Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Written by Dege Legg
ROCK CAMP
Kids want to rock. Period. Parents might want them to learn classical music or polka, but the kids almost overwhelmingly gravitate toward the black chowder of rock & roll. Angus Young, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Richards all had to start somewhere. Acadiana School of the Arts is giving kids the chance to get started. The school is holding their Summer Rock Camp 2010 for kids ages 9 to 17. It's their ninth go around with the Rock Camp and each year it gets bigger and better. Kids learn vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass or drums. In most cases, no experience is necessary. The camp is held every year at East Bayou Baptist Ministry Center on Kaliste Saloom Roa. The rock camp runs from June 21 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the end the week, the kids throw a rock show in the East Bayou Grand Auditorium that parents, family, and friends can attend. Registration for the camp is $325/child. Kids also receive a free Rock Camp T-shirt and a DVD of their performance. To register, call 984-1478.
FIGHTS + FUNTIME = DANCE PARTY
FIGHTS may have a tough name – in all UPPERCASE – but more importantly they like to have fun, or more specifically a "happy funtime without the rigamarole of a bar," as stated by Fights member Dallas Griffith. "Invent your own funtime! Combine your own funtime with your friends' funtimes!" Combination happy fun-times? HELL YES! FIGHTS are avoiding the bars for this special night to bring a dance party fueled by their fun rock sounds. It all goes down at The Shilling Shack (located at 444 Refinery Street, Lafayette) on June 19.
TADDY PORTER
If Paul "The Voice" Rodgers from Bad Company were still alive, he'd dig Taddy Porter. Actually, Paul Rodgers ain't dead, so scratch that. He'd still dig it, though.
Oklahoma band Taddy Porter play Southern-fried, 70s influenced rock and roll. The jeans are faded, the hair is long, the love beads are strong, and so is daddy's whiskey. So drink it up and soak it. If skinny jean rock strikes you as a little too whiney and Gaylord and you long for the days when Golden Gods roamed the earth, riding by limousine and Lear Jet to sing songs about Vikings through Marshall stacks, then you will dig Taddy Porter. Hell, they're even from a town named Stillwater, OK. What else do you want? Taddy Porter play Artmosphere on June 18.
DAX MAN
Dark romance poet of the ghostly serenade, Dax Riggs brings himself and his new backing band to the Blue Moon Saloon on June 18. If you didn't already know, Dax is one of the Louisiana underground's favorite sons. Undisputed. Blessed with a voice that blows away 90 percent of the crap you hear on the radio, his new record Say Goodbye to the World comes out on Fat Possum Records next month. Bust it.
COLONA + LANDRY
Wendy Colona and Yvette Landry have been knocking out shows, twanging, banging, and slanging out the killer tunes as of late. On Saturday they hook up for a double bill at the Blue Moon. Bonsoir, Catin bassist Yvette Landry has been exploring her inner singer-songwriter with a batch of alt-roots and proto-country tunes. Wendy Colona celebrates the release of her new CD We Are One. According to her bio, her music is "a savory gumbo of southern soul and poetic lyricism borne of her rich Gulf Coast heritage. Her voice ignites both memory and desire." Memory and desire? NICE! I need that. Bad. Sometimes I just get the memory. Other times - just the desire. But if I could get both in one package, I would be "eternally elated like an autumnal leaf gently wafting on the winds of time." I made that last part up. It's called poetry, jerk! Google it! This bill invades the Blue Moon on June 19. Bring your dingo boots, the handmade blade, and the child's balloon.
IRMA
Since her first single in 1960 "(You Can Have My Husband But) Don't Mess with My Man," The Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, has been steadily banging out the tunes. She's still doing it. And does it again at the Paragon Casino's Mari Showroom on June 19 at 9 p.m. Doors will open at 8 p.m.
STEVEN COHEN
Steve Cohen is one of the unsung musical treasures hiding round every corner in Lafayette. Like a journeyman songsmith, he's been banging on the iron of roots, blues, and honky tonk for the past two decades plus. It's some choice gun slinging. He brings the swamp blues train to Bella Notte on June 17. It is important that you go to this show, now!
ETC
Astronomers play Artmosphere on June 16…New local band 80 Proof play Artmosphere on June 21 with Ryan Brunet & The Malfecteurs…Steve Riley plays the Atchafalaya Club on June 20…On June 18, Johanna Divine plays Barnes & Noble bookstore for the Beat the Heat Series… On June 19, the Pine Leaf Boys play Lake View Park in Eunice…Any way you want it? That's the way you need it! On June 18, Frontier: a Journey Tribute Band play Nitetown… Brandon Moreau Avec Pain Perdu play Vermillion on June 20… Saint Cecilia play '70s, '80s and '90s acoustic music at The Sound Factory on June 18…Radio Alert! New 88.7 show called SoundClub Radio Programme. It airs every Friday at midnight on KRVS. Peep it out. They do water, outer space, and invisibility, among other themes. Nice. Listen on 88.7 FM. Also, archived here: SoundClubRadio.blogspot.com. Speaking of which, The Viatones and Bird City play Frankie Burger on June 17.