Sound Menu June 20 2001 Thur

ATHFEST — Opening night events for this four-day celebration of Athens art and music include the Flagpole Athens Music Awards, with performances by Little Red Rocket, Kitty Snyder and others, plus a party at the 40 Watt Club featuring the Krush Girls and DJing by I Am the World Trade Center. For more details, visit www.athfest.com. Also see Earshot, p. 83. downtown Athens (Sarig)

MARSHALL CRENSHAW — Crenshaw has drifted into sentimental favorite status (as opposed to standard bearer), but such academic distinctions are really best left for the critics. His recent releases have been hit or miss, but there’s no denying his classy back catalog. Live, he’ll play the favorites and may even convince you he’s one of the more remarkable rock guitarists you’ve ever heard. Echo Lounge (Robertson)

ALLISON JARRELL — Atlanta’s Allison Jarrell celebrates the release of her four-song EP with this performance. Easily comparable to other female piano-playing singer/songwriters (Tori Amos, Fiona Apple), Jarrell’s got both an edge and a comfortable feel for pop hooks. For information, call 404-964-5559. Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts (Sarig)

IAN MOORE, JERRY JOSEPH — An underground rock veteran of the past two decades, Joseph is an experimenter of musical mood, from bittersweet country to crotchety swagger. His literary lyricism moves with the meter of poetry and the descriptiveness of prose. Texas guitar prodigy Moore has moved into more melodic pastures. Hendrix infuses his newfound psychedelic rumble, along with Indian tunings and good old gee-tar bluster. Smith’s Olde Bar (Hutchinson/Horowitz)

LOVE ROCKS — Local vocal coach Jan Smith and Jeffrey Butts of Modern Hero offer their time for this benefit for MusiCares, an organization formed to help music industry folks in time of need. Tongue & Groove (Keel)

TRACY NELSON — An astoundingly talented, full-throated vocalist who sports a nearly four-decade catalog, Nelson belts out blues laced with folk, jazz, gospel, country and rock — all of which she displays on her new album Ebony & Irony. This singer’s commanding presence will make the hairs on your neck stand up and applaud. Blind Willie’s (Horowitz)

RZA — Wu Tang Clan kingpin RZA dons his Bobby Digital alter-ego and hits the road with some of his organization’s up-and-comers. Wu Tang Killa Bees, Killarmy, Black Knights and Shaheim the Man Child support the studio master in his attempt to carry a live show. As long as he doesn’t pull a Cappadonna (his Wu Tang cohort who dropped out of a local show at the same venue last week), it should be fun digging into the gravel pit. EarthLink Live (Sarig)

STYX, BAD COMPANY, BILLY SQUIER — Top billing in this nostalgia package goes to mediocre prog-pop band Styx minus founding singer Dennis DeYoung, ensuring the absence of high-concept robot shenanigans. A better choice for the headliner would have been Bad Company, fronted by belter-crooner Paul Rodgers. Twenty years later, there’s still no shame in indulging in “Feel Like Making Love” or “Bad Company.” The lyrics to opener Billy Squier’s 1981 hit “The Stroke,” “don’t take no rhythm, don’t take no style” proved prophetic in describing the horrific white boy dance that would enliven a million frat parties. HiFi Buys Amphitheatre (Trammell)

AMERICAN PIE: Tomi & the Vibrators

ANDALUZ: Tarde Latina, DJ Carlos Morales

APACHE CAFE: The Free Spirits with members of the Chronicle

ATLANTA FEST-SIX FLAGS: Joanna Valencia, Relient K, Out of Eden, Luna Halo, dctalk

BAYOU ROOM: Eric Austin

BILLY’S: Bellum Rose

BLIND WILLIE’S: Tracy Nelson

BLUE RACCOON: Open jam with Bill Sheffield

BRANDYHOUSE: Basement, the Greyhounds

BREAKERS: Divinity

BRIDGES: Vocalist Paula Harris with Doug Jervey

BUFFALO’S-SHANNON MALL: Al Brock

CAFE 290: The Mike Kelly Quartet

CAJUN KITCHEN: Steph & Dave

THE CHAMBER: Club Fetish

CHECKERED PARROT: John McClain

CHURCHILL GROUNDS: Jerry Fields, Vecino del Mundo

CJ’S LANDING: Mary’s Eyes, Ramsay

CLUB GENO’S: Charles Lattimon

COMEAUX’S: Mudcat

COWBOYS: Talent Night

DAILEY’S DOWNSTAIRS: Atlanta Blaze

DARK HORSE TAVERN: Antigone Rising, Jason Marcum Band, Catalytic

DARWIN’S: Electromatics

THE DERBY-NESBIT FERRY: Lotsa Poppa & Atlanta Heat

DIXIE TAVERN-BUCKHEAD: YG

DIXIE TAVERN-MARIETTA: Fairburn

THE EARL: Pinehurst Kids, Ashen, the Damn Personals

EARTHLINK LIVE: Digital Bullet Tour with RZA as DJ Bobby Digital, W-Tang Killa Bees, KillArmy, Black Knights, Shaheim the Man Child

ECHO LOUNGE: Marshall Crenshaw, Molly Bancroft

ECLIPSE DI LUNA: Trio Latino Band

EDDIE’S ATTIC: Doria Roberts, Wall of Jules

1848 CAFE: Jazz with Yusef Sharif

EYEDRUM: Pilot to Gunner, Some Soviet Station

FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK: Chickenshack

FOOD 101: Heather Luttrell

40 WATT CLUB-ATHENS: Krush Girls, DJ I Am the World Trade Center

FOX THEATRE: Mormon Tabernacle Choir

FULTON COTTON MILL LOFTS: Allison Jarrell

FUZZY’S: Lou’s Blues Revue

GOLDFINGER: Six-year anniversary party with DJ Merlin, DJ DSL

THE GRAPE AT VININGS: Sophisticates

HIFI BUYS AMPHITHEATRE: Styx, Bad Company, Billy Squier

JAKE’S ROADHOUSE: Cooper Tinsdale

KAZOO’S: Band X

KILLER CREEK: Showtyme Jazz Duo

LAST GREAT WATERING HOLE: THC, open-mic

LUBY’S: Park Bench Blues Band

METROPOLITAN PIZZA: Fursday Nite Lounge

MURPHY’S LAW: The Chat Man

9 LIVES SALOON: Stealth Destruction, Chocolate Low Fat, Flathead Mike & the Mercurys, Violent Chevys

NOMENCLATURE MUSEUM: Corey Black, DJ Corster

NORTHSIDE TAVERN: The Breeze Kings

PIPER’S PUB: Brad Large

POPPER’S: Open jam with Steve Hawkins

RED LIGHT CAFE: Sawgrass

SAMBUCA JAZZ CAFE: Pharris Scott

SMITH’S OLDE BAR: Ian Moore Action Company, Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons, Michelle Branch

SOMBER REPTILE: Tonohoney, Roller Boy

SPORTSTIME: Karaoke

STAR BAR-L5P: Rev. Uncle Laffo’s amateur talent sideshow

STUDIO 72: DJ Special T & Shakim

SWEET DEVIL MOON: Jazz with DJ REd

TONGUE & GROOVE: Love Rocks with Jan Smith, Jeffrey Butts

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

WHISKER’S TAVERN-DUNWOODY: The Blast

WOODEN NICKEL: Angry Monkey Project

YA YA’S CAJUN CUISINE: Rockabilly Jam