INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Show Previews 10/04/06

Vibraphone phun

Tunnels with guitarist Jim Kimsey
Radio Radio
www.futureshock.net/radioframeset.html, www.buckyballmusic.com
Wednesday, Oct 4
$7

The vibraphone has a long legacy in jazz, pioneered in the 1930s by Lionel Hampton and carried through the post-bop and fusion eras by the likes of Gary Burton.

The magic of digital technology, however, has opened new landscapes for the instrument that will be on display tonight (Wednesday) when a trio called Tunnels performs at Radio Radio.

Tunnels is the brainchild of British bassist Percy Jones, who first made his name with the ’60s poetry-rock ensemble the Liverpool Scene. In the mid ’70s, he joined Genesis-drummer-and-not-yet-pop-star Phil Collins in a side band called Brand X, whose jazz-rock excursions drew comparisons to better-known fusion combos Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Jones also is known for studio work that includes albums with Brian Eno, Bill Frisell and Suzanne Vega.

The focal point of Tunnels’ current incarnation, however, is Marc Wagnon, who plays an instrument brand-named MalletKAT and referred to generically as “midi vibes.” Its three octaves of rubber pads, laid out like a vibraphone or marimba and played with mallets, allow Wagnon to do virtually anything a keyboard synthesizer can, selecting from an infinite array of custom sounds, controlling pitch and volume with foot pedals and tossing up huge washes of sound with a few strokes.

The band’s new, fifth album, Natural Selection, is a collection of six- to eight-minute instrumentals that wander far afield, but seldom seem lost or aimless, with elements of progressive rock, world music and ambient sound. Wagnon is the credited composer on six of the nine selections, but drummer John O’Reilly Jr. is no slouch, and Jones’ fretless bass sounds almost like a living creature.

—Scott Hall

Hoosier-born Brown

Junior Brown
The Music Mill
www.themusicmillvenue.com
Wednesday, Oct. 4
$17

If you don’t have plans for tonight, do not fret. Let Junior Brown do the fretting for you — swinging Texas-style. Brown was born and raised in Kirkwood, Ind. He became a professional musician in his teens. He also expands the sounds of American music while leaning towards country. From country to rock to blues his double neck combination of guitar and lap steel has made him a can’t-miss live show. Lately he’s recorded two albums for the Telarc label (Back Home Chrome and last year’s Texas-wicked Live at the Continental Club). A greatest hits package from the Curb label was also recently released.

—Matthew Socey

Street party

Lotus World Music and Arts Festival
Downtown Bloomington
www.lotusfest.org
Oct. 5-9
Tickets at www.bloomingtonarts.info or Sunrise box office, 812-323-3020

As if fall in Southern Indiana isn’t paradise enough, each year Bloomington stages one of the finest world music festivals you can find anywhere. On a proverbial shoestring budget, Lee Williams and his hardy band of Lotus Fest helpers manage to gather a scrumptious confluence of musical artists from around the world. This year is no different; in fact, this year is replete with street party bands, the kind that get you out on the dance floor and won’t let you go.

Savor these four words: Balkan Beat Box returns. Their performance was the highpoint of last year’s Lotus, and since then BBB has captured national attention, not the least for a helluva hootenanny at Bonnaroo. Also returning: Les Yeux Noirs, a French gypsy klezmer band that has wowed Lotus crowds in the past. Also a must-see/dance is Yerba Buena, whose Afro-Cuban party grooves was last seen in Central Indiana rocking the now defunct Patio.

Consequently, Williams has created two large tents, he says, “Both with more capacity than any other tent we have used before. The Monroe Bank Tent will be the largest Lotus festival venue ever.” He adds, though, “It still might not hold enough people for the BBB.”

With the prevalence this year of European/gypsy/Balkan bands such as BBB, Kal, Golem and Les Yeux Noirs, Williams is quick to emphasize that “there are also more women performers than any other Lotus festival [Issa, aka Jane Siberry, Uncle Earl, Bonsoir Catin, VIDA, Yungchen Lhamo and Catherine Russell].”

Lotus goers will recognize the return of Tuvan throat singers Huun-Huur-Tu, the modern Swedish acoustic sounds of Väsen and the Italian folk electronica of Fiamma Fumana.

The festival kicks off on Thursday night with a performance by the beloved Väsen, then expands into a Friday and Saturday night multiple venue musical showcase. Free (or really cheap) concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoons round out the festivities.

The challenge of course is figuring out how you’re going to manage it all; poke around the artist profiles on lotusfest.org and download the schedule, then scratch your head. Want a little help? This Lotus veteran is titillated by two in particular: Nomo, an eight-member group from Detroit who mixes Afrobeat and free jazz; think Coltrane meets King Sunny Ade. The second is Kal, which features violin, bass and accordion, playing rural village music for a modern, urban, dance-hungry audience. Finally, many of you will consider Golem a necessity. This high-energy, New York Lower East Side band mixes raucous klezmer with Yiddish theater references and a smattering of rock, soul, funk and pop culture. Sounds just like Lotus Fest itself.

Lucky Peterson: triple threat

Lucky Peterson
Slippery Noodle
www.slipperynoodle.com
Thursday, Oct. 5
$5

Lucky Peterson will be at the Slippery Noodle Inn (372 S. Meridian St.) on Oct. 5. The son of blues staple James Peterson, Lucky recorded his first record at the age of 5. It was produced by none other than Willie Dixon. A year later he performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show.

Lucky’s career matched his name when he was asked by Little Milton to fill in one night on keyboards. Seven months later, he became Little Milton’s bandleader. He spent three years touring with Milton and three more for Bobby “Blue” Bland before going solo.

Peterson is now known as a triple threat for his singing, guitar and keyboard skills. He’s recorded several albums for Alligator, Verve and Blue Thumb. Besides playing the blues, Peterson has taken popular songs and given them his own twist in a good way. Some of his non-jukebox covers include “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “Ode To Billy Joe” (from Lucky Peterson), “It’s Your Thing” and “Purple Rain” (from Move), “Shining Star,” Sting’s “Let’s Stay Together” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” (from Timeline) and Jimi Hendrix’s “Up From The Skies” (from Beyond Cool). He’s also appeared on albums by Kenny Neal, Rufus Thomas and Lazy Lester. His latest album is Blue Midnight (Dreyfus Records), which features Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey (of Parliement/Funkadelic fame) on drums.

Touring with Peterson is not-so-secret weapon guitarist Rico McFarland. A man who toured with Albert King, Carl Weathersby, James Cotton and Al Green, among others.

—Matthew Socey

Benders at Rouge

The Benders
The Rouge
www.myspace.com/thebenderspage, 317-257-0000
Friday, Oct. 6, 10 p.m.
$5

Tad Armstrong and David England met at the Patio three years ago when their bands shared a Flatearth Records bill. Armstrong fronted Indianapolis favorite alt-folk band Middletown, and England was playing with Bloomington indie-music darlings The Mary Janes. According to both of them, that meeting did not make a special impression. Despite the lack of sparks at the first meeting, they soon teamed up to form The Benders. And they have been making a great impression on Indianapolis music fans ever since.

Armstrong and England are both outstanding songwriters and musicians. That is the strength and beauty of The Benders. Armstrong has a deep Indianapolis music resume. His two most recent bands, His Righteous Fold and Middletown, had a loyal regional following. His latest recording, T minus one, showcases his amazing voice and insightful songwriting. England has been ensconced in the Bloomington music scene for years, playing as a solo artist and with several bands. His most recent recording, Almost True, shows off his exceptional talent.

Completing the band lineup is guitar player extraordinaire John Byrne and outstanding drummer Wade Parish. Byrne is often mentioned as one of the best guitar players in the city. His tasty guitar and pedal steel skills add to the expansive sound of the band. Parish is always right-on and discerning on percussion.

The Benders will play original tunes by both Armstrong and England and throw in a mix of unpredictable cover songs. You can expect to hear the gamut from pop to classic rock at the show.

—Nora Spitznogle

Multi-instrumentalist Reynolds + a junk band

Golden Arm Trio and Dandelion Junk Queens
Radio Radio
www.goldenarmtrio.net, www.dandelionjunkqueens.tk
Monday, Oct. 9, 9 p.m.
$5

If you caught Richard Linklater’s recent film adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, you may have noticed the equally entertaining and unsettling soundtrack.

Aside from a few leftovers donated by Thom Yorke and Radiohead, the movie’s musical accompaniment was crafted by the Golden Arm Trio, a vehicle for Austin-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Graham Reynolds.

Reynolds will visit Indianapolis Monday with his “trio,” an informal assembly with any number of players, depending on the occasion. This show — just added between stops in Chicago and New York — is likely to involve three or four performers, including a cellist, a guitarist and Reynolds himself, who typically sits behind a piano and a drum kit and plays either one or both simultaneously, as the mood strikes.

The versatile and busy musician’s work is generally evaluated in the realm of jazz and rock. He has scored many other films, however, and he also writes operas and chamber music and composes for theater and dance troupes.

The current tour supports the CD release of the Scanner soundtrack, which reflects the animated film’s paranoid, noir flavor with atmospheric, post-apocalyptic rock that often uses brass and strings to introduce classical and jazz elements.

The other act on Monday’s bill is the Dandelion Junk Queens from Bellingham, Wash., a band with five or so members performing on accordion, saw, fiddle, banjo, washtub bass, washboard, drums, kazoo and boozy group vocals. Their official bio points out that they are “not a jug band, nor are we pirates, nor Gypsies,” but perhaps they are being ironic, because those are fairly helpful references for describing this music.