Sound Menu January 17 2007

THURS/18

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ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Colorful orchestration is the key with this program led by ASO music director Robert Spano. Two works by French composer Maurice Ravel grace the first part of the program, “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” originally written by Ravel for piano but brilliantly transcribed later for orchestra, and his “Piano Concerto in G,” featuring the dynamic Louis Lorie as piano soloist. The program concludes with an epic Russian favorite, “Scheherazade,” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. $21-$73. 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 404-733-5000. www.atlantasymphony.org. — Mark Gresham

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FRI/19

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DAPPLED GRAYS Following some personnel changes and a stint in the studio, the Dappled Grays are now unleashing their newest CD, Doin’ my Job, with this release party at Eddie’s. Featuring the sweet vocals of Leah Calvert, the Grays mine the same vein as Allison Krauss & Union Station. And that’s a good thing. $13. 7:30 and 10 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — James Kelly

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DEERHUNTER, BRASS CASTLE, SUPREEME Deerhunter is a wild card for Atlanta’s pop and avant-garde music scenes. The group balances over-driven waves of guitar resonance with a Berlin-era David Bowie mystique. Brass Castle plays loud and lurching Southern rock that belches forth with a raw and sweat-soaked punch to the gut. Local trio Supreeme blends a multifaceted palette of aural and visual influences into a smooth and nonconventional hip-hop flow. $7. 9:30 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — Chad Radford

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LUST, COGBURNS The always theatrical Lust — who knows what kinda over-the-top costumes they’ll wear tonight? — are joined by the white-shirt and black-tie Cogburns. Lust features Barb, Susanne and Amos picking through a cargo trunk of insanely catchy punk-rock tunes and good humor. The Cogburns are still riding high on their brilliant CD, Pay Up, Sucker, the best locally released album of 2006. $5. 9 p.m. Star Bar. 404-681-9018. www.starbar.net. — Lee Valentine Smith

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ROBBIE RIVERA Puerto Rican producer Rivera is, along with MURK, an architect of the Miami sound — deep and progressive, hard enough to attract the thugs and pretty enough to evoke the Magic City skyline. He runs a record label, Juicy, in between remixing tracks for the likes of Madonna and Kylie Minogue and scoring dance hits like “Burning” and “Escape.” Hell, you may not know who he is, but his 26,000 MySpace friends do. Call for price. 10 p.m. Fever. 404-214-0151. www.feveratl.com. — Mosi Reeves

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THE SELMANAIRES, CASSAVETES, THE NEIN The Selmanaires craft a refined and sincere pastiche of dance-friendly pop songs that are rooted in post-punk, jazz and the British invasion’s finer moments. Cassavetes plays a spacious and quasi-psychedelic rock skulk that harkens to the junk-culture sound of the ’90s slowed to a dreary and dreamlike cadence. Durham, N.C.’s the Nein plays slick and experimental college rock that’s propelled by squiggly electronic textures. $5. 9 p.m. Lenny’s. 404-577-7721. www.lennysbar.com. — CR

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SAT/20

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COWBOY MOUTH Tonight, the venerable New Orleans-based party band features a couple of different faces in the lineup, joining manic singer/drummer Fred LeBlanc. Vance Degeneres, yes, Ellen’s brother, is on guitar, and former ‘Mouth bassist Mary LaSang is back on the low end instead of Atlantan Sonia Tetlow. $22. 9 p.m. The Roxy. 404-233-7699. www.ticketmaster.com. — LVS

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ROD STEWART Remember back when that sexy Rod the Mod was a rocker? Well, that was a long time ago. Now the gracefully aging rascal has gone the genteel route with a string of cover albums, first exploring Tony Bennett-land and now creaky old Top 40 hits of his peers and fellow chart-dwellers of the late ’60s and early-to-mid ’70s. Does anyone really want to hear the once-vital frontman of the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces trundle through Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”? Still, there are worse fates that could befall you, of course, and luckily he’ll revisit his own hits as he boldly “American Idol’s” his way to the bank. Special “in the round” setup. $55-$97. 8 p.m. Philips Arena. 404-249-6400. www.ticketmaster.com. — LVS

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RON SEXSMITH, KIM TAYLOR, MEGHAN COFFEY For years, Sexsmith has been one of those artists who just shows up in town every now and then, new album in tow. He’s not a household name by any stretch, but he ought to be. With great melodic and catchy tunes, and a work ethic that few can question, this Canadian neo-folkie has a lot to offer. In tow this time around is Time Being, a fine collection of songs that reflect his darker side. Taylor and Coffey open. $15. 8 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com. — JK

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TOASTED I know a guy who hit on a skinhead at the old Lenny’s once because A) he thought the skinhead was a lesbian, and he was scared to death of his ride, who had just done three consecutive tequila shots before they were heading to get his keys in Marietta. Point being, Lenny’s both old and new is one of the prime spots in Atlanta where the right haircut — or even anti-haircut — can get people paid up in cock. Free at midnight, maybe $5 at some point. 11:45 p.m. Lenny’s. 404-577-7721. www.lennysbar.com. — Tony Ware

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SUN/21

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GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Led by trombonist Larry O’Brian, this “legacy” big band re-creates the sounds of the late 1930s and early 1940s through the hits of its namesake, legendary band leader/trombonist Miller. Before Miller mysteriously disappeared on a WWI military transport flight in 1944, for a brief six-and-a-half years his was considered one of the greatest big bands of all time, known for such tunes as “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction,” and “Pennsylvania 6-5000.” $35. 3 (wait list only), and 7:30 p.m. Spivey Hall. 678-466-4200. www.spiveyhall.org. — MG

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HIP-HOP INDUSTRY NIGHT I took a walk alongside some footprints in the sand the other day and soon realized I was walking with God — well, except for the times when there was only one set of footprints, that’s when he was carrying me. That part really made it a more pleasant stroll. Anyway, I turn to God and I start to complain, “Gaaaawd, there is just nothing to do on Sunday nights in Atlanta. What gives?” And God says, “Dude, that’s the seventh day. Maybe you missed the memo, but I’m resting. Go to church, pick up some KFC or something, then go worship some bling, graven images, all that jazz.” So I decided to go to the Velvet Room. Because, like, Jesus had a resurrection and so did this place (it used to be on Peachtree, now Chamblee-Tucker, wow). Nothing says Sunday like enforced dress codes, crunk jawnts and excessive consumption. Can I get an “Amen!” Call for time and price. Velvet Room. 404-874-4460. www.velvetatl.com. — TW

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MARK BERNAT Double-bassist Bernat, accompanied by pianist Keiko Ransom, performs sonatas by Henri Eccles, Franz Schubert and Paul Hindemith, the “Intermezzo and Tanrantella (Op. 9)” by Reinhold Glière, and the famous “Kol Nidre” of Max Bruch. Bernat, who has performed solo recitals at New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Purcell Room in London, is currently an artist affiliate at Emory University. Free. 4 p.m. Emory University Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall. 404-727-5050. www.arts.emory.edu. — MG

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PATO BANTON & MYSTIC ROOTS British reggae singer Banton has had an eclectic career. He began as a member of the English Beat, toasting on ska-rock songs like “Pato and Roger a Go Talk”; collaborated with David Letterman foil Paul Schaffer on his debut album, Never Give In; was part of Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD organization for many years; earned a Grammy nomination for his 2000 album Life Is a Miracle; and now lives in California, where he leads Mystic Roots. $15. 7 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com. — MR

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TUES/23

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BOBBY BARE JR. Country music scion Bare is getting all kinds of love for his new album, The Longest Meow. “Bobby Bare is no ordinary hipster,” wrote Spin in a glowing review. “There’s a richness running through each song,” raves Esquire. Now it’s your turn to weigh in on Bare and his Young Criminals Starvation League’s Southern-fried rawk. Local yodelers the Hiss and Soda Jerk join the party. $8. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — MR

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WED/24

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SIDS, AIROES, TENTH TO THE MOON Stickfigure Records hosts its annual showcase, kicking off four days of acerbic noise, post-hardcore and various strands of music filed under “other.” SIDS pounds out a sensory-devastating blast of rhythmic clusters and no-wave tantrums. Airoes unleashes a flood of digital thrash and dementia that’s sprinkled with blips, bleeps and sonic hiccups. Tenth to the Moon churns out a Kafka-esque post-industrial dirge. $5. 8 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — CR

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THURS/25

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ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles returns to the ASO podium to conduct excerpts from the opera “Der Rosenkavalier” (“The Knight of the Rose”) by Richard Strauss, its story set in the social opulence of late 18th-century Austria. Sopranos Twyla Robinson and Lyubov Petrova, and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop are the featured vocal soloists. The program opens with Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Symphony No. 48 (Maria Theresia).” $18-$68. 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 404-733-5000. www.atlantasymphony.org. — MG

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LADYFEST SOUTH 2007 After a three-year hiatus, Ladyfest South, a women’s music and arts festival modeled after the famous Olympia, Wash., feminist event, returns with a four-day slate of musicians, poets, visual artists, filmmakers and lady-loving activists. The opening party features several performers, including Divine-like lounge lizard Phat Man Dee; folk singers Julia Carroll, Marce, Amy Lashley and Shelley Raymond; alt-country artist Steff Mahan and the Morgan Rowe Band. There will also be an open mic for the poetically inclined members of the audience. (Continues through Sunday at IF Coffeehouse, the Earl, and the Five Spot.) $10-$30. 8 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.ladyfestsouth.com. — MR

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SCOTT MILLER, SANDRA McCRACKEN Living the life of a traveling troubadour, Miller has seen the world as a rocker in the V-Roys and with his band the Commonwealth, and as a solo acoustic performer. His songs are edgy, funny and sad, but always carry a ring of truthfulness. McCracken opens with her own oeuvre of heartfelt material. $12. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — JK

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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 David Lee Simmons, 384 Northyards Blvd., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30313, or e-mail information to: davidlee.simmons@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.