Sound Menu October 18 2006

THURS/19

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ASOBI SEKSU, CLUB AWESOME, THE BLUE HOUR New York City trio Asobi Seksu marries the droning guitar overload of My Bloody Valentine with Japanese girl-pop enchantment. Atlanta’s Club Awesome crafts playful lo-fi pop melodies that fall somewhere between Joe Jackson and Joy Division. The Blue Hour’s passionately searching take on complex and confrontational indie-rock urgency swims in a sea of mangled emotions and precise sonic craftsmanship. $7. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — Chad Radford

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JIM LAUDERDALE, BILL MALLONEE? Lauderdale must write a song or 10 a day. At least it seems that way with the amount of recorded music he puts out. Currently touring on two great new albums, he has way more great material than he can possibly share with us in one show. But it’s all good, dammit. Mallonee is also an amazing writer and performer. $18. 7:30 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — James Kelly

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PET SHOP BOYS The Pet Shop Boys — the two-plus-decades strong synth-pop duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe — are the guilty pleasure nobody should feel guilty about. They’re all the fun of disco with impeccable musical credibility. They make Willie Nelson and Dusty Springfield and U2 all thoroughly queer and so melodic that frat boys sing along. They also give Madonna and the Village People a run for their money in terms of long-form remix ecstasy. “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” owes these guys royalties. The Pet Shop Boys made “being absolutely fabulous” fashionable way before Bravo TV. If loving the Pet Shop Boys makes me gay, well, bring on the heavy petting! I’ll grin and bear it given the right beat. $48.50-$55. 8 p.m. The Tabernacle. 404-659-9022. www.livenation.com. — Tony Ware

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SHOOTER JENNINGS Waylon’s boy has turned into quite a road warrior. Although his albums don’t quite satisfy, he’s got a lot of energy once he gets on stage. He’s got a big pair of cowboy boots to try and fill, so judge him on his own merits. Working with a decent voice and given some room to stretch out the rather weak material, this could turn out to be a fun show. $15. 8:30 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — JK

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FRI/20

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BIG SANDY & THE FLY-RITE BOYS, SARAH BORGES Touring in support of their great new CD, Turntable Matinee, Sandy and the Boys will be mixing some new material into their incredibly vast repertoire. They never fail to do a great show and the crowd will be dancing all night. Borges opens with her rootsy rock smorgasbord of styles. $12. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950.

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www.badearl.com. — JK

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BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, DO MAKE SAY THINK After three albums, including its deservedly lionized You Forgot It in People, Broken Social Scene’s M.O. as a Canadian indie-rock all-star band is well-established. But it still feels like a special thing, sort of like a dozen or more disparate stars merging into a quasar full of energy. If that’s too metaphorical for you, pick up the group’s self-titled album from last year and you’ll see what I mean. Then buy a ticket to the group’s Variety Playhouse concert before the show sells out. Do Make Say Think, an equally awesome Canadian post-rock band, opens. $20-$22.50. 9 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — Mosi Reeves

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DUST GALAXY Featuring Rob Garza of D.C.-based tastemakers Thievery Corporation, Galaxy is the live aqueous funk-rock counterpoint to ESL Music’s studio-poised, blunted boutique beats and jazzy soul slink. Prismatic and yearning, Galaxy kicks up tawny and taut sun-dappled tones and gloaming grooves. $10. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — TW

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OMAR British soul maestro Omar Lye-Fook is a familiar presence in these parts, both as a former resident and as a beloved pioneer of modern soul. His new album, Sing (If You Want It), features contributions from Stevie Wonder, Estelle and Angie Stone, all longtime fans of his work. You can join the bandwagon yourself when he returns to the ATL for a concert at the newly christened Underground Atlanta club Sugar Hill. $15-$20. 10:30 p.m. Sugar Hill. www.sugarhillatl.com. — MR

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VEGA STRING QUARTET The second in a series of six concerts featuring music by J.S. Bach and Bela Bartók. Individual members of Vega play unaccompanied works for solo strings by Bach — the “Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor” and the “Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor.” The whole group joins forces for Bartók’s “String Quartet No. 2.” $20. 8 p.m. Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall. 404-727-5050. arts.emory.edu. — Mark Gresham

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SAT/21

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DAVE SEAMAN Laying down ramping progressive house/trance with a smattering of white-label poptastic peak-time remixes, Seaman knows how to ride a riff like it’s a drunk girl at a party or a hi-hat in a post-punk band: unrelentingly. This British production veteran kicks up a formidable frenzy. $20. 10 p.m. Eleven50. 404-874-0428. www.eleven50.com. — TW

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GEORGE JONES, CONFEDERATE RAILROAD During his appearance at this same venue last fall, ol’ George was suffering from a cold or flu and admittedly wasn’t feeling his usual 100 percent. But danged if the “Possum” didn’t deliver an enjoyable and well-executed show, anyway, much to the delight of his rabid fans. As the night progressed, he got more and more into it, forgetting — or rising above — his ailments, serving up an emotionally charged set with the finesse and good-natured ease of a real legend. Let’s hope he’s feeling well tonight after a rousing opening set from Confederate Railroad. $25. 7:30 p.m. Lanierland Music Park. 770-887-7464. www.lanierland.com. — Lee Valentine Smith

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IKE Philadelphia based IKE, fronted by singer/guitarist John Faye, has slowly but steadily made it to the top of its hometown’s indie-rock scene. Its single “Into Philadelphia” has become an unofficial city anthem, getting regular rotation airplay in the City of Brotherly Love. IKE has rocked large venues alongside Bon Jovi and R.E.M., but have become infamous for showing its acoustic side in intimate “Living Room Shows.” The band is in Atlanta to record one in front of a live in-studio audience. $10. 8 p.m. Nickel and Dime Studios. 404-297-0955. www.nickelanddimestudios.net. — MG

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MJQ’s NINTH ANNIVERSARY W/ FLOSSTRADAMUS As Flosstradamus, Chicago young’uns Autobot and J2K mine the mashup lexicon of booty bass, old-school hip-hop, too-ironic ’80s radio chestnuts, and current pop faves. Yes, it’s been done many times before (see Hollertronix, Girl Talk, et al). It’s fun, though, and Flosstradamus distinguishes itself with some sharp DJ mixing to go along with the de rigeur aesthetic. MJQ’s counting on the duo to rock its nine-year anniversary; Too Heavy DJs Skooter and Brian Parris, DJ DJ Dylan and Black Sunshine help cut the cake. 10 p.m. MJQ Concourse. www.mjqforums.com. — MR

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PETER CASE While singer/songwriter and Plimsouls’ crafty leader Case is planning a new solo album (to be tracked with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott’s producer Ian Brennan), he’s out ramblin’ the roads. He’s lookin’ cool and doin’ what he does best by offering a selection of new tunes and old favorites. Tonight’s set is sure to include plenty of social and political commentary from one of America’s finest observational composers. $15. 7:30 p.m. Red Light Café. 404-874-7828. www.redlightcafe.com. — LVS

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PORTASTATIC There was a time when Mac McCaughan (of ’90s college-rock fame with Superchunk) let albums gestate for a few years. The result would be elements of chamber pop to tropicalia all with imaginative, pop-structured arrangements. Well, now McCaughan’s churning out Portastatic albums and film scores at almost the same frequency Scarlett Johansson makes my pants tight, but he still manages to balance the bristly rockers with the introspective ballads. With a decade of low-key, bittersweet bop to draw from, this should be a show. Jennifer O’Connor and Atlanta’s own lo-fi melody wranglers the Preakness also appear. $10. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — TW

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ROYAL DRUMMERS OF BURUNDI W/ MOMBASA PARTY The diversity of East African music is made clear when these two very different groups perform. The Royal Drummers of Burundi espouse an unbroken 500-year tradition of uniquely Burundian drumming, taught from father to son, generation to generation. Monbasa Party, from Kenya, play popular “taarab” music, which includes influences from nine coastal East African cultures, Arabic drumming, and Indian “Bollywood” film music. $32-$56. 8 p.m. Rialto Center. 404-651-4727.

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www.rialtocenter.org. — MG

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SUN/22

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MINUS THE BEAR, P.O.S., THE VELVET TEEN, RUSSIAN CIRCLES This tour brings together four different fan favorites, each with unique perspectives on tightly wound and emotive music. Minus the Bear bottles up its indie-rock feelings like repression; you can hear the push-pull tug of war in its noisy and kinetic tracks. P.O.S. is just as earnest, but he only occasionally sings. Instead, he uses rap and rhyme to bolster his yearning, hardcore hip-hop tracks. Less circuitous than the others, the Velvet Teen simply gushes and emotes with straight-ahead gusto. Russian Circles craft long tapestries of instrumental rock, adding up the quiet-loud tempos like so much math rock. $15. 8:45 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — MR

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MON/23

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DODO BIRD, PETER & THE WOLF, MELISSA & THE LONELIES Austin, Texas-based experimental folkie Peter & the Wolf (aka Red Hunter) stomps out modern-primitive ballads born of trash cans, banjos and junkyard clatter. Dodo Bird is the moniker of San Francisco songwriters Meric Long and Logan Kroeber, strumming sparse, finger-picked patterns and melodies that invoke British freak folks of yore (Tyrannosaurus, etc.) rather than the new weird America. $8. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — CR

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WED/25

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BEAUTY PILL, RAHIM, JUDAH JOHNSON Beauty Pill returns to Atlanta after a three-year hiatus, as well as a few lineup changes. Fronted by Silver Sonya owner/producer Chad Clark, the group is a tenant of D.C.’s ever-changing post-punk and hardcore scene, pushing Dischord Records’ strong, DIY ethics into unexpected and highly evolved pop terrain. Long Island’s retro new-wave act, Rahim, and Detroit’s Johnson open the show. $8. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — CR

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FERRY CORSTEN Big-room rhythms and celestial synth melodies, yet with an undertone of dark, bristly tech-house/electro. If string didn’t previously exist, someone would invent it solely for slinging the glow stick tsunamis this Dutchman’s insistent brand of trance fuels. $15. 10 p.m. Eleven50. 404-874-0428. www.eleven50.com. — TW

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LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE Welcome to part two of the traveling trilogy of singer/actor Little Steven’s radio show (aired locally every Sunday night on Dave FM). Tonight, in addition to mod go-go dancers, a wall of cult films and a general ’60s happening atmosphere, the bill features Atlanta’s What The...?, poppy girl group the Charms, ’80s power pop from the Romantics and the current version of legendary Chicago garage rockers the Shadows of Knight (“Gloria”). A true record-geek’s heaven. $20. 8 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7384. www.variety-playhouse.com. — LVS

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THE SECOND ANNUAL ENCHANTMENT UNDER THE SEA DANCE Tonight, DJ Doo Doo Dave’s “Fantabulous #1 American-Style Rock An’ Roll House Party Extrodinaire” (whew, there goes the word count!) presents the second Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. Dude, has it been a year already?! The just-for-fun, mock-prom event features MC Mix-Master Mighty White and DJ I.M. spinning shit you’ve never heard and all your fave “jams,” as the kids say. Come in your prom finest and get in free. Otherwise, talk to the door guy. 9 p.m. Star Bar. 404-681-9018. www.starbar.net. — LVS

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THURS/26

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ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS Guest conductor Bernard Labadie leads the ASO in Mozart’s “Symphony No. 41.” The ASO Chorus joins in for two of Gabriel Fauré’s best-loved and melodious compositions: his “Pavane” in the original version with chorus, and his “Requiem,” one of the most frequently performed works in choral-orchestral repertoire. Featured soloists in the “Requiem” are soprano Karina Gauvin and baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson. $16$63. 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 404-733-5000. www.atlantasymphony.org. MG

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ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, NATIONAL GRAIN Escovedo doesn’t just play a show, he stages an event. Whether touring with a trio, four-piece rock lineup, or a full string quintet, he delivers an emotional musical affair that is burned into the soul. Few contemporary songwriters are as thoughtful and intense. He will touch your heart. Local country boys National Grain open. $15. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — JK

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NATHANIEL BARTLETT, PLANT Bartlett performs new works for solo marimba and computer-generated sounds. Bartlett’s recently released Precipice — Modern Marimba (Albany Records) taps into the same headspace as minimalism and experimental music luminaries Phillip Glass, Terry Reilly, Steve Reich and Harry Partch. Making use of live organic drums, electric bass, sonic manipulation, loops and electronics, Atlanta duo Plant constructs a labyrinth of improvised polyrhythms and dubbed-out electronics. $5. 9 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org. — CR

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RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, THE MARS VOLTA Without this Los Angeles spasmodic quartet, wearing a sock on your cock in public might have only been the domain of fraternity hazings. But the Red Hot Chili Peppers legitimized the practice, as well as psychedelic punk-funk years before Zoo York. And just as their legacy (really, the Lollapalooza era in general) reached its nadir with late ’90s nu metal, RHCP went and got all mature. But who wouldn’t distance themselves from all those illegitimate rap-rock devil spawns. They’re now too dignified to flash the tube steak, I mean tube socks, and thank god. The Mars Volta, meanwhile, can play one obtuse, contused “song” (really a post-hardcore song suite) as long as half the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s entire set. Because prog-rock is the new post-punk, bitches. Watch that those hydrochloric riffs and lysergic dynamics don’t get in your eyes. $52. 7:30 p.m. Arena at Gwinnett Center. 800-224-6422. www.gwinnettcenter.com. — TW

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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.