Burque’s rock avant-garde takes up residence at Burt’s Tiki Lounge (313 Gold SW) on Friday, Aug. 8. Producing sounds that may have come from the distant future, glam insect-metal rock band Chicharra headlines a show designed by robots in the 31st century to invigorate and redefine the local scene. Featuring Mauro Woody, Marisa and Monica Demarco, John Butler and Henry Hutchinson, Chicharra might burn holes in your brain. An experimental combo featuring heady local zinester Marya Errin Jones and curious curator Andrew Lyman (The Tan), Dallas also makes an appearance. Taste their moody and hypnotic performance of “Crystal Ball” on SoundCloud. I last saw Uranium Worker this spring, when they opened for Bestial Mouths at Low Spirits. They practically stole that show with their raw and rubberized rock exploration. Lo-fi, scream-a-delic and about as subtle as a sledgehammer, Uranium Worker leaked out of Gold House in 2013, dispersing their heavy water and yellow dirt with increasing frequency. In other words, they’re getting work—very cool, in a post-nuclear sort of way. The suggested donation is five bucks, and the post-postmodernism commences at 10pm.
Music To Your Ears Reading Rainbows
Mala Maña
Courtesy of artist
Mala Maña is one of Burque’s premier vocal and percussion ensembles. Two upcoming library concerts feature the culturally diverse troupe. That diversity is an essential, binding force imperative to Mala Maña’s output. They’re serious in their dedication to navigating the deep waters of rhythmic and vocal traditions from Africa and Latin America, melding them with contemporary expression and musicological motives. Mala Maña is: Chava, Alyson Steinman, Lydia Garcia, Carolina Acuña, Lupe Mendoza, Tatiana Schotte and Teresa Guevara. In combination, their sound is joyfully poly-rhythmic. So much so you may have a sudden urge to dance or to fall into a windy, archetype-filled trance. Mala Maña is a local cultural treasure that you can check out at two other local cultural treasures, Ernie Pyle Library (900 Girard SE) and Cherry Hills Library (6901 Barstow NE). The gig at Pyle’s old digs starts at noon on Saturday, Aug. 9, at AMP’s 100th Library Concert. Mala Maña also performs on the high desert plain at Cherry Hills, on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 6pm. Both concerts are free.
Music To Your Ears “... Yes I Will Yes.”
Yes
Noah Silvestry
The best Yes experience I ever had was at Tingley Coliseum in support of their chart-pleasing new wave-prog epic 90125 . If you’re not familiar with this constantly mutating collection of aging dreamers’ and master musicians’ oeuvre, their Wednesday, Aug. 13, concert is an opportunity to familiarize oneself with their early to mid-career work. This year’s model features veteran Yesmen Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White, ’80s addition Geoff Downes (The Buggles, Asia) and newcomer Jon Davison filling the vast vocal emptiness that ensued when Jon Anderson retired. The lineup has deconstructed, reconstructed and evolved over the years, but bassist and composer Chris Squire is a constant presence in the Yes music-making process. The Yes 2014 tour features recitals of Fragile and Close to the Edge , mid-’70s works that defined the scope and vision of prog rock. In some places idyllic and furious in others, Anderson’s lyricism and the combined chops of everyone involved produced recordings of lasting beauty and grandeur sans the theatrics of contemporaries like Genesis and Jethro Tull. Given these production values and musical cred, the concert’s a must-see for space voyagers and neo-pastoralists alike. Starting at 7:30pm, all ages are welcome at Route 66 Legends Theater (14500 Central SW), and tickets run between $25 and $250, depending how close to the edge you want to be.
