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Concert update: Drowning Pool, Disney on Ice, Dayglow, Neon Desert and more

Drowning Pool, the Dallas hard rock band that has a long history supporting our armed forces, will headling this year's Rock the Fort concert at Fort Bliss.

It's a free show from 4-10 p.m. July 16 in Biggs Park.

The lineup also includes Austin metal band Powderburn, El Paso's Outbreak and country singer Larry Bagby.

The event also will include a car and bike show and a beer garden, where, for $10, you get 10 beer samples and VIP seating in the Casa Nissan Beer Garden.

No outside food or beverages, glass containers, coolers or pets. Lawn chairs and blankets are OK.

Go to blissmwr.com or call 588.8247 for more info.

In other show news:

• Buzz, Woody and the gang are on ice. Disney on Ice, that is. Their new show, "Disney•Pixar's Toy Story 3" comes to the Coliseum for nine shows Oct. 5-9.

Tickets, which will range from $15 to $43 (plus fees), won't go on sale until Aug. 27.

But there will be two presales, one of which is for people on the Feld Entertainment mailing list. It's from 10 a.m. July 8 to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5. Or, if you sign up for an "ebuzz" from Feld's website, you can take part in a second presale from 10 a.m. Aug. 16 to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5.

• Last week's Crystal Dreams 7 paint party at Cohen Stadium was inspired by the Dayglow paint parties (which combine music, dancing, partying and paint). Now the Dayglow tour is coming to El Paso's newest venue, the Buchanan Event Center, 11540 Pellicano.

It'll be there at 9 p.m. Sept. 9. Starkillers, the Devil From Acapulco and David Solano will be among the DJs performing.

Tickets are $20, on sale now at Ticketbully.com.

• Got a copy of the report the Neon Desert Music Festival organizers submitted recently to the city.

It reveals that of the 10,821 who attended the first-time event last April 30, which showcased electronic, alternative rock, Latin rock and more on four stages, 7,984 bought tickets.

A total of 2,661 were termed "visitors," meaning out-of-towners, an important statistic since the $20,000 the city gave to event organizers was from hotel occupancy tax money.

That's nearly 25 percent nonlocals, organizers claim.

The crowd was 53.3 percent male, 49 percent were between the ages of 18 and 24 (38.4 percent were 25-34), 51.4 percent made $25k or less and nearly 96 percent said they'd attend again next year.

Organizers raised nearly $159,000 in sponsorships, $114,250 was in cash, the rest split between in-kind donations and free media partnerships (that did not include the Times, though we did cover the hell out of it, something that's not mentioned in the report).

Food vendors averaged sales of $2,500 during the 12-hour festival.

Festival organizers donated $14,617.67 to local charities and organizations, led by nearly $8,000 to the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department, which runs Cleveland Square Park and San Jacinto Plaza, where two of the four stages were located.

Another $2,663 was donated to Sun City Pride, with $1,970 going to Creative Kids, which hosted a pre-festival event, $1,000 to Cathedral High School and $1,000 to Amor Por Juarez.

Neither a date nor bands have been announced for next year's festival, but it's in the works.

• The Electric Cowboys (Grupo Vida) headlines this year's Ysleta Mission Festival, which will be July 8-10 near the historic mission.

It's a free festival, and will feature performances by the Cowboys, Starliners and Seventh Avenue on July 8; Souled Out, Rhapsody and Orgullo de Valle on July 9; and the River City Band and Vizion, with folklorico dancers and matichine dancers on July 10.

Hours are 5-10 p.m. July 8, 3 p.m.-1 a.m. July 9 and 3-10 p.m. July 10.

Go to ysletamission.org or call 859.9848 for more details.

• The Gilbert and Sullivan Company of El Paso will perform their operetta "H.M.S. Pinafore" at July 14-23 at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater.

It's the company's annual summer production, but first since the death of founder and local theater matriarch Joan Quarm early this year. Quarm started the company to produce G&S' works here, and give local singers a chance to perform.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. July 14 and 15, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. July 16, 7:30 p.m. July 21-22 and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. July 23.

Tickets are $8 for seniors, military and students, $10 for others, in advance. They're $2 more at the door.

Go to gandselpaso.com.

 

Concert review: Warped heats up in more ways than one

LAS CRUCES — "Thank you for (blanking) sticking it out in this heat," Pepper singer-guitarist Kaleo Wassman told a few thousand of the nearly 10,000 who turned out for Wednesday's Vans Warped Tour stop at NMSU.

I hadn't been there but a few minutes, right around 4 p.m., and the mercury was stubbornly ensconced in yet another 100 degree day, though after topping out at 108 on Monday it didn't feel all that bad.

Many of the females in the mostly teenaged crowd were in bikini tops and shorts, a lot of the guys were shirtless and in shorts. The lines for shaved ice were as long as they were for the hottest acts of the moment, such as the Ready Set and rising stars like Of Mice and Men.

The only things more popular than the music and autographs were water, shade and sunscreen. Good thing they don't do this in a parking lot like they do in places like Detroit.

It was 13 degrees hotter than last year, NMSU events and marketing coordinator Bobbie Welch reminded, but it didn't seem as hot as it has been. In fact, she said, EMT calls for heat-related problems were down 25 percent (and there were only five arrests).

"We'd heard horror stories about how hot it was, but you have to treat it like a day job, work your ass off in the day and chill out at night," said Rory Clewlow, guitarist for British metalcore band Enter Shikari, during a stop by the press tent.

Even Chris Batten, the band's shirtless, slightly pale bassist, said it "wasn't that bad" on this hot, clear, sunny afternoon. Muscular drummer Rob Rolfe, also shirtless, noted they "use the air-conditioning in the bus" as much as possible, and cautioned the quartet, which played early in the afternoon, and second-year Warped tour vets worry "it'll be baking hot when we get to Arizona."

At least they don't have to worry about that until Aug. 7, when the tour affectionately known as "punk rock summer camp" plops down in Phoenix. 

Of course, that nickname is less applicable these days. Warped is like a giant mixtape of what's popular with teenagers who aren't into what's popular in the mainstream. Each successive tour is like a collective finger on the alternateen pulse. With about 80 bands on eight stages (seven tour stages and one local stage), that's a lot of pulse-taking.

Punk rock remains the foundation of all that is Warped, but in founder Kevin Lyman's ongoing quest to keep it relevant with today's teenagers, the 17-year-old Warped hasn't reinvented itself so much as it has evolved. 

Thankfully, the great emo scare is over, and as that whiny genre fades into memory, modern versions of alternative metal and various variations on punk, rap, pop, reggae and even rootsy rock are now the order of the day.

The idea, Lyman said in an earlier interview, was to appeal both to Warped's core audience — the kids who are in high school now (with some middle schoolers mixed in) — and the ones who've moved on to college, but stopped going to Warped. 

You could see it in action. In the relatively short time I was there — from 3:45 to 5:15 — the youngest kids gathered around certain bands, older kids gathered around others. Metal leaning bands like hot newcomers Attack! Attack! (on the Teggart main stage) and gimmicky genre-bending acts like Blood on the Dance Floor (on the Skullcandy stage) drew younger crowds.

More musically sophisticated bands, like jammy throwback quartet Lionize didn't pack them in at the the Tilly's/Alternative Press stage, but the smallish, more collegiate crowd seemed to appreciate the band's soulful performance and instrumental command.

Next door, at the Nintendo 3DS stage, the poppy melodicism and energy of The Dangerous Summer (Nintendo 3DS stage), who took the stage brandishing the trophy they won at the 4th annual Warped bowling tournament on Tuesday (Hellogoodbye took first), drew a more diverse crowd.

Due to time constraints (I got out of the office 90 minutes later than planned; I had to be somewhere by 6), I wasn't able to take in a whole set by ay one band, so I did my own sampler of the bands who played while I was there. Lionize and the The Dangerous Summer stood a head above the rest, showing more depth, chops and songwriting ability than the others I heard.

Freshman 15 was a nice surprise. Judging by their errant attempts to get laughs early in their set, they recovered nicely with a sense of fun and the kind of pop punk hookiness that reminds one of Blink-182 before they broke big.

Blood on the Dance Floor had some strong harmonies,  but lost me when gender-bending singer Dahvie Vanity rapped — clumsily. Attack! Attack! showed what all the touring they've been doing can do to tighten a band's sound, but as metalcore bands go, they sounded pretty typical, not distinctive.

Miss May I played on the smaller Advent stage (sponsored by the Las Cruces-connected clothing company), but had a sound that was more well-honed than A!2's and more intensity. Sets like that, and crowds like that, could lead them to the main stage in a year or two.

That's the thing about Warped that's been so consistent. It's a lot like high school. Bands come on as freshman, get to play for hundreds of thousands of people, and either drop out or keep moving up the ladder. "Kevin Lyman has done more for small bands," Shikari's Batten said.

Indeed, he has.

And he did good this year, at least what I was able to sample of it. He's hardly the first promoter to put so many bands, so much merchandising and so many worthy causes (groups devoted to everything from fighting smoking to feeding impoverished children) in one place. But he's one of the few who's been able to do it so effectively and so consistently for so long.

Welch said a crowd of 9,601 showed up for this year's Warped, an increase of 1,000 over last year. The improving economy didn't hurt, she said, but pointed out some other possible ingredients in this year's success.

"Talent? Cheaper gas? Better advertising," she mused via text. "(It's) always  hard to pin it down, but the whole tour is up, so (it's) probably talent."

I'd have to agree. Based on what I saw this year, I would have stayed longer if I could have. I haven't been able to say that every year.

 

 

 

Concert review: Isaak has wicked fun — and Sun — at Plaza show

Thank goodness for guys like Chris Isaak.

While he may have thanked the smallish crowd at Tuesday night's Plaza Theatre show — his first in El Paso — for "supporting live music," something fewer people are doing in this slowly recovering economy, all 700 of them could just as easily have thanked him for not phoning it in.

How many times have you been to a show where the small turnout gave the headliner an excuse to phone it in? Isaak didn't do that. In fact, he seemed oblivious to the crowd's size.

It was a full-on, playful, 90-minute set, just Isaak and the in-the-pocket Silvertone quintet, no opener, lots of hits, few misses, plenty of tongue-in-cheek cheese and a refreshing sidetrip into the Sun Records songbag that inspired his forthcoming album of Sun classics.

Isaak, who turned 55 on June 26, recalled his childhood in Stockton, CA, listening to his dad's Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison records. "I didn't realize all that stuff came from one place," he said, as a neon recreation of Sun's "Memphis Recording Service" sign lit up behind one of the five, large, louvred panels at the back of the stage.

They reeled off six straight Sun-era songs, connecting those dots from rock's early days as an uneasy traffic jam of rural blues, country and gospel to the retrofitted rockabilly pop of "Dancin'," "Blue Hotel" and "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" that helped make Isaak, his matinee idol good looks and Orbisonesque tenor a cult favorite for the last quarter of a century.

The Sun miniset mixed faithful renditions of obvious songs, like Presley's "It's Now or Never," Cash's "Ring of Fire" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" (with smoking piano), with not-so obvious  gems, including a shimmering version of the King's ballad "How's the World Treating You" and Jimmy Wages' gritty rockabilly obscurity "Miss Pearl," which featured some tour-de-force six-string work from Johnny-on-the-spot guitarist Hershel Yatovitz.

It's obvious Isaak's not out to reinvent the wheel here. He sounds more intent on indulging his musical roots while exposing them to others. It would have been nice to hear the resourceful singer and his versatile band add some of their own touches to these songs, but that's not the point.

The Sun section could have lasted a song or two longer, too, but served as a sturdy bridge between the fast, well-paced first half and the looser, more varied five-song finale. The first half dug deep into his 10-album catalog, including a straightforward version of his biggest and most haunting hit, "Wicked Game," a rumbling "Speak of the Devil" and a swampy "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing," accented by two female dancers plucked from the crowd.

The pompadoured singer emerged from the Sun session in a gaudy, mirrored suit, which shot more stars in the crowd than there are on the Plaza's famously restored ceiling (though he did ask the crew to turn down the lights so he could check them out).

Brighter yet was his  lovely, loving rendition of Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love," a rocking version of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" (complete with a 20-foot inflatable pinup girl) and the solo acoustic version of "Forever Blue," which closed the show.

It's not too hard to believe that Isaak didn't put a few more butts in the seats. Not in this town, where fringe artists get so little mainstream exposure. It is hard to believe he hasn't played here before, but given how much fun he and the band seemed to have — he also raved about the theater's sound a couple of times — here's hoping he comes back.

 

 

Concert update: Art Lewis, Border Legends, Radio La Chusma, blues legends and more

Fresh from Sunday's Music Under the Stars free concert with Fernie Lechuga, former El Paso saxophonist and showman Art Lewis will do another freebie tonight at King's X.

Lewis, who now lives in Houston but comes back periodically, will be backed by Kat Crosby and her band.

The show starts at 7 p.m. There's no cover.

In other concert news:

• Speaking of border legends, the fourth annual Border Legends concert returns to Lancer's East on Sept. 10. 

This year's show will feature the Adams Brothers (Doug Adamz and brother Darrell Adams with guitarist Glenn Leffler), Rod Crosby and the Intruders, the Henchmen (with Paul Dillon and Mike Eckdall), Bobby and the Premiers (who'll back Eugene Anchondo), the Tekewoods (with Bob Burns), the Troubadours (with Billy Taylor Sparks), Truth and Zoomer Roberts (backed by Doug Neal, Buddy Winston, Jack Woodberry and Dalton Powell).

Also playing: Marshall Nelson of '70s band Ol' Scratch.

Cost is $25, which includes dinner, which will be served at 4:30 p.m., with the show starting an hour later.

Tickets will be on sale at the door. Go to organizer Rick Kern's website, musiciansofelpaso.com for more info.

• Local border legends-in-the-making Radio La Chusma kick off their their three-week "Rasta Mexica" tour with a free show at 8 p.m. June 29 at 6 Strings, 1160 Airway.

The Latin reggae band's tour starts July 1 in Riverside, CA and continues through July 23, with stops in San Diego, San Francisco, metro LA, Las Vegas, Tempe, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The band's next El Paso show is a freebie Aug. 31 at the State Line, which closes out that summer series.

• Speaking of the State Line, more gaps on its calendar have been filled, including a July 6 return by our own Dirty River Boys (whom I recently profiled for Lone Star Music magazine's nextissue).

They'll be followed by Las Cruces native Bri Bagwell on July 13; Bart Crow, July 20; Emory Quinn, July 27; Uncle Lucius, Aug. 3; Pear Ratz, Aug. 10; Del Castillo, Aug. 17; Jason Boland, Aug. 24; and Radio La Chusma, Aug. 31.

• The versatile Jim Murphy hopes to make a few blues legends come alive with "Blues Before Sunset (History of the Blues)," an informance at 7 p.m.  July 17 in the Philanthropy Theatre, next to the Plaza Theatre.

The singer-guitarist, who performs as Austin Jimmy Murphy (he's also a visual artist, author and development director of the history museum), will discuss and perform pieces from various points in blues history, as well as a few new originals.

He'll be joined by singer Sha'Vonne Williams, harmonica player Conrad Pussman, bassist Juan Tarin and drummer JoDavid Reyes.

Cost is $25, plus service charge, on sale at 10 a.m. June 29 at the Plaza Theatre box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

It's presented by the El Paso Friends of Jazz Society.

 

 

 

Father's Day, music and the value of enduring friendship

Tom Mayton and I go back a long way. We met at Scotsdale Elementary School. I think it was in the 6th grade. We used to call him “Tank” because he was built so stocky and low to the ground.

We went to Eastwood together. Thanks to the driver’s license he got on a hardship before he was 16 — and his legendary white Camaro convertible — we did a lot of things our surviving parents still don’t want to know about.

I drank my first beer with Tom. I went drinking and more in Juárez  — once a rite of passage for El Paso high school students — for the first time with Tom. I went to desert bonfire parties with Tom. I had tequila shot races with Tom. I went to  my first rock concerts — Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Grand Funk Railroad at the Coliseum — with Tom.

I got my first kiss in Tom’s Camaro — not from him!.

We have a lot of history together.

My mom used to call him an accident waiting to happen. I didn’t see it that way, of course, but even a loyal friend had to distance himself a bit from the wildness once I discovered a passion for journalism my junior year at Eastwood.

We’ve stayed in touch all these years, exchanging Christmas cards and the occasional email or text. He swung by my home in Kalamazoo, MI, shortly after my son, Keith, was born 23 years ago.

In recent years, we’ve gotten together with other high school friends for an annual golf tournament.

Tom’s teaches movie and video production at a high school in California, something my skeptical mom never would have foreseen.

I was surprised, and a little distressed, when he told me he was in town recently. I didn’t know he was coming, and I already had a full plate. I wasn’t sure we’d cross paths.

But one of our strongest bonds — music — came to the rescue. A progressive bluegrass group from Virginia called the Dixie Bee-liners was in town for a free Father’s Day concert and dinner show at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing, one of my favorite places here (it reminds me of Ann Arbor and Austin).

Tom, it turns out, was buzzed about the band, having stumbled across them on Rhapsody.

I wasn’t that familiar, but their singer-guitarist, Brandi Hart, had emailed me a few months ago asking for a place to play on their way back to Virginia. Ardovino’s seemed a natural fit.

So there we were, seated with some other folks around a table in a dining room, watching, enjoying and discovering the riches of this versatile group. It felt comfortably familiar to be at the show with Tom, 41 years since we attended that Grand Funk concert at the Coliseum.

Things have changed, of course. We’re both 53, not 13. We both have kids. Tom’s married. I’ve still got a full head of hair. We’ve both put on a few pounds. He took pictures with his iPhone, including one with Hart, whom he planned to friend on Facebook. I watched and thought back to those first concerts.

The Bee-liners were good, a versatile mix of middle-aged and young talent, with traditional instrumentation, and modern touches, including their own compositions (newest album “Susanville” is a concept record) and a bass player, Sav Sankaran, who plays an electric bass and sings like a bird.

I can’t help but think that my enjoyment was enhanced by the company I kept that night. This was less about celebrating Father’s Day than enjoying a shared love of music and the value of a friendship that remains strong well past those formidable, hormone-filled years.

 

Me, Dixie Bee-Liners singer Brandi Hart and my friend, Tom Mayton, at Ardovino's Desert Crossing on Father's Day, June 19.

 

Concert update: Van Helden, Angelica Maria, ABBA tribute, Buble, Showtime EP, EPYSO and more

Most people think of a paint party as an afternoon spent with buddies drinking beer and repainting the house.

That's sort of the idea behind Saturday's Crystal Dreams 7 paint party at Cohen Stadium.

You do hook up with your buddies, there will be alcoholic beverages, and there will be plenty of paint, including what's being billed as a "huge paint bomb."

Based on the popular Dayglow paint parties that started in Florida five years ago, the idea is to mix thumping club dance music — American DJ Armand Van Helden headlines — and various performers on three stages with state-of-the-art sound and lights, stilt-walkers, go-go dancers, fire dancers, paint blast cannons and more.

The neon paint is washable, which is one reason why promoters Famous Angels of Tempe, AZ, are encouraging folks to wear white.

Also providing the beats will be several other DJs, including DJ Micro, Dave Aude, Astrodudes, Pimp Tiger, Diego P, Borderline Skitzo and more.

It's an all-ages show running from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the baseball stadium.

Tickets are 20 bux, on sale at All That Music & Video, the Headstand and diablos.com.

In other concert news:

• Mexico's sweetheart — enduring singer and actress Angelica Maria — and esteemed Mexican composer Armando Manzanero team up for a concert at 8 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Chavez Theatre.

Maria, 56, is the former childhood actress who launched a successful singing career in the 1960s ("Eddy Eddy") and later was a frequent ranchera duet partner of Juarez's Juan Gabriel before becoming a fixture on Mexican TV telenovelas.

Manzanero, 66, is probably best known for writing "Somos Novios," which later became a huge international hit for Elvis Presley and others in its English-language incarnation, "It's Impossible."

Tickets are $30, $40, $50, $65 and $75, plus service charges, on sale now at the Plaza Theatre box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

• Lola Productions, best known for bringing exotic world music and entertainment to town, again teams up with UTEP's Special Events Office, this time to bring a tribute band to one of Sweden's biggest exports, Abba.

Abba The Concert, considered one of the top Abba tribute bands, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14-15 at UTEP's Magoffin Auditorium.

The group, which includes former members of Abba's band, will perform scads of the group's  hits, including "Waterloo," "Mamma Mia" and "S.O.S."

Tickets are $35 and $40, plus service charges, on sale at 10 a.m. June 24 at the University Ticket Center, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

• Speaking of UTEP's Special Events office, director Jorge Vazquez said the June 14 Rush concert nearly sold out, with just shy of 7,000 in attendance.

The Aug. 16 Michael Buble show is not sold out, he added, but about 90 percent of the tickets have been snatched up since they went on sale June 17. There are tickets in all price tiers, he said, with some releases expected closer to the show.

He's predicting a sellout and said the show, produced by Memphis' Beaver Productions, could draw 8,000.

• There are two tribute acts on the Showtime El Paso 2011-2012. Jim Curry stars in "Take Me Home: Music of John Denver," coming to the Chavez on Nov. 6, and Surfin' Safari brings its recreation of the '60s-era Beach Boys to the theater at April 22.

They're part of a five-show series that opens with the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats on Sept. 25.

Also scheduled are the Chris Burton Jacome Flamenco Ensemble, featuring the guitarist, musicians and dancers, on Oct. 16, and young pop and big band singer Aion Clarke on Feb. 19.

One new twist: All concerts will be at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays at the Chavez, instead of evenings on various nights.

They're offering early bird specials on season subscriptions through June 30. The series packages include a ticket to each show.

The family package (for up to two adults and up to 10 students ages 6-25) is $150, $190 beginning July 1.

The adult subscriptions are $60, $80 after June 30.

There's also a student and youth pass for $30.

Parking passes, which include parking for all five shows, are $20, or $5 less than what it costs to park in the convention center ramp for all five shows.

For more info, go to showtimeelpaso.com or call 544.2022.

• Maestro Phillip Gabriel Garcia and his El Paso Youth Symphony Orchestra will kick off a trip to Hollywood with a concert at 7 p.m. June 26 at Western Playland.

It will feature a rock band, made up mostly of EPYSO members, backed by the orchestra. The group will play rockers such as "Heartbreaker," "Stairway to Heaven," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Don't Stop Believing."

It's the kickoff event of what they're calling the "The Technicolor Timemachine Tour," which Garcia said will include performances at Universal Studios (on the Blues Brothers stage) on July 1 and Knott's Berry Farm on July 2.

The trip also includes a visit to Disneyland and a masterclass and recording session at Disney studios, he said.

The kids will have fun, too, including a visit to the beach and Magic Mountain, Garcia said.

"Very cool," he said.

• New Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus return to the Sun City for a June 26 show at Black Market.

The band, still touring last year's "The Monitor" album, will be joined by Kontra Golpe Noise Manifesto, Disguise and Disgust and DJ Chakra Khan.

It's an 18-and-older show. It starts at 9, doors at 8. Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 day of show, on sale at All That Music & Video, the Headstand and the club.

• Industrial rockers My Life With Thrill Kill Kult bring their "Siniuster Whisperz" tour to Club 101 at 7 p.m. June 28. 

They'll be joined by electronic duo Twitch the Ripper and experimental electronica group BMM.

Tickets are $15, on sale at All That Music & Video, the Headstand, the club and ticketbully.com.

• Steve Aoki, one of a handful of rising DJs who plays here regularly, will headline a "Red, White and Aoki" Independence Day Weekend party at 7 p.m. July 3 at The Garden.

He'll probably go on around midnight, but it will start with a free cookout and free Grey Goose, one of the event sponsors.

Cost is $29, on sale at Ticketbully.

That's the same night, by the way, that Richie Hawtin is at Club 101.

• Sick Substance was the leading vote getter in the competition for slots on the first Independence Stage at the KLAQ Downtown Street Fest on July 1-2. Local bands made submissions via the station's website, and fans voted for them.

The top 10 finishers, all of whom will perform either July 1 or 2, are Dark Aria, Daniel Rising, Texas Roadkill, Aftermath, Destroy to Recreate, Miranda Burning, A Beautiful Morning, Ocean Lies Ahead and Something Wicked.

• One more electronic music event to report: the "Hard Summer" tour, featuring Digitalism, Jackbeats, Caspa and Destructo, comes to Club 101 at 9 p.m. Aug. 8.

Tickets are $21, on sale Ticketbully.

• Country singer and pianist Ronnie Milsap has added a second show at the Spencer Theatre near Ruidoso. With his 8 p.m. Aug. 6 show there almost sold out, a 2 p.m. matinee was added.

Tickets are $76 and $79, on sale at the box office, spencertheater.com and 888.818.7872.

The Spencer's summer season continues with Pat Boone at 8 p.m. July 2 ($76, $79) and includes stops by Delbert McClinton at 8 p.m. Aug. 13 ($66, $69) and the return of Asleep at the Wheel's stage play about Bob Wills, "A Ride with Bob," at 8 p.m. Aug. 25-27 and 2 p.m. Aug. 27 ($56, $59).

• Speaking of country veterans, Sawyer Brown will play the Inn of the Mountain Gods at 8 p.m. Sept. 2, part of the Mescalero casino's Labor Day Weekend festivities. 

Tickets are cheap, $25 across the board, on sale now at Ticketmaster.

• Texas country riser Josh Abbott returns to Whiskey Dicks at 10 p.m. July 23.

Those tickets are $12, $22 for fans 18- to 20-years-old, on sale at Ticketbully.

• O'Brother, the Atlanta indie band that lists influences such as Radiohead, Sigur Ros and Mogwai, opens a string of touring dates at 8 p.m. July 12 at Low Brow Palace.

Tickets are a cheap 8 bucks at Ticketbully.

The Low Brow's also hosting San Diego indie-pop singer-pianist Maren Parusel and her band on July 7. 

• Dallas — by way of Alaska — thrash metal band Turbid North will play Club 101 on July 6. The band, compared to early Metallica, is touring in support of its latest album, "Oregeny," a concept record about a hunter stranded in their frigid home state.

• Acrassicauda, the Iraqi metal band that played here Memorial Day Weekend, returns to the House of Rock Live at 8:30 p.m. July 29.

The club also hosts the Henchmen and the Limit Club on Aug. 18.

• Now for some news that's really out of this world. El Paso Comic Con organizer Julian Lawler confirmed  that a third "Star Wars" veteran will appear at this year's comics and sci-fi expo.

Billy Dee Williams, Lando Calrissian himself, will take part in EPCON 2011, which will be Sept. 10-11 at the convention center.

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, and Dickey Beer (Boba Fett) also will appear.

Lawler also said that two actors from TV's "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" have signed on — Catherine Sutherland (the second Pink Ranger) and Nakia Burisse (who played a later version of the Yellow Ranger). 

Passes are $15 for one day, $25 for two, on sale at Ticketmaster.

 

 

 

 

 

Quickie concert update: Flatpicking guitarist in concert tonight

Roberto Dalla Vecchia, a flatpicking guitarist from the hills ... of Italy, will perform at 7 tonight (June 23) at St Paul's Lutheran Church, 1000 Montana.

The concert will be in Bauman Hall in the basement.

Dalla Vecchia's work on the acoustic guitar ranges from country to bluegrass to classical, with some Mediterranean flavor thrown in. He won Acoustic Guitar magazine's Homegrown CD award in 2003.

Tickets are $10 at the door.

 

Buble update: Ticket prices, presales

Man, go out of town for a few days and the Michael Buble show I was trying to get confirmation on before I left gets announced.

That's just how it works.

Unless you've been under a (hot) rock the last few, scorching days, you already know that the Canadian crooner will return at 8 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Don  Haskins Center.

And you know that tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. June 17.

But did you know that the pre-sales have already started?

Or that tickets are going for $49.50, $65 and $85 (plus service charges)?

Now you do.

The fan club presale started June 14 and continues through 5 p.m. June 16.

A bundle version, which includes tickets and a $29.99 fan club membership, is on sale through 5 p.m. June 16.

There's a two-ticket limit on fan club and bundle presales.

A venue presale also continues through 5 p.m. June 16.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. June 17. There's a six-ticket limit that day only.

The presales are going on at ticketmaster.com.

Tickets will be available at the UTEP Ticket Center, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

This is a jump up, in terms of capacity, from Buble's last show here, a sold-out concert on July 19, 2006 at the Plaza Theatre, the year it opened. 

The Don can hold about 7,000-8,000 for this show, depending on how many seats will be killed by the stage production.

Of course, Buble's much bigger now than he was then. He's currently touring his latest album of retro pop, "Crazy Love," which debuted at No. 1 when it came out in 2009. It includes the hit "Haven't Met You Yet." His new single, "Hollywood," is part of last year's "Crazy Love Hollywood Edition," a reissue that included several bonus tracks.

The Sinatra-style singer is a heartbreaker, and he broke hearts earlier this year when he married Argentinian singer and actress Luisana Lopilato.

 

last year. 

Guest review: Rush concert a 'Duuude!' moment for hardcore fans

I just got back from an activity-packed vacation break in Michigan. Needed to see old friends, catch a Tigers game, rejuvenate in one of my favorite cities, Ann Arbor, for a few days. More on that in a future post.

But the break meant that I wouldn't be here for the Rush concert. Though I've seen them several times here and in Detroit over the years, I had looked forward to the show at the Don Haskins Center on June 14, but needed the vacation more than I needed to see them.

So I asked avid Rush fan and KLAQ Program Director Courtney Nelson to wax poetic about his heroes' local show.

Here's what he wrote:

DUDE! 

I really didn’t want to start with that word, but….DUUUUDE!  Very few bands can evoke that emotion, but there were a lot of people yelling it June 14 when Rush brought its "Time Machine" tour to the Don Haskins Center.

In the 20 minutes I had before the show started, I was partaking in my favorite pasttime — people watching.  I was out of uniform.  Every imaginable Rush t-shirt, baseball jersey and tattoo was visible every few feet — old and young equally excited about what was coming.  Watching the father in front of me show up with his two teenage sons and one daughter was proof of how Rush is a band for the generations.  The more senior Rush fans (like me) may have showed outward signs of the advancing years, but their smiles showed they were as young as ever and ready to rock! 

It was confirmed when the lights went out and I heard the most noise from the longtime Rush fans around me (6,999 attended).  The opening video on the giant screen had singer-bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart playing the parts of patrons in a sausage shop, watching a young 3-piece band trying to put some music together. 

The “Gefilter” was introduced — a machine that could transform the band's music, and transport them back in time.  Rush is always the first to poke fun at themselves.  The video was a fun way to start the show.

"The Spirit of Radio" opened the show, bringing everyone to their feet, singing and playing air drums.  The guitar notes from "Time Stand Still" got us going even higher.  The energy just kept going with "Stick It Out," new song "BU2B," "Freewill," "Marathon," "Subdivisions" and more. Geddy thanked the crowd and told us not to go anywhere because they were coming back.

Lights came up and more of the "DUUUUDE" screams were shared with total strangers in our general area.

 The second set began with another video with Geddy, Alex and Neil were dressed up as characters. It went dark and the first note of "Tom Sawyer" made the ground shake!  My 11-year-old son jumped on my back and yelled in my ear … "This is it!"  True.  This was it, the song that made Rush IT for me many years ago. 

The entire "Moving Pictures" album, released in 1981 and reissued this year, was performed.  Geddy didn’t even have to sing, the crowd was basically taking over that part.  Alex and Geddy had that classic Rush stance or  “lean” as they started "Limelight." Their smiles to each other probably said “this is still great after all these years!” 

At various times during the set, I looked around at other faces and wondered about each person's journey with Rush had brought them to this moment.  Like me, Rush music has been woven into the fabric of my life. 

 Again with the "DUUUUDE" as Peart started his drum solo.  Trying to process what we were seeing and hearing from this legendary drummer was impossible.  Alex had his time to wow the crowd, too, as he led into "Closer to the Heart." No need for Geddy to sing — again. 

Many more favorites were played from "2112," finishing with "Far Cry."  The ending video had Jason Segel and Paul Rudd, the actors from the 2009 movie “I Love You, Man,” in which Rush made a cameo, breaking into Rush’s dressing room.  Alex, Geddy & Neil catch them in the act.  Another moment when Rush pokes fun at themselves.

 Walking out, it was smiles everywhere and more chances for high-5’s, bro-hugs and one more "DUUUUDE!"  Sorry, it just comes out!

 

 

 

 

Concert update: Four Tops, Merle, Zoe, Cattaneo and more

The Inn of the Mountain Gods is bringing in a couple of classic acts this summer.

Motown legends the Four Tops (who can resist "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch"?) will be there at 8 p.m. July 10 — less than a week before their old touring mates, the Temptations, play UTEP's Magoffin Auditorium on July 14-15.

Tops tickets are $20-$60, on sale at the casino, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

Merle Haggard, the tireless country icon, plays the Inn at 8 p.m. Aug. 14.

Those tickets are $25 to $100, on sale at the casino, Ticketmaster and 800.745.3000.

In other concert news:

• Mexican psych rockers Zoe will play Club 101 on Aug. 6.

It's a 7 p.m. show.

Tickets are $35, on sale now at ticketbully.com.

• Argentinian house DJ Hernan Cattaneo will spin his magic at 9 p.m. July 22 at Club 101.

Tickets are $16, on sale at Ticketbully.

• Club 101 also has booked the "Over the Limit II" tour, which is being headlined by heavy rockers Bury Your Dead.

It's an all-ages show at 5 p.m. July 12.

Other acts on the bill include Evergreen Terrace and For the Fallen Dreams.

Tickets are $16, on sale at Ticketbully.

• The mother-daughter bellydance duo The Snake Charmer and the Belly Dancer headline "Arabesque 2011" at 7 p.m. July 9 at the fascinating Scottish Rite Temple Theater, where the Shimmy Sisters just performed their "Nine Levels to Bliss" concert.

Karen Barbee also is on the bill.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, on sale at Bedazzled in Sunland Park and snakecharmerandthebellydancer.com.

Workshops will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m July 10 at 5380 N. Mesa.

Go to their website, email them at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com or call 740.4919 for more info.