Sound Menu February 17 2001 Wed

WED/FEBRUARY 14
ANTIQUE EROTICA, UBEREASY — Where better to take your Valentine’s sweetheart than MJQ, for the sultry and seductive sounds of Antique Erotica. Formerly Stomped Out Like a Small Fire, AE’s haunting, “Twin Peaks”-inspired jazz, big-band surrealism and evocative female vocals provide the perfect ambiance for Cupid’s arrow to strike the hearts of prospective lovers. Opening act Ubereasy set the night in motion with a set of loungey covers tailored made for an evening of romance, sin and tonic. MJQ Concourse (Radford)
AARON CARTER, TIK N’ TAK — Carter is the 13-year-old brother of the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, which should immediately raise suspicions. After achieving international commercial success by the age of 10, Carter’s debut American album was recently released, mixing kiddie pop (“That’s How I Beat Shaq,” “The Clapping Song”) with several odd cover tunes (“I Want Candy,” “Iko Iko”). Millions of foreigners can’t be wrong, can they? Then again, Jerry Lewis is a thespian genius in France. Speaking of foreigners, if after a long day at work you just want to crack open a cold one and jam to the highly produced tunes of six teenage Finnish girls, only opening band Tik N’ Tak will do. Apparently even a country with universal healthcare and bad-ass cell phone technology can still make crappy music. Variety Playhouse (Whitaker/Hutchinson)
SEAN COSTELLO — Hey, it’s Valentine’s Day. How you going to impress that sweet broad you’re hot for? Why don’t you take her to see the slickest bluesman in town. Young Costello’s got a record called Cuttin’ In, but don’t let nobody cut in on your territory. He’s a good boy, this Costello. Straight blues, no wine cooler bullshit. He used to back Susan Tedeschi, and she’s good people, too. Costello is young, and the night is too. Smith’s Olde Bar (Smith)
DIESTRA — Those looking to inspire the Latin lover within themselves this Valentine’s Day could do worse than to check out local “alternative Latin” group Diestra, performing in the lounge during Tongue & Groove’s long-running Latin night. Tongue & Groove (Sarig)
HOT AUGUST KNIGHTS — These Neil Diamonds-in-the-rough glisten more from sweat than from sequins as they rip through old Neil’s assorted classics and laughable turkeys. The band sounds a bit like the Dead Milkmen, and the deadpan vocalist is surprisingly good. Also on the bill is Tangerine. Star Bar (Nicoll)
MEL’N — Behind that gimmicky name is a colorful local diva with a zesty, Bette Midler-like charm. Her songs range from pop to disco, often with an R&B flavor, and sometimes she even injects Hebrew elements from her heritage. It all makes for an enjoyable and consistently interesting mix. Daniel Lee opens. Eddie’s Attic (Nicoll)
ROYAL FINGERBOWL — It’s the third local appearance in four months for this edgy, bohemian New Orleans jazz/blues/swamp/folk trio, so their eclectic, stylistic gumbo must be going down in town. Singer/songwriter Alex McMurray keeps his obvious Waits-isms on low-boil, but when they crop up, you’d swear he’s Tom’s long lost cousin. But there’s so much more going on in the shambling, boozy mélange that Royal Fingerbowl’s music becomes as uncategorizable as their name. Somber Reptile (Horowitz)
BLIND WILLIE’S: Lotsa Poppa
BRANDYHOUSE: Adam Nitti, Jeff Sipe & Steve Cunningham
BRIDGES: Piano with Bruce
BUFFALO’S-PLEASANT HILL: Karaoke
CHECKERED PARROT: Dave Williams
COSMOPOLITAN: Damian Cartier
DARK HORSE TAVERN : New Talent Night with Slow Twin, 10 Til 4
DARWIN’S: Open Blues Jam hosted by Heaven Davis
ECHO LOUNGE: Valentines Day with Catfight! & special guests
ECLIPSE DI LUNA: Charlie Williams (acoustic swing band)
EDDIE’S ATTIC: Mel’N, Daniel Lee
EUPHORIA: Bitches Breu with DJ Shannon Guy
FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK: The Electromatics
FIREHOUSE: Trivia
40 WATT CLUB-ATHENS: Valentine party with the Krush Girls
FUZZY’S: Mike Veal
KAYA: Wind Down Wednesday - live jazz, spoken word, poetry
LIBBY’S: Libby Whittemore
LUBY’S: Mr. T’s Live Trivia
MARY’S: Music videos with DJ Jigsaw
MASQUERADE: New Music Showcase with Year Zero, Faultline, M.I.D., 0% Vitamin A
METROPOLITAN BAR: Metropolitan Wednesdays
9 LIVES SALOON: Bitch, Chain Poets, Loggerhead, Elliott Michaels
NOMENCLATURE MUSEUM: Valentines hosted by DJ Grendel and Suzanne Hyland
NORTHSIDE TAVERN: Daniel “Mudcat” Dudeck
PEASANT UPTOWN: Steven Charles Jazz Duo
PHUNKY PHISH TAVERN: Ceritas
SMITH’S OLDE BAR: Sean Costello
SOMBER REPTILE: Royal Fingerbowl
SPORTS TIME BAR & GRILL: Karaoke
STAR BAR-L5P: Hot August Knights, Tangerine
TONGUE & GROOVE: Latin Night with Diestra
VARIETY PLAYHOUSE: Aaron Carter, Tik N’ Tak
WOODEN NICKEL: Get A Woody