Sound Menu June 20 2001 Wed

ATLANTA FEST — Behold! This year’s annual four-day Christian concert expo hits the carnival atmosphere of an amusement park. Music and speakers are scheduled each day, with main-stage headliners including DC Talk (Thurs.), Smalltown Poets (Fri.), Newsboys (Sat.) and Jennifer Knapp (Sat.). Knapp is a wonderfully engaging performer who has lived on the other side of life and freely testifies without heavy-handed preachiness. For details, see www.atlantafest.com. Six Flags (Smith)

BOBFIELDS — Hook-heavy power-pop with a tech edge, Jersey City’s Bobfields crafts solid rock exercises balancing the visceral and cerebral. While prone to the occasionally less-than-motivated vocal, the band’s most recent album, Head So Full, bangs out one charged, melodic, indie-rockish anthem after another. Dark Horse Tavern (Hutchinson)

RAY CHARLES, ASO — He’s an American institution in his 70s with nothing left to prove. Brother Ray has quit recording, content to ride out his days getting standing ovations, singing “Georgia” for the zillionth time. And, well, he’s earned it. But be prepared for disappointment. Chastain Amphitheatre (Horowitz)

DIDO, TRAVIS — Since Eminem sampled Dido’s song “Thank You,” the one-time singer for British progressive-house group Faithless has gone from intimate theaters to headlining amphitheaters. She has a lovely voice that goes well with her electro-organic ethereal arrangements. Travis’ sweet and majestic pop songs put them at the head of a pack of UK bands some have deduced as a new British Invasion. HiFi Buys Amphitheatre (Ware)

SEE VENUS — Think Everything But The Girl, but with more swing. Soulful vocalist Rocky Ordonez leads this five-piece Miami act into mostly charted territories of electronica, taking rhythmic notation from the likes of Air. Subdued trumpets and a dash of drum ‘n’ bass round out their temperamental (and titillating) lullabies of clubland. MJQ Concourse (Butler)



ANDALUZ: Flamenco Company

APACHE CAFE: Good Acoustiks

ATHENS: Athfest with Little Red Rocket, Kitty Snyder, Krush Girls

ATLANTA FEST-SIX FLAGS: Melissa Tawlks, Aurora, Scarecrow & Tinmen, Sonicflood, Pete Orta, AudioAdrenaline, Katy Hudson

BAYOU ROOM: Zydefunk

B-52’S: Open-mic night with Pieces Bled

BILLY’S: Heather Luttrell

BLIND WILLIE’S: Francine Reed & the Shadows

BLUE RACCOON: Acoustic open-mic with Andrew Black

BRANDYHOUSE: Nitti, Sipe & Cunningham Trio

BRIDGES: Piano with Bruce

CAJUN KITCHEN: Megaphone Man

CHASTAIN AMPHITHEATRE: Ray Charles with the ASO

CHECKERED PARROT: John McClain

CHURCHILL GROUNDS: Pursuance with Lee Hogan & Dan Furman

CJ’S LANDING: Top of the Tree III with GruvnHi, Blindspot, Remi

CLUB GENO’S: The Bretheren

COMEAUX’S: Sal Gentile & Rick Bell

COWBOYS: Darrin Robbins, Kickback

DAILEY’S DOWNSTAIRS: Atlanta Blaze

DARK HORSE TAVERN: New Talent Night with Low Z, Surface, BobFields

DARWIN’S: Open Blues Jam with The Blues Barons

DEUX PLEX: Funk Trancendental

DT’S DOWN UNDER-ATHENS: Nathan Sheppard

ECLIPSE DI LUNA: Bonaventure Quartet

EDDIE’S ATTIC: Maria Gabriella, Sean Smith, Jody Thompson

1848 CAFE: Jazz with Yusef Sharif

FADO IRISH PUB: The Charms

FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK: The Electromatics

40 WATT CLUB-ATHENS: Mogwai, Bardo Pond

FUZZY’S: Mike Veal

THE GRAPE AT VININGS: New South Jazz

HIFI BUYS AMPHITHEATRE: Dido, Travis

JAKE’S ROADHOUSE: Yonrico Scott Band

KARMA: Cream

KAYA: Live jazz, spoken word, poetry

KAZOO’S: Band X

LUBY’S: DJ Chris Meadows

METROPOLITAN PIZZA: Metropolitan Wednesdays

MJQ CONCOURSE: See Venus

9 LIVES SALOON: Bitch, Precious Metal, Karen Russ & Radiant Tribe

NOMENCLATURE MUSEUM: dark wave, ether pop and trance

NORTHSIDE TAVERN: Daniel “Mudcat” Dudeck

PEASANT UPTOWN: The Steven Charles Jazz Duo

PECKERHEAD BREWERY-DOUGLASVILLE: Open-mic with DeBone

POPPER’S: Bill Sheffield acoustic blues

RED LIGHT CAFE: Open-mic

SAMBUCA JAZZ CAFE: Forte

SMITH’S OLDE BAR: Vinyl, Acres, the Loft

SOMBER REPTILE: Stone Pony, Chronic MD, A Day Too Late

SPORTSTIME: Karaoke

STAR BAR-L5P: Myssouri, Salome’s Wish, Flowers for Luci

UNCLE VITO’S-DULUTH WAL-MART: Andy Margolis & the Blues Machine

VININGS INN: Ian Schumacher

VIOLETTE RESTAURANT: Jus Jazz with Dave Wallis, Eddie Taylor, Dan Coy, Shack Lewis, Rita Graham

WHISKER’S TAVERN-DUNWOODY: 7 Sharp 9