winning former Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison’s Garageband.com national talent search. Their forthcoming, as yet untitled CD was produced by Memphis legend Jim Dickinson. Although Harrison’s cyber-record label is struggling right now, the boondogs’ pending release is outstanding low-power pop and, if there’s a God in heaven, should find a home somewhere. Molten Lava are three-fourths of Nashville’s sensational Jetpack, also once based in Arkansas, here fronted by Isaac Alexander of Little Rock’s Big Silver. Alexander often draws comparisons to both Elvises, as well as Rubber Soul-era Beatles. The two bands rely on a charming and distinctively unpretentious blend of pop savvy and roots accessibility that we might as well go ahead and call “The Little Rock Sound.” They’ll be at The Sutler.
—P.G.
Drive by Truckers Despite a tendency to rationalize “the duality of the Southern thing”—a.k.a. the tangle of glory and shame that goes with growing up down here—the Truckers’ slantwise Skynyrd tribute from last year was built upon a brilliant conceit, one with roots as thorny and deep as the South itself. Added bonus: Patterson Hood and company employ Skynyrd’s triple guitar attack to drive their point home. The similarly raging alt-country band Slobberbone join the DBTs at Slow Bar.
—B.F.W.
Barber Brothers Jazz Quintet Rahsaan and Roland Barber’s current LP Twinnovation is attracting deserved raves nationwide. The young Nashville sax-and-trombone tandem return to Cafe 123 as co-leaders of a quintet, and local jazz fans should take the opportunity to see two performers surely headed for greater things. See the story on p. 27.
—R.W.
Mississippi Millie While electric players and rock-influenced artists get the bulk of publicity in the blues world, there’s a group of less heralded acoustic performers who’ve cultivated their own steady followings. Vocalist Mississippi Millie is one of those; her songs, style and approach echo the classic Delta mode, and her brand of frenzied, vivid narration and singing will be on display in the Jazz@Bellevue Center afternoon performance series.
—R.W.
James “nick” Nixon and Shan Williford Although its primary mission involves chronicling the accomplishments and history of country performers, the Country Music Hall of Fame spotlights other related styles as well. As part of Black History Month, the Hall of Fame presents local bluesmen Nixon and Williford in a 1 p.m. program titled “Can’t Lose Those Blues.” The pair will not only discuss blues’ history and roots, but show its links to country—a connection some modern-day Music Row types don’t even seem to know exists.
—R.W.
Sunday, 24th
Danielle Howle Most of the folks heading to WRLT’s Nashville Sunday Night at 3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill will be drawn by headliners the Indigo Girls, but it’d be a shame if they missed opener Howle, a performer so direct, engaging and just plain musical that it’s hard to imagine anyone not liking her. Though she frequently performs with her band, The Tantrums, the South Carolina-based singer and songwriter is just as commanding when she takes the stage solo, as she will on this night. She’s so at ease onstage, and so friendly with the audience, it’s all the more striking when she launches into a song with utter abandon, unafraid to lose herself and let her voice soar. And like her pal and colleague Vic Chesnutt, she has a way with a song that’s utterly her own.
—J.M.
Brian Straw/Soulos/Voight-Kampff Collective Fans of the somnambulant vibe of performers like Low should not miss Brian Straw’s performance. His avant folk stylings have drawn comparisons to John Fahey for his similar blending of electronic tape with acoustic guitar. Straw has performed with many luminaries of the Midwest indie scene, including Edith Frost, David Grubbs, Kevin Drumm, Black Heart Procession—and Low. Soulos, the laptop electronica project of the Voight-Kampff Collective’s Andrew Myers, boasts New Age textures with industrial beats. (C’mon, not even Tesh boasts New Age anymore.) Event promoters Voight-Kampff round out the bill of avant-garde music at ruby green contemporary arts center.
—C.D.
Beegie Adair Trio The Jazz Workshop’s newest venture is a regular concert series, billed as “Jazz Cave,” intended to spotlight its 1312 Adams St. locale and to attract more community involvement in this local teaching institution. The series gets off to a great start with pianist Adair, whose tremendous new CD continues her string of outstanding releases. She’ll be appearing with bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Chris Brown, and the concert begins at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.nashvillejazz.org.
—R.W.
Mark Douthit He’s appeared on hundreds of Nashville sessions over the years, but saxophonist Douthit has always wanted to do his own jazz project. He’s finally gotten the chance. Groove, on the Hillsboro Jazz label, features good arrangements, fine production and solid interpretations of both smooth jazz originals and covers of Steely Dan and Bobby Caldwell. Douthit will celebrate the release with an early evening showcase at 12th & Porter. Most of the musicians on the date—including drummers John Hammond and Steve Brewster, guitarist Mark Baldwin, pianist Pat Coil and trumpeter Mike Haynes—are slated to appear with him at the event. Limited seating is available, so call (615) 383-5535, ext. 136 for reservations.
—R.W.
Monday, 25th
Wolf Colonel Wolf Colonel, a.k.a. Jason Anderson, has been tirelessly recording and touring for the past four years. Despite numerous lineup changes, he’s managed to maintain a largely consistent sound of ragged guitars and vocals inside solid tunes. The Colonel is fun indie rock that isn’t afraid to ape stadium rock for the sheer pleasure of it. Sometimes recalling the rock star poses of Guided By Voices, Wolf Colonel continues the string of fantastic indie rock shows at new venue The Muse.
—T.A.
Maximum Twang The ever evolving lineup of Maximum Twang—a swinging, alt/trad-country collective and The Slow Bar’s Monday night staple—currently features stellar sidemen Marc Robertson (Greg Garing) on bass, Ward Stout (Aaron Tippin) on fiddle, Pete Finney (Patty Loveless) on steel, Steve Latanation (Agent Orange) on drums and Dan Cohen (Brad Martin) on guitar, with frequent appearances by Chuck Mead (BR549) and the occasional assist from Kenny Vaughn and Jimmy Lester—both now involved in Twang offshoot The Slowbeats. After serving as the house band for Slow Bar’s recent Johnny Cash tribute night, the group continue their East-side residency this week.
—J.F.
Howard & The White Boys Their music can be inspired, erratic, entertaining or sometimes all these things combined, but Howard & the White Boys aren’t your basic blues repertory/roadhouse unit. They’re headlining at Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar.
—R.W.
Tuesday, 26th
Malcolm Holcombe/Valorie Miller Holcombe is a rare talent, one of the more criminally unheralded singer-songwriters around. His songs are full of rich imagery, vivid characters and complex emotions that don’t surrender easily to logical interpretation, though they often connect on a more visceral level. In performance, he is riveting—a kind of hobo oracle whose gravelly voice has the rough-hewn immediacy of train wheels grinding to a halt on a steel rail. Holcombe’s bassist and true love, Valorie Miller, is a formidable singer and writer in her own right. She spins tales of life’s darker crevices in an unadulterated, plaintive mountain wail that can send shivers down the spine. See ’em at the Bluebird.
—J.S.
Nickel Creek The mantle of “the future of bluegrass” has been worn by Alison Krauss, and now Krauss has personally passed it on to this California quartet, whose eponymous debut record she produced two years ago. Composed of three under-25-year-olds and one youngish touring bassist, Nickel Creek play a surprisingly clean and traditional form of acoustic music, informed by the ancient sounds of Appalachia but played with the speed and energy of modern times. If we’re lucky, the band will open up more on future releases and let their rock influences seep in, but for now their immersion in the old times and good times is enjoyable enough. Get caught up in it at 328 Performance Hall.
—N.M.
Audio Explorations These synthpop merchants’ well-recorded and -executed CD ActionReaction could be filed somewhere between Chick Corea’s Elektrik Band and The Cure. They’ll check the pulses of the culturally comatose at Springwater.
—C.D.
Wednesday, 27th
Pinmonkey/Carter Wood Signs of intelligent life on Music Row: RCA head Joe Galante recently signed Pinmonkey to the label’s BNA imprint, suggesting that the much ballyhooed O Brother, Where Art Thou?-inspired return to country music’s roots may have some legs. Pinmonkey began as a fun outlet for the various band members, but the labels came a-runnin’ when they heard the group’s hard-groovin’ bluegrass-inflected sound, featuring some of the sweetest hill-country harmonies you’re ever likely to hear. Think Flying Burrito Brothers with less hair. They’re joined by purveyor of earthy soul-country Carter Wood, a great singer and talented tunesmith in her own right. 12th & Porter’s the place to be for one of the singin’est shows you’re likely to hear. Pinmonkey also play the Western Beat Show at Exit/In the night before, and Wood plays The Basement Saturday, Feb. 23.
—J.S.
Fu Manchu These dogged revivalists of mid-’70s stomp-rock of the Foghat/BTO variety hit a bit of a wall on their most recent record, California Crossing. Their hooks seem duller and their grooves less deep—the album thuds where it should pound. But when Fu Manchu storm the stage at the Exit/In, they’ll have more than a decade’s worth of sharp hard rock to fling.
—N.M.
Whirlybird Douglas Corner Cafe hosts a night of eclectic rock from this local ensemble, who deliver melodic songs with a twinge of twang and a refreshingly cockeyed point of view.
—N.M.
Classical Music
Craig Nies The Blair of School Music’s new Ingram Hall has wonderful acoustics, and this Friday a new Steinway concert grand piano arrives onstage. Blair faculty member Craig Nies will celebrate that arrival at this latest installment of the Blair Concert Series, a program for solo piano. He’ll play some Ravel and Rachmaninoff, some Debussy and Prokofiev, and two Granados Goyescas, suggested by Goya paintings. He’ll also play Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie, the ardent young Pole’s last large composition for solo piano before consumption consumed him. The music starts at 8 p.m.
—M.S.
William Bolcom and George Antheil Bolcom, holder of the BMI Composer in Residence chair at the Blair School, will be honored in a program of his music performed by members of the Blair faculty. Famously versatile, Bolcom writes in a wide range of forms for lots of different ensembles. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for some piano music; he won a Koussevitzky Award in 1993 for a concerto composed for the Irish flutist James Galway. Critic John von Rhein says he has mastered the traditions preceding him and made them as “American as Coney Island red hots.” The second half of this Monday-night concert will showcase George Antheil’s Ballet Mechanique (1924-25). Its Paris premiere caused a ruckus comparable to the one Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring set off a decade earlier. 8 p.m. Feb. 25 in Ingram Hall.
—M.S.
Radio
Freedom Against the Night A blast of avant-garde jazz midnight on Sundays (i.e., late Saturday night), John Rogers’ show on 91 Rock begins a series of interviews with jazz innovators this weekend. The first guest is Art Ensemble of Chicago saxophonist Joseph Jarman; next week Rogers hosts a session with pioneering free-jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp.
—J.R.
Film
Mullet Men If anybody can make Nashville feel like Daytona at spring break, it’s partymeister Mike “Woody” Bruhn, one of the subjects of this amusing documentary by Harris Wendheim and Andy Stuckey. The hour-long film is a tribute to fish and the men who throw them—specifically at the Florabama Lounge on the Gulf in Pensacola, Fla., where an annual “mullet toss” draws upwards of 40,000 drunken, sun-baked, half-naked revelers. For the movie’s first local screening Saturday night, multiple mullet champion Bruhn intends to turn the Belcourt into Music City’s own Florabama Lounge, with all the beer and babes that implies. Tickets are $10 at the door; for more information, see the Movie Guide on p. 66.
—J.R.
Intimacy Scorching, startlingly explicit adult drama from French director Patrice Chereau in his English-language debut. Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox are the lovers who meet weekly for bouts of (hardcore) anonymous sex—a role-playing game whose emotional stakes raise outside the bedroom. The unrated drama, a fascinating counterpoint to Last Tango in Paris, begins a week’s run at the Belcourt Friday; see the review on p. 31.
—J.R.
A Streetcar Named Desire In which Marlon Brando destroyed the conventions of movie acting, incarnating the beastly Stanley Kowalski onscreen with sweaty immediacy and a palpable sense of sexual threat. Elia Kazan’s steamy rendering of the Tennessee Williams play hasn’t lost its potency over the years, thanks to the electrifying tension between Brando and Vivien Leigh’s chillingly pathetic Blanche DuBois. The movie screens this week at the Belcourt as the conclusion of its monthlong tribute to Best Actor Oscar winners.
—J.R.
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition A tale of shipwreck, near-starvation and survival against impossible obstacles, George Butler’s documentary recounts Sir Ernest Shackleton’s doomed 1914 expedition to the South Pole—which, miraculously, was recorded on film by accompanying photographer Frank Hurley. The film, which uses footage from Hurley’s documentary South (available from Milestone Films), opens Friday at Green Hills. See the story on p. 31. Also opening Friday at local theaters: Aaliyah as The Queen of the Damned.
—J.R.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Last month, without much publicity beyond word of mouth, the Belcourt’s full-costume midnight screening of the granddaddy of all cult movies drew about 250 people. Will the parade of guys in bustiers and fishnets be just as big this Friday at midnight? The thought fills us with antici...pation. More info is available by calling the Belcourt at 383-9140.
—J.R.
Apocalypse Now Redux Whether Francis Ford Coppola’s extended-play version of Apocalypse Now added depth and dimension to a masterpiece—or padded one long-ass display of directorial megalomania to butt-numbing extremes—remains up for debate. Let the argument rage as Sarratt brings back Coppola and Walter Murch’s Apocalypse 2.0 for a brief run.
—J.R.
DVD/Video
Used Cars This ramshackle comedy remains a cult favorite for Kurt Russell’s charismatic lead performance as a shifty salesman using underhanded techniques to outsmart his competitors, and for Robert Zemeckis’ energetic direction (cued by the script from his friend and future Back to the Future writer Bob Gale). That core filmmaking trio offer a commentary track on the new DVD, which also includes deleted scenes and a gallery of promotional material.
—N.M.
Theater
Julius Caesar The setting is our Nation’s Capital, where Tupac Shakur rules and the citizens dance hip-hop. But there are conspirators afoot: Lil’ Kim, P. Diddy and DMX. In director Kimberley LaMarque’s revisionist view of Shakespeare’s classic study of men and power, Caesar, Cassius, Brutus and Marc Antony are embodied by rappers. They speak the Bard’s language, yet the new setting and the hip-hop personae offer a modern-day twist on the themes of kinship, disease in society, misplaced trust and manipulation through flattery. The students at Tennessee State University play out this drama on the set of a multilevel abandoned building, creatively enhanced with stairwells and slides. Running Feb. 27-March 3 at Poag Auditorium on the TSU campus.
—M.B.
Working With Glass Actors Bridge Ensemble artistic director Bill Feehely is the author of this original play, receiving its world premiere performances weekends Feb. 22 through Mar. 3. Feehely’s script, which was first read last year as part of the company’s “New Works Lab,” focuses on a day in the life of a young therapist, her relationship to her clients and the past that haunts her. Don Griffiths directs a cast that includes Rachel Agee, Alain Browning, Holly Butler, Tara Lacey, Jeff Lewis and Christopher Strand. At St. Augustine’s Chapel on the Vanderbilt University campus.
—M.B.
The Wrath of Achilles Peter Meineck’s Aquila Theatre Company was founded in London 12 years ago. Now encompassing both British and American performers, Aquila has established itself as an international force in the presentation of classic drama and has recently been named Company in Residence at the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University. This stirring rendition of Homer’s Iliad—based on the later books of the epic war poem—serves up the archetypal tale enhanced by innovative set design, an original score and the first-rate acting for which Aquila has been acclaimed worldwide. The single performance, 8 p.m. Feb. 21 at Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium, is the only Nashville stop in the company’s 2001-2002 North American Tour.
—M.B.
Art
Ruby Green Contemporary Art Center It’s a busy weekend at this downtown art space. On Friday there’s the opening reception for Amy Jackson’s digitally enhanced photographs of industrial materials and machines. The evening includes original music by local electronic/experimental musician John Sharp and refreshments by Red Wagon Catering and Tolar House Bakery. Then on Saturday, the spoken word takes over in the gallery with Tennessee’s state poet Harriette Bias-Insignares, authors and performers James C. Floyd and Denise Satterfield Wilson, singer/songwriter/comedian Slim E. Jimmy and Relative, a four-woman ensemble who blend original poetry with music and movement. The evening is catered by Kijiji Coffee House.
—A.W.
Baldwin Photographic Gallery Every year during the week before Labor Day, thousands of people converge on Black Rock Desert in Nevada, set up temporary dwellings and proceed to express themselves in all manner of straight-out-of-the-’60s ways. The arts and performance happening—known as Burning Man—culminates on Labor Day weekend in the igniting of a giant human figure made of wood. Photographers Barbara Traub and A. Leo Nash have been participating in Burning Man (its one rule is that there are no spectators, only participants) since 1994, and their images of the festival give at least an inkling of the amazing outpouring of creativity and old-fashioned freakiness occurring there each year. The show is up at the MTSU photo gallery through Feb. 28.
—A.W.
Comedy
Bill Cosby To say Cosby has done it all is a bit of an understatement. Grammy and Emmy awards, motion pictures, bestsellers—Cosby has triumphed in every area of entertainment, and his show business contributions were acknowledged in 1998 when he received the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award. But standup comedy is what launched Cosby’s career, and he’ll be returning to his roots on Sunday Feb. 24, when he performs two shows, at 3 and 7 p.m., in TPAC’s Jackson Hall. Ticket demand is expected to be heavy.
—M.B.
Events
Starving Artist Awards Sponsored by Sensored magazine, the second annual Starving Artist Awards aim to “reward fearless creativity of local artists” in a number of categories including writing, fashion, film and art. This year’s show is co-hosted by Greta Gaines of Oxygen Network’s Freeride and Lance Smith of CMT’s Most Wanted Live and Top 20 Countdown. Rock, jazz, dulcimer and spoken soul sounds from Kim’s Fable, Jeff Coffin, J. Ivey & the Family Jewels, Roostars and EPD Orchestra are also part of the evening’s entertainment. The envelopes get opened and the awards handed out Feb. 21 at the Belcourt Theatre.
—A.W.
