Sound Menu December 05 2001 Wed

CRYBABY, KATE SIMPKINS, ASHEN — Crybaby, the prolific and darkly propulsive collective of seasoned scene vets, begins its moody Wednesday residency tonight. The busy musicians have a month with five Wednesday nights to fill, and considering the fact that they’ve recorded and released a slew of EPs this year, there should be plenty of material to perform. Crybaby’s guests are the equally ambitious singer/songwriter Kate Simpkins, a diminutive artist with a big voice and a solid rock presentation, and the mysterious and atmospheric Ashen. Star Bar (Smith)

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, SEVILLE — Dashboard frontman Chris Carraba’s confessional acoustic tunes mine a landscape of spurned love, broken hearts and emotional torment with sturdy pop hooks and emo anguish, attracting a rabid female following more in keeping with a Backstreet Boys concert. The bassist and drummer for Seville may look a bit familiar; they also play with the headliner. Too bad Seville’s choppy transitions tend to detract from their more driving, heartfelt riffs. Masquerade (Parker/St. John)

TIM FLANNERY — Pro baseball player, coach, songwriter and storyteller Flannery played with the San Diego Padres from 1979-1989 as an infielder and currently serves as third base coach for the team. He’s touring in support of his third CD, Pieces of the Past, an album featuring contributions from Jackson Browne and Bruce Hornsby. His “Blow ‘Em Away,” a comic blues rant about a pistol-packing commuter, was recorded by David Wilcox. Kathy Mattea and Sara Hickman also have recorded Flannery’s songs. Chuck Brodsky throws the first pitch tonight with his opening set. Eddie’s Attic (Smith)

COLIN HAY — What’s Colin Hay been up to since the mercurial rise and fall of his ’80s outfit Men at Work? More than you might think. A perusal of the singer/songwriter’s resume uncovers the following: no less than six solo releases, including the new all-acoustic Going Somewhere on his own label, Lazy Eye Records (a reference to his wandering eyeball, the real star of the classic “Who Can It Be Now?” video); acting gigs in assorted Australian films, including a turn as a hard-drinking paraplegic alongside Russell Crowe in Heaven’s Burning; non-stop road work on his own and with Men at Work. All of which leaves very little time for any sort of full-fledged “comeback” bid, and that’s just as well. Hay is way too approachable for prolonged superstardom anyhow — a quality that comes across loud and clear at his solo gigs. CJ’s Landing (Rowland)

KATIA AND MARIELLE LABEQUE — Classical piano’s most famous duo returns to Atlanta for an all-classical concert. These sisters somehow manage to combine cool elegance and fire. Watch for their impetuous leaps off the piano bench. Robert Ferst Center/Ga. Tech (Brown)

LES SAVY FAV, THE APES — See Les Savy Fav in Record Reviews, p. 96. The Apes are a guitar-less quartet on Les Savy Fav’s bassist’s label. Their latest, The Fugue in the Fog, does an admirable job of presenting their organ-grinding intensity, but their frenetic live shows are threatening to pass in to urban legend. Slot Racer also perform. The Earl (Ware)

RAUL MALO --The former Mavericks frontman takes a well-advised neck-deep soak in his Cuban-American heritage on his solo debut, Today, a bodacious balance of style, soul and substance aimed just as often at the feet and crotch as the heart and mind. The Miami-reared singer’s burnished croon is custom-fitted to this batch of impeccably arranged material, which outfits his inspired forays into grand-scale lounge pop, country and western swing with a bouncy, brassy Latino undercurrent. The music gets its just due on stage thanks to Malo’s latest touring band, which includes keyboardist Alberto Salas (Santana) and percussionist Cougar Estrada. Heads up, Ricky, Raul’s here to whup your ass. Smith’s Olde Bar (Rowland)

ANDALUZ: Flamenco Company of Atlanta

BAYOU ROOM: Zydefunk

BLIND WILLIE’S: Neal “Big Daddy” Patman

BRANDYHOUSE: The Hybrids

BRIDGES: Piano with Bruce

CHECKERED PARROT: Mike Russell

CHURCHILL GROUNDS JAZZ CAFE: Joe Gransden

CJ’S LANDING: Colin Hay, Eddie Bush, Top of the Tree IV

CLUB GENO’S: The Brethern

COWBOYS: Darrin Robbins, Kickback

DARK HORSE TAVERN: Lounge Night w/Brian Ashley Jones Band

DARWIN’S: Open blues jam w/Liz Melendez

DILLON’S SPORTS BAR: Tommy Lee Thompson

THE EARL: Les Savy Fav, The Apes, Slot Racer

ECLIPSE DI LUNA: Bonaventure Quartet w/Amy Pike

EDDIE’S ATTIC: Chuck Brodsky, Tim Flannery

FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK: The Electromatics

40 WATT CLUB-ATHENS: Grit Cookbook release party w/Vic Chesnutt and the Krush Girls

FUEL: The Soul Lounge

FUZZY’S: Mike Veal

THE GRAPE AT VININGS: Breck Allen

INSOMNIA COFFEEHOUSE: Open mic

KARMA: Cream

KAYA: Wind Down Wednesday

LAST GREAT WATERING HOLE: Bad Ass Sid

LENNY’S: Karaoke w/Rot-knee

LIBBY’S: Francine Reed

LIVING ROOM: R&B/funk/acid jazz

LUBY’S: David Williams

MASQUERADE: Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever, Seville

METROPOLITAN PIZZA: Metropolitan Wednesdays

MICK’S-DECATUR: Daniel Padron

THE NEW BEER MUG: Ladies Night, DJs Chris Miller and Leo Lam

9 LIVES SALOON: Bitch, Horse

NOMENCLATURE MUSEUM: Reunion

NORTHSIDE TAVERN: Daniel “Mudcat” Dudeck

THE POETRY PLANET: Bare Soul Wednesday

POPPERS: Karaoke

RAY’S ON THE RIVER: Waveform

RED LIGHT CAFE: Open Mic

ROBERT FERST CENTER-GA. TECH: Katia and Marielle Labeque

SMITH’S OLDE BAR: Raul Malo

SOMBER REPTILE: Omnibus, Invisible Sun, Soultrust

STAR BAR-L5P: Crybaby, Kate Simpkins, Ashen

TASTY WORLD-ATHENS: Gunnison, Ghost Trane

VIOLETTE RESTAURANT: Jus Jazz