October Music Highlights
Fr 10/16- STEVE EARLE with ALLISON MOORER, at the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock—Though he’s been a New Yorker—both Greenwich Village and Ulster County—for sometime now, hard-core troubadour Steve Earle still has a soul deep from the heart of Texas. On his most recent release Townes, Earle covers 15 songs by his hero and mentor—and fellow Texan—Townes Van Zandt, the legendary singer-songwriter who died in 1997 at the age of 52. Earle met Van Zandt in 1972 at one of Earle’s performances at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt was in the audience and playfully heckled Earle throughout the performance to play the song “Wabash Cannonball.” Earle admitted that he didn’t know how to play the tune and Van Zandt replied incredulously, “You call yourself a folksinger and you don’t know ‘Wabash Cannonball?’” Earle then silenced him by playing the Van Zandt song “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold,” and their bond was immediately formed. For this show Earle is accompanied by his wife Allison Moorer, herself an accomplished singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker St., Woodstock/Bearsville, www.bearsvilletheater.com, 845.679.4406. 9 PM
Sa 10/24- RICKIE LEE JONES at the Bardavon, Poughkeepsie—How do I love Rickie Lee Jones? Let me count the ways. As the colorfully evocative songwriter. As the spine-tingling and skillful vocalist—ever hear her version of “My Funny Valentine” on Girl at Her Volcano (1983)? I swear it actually brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. As the complete hipster, keeping up with her old pal Tom Waits in terms of staying relevant, with a new CD Balm in Gilead due to drop on November 3. As the warm and genuine performer who playfully engages with her audience. As the arranger who could manage to incorporate jazz stylings without seeming the least bit dilletantish. But truly—mostly as my wife’s all-time favorite artist. Rickie Lee Jones provided the music of our courtship, marriage, and child-raising life, and we still can always agree on her, when all else fails. See you there. The Bardavon, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie, www.bardavon.org, 845.473.2072. 8 PM
Fr 10/30- The MIGHTY DIAMONDS, at Bearsville Theater, Woodstock—It’s been over 30 years since their debut with Right Time in 1976, but Jamaica’s Mighty Diamonds have remained as solid as the name implies. When you have harmonies as tight as Donald “Tabby” Shaw, Fitzroy “Bunny” Simpson, and Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson have had since day one, you don’t want to mess with success. The Mighty Diamonds have weathered three decades of musical fads, ultimately staying true to what would be considered a “roots reggae” sound, and you’ve probably heard their most famous song “Pass the Kouchie,” as the Musical Youth 1982 hit “Pass the Dutchie.” Of course, it was scrubbed of all herbal references, with the line “how do you feel when you got no herb” changed to “got no food.” Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker St., Woodstock/Bearsville, www.bearsvilletheater.com, 845.679.4406. 9 PM
Sa 11/7- ECLECTIC METHOD with DJ MR. CHIPS, at Jason’s Upstairs Bar, Hudson—London’s Eclectic Method—Jonny Wilson, Ian Edgar and Geoff Gamlen—has helped to pioneer the emerging art of audio-visual mixing since first cutting U2’s “Mysterious Ways” music video with the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” as an experiment back in 2002. The trio’s audio-visual mash-ups feature television, film, music and video game footage sliced and diced into blistering, post-modern dance floor events: a cyclone of music and images mashed together in a world where Kill Bill fight scenes and Dave Chappelle’s Rick James rants are ingeniously cut and looped over bootleg samples, DVD scratches and pumped-up dance anthems. It’s a real-time subversion of technology and media performed live on video turntables for what LA Weekly called a “mesmerizing” sensory overload. With special guest DJ Mr. Chips. Jason’s Upstairs Bar, 521 Warren St., www.jasonsupstairsbar.com, 518.828.8787. 8 PM
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