It’s been said hundreds of times already, but man, there’s nothing like horrifying disaster and the ensuing apocalyptic fear to make deciding how to entertain yourself this weekend seem shallow and trivial. That said, in times such as these, it is important to embrace friendship and artistic expression instead of holing up in front of CNN for the rest of our lives meditating on seriousness and sorrow. For a myriad of reasons, however, many concerts have been either postponed or canceled due to the tragedies that occurred Sept. 11.
CANCELED
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have canceled their entire North American tour, which was scheduled to begin this week. From their statement: “The band members feel that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to be performing concerts in a country that is, as described by its president and media, at war.”
The much-anticipated Holly Golightly show with the Hentchmen and the Rapture that was supposed to happen this Saturday has also been postponed. So have To Rococo Rot, I-Sound and Marumari, Ocean Colour Scene, Jimmy Eat World and Turin Brakes. “A Twist of Marley,” featuring Gerald Albright, Patti Austin, Jonathan Butler and Lee Ritenour, scheduled for Saturday at the Fox Theatre has been canceled. So has the Charlatans show. For those who were planning on making the trip to New York for the CMJ Music Marathon this year, the dates have been moved back to Oct. 10-13. Unfortunately, this change conflicts with a few of the confirmed acts’ touring schedules and some of them won’t be able to make it anymore. Check www.cmj.com for updates.
SCHEDULED
The Firefly Club has scheduled two fundraisers to benefit the Red Cross. We found out too late to alert you to the first one, BluesAid, which happened Tuesday, Sept. 18. But hopefully, they got the word out and it was a success. The Witch Doctors, Mr. B., Al Hill, the Motor City Sheiks, Doug Deming’s Blue Suit Band, George Bedard, Shari Kane, the Terraplanes and more performed. If you missed that, you can probably still make tonight’s performance: Wednesday, the Firefly offers Jazz LoveFest, headed by the Paul Keller Ensemble. The lineup includes Larry Nozero, Jim Wyse, Louis Smith, Marion Hayden, saxophonist George Benson, Ursula Walker and Buddy Budson, Paul VornHagen, Tad Weed, Bess Bonnier, Shahida Nurullah, Rick Roe, James Dapogny, Nina Ott, Dan Kolton and more. It goes from 8 p.m-2 a.m., costs $25 at the door, every bit of which goes to the Red Cross. The Firefly Club is at 207 S. Ashley in Ann Arbor. Call 734-665-9090.
OTHER SHOWS
If you haven’t been to the Motor City Brewing Company Tap Room yet, here’s a perfect chance to drink some of your favorite hometown beer straight from the tap along with my favorite part, the unlimited free pretzel rods. The Alphabet is going to be playing there this Friday. And check out the lineup on this festival: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Archer Prewitt, KID606, DeVotchka (an old-world mariachi-polka-punk band featuring belly dancers) and Binary Star are all scheduled for this year’s Barking Tuna Festival. The annual event, put on by 89.1 WIDR-FM in Kalamazoo, takes place Oct. 6 at the Kalamazoo State Theatre and benefits the Jamie Kloote Foundation. Kloote has cystic fibrosis and needs a double lung transplant.
SIGNINGS
XL Recordings, a UK label with a roster including The Avalanches, Badly Drawn Boy and Basement Jaxx announced on its Web site that it has signed the White Stripes to a deal that covers their first three albums and future recordings. White Blood Cells is to be released through XL this month.
Brendan Benson is releasing his sophomore release Lapalco on StarTime International, home to French Kicks and the Walkmen. He recorded it at home in Detroit, with a little help from longtime collaborator, Jason Falkner. He’s got some MP3s up at www.MP3.com to tide you over until the release date. Perhaps now, everyone will stop calling him “Virgin recording artist Brendan Benson.” Having a ubiquitous tag follow you around like that sure blows sometimes.
E-mail In One Earr at [email protected]
