“When everything feels all over/ Everybody seems unkind/ I’ll give you a four-leaf clover/ Take all worry out of your mind …” —“Let My Love Open The Door,” by Pete Townshend, from an album called Empty Glass.Let’s get something straight. I can’t stand The Who, but will admit that some of Pete Townshend’s solo work is decent. I recall the late summer of ’01 when Michael Henningsen sent me to cover The Who in concert at Isleta Amphitheater.Townshend was wearing a white, space-age-seeming jumpsuit, literally ripping up his hands and the music with his awesome power-stumming; Thunderfingers just stood there, his hands a blur; Ringo Starr’s kid Zach was drumming because Keith Moon was dead. What’s not to like about that? Two words, one name: Roger Daltry, the worst, most distracting front man of all time. I went on and on about all of that in my review, but Henny cut all the mean stuff.Anyway, I before go too far out on such an old seeming tangent, here’s a reminder from our sponsers (kindly see the ads on the next page) who tell me you ought to go see one of their shows this weekend. I agree, so let’s go and hope no obnoxious lead singers will appear in the midst of concertland to re-engage my youthful trauma.
Show Up!: Thursday
SonReal
Courtesy of the artist
SonReal is really a dude named Aaron Hoffman whose approach to hip-hop music includes its veritable immersion in singer-songwriter aesthetics, including a prominent acoustic guitar and narratives that ebb and flow around the artist’s personal experiences. On his latest online single, “My Friend,” Hoffman’s got a Drexl Spivey (see Gary Oldman, True Romance) sorta delivery that adds spice, in the way of dramatic tension, to a tale that earnestly includes the lyrics “family is the one and only thing we need, to get by.” The curious may well wonder how such a tricky tone can elicit allure and lead to rewarding sonic encounters, but with SonReal the proof is in the production; his work sounds honest and heartfelt, despite the underground affectation. And hey, when he wants to sound pop, there’s always autotune, right? SonReal will perform at Launchpad (618 Central Ave. SW) on Thursday, Dec. 7. Be there if you like how hip-hop hungrily absorbs other genres in order to stay on the top of club revenue lists and listener’s hearts, countrywide. $15 general admission, $85 meet and greet package • 8pm • All-ages (13+)
Show Up!: Friday
Le Chat Lunatique
Courtesy of the artist
Long-lasting jazz bands in the city of Albuquerque seem to be a rare bird indeed; when they do last, they tend to be legendary. Take for example local dirty jazz adherents Le Chat Lunatique. Composed of vocalist Muni Kulasinghe, guitarist John Sandlin, bassist and vocalist Jared Putnam and stick master Greg Williams, Le Chat Lunatique has been playing memorable gigs around this town for more than 12 years. The filthy jazzers themselves will be hosting a CD release party at Sister (407 Central Ave. NW) on Friday, Dec. 8. Expect to hear selections from the just finished yet still unnamed new work as well as great Le Chat tuneage from the past, including imagination-stretching arrangements of “Minnie the Moocher,” the Django Reinhardt classic “Blue Drag” and John Sandlin’s absolutely insane, reggae-soaked take on Satie’s “Gnossienne No. 1.” $15 • 9pm • 21+
Show Up!: Saturday
Sam Riggs
Courtesy of the artist
Austinite country-Western folksinger Sam Riggs brings his deep, sonorous voice—the one that sang “I’ve always been in love with things that kill me,” on 2016’s “Second Hand Smoke”—to Burque on Saturday, Dec. 9, via the Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall and Saloon (9800 Montgomery Blvd. NE). Riggs is known for a finger-picking style that he learned from guitar legend Ray Wylie Hubbard. The guitarist/singer has used that style to great effect on the two albums he’s released and the latest effort, Breathless, received heaps of critical and record-industry notice, including artist of the year awards in Texas Magazine. An intense troubadour with intricate stylings and hard scrabble stories to back up his instrumental intensity, Riggs is one of the next generation of country artists who can play like the dickens and charm the hell outta just about everyone who listens. $10 • 9pm • 21+
Show Up!: Tuesday
Roñoso
Jaimie Drummond
Okay, I just heard about this one and it sure as hell sounds like my cup of tea, so let me tell you about it. Roñoso—which means, like, “totally filthy” in some ill-used Spanish slang dialect—is a local longtime local punk rock band from right here in the Duke City. They are playing at Launchpad (618 Central Ave. NW) on Tuesday, Dec. 12. As you may recall, Roñoso performs some of the most rocking, monstrous tuneage ever made in a metallic world waiting for a desperate, before-death listen. These paeans to crust include glistening goodies like “Mud Puddle to Valhalla,” “Steel Wool Catheter” and “Seep and Destroy.” It’s all entrenched, acerbic and noisy mierda, sung with a smirk, a consciousness and some wicked guitar playing too. Join the inevitably injurious mosh pit when local black-clad heshers Rock n Roll Is The Devils Music, Bomb Scare and Laughing Dog up the ante by opening for this sludgy, probably mostly male thrashfest. $5 • 9pm • 21+
