WAY OUT IN TREE TOWN
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: No one conceives of a party like Superbadass Productions. SBA main man Rich Rice, whose visions of celebratory multimedia exceed the tame conjurings of highly paid party promoters far and wide, is throwing another shindig that gathers the best, brightest, wildest and most accomplished practitioners of arts visual, musical, movement-ical and fashionable. This Sunday at Ann Arbor’s Nectarine Ballroom (516 E. Liberty), Superbadass hosts "Four Rooms," a benefit for WCBN (aka "Radio Free Ann Arbor" at 88.3 on your FM dial). Let the visual (courtesy of mixed media and paint artists Lisa Colwell, Matt Gordon, Geof Walker and Dana Bell) commingle with the flickering sights provided by Detroit filmmaker Ben "You may have seen my work at a Wildbunch show or, you know, in the DIA" Hernandez and Chuck "As in half of ebeling hughes" Hughes, and Colwell and Rice.
To paraphrase Humpty Hump, the sound’s laid down by the underground (the indie underground, that is) with surely manic sets on two stages by the right Reverend Mike Hard (ex-of Thrall and Godbullies), the right-bent indie-punk of Le Triggers, plus the tones of Borderline, Action Tiger and the Four Gone Conclusions (featuring Mr. Freddie "Fortune & Maltese" Fortune). Whew! But wait, those of you who missed movement artist Jeremy Kalio’s last performance (a man vs. machine battle à la John Henry), you’ll have the opportunity to catch Kalio’s Heart+Hand this eve. Could we throw in a heady dose of fashion? All right? MCM-STRSS (aka designer Amber Lesicki) and company will grace the runway with style and flair.
I really don’t know what else to tell you, except that the cover is only $5 (remember, it’s for a good cause - WCBN gives off some of the bravest new waves to be found on any frequency in our area) and you’ll likely not find another confluence of Detroit-Ann Arbor-and-everywhere-in-between until Rice conjures another of his aesthetic carnivals. The show starts at 9 p.m. and runs till 2 a.m. Call 313-990-1995 for more info or e-mail [email protected].
RELEASE-A-THON
Oh, the fall, and all the musical joys it brings. Fans of hometown music, in particular, are never at a loss for a celebration of the new, the innovative, the inspiring, the intoxicating when the leaves come off the trees in metro Detroit. This year’s post-harvest moon crop is particularly inspiring. Peep this: The night before Thanksgiving is traditionally the biggest bar night of the year, but this year, rather than blowing out your brain cells before taking the turkey/L-Tryptophan-buzz plunge, head to Detroit’s 313.jac to celebrate the release of the debut full-length from Detroit’s Stunning Amazon. The stunning amazon is Audra Kubat and Stunning Amazon is the assembled band she’s brought together to give musical flesh to her intimate hymns weaving the personal and the universal. Kubat’s voice is a stunning instrument that recalls at times equal parts Beth Orton, Cat Power’s Chan Marshall (particularly in the grounded, cosmic tone Kubat strikes on many of the tracks) and, in some sense, Grace Slick (I just call ‘em like I sees ‘em). Guitarist Matt Thibodeau, bassist Bill Engleman and drummer Jamie Taunton back Kubat’s voice and acoustic guitar. The show on the 24th boasts a stellar supporting cast, to boot: Sponge’s Vinnie Dombrowski and Joey Mazzola play an acoustic set and ebeling hughes member Chuck Hughes (there he is again!) works the electro-ambient mojo after Stunning Amazon departs the stage. 313.jac is located above Jacoby’s (624 Brush, Detroit). Call 1-800-700-2437 for more info.
If you’re feeling a bit autumnal and perhaps a bit sinister, you’ll likely want to head to Detroit’s Magic Stick on Nov. 18 as Detroit’s Spectator Records celebrates the release of new full-lengths from three of its stable members, Galicja, 57 Waltz and Richard Panic (a pseudonym for an anonymous fella who mixes the New Wave, the pop and the aggro without prejudice). Call 313-833-9700 for more info.
Also, plus, too, and … Keep your eyes glued to this space and other music-driven areas of our indispensable little paper for info on the Gravitar family party at the Gold Dollar (Nov. 19, featuring Gravitar and member side-project outfits Persona, Gaffle and Basketcase), the new slab from hi-NRG mod-rockers (would that be mockers?) the Numbers and so much more. It’s a very exciting time to be a music thrillseeker – go on out and get your kicks.
