“Are my lemons tied?/ Is my hair in place?/ Have I got a cute expression on my face?/ Are my shoes all shined?/ I’ll try to keep in line/ When I’m dancin’ in the show tonight/ Does my shuffle step/ Really look so good?/ Am I doin’ it the way you think I should?/ Would it be a miss/ If I blew a kiss/ When I’m dancin’ in the show tonight?/ Showtime now is getting nearer/ And I’m getting scared/ Wish I could see in the mirror/ If I’m all prepared/ First you take a step/ Then you point your toe/ Hope I know it like I did a week ago/ Am I standing straight?/ I can hardly wait/ Till I’m dancing in the show tonight!”—“I’m Dancing in the Show Tonight” by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, performing as Ween on an album called The Mollusk.Here’s a song lyric that summarizes the beauty and terror of performance in a clever, cartoon-like format. How the hell lemons got involved in a twisted tale of expectation and consequent, perhaps delusional, stage-fright is a question best left to other critics. I’m sure Boognish had something to do with it, but whatever. If you’re keen to grok the sorts of feelings elucidated by Gene and Dean, do this critic a favor, visit a venue, and leave the mollusk and its wandering eye alone until the after-party.
Show Up! Friday
Courtesy of Artist
Friday, June 12, is a damn good day to put my advice to the test. Three diverse events that evening should provide all the wonder and wildness one needs to quell the craziness and exalt the excellent as the weekend unwinds.Over at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo (903 10th Street SW), there will be a concert by The Weepies, a folk-rock duo comprised of Steve Tannen and Deb Talan. Extant since the onset of the glorious 21st century, this East Coast-born, Califas-bound band specializes in a sound that could be categorized as pop. Yet—crafted with dense harmonies and winding, melodic passages filled with delicate instrumentation—their work is more than that, resonating with intense musical choices. Check out opening cut “River from the Sky” from Sirens to translate that last sentence into music. Anywho, The Weepies make with the music at 7:30pm; you can enter the zoo at 6pm. Tickets cost $3-$10, and there will be animals everywhere.Later that night, before the waning moon rises, Launchpad (618 Central SW) hosts a benefit concert. This show is directed toward efforts to evolve our culture away from the dark practices that often result in homelessness and lack of community health care resources. Nono’s Benefit for Homeless and Mental Health was organized by members of the local music community, including Noelan Ramirez, Clark Libbey, Colleen Elvidge and Jason Broz. The whole damn thing will be a brilliant rock and roll blast, with admission going to fund programs at ABQ Heading Home and The Storehouse. Bellemah, Libbey and Ramirez’ acoustic project, headlines a concert that also embraces local doomsters Hounds Low and Burque experimental rock duo The Lymbs. For $8, it’s a bright way to support a noble cause. The show begins at 9:30pm.Low Spirits (2823 Second Street NW) will be the scene of some mighty fine, American-flavored music that same moonless Friday night. Cajun-inflected honky tonk maestros Greg Butera and the Gunsels bring their bag of spicy tricks down from Santa Fe to perform in conjunction with some of our humble burg’s most ginchy players. Kimo Licious, the source of all things acoustically pure and heart-wrenchingly harmonic on this stretch of the Rio Grande, will perform a set. At the top of this heap of high-desert hijinks will be James Whiton, an adept of the bass violin and assorted electronic devices. Whiton came up here in town, sojourned in the City of Angels and recently returned to reclaim—to astounding effect—his place in the Albuquerque music community. Seven dollars and an ID that proves 21+ status gets you out of the hot summer and into the cool and groovy environs available at Low Spirits. The doors open at 8pm, and you may start dancing around 9.
Show Up! Saturday
Courtesy of Artist
Somewhere or other, it’s written that pride comes before a fall, but never mind that. Here in these parts, Pride usually comes before summer, in early June. That will most certainly be the case at Tractor Brewing Wells Park (1800 Fourth Street NW) on Saturday, June 13, at an event righteously referred to as Rebels with a Cause—Heroes of a Movement. Meant to commemorate, celebrate and incorporate the progression of civil rights in our nation as we all work for and walk toward freedom and diversity, this evening of concert-making features a plethora of musicians performing in a variety of genres.Mondo Vibrations, a souled out reggae outfit outta Burque and Belen, will play as part of a progressively pumped up programme that also includes dreamily synthetic electro-rockers Lindy Vision and dazzling digital drifter Emily Montoya, performing as DJ Dirt Girl. Additionally, demonstrations by an ornate and occult burlesque outfit known as the Black Widow Cabal and their lighter, fluffier burlesque counterparts the Sugar Babies (sugar’s fluffy, right?) will be available for your added entertainment and pleasurable, experience-gathering proclivities. This awesome aspect of Pride 2015 gets rolling at 6pm. It won’t stop until early the next morning, about an hour before the moonrise hinted at earlier in this missive. One must be 21 or older to attend; please bring a 10 spot to gain admittance.
Show Up! Monday
Courtesy of Artist
Michael Wayne Atha is a southern-born, Eminem-influenced rapper of Cherokee descent who uses the stage and recording persona Yelawolf to explore his life as a muralist, drifter, hell-raiser and flow-meister. His mixtapes, including Pissin’ in a Barrel of Beez and Trunk Muzik, are notable for their effective use of radioactive rhyme, rhythm and mixed up madness. He’ll be performing at Sunshine Theater (120 Central SW) on Monday, June 15.Yelawolf’s career thus far has seen the dude rise from reality teevee show specimen to a gangsta of love supported and produced by hip-hop nation notables like the aforementioned Slim Shady and Big K.R.I.T., as well as rock-city denizens like Brit singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and Travis Barker of the infamous Blink-182. Tickets to this land of luxuriously lovely linkages with steep balconies range widely in price from $22.50 to $99. It’s a 13+ gig that goes off at 7pm.
Show Up!
Oh, did I tell you? I’m dancing in the show tonight! It’ll be grand. I’ll do the twist, then the Watusi. I can hardly wait. See you there, okay?
