A versatile musician, an obsessive fan and archivist, and a mainstay of the Nashville music scene for two decades, the late Argyle Bell was a gifted original. The lanky Tacoma, Wash., native cut a striking figure walking around town in his head-to-toe black outfits, his wraparound shades, muttonchop sideburns, and teased-out coif. “I never saw Argyle in a car,” remembers Adam Dread, who hosted him on his mid-’80s WRVU radio show. “He was always walking, always smiling.” Bell brightened staid Music City by flashing his own brand of rock-star glitz, especially after becoming a denizen of the erstwhile hipster haven Close Quarters (now the Bound’ry). He claimed he once got loaded with Jim Morrison and saw the Velvet Underground play with Nico, but it was his own accomplishments that endeared him to friends and fellow musicians. He put together the first Gram Parsons tribute show, wrote now and then for The Metro, and gigged (word has it) with everyone from Garth Brooks to members of the Burritos, Byrds, Eagles, and Rolling Stones. And as the former “musical director” at Séanachie, he did as much as anyone to boost the city’s emerging Irish music scene. Most importantly, Bell was a great guy, generous to a fault with his money, time, and encouragement. That made his lonely death even sadder. On Easter weekend, in a friend’s van, the man who befriended and supported so many people ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Longtime friend Greg Walker said Bell was distraught over financial woes as well as the local music scene, of which he had grown to feel less and less a part. He had just turned 50. On April 30, some 200 friends gathered at Sherlock Holmes Pub to toast Bell and raise money to put a headstone on his grave. At 8 p.m. Saturday, the pub will host a musical tribute billed as “Plaid Grass: An Evening Celebrating the Life and Music of Argyle Bell.” To contribute to the Argyle Bell Memorial Fund, contact info@wildoatsrecords.com.
—B.F.W.
Thursday, 10th-Sunday, 13th
Annie Sellick It seems like she has a gig somewhere in town almost every night, yet Sellick never appears to lose her energy or vitality. This week is a perfect example, as folks in the local jazz audience will get no less than four chances to see her perform. She’ll be accompanied Thursday night by pianist Beegie Adair at F. Scott’s in a setting that will hopefully be heard someday on record, then she performs late Friday at Cafe 123, Saturday afternoon as the latest performer in the Jazz@Bellevue Center live series, and Sunday evening at The Trace.
—R.W.
Thursday, 10th
Fighting Gravity/The Rosenbergs Blending Southern jam-rock with poppy ska, Richmond’s Fighting Gravity have spent almost a decade touring packed houses with a style that now seems as quaint and dated as the swing and cocktail revival that also held sway at the end of the last century. In the meantime, New York’s The Rosenbergs have been digging up the irresistible innocence of early ’80s power-pop—not exactly fresh either, but at least easier to rock out to. They’ll both be playing the Exit/In, and in the case of The Rosenbergs, it’ll be their third Nashville appearance of the year.
—N.M.
The Obscure/The What Four The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features an article about the revival of garage rock in major cities across the U.S. This should be old news to the inhabitants of Music City, who have been able to enjoy the clutter and clatter of neo-retro rockers The Obscure and The What Four for a while now. The former approaches the rough side of guitar-pop from the grubby underneath; the latter touches down gently from the sunny skies. Both will be striking heavy chords at The End.
—N.M.
Rod Picott This transplanted New Englander writes blue-collar-tinged originals and sings them in a gruff moan that’ll remind you of Steve Earle or Fred Eaglesmith. Picott’s even co-written with Eaglesmith, as well as fellow Yankee Slaid Cleaves. He celebrates the release of his hard-hitting new album, Tiger Tom Dixon’s Blues, at Radio Cafe.
—B.F.W.
Jerry Tachoir The ranks of vibes masters are getting thinner all the time, with the recent deaths of Red Norvo and Milt Jackson, and with the great Lionel Hampton in failing health. But one name that should have a larger profile is Nashville’s Tachoir, a former Berklee student who has amassed major credentials as an instructor and performer. Tachoir’s latest release, the duet disc Improvised Thoughts, pairs him with guitarist Van Manakas. You can get a sampling of their project when the duo performs live at the Gibson Bluegrass Showcase in a benefit performance for WMOT-89.5 FM.
—R.W.
Sodium The salty Nashville rockers, whose song “Words” won an online contest to appear in the indie comedy Face the Music, bring their musical brine to 12th & Porter with Gravel.
MADD About Bob Hold on to the night when Richard Marx, Bob DiPiero, and Bekka Bramlett perform a benefit for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at the Belcourt Theatre. Tickets are $15 at the door.
Friday, 11th
Canyon Fans of the slo-core reveries of Low and the dreamy lap-steel-inflected twang of the Scud Mountain Boys won’t want to miss this D.C. band when they open for Pat Haney at The End. Word has it, Canyon’s elegiac cover of Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer” is just gorgeous.
—B.F.W.
System and Station/Super Fire Convoy/Spout System and Station, the power trio of vocalist/guitarist Ryan Heise, bassist Dave Wall, and drummer Mike Rundle, relocated to Madison, Wisc., from its Idaho home to form a Midwestern touring hub. They’ve been compared to the MC5 and Sonic Youth, but the songs we heard didn’t sound like either group, except in their ability to mix clashing ingredients to intriguing effect—like the weather-siren guitar that wails above the burbling melody of “The Longest View.” The group performs at Springwater with the constantly gigging Spout and Super Fire Convoy, which we can only hope is as cool as the Transformer it’s named for.
—J.R.
Picture This There are a couple of American bands that sport this handle; the one with the biggest presence is a California prog-metal outfit fronted by guitar virtuoso (and prolific MP3.com contributor) Marc Pattison. Is that the Picture This that’ll be at Exit/In? Well, if it isn’t, it just proves once again that unknown bands should do a search on the Web to make sure that they’re not stealing someone else’s name before they start playing gigs.
—N.M.
Friday, 11th-Saturday, 12th
Shane & The Moneymakers The popular local electric-blues power trio will be offering up their fatty-but-filling helpings of standards and originals Friday and Saturday at Tebeaux’s Tavern.
Saturday, 12th
Badly Drawn Boy In what has to be the most surprising last-minute gig of recent months, Mancunian electro-pop cult hero Damon Gough—a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy—is making a detour this weekend from his current North American tour for two Southern dates: one in Louisville and one at East Nashville’s Slow Bar, the most happening club of the moment. Expect to hear songs from last year’s critically lauded debut The Hour of Bewilderbeast—and to need a crowbar to get inside the Slow Bar unless you line up early.
—J.R.
No Parade/Asschapel Local hardcore bands No Parade and Asschapel have recieved far-flung praise for their debut releases. Asschapel’s CD, the inaugural release on its own Twitch imprint, is a great document of the relationship between extreme metal and the avant-garde. Indeed, the Asschapel sound has been called “reversal of Moog,” since its bombastic metallic riffs, which echo Reversal of Man-style hardcore, are undergirded by analog synth chord voicings. The response to No Parade’s debut 7-inch has been so great that the band is already writing songs for a full-length LP. These two are joined by BG (ex-Burned Up Bled Dry) and Handshake Murders for an all-ages show at Angle of View. Show time is at 8 p.m.
—C.D.
Patterson Hood Hood fronts Athens, Ga.’s Drive-By Truckers, possibly the best Southern rock band to come along since Skynyrd. Pretty damn righteous too, judging by “The Living Bubba,” the Truckers’ paean to a musician friend who died of AIDS. While his band readies its eagerly anticipated follow-up to last year’s smarter’n-shit Alabama Ass Whuppin’, Hood is making the rounds as a solo acoustic act, where his songs—and mind to ramble—should be in the spotlight. He plays Radio Cafe with Diggy and Addison Ellis.
—B.F.W.
Bill Lloyd Lloyd, one of the architects of Nashville’s current pop explosion, has just released All in One Place, a 16-song odds-and-sods collection of hard-to-find compilation tracks, outtakes, and covers of songs by The Hollies, The Raspberries, Badfinger, Todd Rundgren, and more. If you ask him nice, he may favor you with a track or two when he plays a writers-in-the-round show at the Bluebird Cafe with Cowboy Jack Clement, Shawn Camp, and Billy Burnette.
Die Polka Bruders Beat on the brat with this merry oompah band, whose name is German for “Die, Polka Brothers!” Or something like that. Get ready to shake your schnitzel and surrender to the pounding fury of that accordion beat starting 6 p.m. at the Gerst Haus.
Sunday, 13th
Over The Rhine/The Willard Grant Conspiracy Two intricate-but-smooth roots-rock bands share a bill at The End. Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine are folk-based but deep into atmospherics—often provided by synthetic instrumentation, but more often provided by the sinewy vocals of Karin Bergquist. Boston’s Willard Grant Conspiracy build warm fires from the sweet-smelling wood of country-rock, stacked in complicated piles.
—N.M.
Lovelight Shine These Boston bashers are another group involved—however inadvertently—in the spontaneous regeneration of up-tempo, garage-y rock ’n’ roll. Their latest EP Makes Out takes 20 minutes to whip through five groove-heavy tracks, driven by twin guitars that pulse and stun. But the quartet’s songs are also packed with extra riffs and surprise bridges, building ever upward toward a summit they can almost smell, if not see. Lovelight Shine will be working themselves into a frenzy at Indienet Record Shop.
—N.M.
Tuesday, 15th
David Frizzell Lefty’s kid brother hasn’t been a force on the charts since the early ’80s, when his Urban Cowboy-era duets with sister-in-law Shelly West (Dottie’s daughter)—“You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” and “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home”—both went to No. 1. Frizzell has stayed active on the honky-tonk and dance-hall circuit, though, and his tenor, while not the instrument Lefty’s was, is still plenty steeped in the verities of sawdust and steel guitar. Frizzell’s also got a new album out, a record heavy on shuffles and barroom ballads that’s well worth hearing. He will be featured this week at Billy Block’s Western Beat Roots Revival at the Exit/In.
—B.F.W.
Arlo/The Waxwings/The Carter Administration The Carter Administration put the Music City lockdown on well-crafted smart-ass pop in an otherwise forgettable showcase at Springwater. Detroit’s Waxwings have been compared to The Rolling Stones by Rolling Stone—a magazine whose critical insight had been suspect long before it bestowed “instant classic” status on Def Leppard’s Hysteria—and while they have their moments, the ’Wings are closer to The Posies than to any-era Stones. For their part, Arlo are so completely unimaginative that I really have to believe them when they say they got together only for “a fondness of pot.” Very bad pot, apparently.
—C.D.
Tom Mason As an actor, songwriter, guitarist, performance artist, and carpenter—not to mention a hell of a slide player—Tom Mason is a true renaissance man. The fruit of his varying interests is on display in his standing solo gig Tuesday evenings at The Bunganut Pig in Murfreesboro and in jazzier settings alongside Kenny Vaughan in Paul Gannon’s Swampgrass Band every Sunday at Legends. Showtime at the Pig is 7:30 p.m.
—C.D.
The Urinal Mints Ever notice how much those disinfectant-reeking cakes in the bottom of urinals resemble breath mints? We’re guessing these guys did. At The Place.
Wednesday, 16th
Andy West We’ve been hearing good things for years about this relocated British singer-songwriter—and the happy news is, they’re true. Perhaps best known for his short-lived early-1990s band CCW with songwriter Roger Cook and The Stranglers’ Hugh Cornwell, West has a gift for winding pop melodies that evoke the wistful sweetness of summer’s end—especially when he sings them in a voice as warmly expressive as his countryman and sometime bandmate Clive Gregson’s. The three-song EP he’s currently shopping around is a low-key delight that sounds better with each listen. Fans of Gregson, Nick Lowe, Paul Kennerley, and John Wesley Harding would be well advised to check him out during his ongoing engagement every Wednesday in May at Bongo After Hours Theatre.
—J.R.
Tinsley Ellis This guitarist emerged in the late ’80s as a powerful soloist and competent vocalist blending shuffle blues licks with Southern rock influences. His early ’90s Alligator LPs featured some outstanding instrumentals, but he wasn’t as active in the studio during the latter part of the decade. Ellis has been touring much more lately, and he’ll be appearing at Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar along with Delicious Blues Stew as part of this week’s Mardi Gras in May festivities.
—R.W.
Filthy Jim Southern-fried punk rawk from a Western-shirted quartet of ass-kickers from Lawrence, Kan., the town that gave the world BR5-49’s Chuck Mead and the cult horror movie Carnival of Souls. The band plays Springwater with La Diabla (formerly Spitcurl) and Slipshaft.
Edwin McCain The band’s new album Far From Over is due next month, and it could well be the record that pushes the tireless South Carolina singer-songwriter and his bandmates into platinum territory. The group, which features Nashvillian Dave Harrison on drums, performs its signature songs “I’ll Be” and “Go Be Young” at 328 Performance Hall.
Film
Too Much Sleep In writer-director David Maquiling’s indie comedy-mystery, a security guard (Marc Palmieri) loses his unregistered handgun and turns to the one man who can help him get it back: a squirrelly deli owner (Pasquale Gaeta) with police connections who devises a list of quirky suspects. The latest film in the current Shooting Gallery series, the movie opens Friday at the Belcourt; see the review on p. 41.
—J.R.
George Washington Beautiful weather and Nashville River Stages’ record turnout kept a lot of people from seeing David Gordon Green’s gorgeous, dreamlike fable about kids growing up in a Southern town that’s part industrial wasteland and part playground. The movie plays here through Thursday night at the Belcourt; it’s worth catching, especially since its radiant 35mm ’Scope compositions will suffer greatly on video—and few American movies of recent years have created such a unique look and texture.
—J.R.
A Knight’s Tale Roller-rink rock meets heavy-metal jousting in this action yarn, in which 15th-century squire Heath Ledger becomes an armor-suited ass-kicker with the help of some Queen tunes and Geoffrey Chaucer. Written and directed by screenwriter Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential), the movie opens Friday at local theaters.
—J.R.
DVD/VIDEO
Rio Bravo One of director Howard Hawks’ best “in the company of tough guys” action films—and certainly his best Western—comes to DVD in a stripped-down edition featuring only the trailer as an extra. But the movie endures: John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson star as a ragtag bunch of lawmen and losers trying to prevent a jailbreak.
—N.M.
Sunshine One of the most underrated films of last year comes to home video, where it’ll surely find an audience hungry for sweeping, involving epic drama distinguished by great performances. Ralph Fiennes plays multiple roles as the figurehead of a Jewish family that sacrifices its identity and ideals over the course of a turbulent 20th century in Europe. The DVD edition contains no extras—which makes it a must-rent rather than a must-buy, since the film itself is eminently worthy.
—N.M.
Yi Yi Those who missed Taiwanese master filmmaker Edward Yang’s moving contemporary family saga when it played in Nashville a few weeks back now have a second chance as the picture migrates to home video. Given that the film has often been compared to TV drama, it should lose little in the translation. The DVD edition also reportedly features a commentary by Yang, though there’s no indication of whether the track is in English or subtitled Mandarin.
—N.M.
Theater
ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS Three actresses choose an unsettling time and place in which to search for the meaning of life: They’re the stars of a regional theater production of Anton Chekhov’s devastating comedy The Three Sisters. Acclaimed playwright Jane Martin’s farcical take on theatrical culture debuted with much success at the 2000 Humana Festival at Louisville’s Actors Theatre, which also previously premiered Martin’s Jack and Jill, winner of the American Theatre Critics Award for Best New Play in 1997. Bill Feehely directs Actors Bridge Ensemble’s new production, with Misty Lewis, Tracy Gershon, and Tara Lacey in the leading roles. It opens May 11 for seven evening performances at St. Augustine’s Chapel on the Vanderbilt campus.
—M.B.
Art
Attic Gallery Photographer John Guider and artist Paul McLean recently took a road trip to McLean’s parents’ home deep in West Virginia coal-mining country with cameras and voice recorder in tow. Meanwhile, Andy van Roon was embarking on a journey of shared remembrance with his father, traveling through the South with a video camera. Visual and audio images gleaned from those odysseys come together with original music by Attic Gallery co-owner and Sixpence None the Richer keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden in a show called “Seam.” Woodblock print artist Bryce McCloud and audio technicians Matt Hamilton and King Williams also collaborated on the multimedia installation, which explores the concept of nostalgia. Join them all for a reception 6-9 p.m. May 12. Live art events inspired by the exhibit will also take place each Friday night in May at the gallery.
—A.W.
Cheekwood A traveling exhibit from Washington, D.C., called “Young America: Treasures From the Smithsonian American Art Museum” checks in at Cheekwood May 12-July 15. The show includes 54 major paintings and sculptures dating from the 1760s to the 1870s that reflect a young nation’s growing sense of self and optimism in its future. Along with epic views of Niagara Falls and the aurora borealis over the Arctic tundra, there are family portraits, luscious fruit and floral works, and classic marble nudes.
—A.W.
Frist Center for the Visual Arts Curated by local architectural historian and Scene contributor Christine Kreyling, “From Post Office to Art Center” traces the history of the Frist building from 1934 to the present day through oral histories, documents, vintage photographs, and other artifacts. Kreyling will be on hand 6 p.m. May 10 at the arts center to talk about the building’s fascinating past and its amazing transformation and to conduct a guided tour of the exhibit. Articulate and encyclopedic in her knowledge of architecture, Kreyling knows how to make a challenging topic both understandable and fun, so this event should be a highlight of the Frist’s opening series of gallery talks.
—A.W.
Sarratt Gallery The second-to-last show of the Sarratt Gallery season features a series of drawings by Michigan artist Cat Crotchett. Working with oil stick and oil pastel on paper, Crotchett creates richly colored and patterned images that reference fairy tales, myths, and childhood games. The show closes May 18.
—A.W.
Books
Melinda Haynes Melinda Haynes’ appearance last summer at Davis-Kidd in support of the paperback publication of Mother of Pearl, her debut novel, comprised a moving, gracious testimonial to the dangers of self-isolation and to the grace of pushing past fear to the world around us. Chalktown, her newest work, returns to the Deep South and its intractable, tragic oddities; don’t miss her encore at Davis-Kidd, 6 p.m. May 14.
—D.B.
Mark Bowden Regular listeners of NPR’s “Fresh Air” recently heard Terry Gross interview Mark Bowden, author of Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw, a new nonfiction account of the lethal manhunt for drug lord Pablo Escobar. Fans of the suspenseful Black Hawk Down, Bowden’s first book and a National Book Award finalist, will be in the front row 7 p.m. May 15 at Davis-Kidd to hear him discuss America, Colombia, the drug wars, and an Escobar who seems more mercurial, manipulative, and mysterious than we might expect.
—D.B.
Comedy
Carlos Mencia Mexican Americans haven’t ever really had a distinctive voice in American comedy. Cheech and Chong were merely satirizations of Mexican stereotypes, and we won’t even get into the bland comedy of Paul Rodriguez. Mencia brings a frank voice in the tradition of Richard Pryor. With the recent rise in the Latino population in the U.S., the timing couldn’t be more appropriate for a Mexican perspective on America—which Mencia provides in spades. He doesn’t have quite the storytelling ease of Pryor, and often he’s all too willing to let crudity overshadow his wit. But Mencia is certainly a new voice in comedy worth keeping an eye on. Catch him this Thursday through Saturday at Zanies.
—B.T.
Events
Tennessee Renaissance Festival Whether you’re a jouster or a jester, this annual re-creation of England in the 1500s is lots of fun. Perfect for the whole family, the festival unfolds every weekend in May with costumed lords and ladies strolling about and demonstrations of sword fighting and maypole dancing. Craft booths, live music, kids’ games, and tours of Castle Gwynn (a full-size replica of a 12th-century castle) are also part of the fun. Roasted turkey legs and English meat pies will keep you fueled for all the entertainment, which ranges from fire-eater Jimmy Blaze’s barefoot walk across burning logs to full-armored jousting. There’s even a show that depicts an 8-foot baby dragon hatching from its golden egg.
—A.W.
Picks written by Diann Blakely, Martin Brady, Chris Davis, Bill Friskics-Warren, Noel Murray, Jim Ridley, Ben Taylor, Angela Wibking, and Ron Wynn.
