By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com
Week’s
music calendar chock-full with
good shows
Big name rock and hip-hop acts
like Velvet Revolver, Van Halen
and Plies were all the rage last
week in Greater Des Moines, dominating
music headlines with their big-ticket
performances. But that was then,
and this is now, and pound-for-pound,
this week’s lineup is one of the
strongest we’ve seen so far this
winter. Check it out:
• Tea Leaf Green — Thursday,
8 p.m. at the Maintenance Shop
in Ames; $12 students, $15 public.
San Francisco’s rising psychedelic
stars made several festival appearances
last summer, including their second
consecutive at Bonnaroo to a crowd
of nearly 10,000 people. The band’s
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” album is
available in DVD and CD formats.
Last November, bassist Ben Chambers
left the group and friend Reed
Mathis (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey)
has stepped in. Moonalice opens.
Call (515) 294-8349 or visit http://www.m-shop.com.
• Dark Star Orchestra — Friday,
8 p.m. at the Val Air Ballroom;
$22. Celebrating its 10th anniversary
of paying tribute to and recreating
the concerts of the Grateful Dead,
the Dark Star Orchestra will raise
the Dead at the Val Air Ballroom
while on a tour that will celebrate
the band’s 1,500th show. Highlighting
the tour is the official arrival
of keyboardist Rob Barraco who
replaces the late Scott Larned.
Barraco has played with Phil Lesh
and Friends and Chris Robinson’s
New Earth Mud. Call 223-6152.
• Kim Wilson — Friday,
9:30 p.m. at Blues on Grand; $20.
It’s always a big deal when Fabulous
Thunderbirds’ front man Kim Wilson
plays Blues on Grand. Wilson graduated
from playing clubs years ago,
but as he told Cityview last time,
clubs like the Grand “are where
the music lives.” The joint is
sure to be jumping on Friday when
Wilson brings his All-Star Band
to town. The lineup includes drummer
extraordinaire Richard Innes,
dynamic guitarist Billy Flynn,
T-Birds bassist Randy Bermudas
and Virginia-based guitarist Frank
Fotusky. Call 244-3092.
• Saosin — Friday,
5 p.m. at People’s Court; $15.
One of the most promising young
rock bands, Saosin made a splash
in 2006 with the release of their
self-titled album on Capitol Records,
which has sold more than 300,000
copies, and have since been on
the road playing the Warped, Taste
of Chaos and Projekt Revolution
tours and opening for artists
as diverse as Linkin Park, Avenged
Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance
and 30 Seconds to Mars. On March
11, the band will release a live
DVD/CD package, “Come Close,”
recorded last November in Philadelphia.
• Winter Blues Fest — Saturday,
7 p.m. at the Hotel Fort Des Moines;
$15. The Central Iowa Blues Society
has a track record of hosting
successful multi-band events and
its Winter Blues Fest, which combines
local and national blues acts,
is one of them. Nine bands play
five stages on Saturday, followed
by an after hours jam that might
last until dawn. This year’s lineup
includes the winners of the 2007
Iowa, Kansas City and Greater
Twin Cities blues challenges.
Staggered start times allow fans
to see each band. The lineup includes:
Chequers Lounge — Willie
Mac & Alan Smith (7-8:15,
8:45-10 p.m.); Grand Ballroom
— Trampled Underfoot (7:30-8:30,
9-10 p.m.) and the Ernie Peniston
Band (10:30-11:45 p.m., 12:15-1:30
a.m.); State Ballroom — Matt
Woods and The Thunderbolts (8-9,
9:30-10:30 p.m.) and RJ Mischo
& His Red Hot Blues Band (11
p.m.-midnight, 12:30-1:30 a.m.);
Wedgwood Room — Kevin “BF”
Burt & the Instigators (8-8:45,
9:15-10:15 p.m.) and Cadillac
Kolstad & the Flats (10:45-11:30
p.m., midnight-1 a.m.); Independence
Hall — Sumpin’ Doo (8:30-9:45,
10:15-11:30 p.m.), Hot Tamale
& the Red Hots (midnight-1
a.m.) and After Hours Jam (1 a.m.).
Advance $12 tickets available
at Blues on Grand and Hotel Fort
Des Moines. Call 225-6638.
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo
— Saturday, 8 p.m. at Grinnell
College’s Harris Center; free
with ticket. This Grammy Award-winning
South African a cappella group
first made headlines in the United
States in 1986 while recording
and touring with Paul Simon. But
the Zulu band has conquered nations
on its own with a spiritual brand
of music that continues to inspire
as witnessed by its new album,
“Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.”
Call (641) 269-3235 for tickets.
• B.B. King — Sunday,
7 p.m. at Prairie Meadows; $45-$85.
At the age of 82, years of living
on the road has caught up with
B.B. King. His performances aren’t
quite as sharp as they once were
and he sits down when he talks
to Lucille. But The King continues
to wear his crown with grace and
dignity, and as long as he’s alive,
there is no greater ambassador
for the blues. All hail the King.
Call 243-1888 or visit http://www.ticketmaster.com.
• Tulsa — Wednesday, 9
p.m. at the Vaudeville Mews; $5.
These Boston twang-fuzz rockers
are on tour with the Whigs, but
headline their own show at the
Mews with openers Kate Kennedy,
Wolves in the Attic and Christian
Krieg. Named one of the Top 10
Boston Bands by the Phoenix, Tulsa
is rooted in alt-country, but
trippy like Pink Floyd.
• Redwalls — Wednesday,
8 p.m. at the Maintenance Shop
in Ames; $10 students, $12 public.
On tour to support their self-titled
debut album, The Redwalls’ garage
rock is a combination of UK-inspired
roots and American rock and pop
that spans from the 1950s to the
present. The album has earned
rave reviews, but almost didn’t
see the light of day when Capitol
Records dropped the band due to
a merger with Virgin Records.
Fortunately, Capitol gave The
Redwalls the rights to their album
and the band is now signed with
Mad Dragon Records, the only independent
student-run faculty administered
record label in the country that
is based at Drexel University.
Catfish Haven opens. CV
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