Grand Rapids’ concert lineup for Thanksgiving week ruffles musical feathers, from Other Lives to an Aria Flame debut and Four Finger Five farewell. (Videos)
Benje and Ashley Daneman play the West Michigan Jazz Society’s monthly series at The B.O.B.
Benje & Ashley Daneman, The Western Jazz Quartet
6:30 p.m. Monday
$10 ($5 for West Michigan Jazz Society members)
Bobarino’s, 2nd floor of The B.O.B., Grand Rapids
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With Thanksgiving approaching, I’m thankful: A) I don’t have to watch political ads on TV anymore, B) I don’t have to worry about spending money on Detroit Lions’ playoff gear, C) I’m not a turkey, and D) there’s another stellar week of live music ahead, starting tonight.
Fine Kalamazoo jazz trumpeter Benje Daneman, a Grand Rapids native, and his singer-songwriter wife, Ashley, bring their jazz sextet to The B.O.B. on Monday for the West Michigan Jazz Society’s Monday Night Jazz at Bobarino’s series.
Daneman spent time playing in New York City jazz clubs while earning his master’s degree in jazz trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music. Ashley Gonzalez Daneman recently released “Harvest Town,” a “minimalist” recording of “intimate storytelling” featuring the singer on piano.
The Danemans will be backed at the concert at The B.O.B., 20 Monroe Ave. NW, by the Western Jazz Quartet, a Western Michigan University faculty group which features award-winning pianist Jeremy Siskind, saxophonist Andrew Rathbun, bassist Tom Knific and drummer Keith Hall. The show will include performance of material by Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin along with original Daneman compositions. Get details online at http://www.wmichjazz.org/.
Anne McCue
Anne McCue
The Hat Trick Concert Series
7:30 p.m. Monday
Free, donations accepted for Creston Neighborhood Organization
One Trick Pony, Grand Rapids
Community radio station WYCE-FM (88.1) wraps up its fall Hat Trick Concert Series with a real bang: Alt-country/folk/rock singer-songwriter Anne McCue has become an award-winning musician for good reason. The Australian native’s music has real bite and her voice is inescapably riveting.
McCue is touting her latest single, a splendidly languid rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” For good seats, it’s best to get to One Trick at 136 E. Fulton St. early. Call 235-7669. And get a feel for McCue’s remarkable talent in a video below.
Other Lives brings its ensemble to The Pyramid Scheme on Monday. (Photo/Terry Way)
Other Lives, Indians, The Soil & The Sun
7 p.m. Monday
$14
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Oklahoma indie-rock band Other Lives helps launch Thanksgiving week in Grand Rapids at The Pyramid Scheme, led by frontman Jesse Tabish, who describes the group more as “an ensemble than a rock band” – displaying an airy flavor enhanced by cello, violin and clarinet. The band followed up its 2011 “Tamer Animals” album with this fall’s release of its “Mind the Gap” EP.
And GR’s own The Soil & The Sun may be the perfect opener: a multi-talented ensemble whose “experiential spiritual folk-rock” is as cutting-edge as it is listenable. Online ticket information here.
(The Pyramid Scheme boasts a couple of other local rock shows worth noting this week: Heavier Than Air Flying Machines, Charles the Osprey, Moto and Frank Booth at 8 p.m. Wednesday, $6, and Bars of Gold, Cain Marko, The Bangups and Paucity at 8 p.m. Saturday, $8.)
GWAR
GWAR
7 p.m. Tuesday
$22 advance, $25 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Granted, Halloween is long past. But the crazily garbed – and scary – boys of heavy metal’s GWAR are back anyway, with DevilDriver, Cancer Bats and Legacy of Disorder opening the band’s show at The Intersection this week.
(And for DJ-styled craziness, there’s the night-before-Thanksgiving shows – including an “Old School Bash” — inside The Stache and The Intersection’s main showroom. Get details here.) http://sectionlive.com/
WYCE 25th Anniversary Celebration:
A Tribute to Paul Simon’s “Graceland”
8 p.m. Friday
$25
Wealthy Theatre, Grand Rapids
A landmark local radio station and a landmark internationally acclaimed recording.
With help from West Michigan bands Ultraviolet Hippopotamus and Afro Zuma, WYCE-FM (88.1) celebrates 25 years of airing eclectic music in the Grand Rapids area by paying tribute to singer-songwriter Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” a much-heralded, South African-hued, worldbeat-styled folk album released in 1986.
The fundraiser for WYCE will feature “a cast of special guests.” Details online here.
Aziza Poggi and Aria Flame play Dog Story Theater on Friday.
Aria Flame
8 p.m. Friday
$10 advance, $12 day of show
Dog Story Theater, Grand Rapids (7 Jefferson Ave. SE)
Neo-classical hard rock band Aria Flame (with roots in what formerly was known as the Egyptian-themed Dendura) stages its first public show on Friday night with an interesting twist. Frontwoman/singer Aziza Poggi gets into the Black Friday spirit by unveiling a new perfume line – Aziza World Fragrances, LLC — featuring natural perfumes with no alcohol or animal testing, and made from essential oils and premium grade fragrance oils. Hey, this shapes up as the best-smelling show you’ll attend all year.
Aria Flame members Greg Cloon and Johnathon Townsend will open the show by performing covers and originals. Snacks will be on hand, as well as perfume discount specials and raffles. Details online at ariaflame.com and tickets available online through Dog Story Theater.
Thanksgiving Weekend Comedy, Jazz and R&B Bash
Hen Sapp, Terrence “TJ” Jones, John Gist, Mona Sallie and more
8 p.m. Saturday
$17.50 advance, $22.50 day of show
Fifth Third Bank Vault inside Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
The Fifth Third Bank Vault bar/restaurant inside Van Andel Arena will host a special Thankgiving weekend show that combines comedy, R&B and jazz. The event hosted by Christian comedian Hen Sapp along with Terrance “TJ” Jones, will boast entertainment by saxophonist John Gist, J. Chill and friends, Mona Sallie, Ken Matthews, Harold Cutts and others. It’s sponsored in part by The Kent County Convention/Arena Authority’s Community Inclusion Group.
Get tickets and more information online here. Also, $65 VIP packages are available.
Deborah Kay & The Bluebloods play Sunday’s Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit show.
West Michigan Musicians for Hurricane Sandy Relief
Noon Sunday
Free, donations/raffles for the cause
River City Saloon, Grand Rapids (1152 Leonard St. NW)
It’s tough to beat this lineup or the cause. After Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast, West Michiganders Don Bidell and Racquel Webster Viilo stepped up to the plate and found a terrific way to help out. The West Michigan Musicians for Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit at this West Side bar features a host of familiar, much-loved bands:
Noon — Hawks and Owls
12:45 p.m. —The Weatherheads
1:30 p.m. — Jake Stevens
2:20 p.m. — Nightcrawler
3:10 p.m. – ITR Reunion
3:45 p.m. – Deborah Kay & the Bluebloods
4:35 p.m. — Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys
5:25 p.m. — Trilogy
6:25 p.m. – All Star Free-For-All Jam
Cash donations will be collected for the United Way Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund, with raffles, drink specials and a “live jukebox” in which folks can pay to hear bands play their favorite tunes. And tune into my Local Spins Live show at 10 a.m. Wednesday on News Talk 1340 AM when Trilogy will be my special guest.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Vincent Hayes Project at 9:30 p.m. Friday at Billy’s Lounge – When it comes to bracing blues that incorporates rock and funk, you can’t do better than Vincent Hayes. The West Michigan blues guitarist who’s been working on a new album takes over Billy’s in Eastown; admission is $5.
Four Finger Five is calling it quits … for now.
Farewell to Four Finger Five at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Founders Brewing Co. – Muskegon’s much-heralded pop/R&B/funk/rock band Four Finger Five is going on an indefinite hiatus after 10 years of truly wondrous music. In an online letter to fans, guitarist Joe Sturgill said he has “mixed emotions” about the trio taking an extended break but it’s an “opportunity to work on our individual endeavors and refocus on music instead of the music business.” Good luck, boys. Fans can send them off in style on Saturday at Founders. SP3 opens the show; admission is $5. Check out a Four Finger Five video below.
The Swinehearts, Pete Bass Band and The Welshie Project at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill – Rock it up in an unusual fashion when rock’s The Pete Bass Band, The Swinehearts and The Welshie Project featuring Jesse MacIntosh perform. Cover is $5.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
