ELECTROID
Electronic-based music ain't all blips, beeps and tweeps. Whereas electronic music once sought to convey the cold, urban and industrial detachment of modern life, much of it now seeks a warmth and heart within the chilly machinery even when it's just meant for dancing.
**Sept. 22, 2010
By Dege Legg
**
ELECTROID
Electronic-based music ain't all blips, beeps and tweeps. Whereas electronic music once sought to convey the cold, urban and industrial detachment of modern life, much of it now seeks a warmth and heart within the chilly machinery even when it's just meant for dancing. There's an electric kind of soul vibrating in the marrow of much of modern electronic composition. Lafayette has a long history of electronic music clubs and composers. From the MDMA overdrive of the Kingfish, Outer Limits and Intersections clubs to the Goth-era of Nitecaps to the millennial advances of home-based recording, the electronic music scene in Acadiana is alive and kicking. On Sept. 23, Sadie's hosts an electronic music showcase featuring some of Lafayette's most badass electrode boys and girls. "Instead of using the computer to play backing tracks, everyone uses the computer as an instrument. We aren't reinventing the wheel, but electronic musicians in town are just becoming more prevalent," says electronic composer Jonathan Romein. "There's definitely a community vibe going on with this. Instead of everyone trying to do whatever they can to help themselves and get over on the next guy, we are all getting together and teaching each other new tricks, geeking out over gear and discussing techniques." The showcase will feature local composers The Reaching Hand, He Is Hailed, Honeypillow, Blue Dog Black and Milk. Be at Sadie's on Sept. 23. Cover is only $2. Go.
COWBOY DTA
Louisiana pop rockers Cowboy Mouth are an institution on the party rock, college circuit and a powerhouse live act. Best known for their most successful single "Jenny Says," over the past decade Cowboy Mouth has toured the states and beyond, cultivating a hard-earned grassroots following through sheer force of will and road-worn tenacity. On Sept. 24, Cowboy Mouth plays Downtown Alive! in Parc International.
ANTLERS POST-DTA PARTY
There's no better place to hang after DTA than Antlers, so you may as well keep the downtown party going. Antler's is an institution of great food, good people and live music. Slack Jaw Jane plays Antlers after Downtown Alive on Sept. 24.
CYRIL NEVILLE
Vocalist and percussionist Cyril Neville is part of a New Orleans musical dynasty that stretches from the early 60s to the present. Over the past four decades, the Neville Brothers put their own inimitable mark on funk, soul, R&B. and pop music. And in turn, Cyril Neville has put his own mark on everything from the Meters to the Neville Brothers and beyond with his spirited voice and relaxed delivery. Like all the Neville brothers, he's a legend in the making and a part of the varied musical tapestry that comprises New Orleans. Cyril Neville plays Artmosphere on Sept. 24.
TUMBLEWEED TWANG
If you like your country music with more old school tumbleweed and Texas twang than fast-burning plastic of the modern stuff, then you should pick up Yvette Landry's new solo CD Should Have Known. Like some Cajun queen bee from another era, The Bonsoir, Catin bassist picks up her acoustic guitar to belt out 16 original tunes that trace the arch of romance from holding hands to one night stands to making long term plans. Filled with bitter-sweet tales of love lost, found and turned around, it'll have you crying in your beers and jerking the tears off your torn-off shirt sleeves. Co-produced by Joel Savoy and Landry, the CD plays like a woman's honky tonk companion piece/travel guide through the back roads of the heart with upswings through the highs ("Blue Moon Girl") and pensive meditations on the lows ("Where Memories are Gold"). Yvette Landry throws her CD Release party at Blue Moon with Troy Richard and Richard Revue on Sept. 25.
BLUES GHOST
Vocalist/guitarist Lee Chester "L.C." Ulmer of Ellisville, Miss., is a living relic of the rich, culturally unforgettable Mississippi blues. Born in 1928 in Stringer, Miss., with six brothers and seven sisters, Ulmer began playing guitar when he was 9 years old. A working man, he traveled, built railway trestles across Lake Pontchartrain - among many other jobs - and quietly honed his craft, fine tuning his propulsive boogie-style blues. After playing for 70 years, Ulmer is finally getting his due for his talent as a blues singer and writer. He performs only songs he has written and he'll be doing it at the Blue Moon on Sept. 26.
ETC
The Freetown Hounds, Wildfires, Omean DJ Nick James play Sadie's on Sept. 24Blue Moon is starting up an Acoustic Night hosted by Sam Broussard and Ray Bonneville. It kicks off on Sept. 23Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears + The Founding Fathers play Blue Moon on Sept. 24Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers, has his own band. They're called Honeytribe. They're pretty good and he sounds like his old man. Go figure. They play Grant Street on Sept. 23The people's favorite cover band, The Chee Weez, play Nitetown on Sept. 24