Davina Sowers brings her Vagabonds to Grand Rapids tonight to ignite the Hat Trick Concert Series.
Davina and the Vagabonds
8 p.m. Monday
Free admission, donations to Special Olympics
One Trick Pony, downtown Grand Rapids
Because LaughFest yuks it up in Grand Rapids starting Thursday, it’s a good excuse for me to launch week with some musician jokes:
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Q: What do you get when you toss an accordion off of a tall building? A: Applause.
Q: How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb? A: None. They have machines that do that now.
Q: What did Kenny Gee say when he strolled into the elevator? A: “Man, this place is really happening!”
In truth, plenty of musical, non-LaughFest things are happening around town this week, starting with tonight’s kickoff to WYCE-FM’s Hat Trick Concert Series.
Minnesota’s Davina and the Vagabonds bring their sultry, energetic and throwback mélange of “genre-busting” jazz, blues and roots music to One Trick Pony, 136 E. Fulton St., at 8 tonight. The Twin Cities band led by singer and pianist Davina Sowers also features horns, drums and bass, and often tips a hat stylistically to artists such as Etta James, Fats Domino, Amy Winehouse and Billie Holiday. That should really heat things up in the intimate confines of One Trick, so it’s best to get there early. (Call 236-7669 for details.)
As usual, admission to these every-other-Monday shows is free but a hat will be passed for suggested donations of $10 for Special Olympics. This spring’s concert series has a distinct focus on helping charities which aid youth in our community so generous giving is heartily encouraged.
Here’s the rest of the Hat Trick lineup so you can circle upcoming dates on your calendar:
March 19 – Paul Cebar, donations to West Michigan Center for Arts & Technology
April 2 – A.J. Croce (yes, Jim Croce’s son), donations to Upward Bound
April 16 – Jim Avett, donations to In the Image’s shoes program
April 30 – Caroling Herring, donations to KidsFirst at D.A. Blodgett
May 14 – Tommy Womack, donations to Comprehensive Therapy Center
You might recognize some familiar last names on this spring’s Hat Trick bill. “I’ve been jokingly calling it the ‘Not the BLANK you’re thinking of’ series’ because we have A.J. (not Jim) Croce, Jim Avett (not the Avett Brothers) and Tommy (not Bobby) Womack,” noted station manager Kevin (not Eddie) Murphy.
The series once again is sponsored by The Law Firm of Rhoades McKee, which suggested the idea of supporting children’s charities this time around. “That was inspired by some of (Grand Rapids) Mayor (George) Heartwell’s comment in his State of the City address in January,” Murphy related, adding that Heartwell specifically mentioned the Upward Bound program, which will be featured at the April 2 show.
Dave Alvin will rock the rafters Tuesday at Tip Top Deluxe in Grand Rapids.
Dave Alvin and The Guilty Ones
8 p.m. Tuesday, doors at 7 p.m.
$20
Tip Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids
He’s a Grammy winner, an ultra-respected, eye-popping guitarist and a leading advocate of the sort of alt-country, rootsy folk and rock that‘s authentic, engaging and downright infectious. Dave Alvin, whose resume includes stints with The Blasters, X and The Flesh Eaters, has really distinguished himself with his solo career, with his most recent album, “Eleven Eleven,” signaling a return of sorts to his roots-rocking ways. He and his band, The Guilty Ones, also have released a live DVD of their performance last year at The Ark in Ann Arbor and one of Alvin’s tunes, “Beautiful City ‘Cross the River,” recently was featured on FX’s “Justified” show.
Indeed, it’s pretty darned amazing that Alvin and his band will be playing the cozy Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill here in Grand Rapids on Tuesday night – a rare opportunity to see a truly iconic artist, musician, writer and producer up close and personal. It also happens to be the only Michigan show on this leg of the tour. Dick Chiclet and Claude Nine from The Concussions will spin classic vinyl prior to the show and they’ve unearthed some deep-down-in-the-cellar-of-the-past gems to get things cooking.
Zoso's Matt Jernigan as Robert Plant.
Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience
8 p.m. Wednesday, doors open at 7 p.m.
$10.13 advance, $13 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Having seen Zoso do its Led Zep thing, I can honestly say that fans of the legendary rock group should enjoy a smile-inducing, nostalgia-packed night. As I put it in a 2009 story: “The four-piece band, masquerading as Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones, thundered impressively through some of Led Zeppelin’s most-beloved, hard-rock classics, from “Heartbreaker” to “The Ocean.” From a distance … the band — which formed in Los Angeles in 1994 — even looked and acted like the influential British rockers of the ’60s and ’70s.” (You can see a video of the band below.)
Get your gypsy on with the Caravan of Thieves at Founders on Thursday.
Caravan of Thieves, The Kent County String Band
9:30 p.m. Thursday
Free admission
Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
Speaking of rootsy, how about a crew of “gypsy, swingin’, serenading, firebreathing circus freaks”? That’s Bridgeport, Conn.’s Caravan of Thieves, which makes a Thursday night stop at Founders Brewing Co., 235 Grandville Ave. SW, with Grand Rapids’ own Kent County String Band opening things. The band is touring behind its album, “The Funhouse,” and proclaims that “if Django Reinhardt, the cast of Stomp and the Beatles all had a party at Tim Burton’s house, Caravan of Thieves would be the band they hired.” Their sound is definitely unique so this stop on the “Enter the Funhouse” tour definitely is worth a look-see as a post-LaughFest stop.
(By the way, on Saturday, Founders also hosts its Kentucky Breakfast Stout release with performances by a couple of rollicking West Michigan rock outfits: The Total Blam Blams and Love Fossil. The music begins at 8:30 p.m., $5.)
Jefferson Starship lands at The Orbit Room on Friday.
Jefferson Starship
7:30 p.m. Friday, doors open at 6:30 p.m.
$25 advance, $29 day of show, $30 front of balcony
The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids
Original members Paul Kantner and David Freiberg are still part of this New Millennium version of Jefferson Starship, with Cathy Richardson, Donny Baldwin, Slick Aguilar and Chris Smith rounding out the group that bills itself as “The Immortal Jefferson Starship.” Immortal or not, the group vows to play its big hits like “Miracles” at The Orbit Room, 2525 Lake Eastbrook Blvd. SE, along with Jefferson Airplane classics “Somebody to Love,” “White Rabbit,” etc. I guess it’s time to dive back into the retro-rabbit hole …
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
