http://www.metrotimes.com/blahg/musicblahg.aspMetro Times: Music Blahghttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1051Just a reminder that Wonder Twin Laura Witkowski is the brains behind yet another "Science Rocks" extravaganza -- the second one, actually -- tomorrow night, March 18th, at the Detroit Science Center. The local musical faves appearing include Silverghost, the Prime Ministers, Darling Imperial and the Electric Fire Babies. I promised Ms. Witkowski that I'd pimp it here on the blog...but you can read all about it in my cubicle neighbor Megan O'Neil's own stunning prose by clicking here. As for me, I always sucked in both science and math...so it's nice to see that Laura's bringing something to the center that a dunce like me can at least relate to. Hell, if they'd have had these when I was young, maybe I'd have been a doctor or an engineer instead of a...Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:01:14 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1050ROVA Saxophone Quartet plays Detroit for the first time on Friday (hey, they've only been around since the late 1970s), which gives us an excuse to write about the bizarre contretemps involving ROVA saxophonist Larry Ochs, a disgruntled fan and Spanish police late last year. According to an account in The Guardian (of London), drawn from Spanish press accounts, Ochs was playing with one his groups at Sigüenza Jazz Festival in December when armed cops came to give a listen while following up a complaint against the group.The Guardian wrote:Police decided to investigate after an angry jazz buff complained that the Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core group was on the wrong side of the line dividing jazz from contemporary music. The jazz purist complained his doctor had warned him it was "psychol...Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:54:13 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1049I just spent several hours on the Internet, searching for Iggy Pop's entire acceptance speech following the Stooges' induction (finally – "It's about fucking time!" Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong bellowed at the end of his excellent induction speech) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night. Can't find it yet and there aren't any decent videos on Youtube yet, either. Too bad because even though we're a little prejudiced over here at Metro Times, all biases aside, it was the greatest acceptance speech ever delivered by anyone at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.   It took eight ridiculous tries for the band to finally get into the stodgy institution...and many fans felt that the group should have done exactly what the Sex Pistols did several years ago by telling the Hal...Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:07:02 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1046A couple of notable shows this weekend to mention: Scott Campbell, leader of the Sillies and co-owner of the legendary Bookie's punk club is hosting another "Bookie's Anniversary Reunion Show," tonight (Friday, March 12th) at the Rack & Roll Club in Riverview (13634 Sibley Rd., 734-283-3100. A film documentary on Bookie's will be shown, photos and posters will be on exhibit, and live music by the Sillies and Mikal (with Michael Gurrey) plus special guests from bands that played Bookie's in '78 and '79. 18 & over; $5 admission. (Here's hoping Scott eventually hosts an anniversary party closer to home that features a couple of the legendary bands that appeared on Bookie's stage back in the day...) Also, Khalid Hanifi of Ann Arbor's Map of the World fame is playing with...Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:25:10 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1045To go along with Jeff Meyers' blog item (in B-Roll -- see below) about limey director Julien Temple's upcoming BBC documentary about Detroit and its decline, we thought it worth mentioning that Iggy Pop addressed it in the MT cover story about the Iggy & The Stooges' reunion that ran last October. In fact, the story ended with the Igster bringing it up. For those with shorter memories, it went like this: MT: Finally, as a band and performer so closely associated with Detroit, how do you feel about the ways the national media has been portraying the city lately — the recent cover of Time magazine and all?   Iggy: It's reverse hype. That's exactly what it is. But there has been a genuine problem in the auto industry, and that has caused people to focus on Detroit in a...Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:34:20 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1043Detroit hip-hop will be making a big splash in Austin next week at the 2010 South By Southwest festival via a "Detroit Hip-Hop" showcase being curated by our own mighty Invincible (who is also curating a "Women in Hip-Hop Showcase and will be performing at both events. Slum Village will be headlining the Detroit showcase,  the legendary collective's first-ever SXSW appearance, along with 11 other local rappers, including Black Milk and Ro Spit, among others. The complete lineup is as follows: Thursday, March 18. Victory Grill, 1104 E 11th St, Austin, TX. 1:15 a.m. - 1:50 a.m. - Slum Village12:45 a.m. - 1:05 a.m. - Black Milk12:20 a.m. - 12:35 a.m. - Finale12:00 a.m. - 12:15 a.m. - Invincible11:35 p.m. - 11:55 p.m. - Monica Blaire11:10 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. -Vaughan T feat. Crown...Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:39:01 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=1024Geri Allen's new album, Flying Toward the Sound (Motema), isn't officially released until Tuesday, March 9, but you can get a preview for free (with a suggested $5 museum admission) on Monday. Better yet, it's a live performance accompanied by a short film by the pioneering Carrie Mae Weems.The music, underwritten by a 2008-2009 Guggenheim Fellowship is a "solo piano excursion" that salutes three of Allen's piano inspirations and influences: Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. But rather than outright references to the three, it's a work that shows how they've been absorbed into Allen's own piano language in a work that brings out her lush, impressionistic side.For a look at what the collaboration between Allen, currently a U-M prof, and Weems is about, check out this video about...Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:58:54 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=986You can bet the war criminal with the bad ticker is getting quality health care today -- but the rest of us aren't so lucky. People without health insurance often need to rely on free clinics like Ferncare in, duh, Ferndale. There's a music and art benefit for the facility this weekend at the Phoenx Cafe in Ferndale, featuring Duende!, Old Empire, the Crooks and a whole slew of local musos and work by fine artists. Drop by if you can...or donate a few bucks even if you can't attend. It's a very worthy cause. Someday, future generations will look back at a society that allowed evil corporations to obscenely profit on people's illness, pain and suffering with the same kind of disgust we now have when looking back at a society that allowed people to actually own other human beings as personal...Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:16:15 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=985We're still two-and-a-half weeks out from this but felt it was worth mentioning now so it doesn't get lost in the upcoming Blowout shuffle. Local jack of all musical trades (and Dirtbombs bassist) Troy Gregory will be presenting World War Love -- a film he wrote and directed and has been working on for years -- at Cliff Bell's downtown on Sunday, March 14th, at 10 p.m. The film features a hodge-podge of local (and formerly local) musicians, gadflies and rock luminaries, ranging from Mick Collins and the late Nathaniel Mayer to Tony Muggs, Eugene Strobe, music scribe Jeff Milo and punk musician Kyle McBee. And, of course, Kim Fowley as The Shadow of Love! The flick is described as "a dark comedy about three Detroit musicians returning to frazzled home lives i...Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:38:33 ESThttp://www.metrotimes.com/blog/musicblahg.asp?perm=984Earlier than ever, the Detroit Jazz Festival has released a list of early headliners. It's good news. First, there's the artist in residence, pianist Mulgrew Miller. The AIR designation guarantees that like John Clayton, Christian McBride and Regina Carter before him, Miller will hit Detroit for some special events leading up to the festival, in addition to a number of special shows during the festival over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-6). The former Art Blakey, Betty Carter and Woody Shaw sideman has cut hundreds of discs, and has been lauded in recent years for live and studio discs by his group Wingspan. Also announced today: saxophonist Branford Marsalis, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, veteran drummer Roy Haynes and conductor-composer Maria Schneider.The theme this year is  "Flame...Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:56:51 EST