Sound Menu July 19 2006

THURS/20

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PAQUITO D'RIVERA Cuban-born saxophonist D'Rivera moves effortlessly between the worlds of jazz, Latin and classical, equally adept at each musical genre. One of the true ambassadors of cross-cultural music of our time, D'Rivera is a four-time Grammy winner with nearly three dozen solo albums to his credit. $30. 8 p.m. Rialto Center. 404-651-4727. www.nbaf.org. — Mark Gresham

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SOUND TEAM, COLD WAR KIDS, THE PREAKNESS Don't believe everything you read on Pitchfork. Yes, Sound Team's debut, Movie Monster, is a bit of a disappointment after the promise of its Work EP. But a 3.7 (out of 10) rating? It ain't that bad. The Austin, Texas, band plays an appealing mix of psychedelic guitar noise and straightforward pop-rock, but hasn't figured out the right balance yet. Maybe one of its opening acts can lend pointers. California rock troubadours Cold War Kids and Decatur pop trio the Preakness have hipster buzz, too, without the ugly backlash Sound Team's suffering from now. $8. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — Mosi Reeves

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FRI/21

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CYBERAVER V3.0 W/AUTOBOTS Want to go to breakbeat heaven? U.K. duo the Autobots want to take you there. But if their brand of nu-skool funk doesn't pass your taste test, there are nearly a dozen DJs ripping the turntables at Cyberaver v3.0, along with a few go-go (or is that ho-ho?) dancers and other visual delights. Rel1, Corey von Waters, Jason K, and Eric ZBD are among those scheduled to hit the decks. But please, no pacifier-sucking children: This is a 21-and-over event. $15 ($5 off with anime/cyber costume). 8:45 p.m. Jungle Club. 404-844-8800. www.jungleclub.net. — MR

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ELDAR PIANO TRIO Nineteen-year-old Eldar Djangirov is a jazz pianist with the velocity of Art Tatum and the grandeur of Oscar Peterson. A native of Kyrgyzstan, Eldar's family brought him to Kansas City when he was 11 at the urging of jazz patron Charles McWhorter, who heard him play in a Russian music festival. Once in the U.S., Eldar quickly drew the attention of jazz bigwigs like Marian McPartland and Billy Taylor, subsequently nailing bookings in top U.S. jazz venues and a recording deal with Sony. $25. 8:15 p.m. Spivey Hall. 678-466-4200. www.spiveyhall.org. — MG

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SAT/22

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DANAVA, SNOW FOXXES Portland, Ore., psychedelic fuzz outfit Danava features Glass Candy drummer Dusty Sparkles stepping out from behind the skins to serve as frontman. The group's clouded Sabbath-savvy prog rhythms and riffage are laced with a silver lining of gutter-chic trash and glam strut. Fellow Portlanders Snow Foxxes open with a dark and primal rock chug that's born of equal parts low fidelity and low complexity. $7. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. 404-870-0575. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — Chad Radford

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IAN ANDERSON AND ASO Well, it ain't Jethro Tull, but Anderson was the one everybody paid attention to. While Tull started out as a blues-rock band, their sound soon evolved into a complicated mix of traditional folk, rock and chamber music. It's ageless, and this should be interesting. I bet they play "Aqualung"! $21-$60. 8:30 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-733-5000. www.classicchastain.org. — James Kelly

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JOHN BRANNEN, LIBERTY JONES, RUBY Brannen was one of the three artists featured in a Mercury Records "Triple Play" promotion in the early '90s. The other two were Toby Keith and Shania Twain. Hmmm ... anyway, I like the rootsy Americana stuff he's doing now a lot better than the other two. Local Southern rockers Liberty Jones open the show, and Ruby closes. $7. 7 p.m. Red Light Cafe. 404-874-7828. www.redlightcafe.com. — JK

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JOHN JORGENSEN QUINTET Musicians and other fans of intensely impressive guitar technique should pop into the Attic tonight to see a real master at work. Then take your guitar tomorrow morning and pawn it; chances are great that you'll never reach the level of Jorgensen, so don't even try. The man has played with everyone from members of the Byrds in the Desert Rose Band to Michael Nesmith to part-time Atlantan Elton John on his recent Peachtree Road outing. Stylistically, he'll be all over the (fret)board, from rock to Reinhardt. $20. 7 p.m. Eddie's Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — Lee Valentine Smith

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STARFEST StarFest is the debut of Star 94's one-day, two-stage music festival at Atlantic Station. Think of it as a small-scale Music Midtown, but without Cracker or Cowboy Mouth. The main stage will host a bill of safe-bet acts including Train, Nickel Creek, Pink, Aqualung, Mat Kearney, and hot-thing Athens band the Whigs, riding high on their recent mention in Rolling Stone and their debut, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip. The local music side stage includes 13 Stories, Beyond Tomorrow, Grayson Hill, Poolstick, Last November, Stef Dorfman, State of Man, Obsession Day, Five Star Iris and Honest to Jorden. $39, $50 day-of-show. 1 p.m. Atlantic Station. 800-594-8499. www.Star94.com. — LVS

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SUN/23

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ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Robert Spano leads a special one-hour program as part of the National Black Arts Festival, featuring two youthful soloists of color: 2006 Sphinx Competition first-place laureate violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez, performing two movements from the "Viola Concerto in D major" by Carl Stamitz, and contrabassist Eric Thompson III, an ASO Talent Development Program alumnus, performing "Kol Nidrei" by Max Bruch. The intermissionless concert concludes with Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7." Free. 5 p.m. Ebenezer Baptist Church. 404-733-5000. www.nbaf.org. — MG

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THE AUM RIFLE, ELIYAS, MUGU GUYMEN The Aum Rifle is a noise-folk project based out of Raleigh, N.C. The group is currently touring behind a new batch of songs about industrial decay, making use of prepared guitar, found objects, bells and thumb pianos. Eliyas mashes layers of loops and samples, giving rise to glitchy, crunchy hip-hop soundscapes. Nigeria's Guymen unleashes a storm of turbulent noise and rock. $5. 9 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org. — CR

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MON/24

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AWESOME COOL DUDES, LESBIAN AFTERNOON, HOT GOLD Austin, Texas' Casio-funk yucksters Awesome Cool Dudes play a set of pseudo-Euro dance pop. Lesbian Afternoon is the noise/pop project of Mike Koenig. For this show, members of Untied States and the Danny Family fill out the group to perform songs from Koenig's latest recording, Horizontal Refreshment. Hot Gold (aka Matt McCalvin of A Fir-Ju Well) improvises to a series of films. $5. 9 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org. — CR

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DIPLO, BONDE DO ROLE, CSS Maybe it's that I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest recently, but Philly/B'More/Brooklyn DJ Diplo is sorta like the East India Co. He scours for and sources indigenous spice (and the spice must flow) such as Baltimore Club and Brazil's baile funk, and then he hits the trade routes. Brazil's ghetto music, baile, hasn't had the widespread cred of crunk yet, but its mix of Miami bass/electro and catchy, illegally sampled riffs is threatening to latch on like K-Fed to Britney. I'm not saying that, like the EIC, there's gonna be deceit and violence, but I can promise shit on the dancefloor will get fierce. An eccentric selektor, Diplo spins the If's, And's and Butts, while Diplo-signing Bonde do Role yelps the booty bricolage packed with samples from Alice in Chains, AC/DC and the Darkness, among others. Brazilian Sub Pop artists CSS add some disco-pogo-punk to the favela fiesta. $15. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — Tony Ware

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WILLIE NELSON Yeah, he's in his 70s, but I bet he can beat your ass on a track or a golf course. Or on stage. Willie is a national treasure, and even though his shows are as predictable as the morning sun, it should be a law that everybody has to see him at least once. $38-$68.50. 8 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-249-6400. www.livenation.com. — JK

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TUES/25

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RANCID In 1995, I knew this guy, Elliott, who struggled with some serious confliction. He was in a band that sounded like the Queers, seemed inseparable from his leather jacket, drank Miller High Life like Lorenzo's Oil, hated hippies, yet loved to smoke pot. Often wasted, he would plead with me to understand he was still punk, he just craved his damn weed. Trying times. But Elliott was equally adamant about one other thing: that Rancid's ... And Out Come the Wolves was the best album of the year. And the boy wasn't just high. Building on Operation Ivy's two-tone aggression and conviction, Rancid looked to be the next Clash but infused with hardcore's open throttle. Oi, Elliott loves country-fried music now, but Rancid still rules. Murphy's Law and the Heart Attacks also perform. $18. 7 p.m. Masquerade. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. — TW

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WED/26

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DJ HEATHER Most folks try to get over the hump. Me, I try to get under that hump. I like a little leverage. And it looks like Eleven50 is trying to hold leverage as to where you should be on Hump Day by booking hawt DJs in the Copa ... sorry, just the Cabana. Kicking off the new outdoor series is DJ Heather, who adds that Chicago fierce to deep, jacking soul, synth, hip-house and jazzy rare groove. DJ Rachael adds thump to the thrust. Hump away, ladies. Hump away. $10. 9 p.m. Eleven50. 404-874-0428. www.eleven50.com. — TW

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HANDSOME FAMILY, CURT KIRKWOOD, MIKE GEIER On the surface, Handsome Family sounds like your typical, slightly sadcore country-rock couple. But a close listen to the lyrics on its latest, Last Days of Wonder, reveal the band as first-class quirks. "After we shot the grizzly," sings Brett Sparks, "We shot and ate the horses/We marched through deadly swamps/Inside a limestone cave/I found a human skull." Texans Brett and Rennie Sparks talk about UFOs and, of course, drunken people in deadpan voices just light enough that you can see their smiles. Meat Puppets man Kirkwood and Kingsized songwriter Geier will make this a night to remember. $10. 8 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — MR

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THURS/27

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ART GARFUNKEL As half the iconic '60s duo Simon & Garfunkel, wiry haired Art's heavenly harmonies blended perfectly with the timeless words and music of Paul Simon. Solo, the singer/actor is a great interpreter of tunes, and his live show features an impressive collection of material from the talents of such heralded wordsmiths as Jimmy Webb — and yes, even Simon. As he proved on the recent S&G reunion tour, he still possesses an incredible voice, a dramatic presence and an endearing sense of humor. $25-$70. Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre. 770-819-7765. www.mablehouseamphitheatre.com. — LVS

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· Check out our website at atlanta.creativeloafing.com. Click the "Music" category for a full selection of Soundboard events. CL online provides the address, a map and directions from your location.

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· Bands/performers/venues wishing to be included in Sound Menu's noted-acts boxes may send recordings, press material and schedules two weeks in advance to Creative Loafing c/o Heather Kuldell, 384 Northyards Blvd., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30313, or e-mail information to: heather.kuldell@creativeloafing.com. To be included in the listings only, e-mail venue and band schedules by Friday at noon (for the issue that comes out the following Thursday) to soundboard@creativeloafing.com.