Crib Notes

TONIGHT FRI/28

Nebula plays Masquerade, Fri., Aug. 28.

AIROES, EAR PWR Atlanta’s Airoes create spastic music that sounds like you are fighting the boss of the last level of an old Nintendo game with time running out. Baltimore’s Ear Pwr has a similar affinity for retro video games, as well as ‘80s dance and hip-hop. Toro Y Moi and the Crunk Punk DJs round out this electro bill.

$5. 10 p.m. 529. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com. — Jonathan Williams

AMON TOBIN, WELDER, SIMON B Headlining the opening of Athens’ latest music venue, Tobin is known for his dark mix of jungle grooves, breakbeats and hip-hop’s low end. Welder mixes glitchy IDM with ambient pop while Simon B spins a set of techno, electro and anything else that will keep bodies moving.

$20-$25. 9 p.m. New Earth Music Hall, Athens. 706-543-8283. www.newearthmusichall.com. — JW

EDWIN MCCAIN, FREDDY JONES BAND Both McCain and Jones make easy, fairly light music for folks who don’t need a lot of heavy stuff bringing them down. Not that it is a bad thing, but it is a pretty common thing.

$15-$45. 7:30 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-733-4800. www.classicchastain.com. — JK

LOS LOBOS There aren’t many acts still touring with their original members 36 years down the line, but East L.A.’s Los Lobos’ inventive combination of Latin, rockabilly, country, folk, blues, world and even experimental roots music remains fresh and inspirational. Expect all that and some new material, too, from a soon to be released 18th album. Delta Moon opens.

$35. 8 p.m. Atlanta Botanical Garden. 404-249-6400. www.concertsinthegarden.org. — Hal Horowitz

NEBULA, THE ENTRANCE BAND, EL CAMINOS Featuring ex-Fu Manchu guitarist Eddie Glass, Nebula arrives draped in more fuzz than the work frig’s year-old leftovers. The wah wails and rhythm section quakes setting controls to the heart of the sun on their raucous garage-psych exploration.

$12. 8 p.m. Masquerade. 404-577-8178. masq.com. — CP

SAT/29

ANNA KRAMER & THE LOST CAUSE, OCHA LA ROCHA, JOHN PAUL KEITH & THE ONE FOUR FIVES, HAYSHAKER All four bands on the bill tonight embrace a skewed, although deeply engrained sense of Americana in their songwriting, ranging from straight-forward rock ‘n’ roll to a more robust mix of earth-toned and traditional country songs. Memphis rockers Keith and the One Four Fives are the only non-local act on the bill.

$10. 9 p.m. Star Bar. 404-681-9018. www.starbar.net. — CR

CHERYL WHEELER Despite the somber nature of much of her catalog, fans know that folk singer Wheeler’s live shows are as much a showcase for her humorous between-song patter as for the introspective material that dominates her studio work. She tours behind a new album, her eighth, which features three frisky tunes about her late cat.

$22.50-$25. 8:30 p.m. Red Light Cafe. 404-874-7828. www.redlightcafe.com. — HH

EN VOGUE, TONY! TONI! TONÉ!, SILK Is anyone else mourning the death of R&B’s slow jam? OK, so the quiet storm era wasn’t the most magnetic in black music, but at least such groups as EnVogue, Tony! Toni! Toné! and Silk provided the essential baby-making music that helped teen pregnancy rates skyrocket in the early ’90s. Nowadays, all these poor young people have to set the mood is Percocet. Now throw your lit cell phone in the air, and wave it side to side like you just don’t care.

$25-$60. 8 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-733-4800. www.classicchastain.com. — Rodney Carmichael

KIMBERLY NICHOLE, RAHBI, THE REMNANT Last year, one of Atlanta’s most electric soul vocalists Nichole departed for bigger and better in N.Y. Yet she ended up collaborating with a slew of Atlanta-based talent, including producer Q Kegler, to put together her debut album, The Yellow Brick Journey. Nichole returns for the release party this weekend, and she’s just what the A’s been missing.

$5. 9 p.m. Apache Café. 404-876-5436. www.apachecafe.info. — RC

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The Incredible Sandwich plays Sweetwater Brewing Company, Thurs., Aug. 27.

WED/26

FLAMING LIPS, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, STARDEATH & WHITE DWARFS The Lips evolved from widescreen acid-rocking punks into mad layered pop geniuses during the past quarter-century, uniting the spacey and elegantly beautiful. Dynamic instrumentalists Explosions in the Sky’s symphonies have sharper, more aerodynamic edges. $43. 7:30 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-233-2227. www.classicchastain.com. — Chris Parker

THE RESCUES This half male/female quartet is comprised of respected singer/songwriters whose own folk-pop is critically acclaimed. But together they prove the axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s especially true when the Fleetwood Mac-styled harmonies start flying. $15-$75. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — Hal Horowitz

THURS/27

ELIZA GILKYSON, DEDE VOGT In an ocean of talented singer/songwriters, Gilkyson stands out with her “cut to the bone” honesty and insight. Turning darkness into beauty is an art, and Gilkyson is a true purveyor. Local songster Vogt opens. $18-$90. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — James Kelly

ENSEMBLE PAMPELMOUSSE This NYC crew of modern classical misfits is bent on exploring the outer limits of electronic and improvised music. Remarkable chemistry binds the group’s members, and their camaraderie is just as important to their sound as their virtuoso skills when it comes to manning a procession of flute, strings, drums and knobs on their trek. $8. 8 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org. — Chad Radford

THE INCREDIBLE SANDWICH This Athens quartet dig deep grooves filled with jazz-blues-folk-funk ganache spilling out a spunky mix of the Dead, MM&W, and Weather Report. Their debut EP ranges from jazzy pop atmospheres to expansive fusion jams with a rootsy undercurrent. Free. 5:30 p.m. Sweetwater Brewing Company. 404-691-2537. www.sweetwaterbrew.com. — Chris Parker

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(Photo by Nathan Rodriguez)

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Adrian Belew Power Trio performs at Smith's Olde Bar Sat., Aug. 22.

FRI/21

ATTENTION SYSTEM, PROMISE DECEMBER, SATELLITE DISTRICT This solid lineup features three of Atlanta’s top electro-indie-rock acts. Attention System’s synth-driven bombast makes for an explosively energetic live show. Promise December and Satellite District add a bit of ‘80s new romantic gothicism and melodrama, recalling the likes of David Bowie, the Cure, and Love and Rockets.

$5-$7. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. 404-870-0575. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — Jonathan Williams

THEE CRUCIALS, MONDO TOPLESS, THE F’N HEARTBREAKS Duck-walking garage-rock outlaws Thee Crucials “Can’t Sit Still,” kicking a hot-footed surfabilly two-step over driving organs and an overflowing beat. For 17 years, Mondo Topless has exploited racing Farfisas and guitar reverb in service of explosive ‘60s rawk.

$7. 9 p.m. Star Bar. 404-681-9018. www.starbaratlanta.com. — Chris Parker

GWINNETT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Family-friendly pops concert on the green, featuring the unique beats of Atlanta-based, all-female percussion group Chix with Stix (Lisa Angert Morris, Lisa Gillespie, Karen Hunt, Olivia Kieffer and Courtney McDonald).

Free. 7 p.m. Duluth Amphitheater, Duluth City Park. 770-925-8900. www.gwinnettsymphony.org. — Mark Gresham

SAT/22

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO The King Crimson guitarist tours behind his first studio release with Eric and Julie Slick, the young brother-and-sister rhythm section. Expect new material with a smattering of “hits” from his 30-plus-years career as solo artist and sideman to an eclectic roster of acts that spans Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads and Nine Inch Nails.

$20. 8 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com. — Hal Horowitz

ATLANTA HARMONY CELEBRATION Barbershop harmonies abound with this Lawrenceville-based women’s chorus, directed by Kathy Stone, as with their guests Georgia Young Men’s Ensemble and the UpFront Quartet.

$8, 2:30 p.m. show; $12, 7 p.m. show. Red Clay Theatre. 770-621-2602. www.atlantaharmonycelebration.org. — MG

SUN/23

BIG & RICH, CRAIG MORGAN, LOVE & THEFT, BOMBSHEL For a while, B&R was the biggest thing in the business, and their blending of country, rock and hick-hop was quite unique. A yearlong break may have invigorated the duo, or killed the buzz. Three openers.

$19-$49. 7 p.m. Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. 404-733-5010. www.vzwamp.com. — JK

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By Julia Reidy

“They’ve been saying the album is dead for a long time,” says the Fiery Furnaces’ Matt Friedberger. “I don’t know why they want to kill the album.”

To the New York brother/sister duo, it seems alive and well. Famous for spectacular, keyboard-heavy, live performances and eccentric, virtuosic recordings, Fiery Furnaces released their eighth record I’m Going Away July 21 via Thrill Jockey Records. But they didn’t stop there. In reaction to the supposed demise, Matt and his sister Eleanor are putting together a “silent album” — a songbook that will be made up of sheet music, instructions and other visual representations of songs that fans (or non-fans, Friedberger makes sure to point out) can use to recreate musical on their own.

“Obviously we’re going to continue to make the conventional and supposedly obsolete ‘with-audio’ records,” Friedberger says. “But in the meantime, we wanted to ‘record’ a ‘record’ that responds in an appropriate way to this situation.”

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Drew Holcomb plays Eddie’s Attic Wed., August 5.
WED/5

DREW HOLCOMB East Nashville-based singer/guitarist Holcomb’s original songs range from feel-good folk-rock (“Love Is Magic”) to sweet country love ballads (“Hung the Moon”). $10-$50. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-872-5338. www.eddiesattic.com. — Mark Gresham

GIFT HORSE, REPTAR, CO CO RI CO Athens’ Gift Horse quartet creates dark, atmospheric songs that waft like thick, black smoke over a desolate landscape — too riveting to be called shoegazer, and too rocking to be called trip-hop. Co Co Ri Co plays slightly faster but jagged pop numbers, while Reptar concocts a clutter of staccato art pop. $5-$7. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — Chad Radford

THUR/6

BILLY JOE SHAVER, ADLER & HEARNE Called “the best songwriter alive” by Willie Nelson, Shaver keeps cranking out great work. He has been around the block, but always keeps smiling. Talented Texas folkies Adler & Hearne open with their sweet harmonies. $25-$40. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — James Kelly

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(Photo courtesy Drew Holcomb)

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Cracker plays the Earl Wed., July 22.

WED/22
CRACKER Rootsy wise guy David Lowery and shotgun-riding guitarist Johnny Hickman may never have a “Low”-sized radio hit again, but 17 years along in their remarkably consistent career, Cracker’s new album is as musically gutsy and lyrically sharp as anything in the band’s catalog. $18-$20. 8 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — Hal Horowitz

THUR/23
JAAFAR The city of Birmingham may not be considered a bastion of progressive soul, but with the layered debut album Travel Light, B’ham native Jaafar is breaking the mold. Rich vocals, narrative lyrics and lush production make Jaafar one of the genre’s most respected rising talents. In short time, he’s proving he has the goods to carve out his own lane. Free. 8 p.m. Café Circa. 404-477-0008. www.cafecircaatl.com. — Jacinta Howard

MAIA SHARP Despite penning songs for a wide array of rootsy Americana artists such as Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, and er, Cher, Sharp’s own albums have flown under the radar. Enter super-producer Don Was to give her latest set of melodic singer/songwriter musings a high-profile boost and bid for mass attention. $12-$60. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — HH

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(Photo courtesy Jason Thrasher)

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HOUSEROCKER JOHNSON

Luther “Houserocker” Johnson celebrated his 70th birthday at Atlanta blues haunt Blind Willie’s on Saturday. (Photos by Jeff Slate; more below the jump.)

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By Chris Parker

Dirty Projectors with Atlas Sound. $12-$14. 9 p.m. Fri., July 17. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com.

Some artists spend their careers forging a unique identity that will sell, while others are more consumed with all the different veins they can explore no matter how confounding it might be for their audience. Count Dirty Projectors among the latter. Originally nothing more than a moniker for David Longstreth’s adventurous compositions, since the release of 2007’s Rise Above it’s become a band entity, and the inspiration for his most readily endearing batch of music, Bitte Orca.

Since Longstreth began releasing music in 2002, he’s employed a variety of musicians in blending elements of electro-pop, R&B, baroque strings and woodwinds, African rhythms and samples into wildly eclectic vocal-driven efforts. A modest underground hum grew to a buzz with the release of Rise Above, a cover of Black Flag’s seminal release written from memory, and recast as avant-indietronica with mechanistic beats and angelic harmonies.

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OFF-THE-MAP QUEST: Willie Isz

By Phillip Mlynar

“My real name is Willie, my daddy’s name is Willie, and I know that Jneiro’s definitely got a Willie name in the family,” begins the rapper Khujo (born Willie Knighton Jr.), slouched back in a plastic chair in the kitchen of a photo studio 20 minutes outside of downtown Atlanta.

He’s speaking about the Willie Isz album released via Lex Records on June 30 that pairs the one member of Atlanta’s influential Goodie Mob crew — which pioneered Southern hip-hop’s path to national acceptance in the ’90s, along with fellow Dungeon Family members OutKast — with the broken-beat, future soul production of one-time Atlantan Omar “Jneiro Jarel” Gilyard.

If their shared family name adds an earthly grounding to the bond between the two, Jarel’s imagination brings the fantasy. “The Iszes were from this old cartoon comic book series I used to watch on TV called ‘The Maxx’ that was all about good versus evil,” Jarel explains. Together, the duo’s disparate ingredients fuel their off-the-map quest. They even created their own imaginary 51st state to host the joint venture. The locale? Georgiavania.

Continue reading “Willie Isz escape to Georgiavania“

(Photo courtesy Lex Records)

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Van Hunt played Apache Café Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4. Reader-shot photo submitted to CL’s You Shoot by one | two aka gudrun. Peep more of her Van Hunt photos on flickr.

CL’s Photos & Video page.

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Interesting things happen when Franz Ferdinand and producer Dan Carey get in the studio together. Deciding that Tonight: Franz Ferdinand wasn’t enough, the guys re-mixed most of the songs. The product is the manic Blood: Franz Ferdinand (Domino), released earlier this month. Blood takes the thumping reggae of Tonight, adds heavy bass, pulls it apart so it’s almost gummy, and throws in some more synthesizers. The outcome is three-times as fun and perfect for the dance floor. “Die on the Dance Floor” is the first attention-grabber. It starts, bouncing with some serious 80’s influence, but darkens when the spacious bass unifies the rhythm. “Katherine Hit Me,” which only plays off the title of Tonight’s “Katherine Kiss Me,” sounds like a bunch of musically inclined toddlers with pots and pans running around in the kitchen. It’s iterative and addictive. The highlight of the record is “Be Afraid,” a rework of “Dream Again.” It echoes like a dripping faucet in an empty room, leaving the backing chimes to carry the music. Though not stronger than Tonight, it’s just as frenetically electronic, excessive and indulgent. 4 out of 5 stars.

— Azia Squire

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Joe "Christ" Linhart in Manila (May 2009) (Photo courtesy Felisa Villanueva)

By Jason Hatcher

Joe “Christ” Linhart
6/18/57 – 6/21/09

Underground filmmaker, musician and artist Joe Linhart (better known as Joe Christ) passed away on Father’s Day during the evening hours of June 21 in his Dekalb County home. According to toxicology reports released to his family today, Linhart died of a heart attack in his sleep.

Born in Washington D.C., Linhart relocated to Atlanta during the late 1990s following a nomadic lifestyle of producing shock art that made him a respected regular within underground scenes New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, and such far away locales as Manila in the Philippines.

During his Atlanta years, Linhart regularly worked with the shock website Consumption Junction and was a former guest artist with the the Dragon*Con festival. All the while, he released a steady stream of independent films, including 2005’s That’s Just Wrong! co-starring Atlanta sex author and mistress Dolores French, and other rousing titles including Amy Strangled a Small Child (1998) and Acid Is Groovy Kill the Pigs (1993). In addition to his film and visual art productions, Linhart also produced an equally balanced collection of rock recordings with such acts as Joe Christ and the Healing Faith (see interview), and Los Reactors.

Famous for wearing black T-shirts and jeans accented by macho tattoos upon his forearms, Linhart may have appeared menacing at first glance but upon further inspection most people discovered a truly kind soul and passionate artist. He was a father and friend whose untimely death leaves countless people in shock. But would Joe Christ have had it any other way? (more…)

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A young fan. A chance encounter. With a leg.

By Anna Watson

1994, Fox Theater
I got a job helping the catering lady in the hopes of getting backstage access. The catering room was in the basement of the Fox, off a narrow sloped hallway with linoleum floors and cement walls. Inside there were low ceilings with corrugated ceiling tiles and collapsible round tables and chairs. It was a small room with stale air.

The encounter
Eddie Vedder walked in the room, just like a normal person. He didn’t get any food. He just went and sat down at a table in the back left corner of the room. It was a now or never moment. I don’t normally drink coffee, but I needed an excuse. So I got a cup of coffee, walked over, sat down at his table and acted like I was supposed to be there. Then I open my packet of sugar and dropped the entire packet (paper and all) in my cup. I pushed it into the coffee so he wouldn’t see and remained calm as I burnt my finger. He had a little doll figure, a boy, with movable arms and legs and clothes that were painted. He was really into it. Then I noticed that he and I were wearing matching navy corduroy — his jacket and my pants. I couldn’t resist pointing this out, and he lit up when I did — he felt the knee of my pants as if to confirm that it was indeed the same as his jacket. We bonded for a split-sec. Then he had to leave. At the end of the food table near the door there was a vase of beautiful fresh star-gazers (”Eddie Vedder flowers” forevermore). On his way out he asked me if he could take a few up to his room. I was like, “Oh, yes, please, take them. Take them all!” He took a few.

Cigarettes
I was sent to Kroger to buy cigarettes for Pearl Jam. But first I had to find them to ask what kind. I found EV in a hallway a couple floors up, surrounded by posse and bodyguards. He saw me and I tried to yell to him. The bodyguard tried to push me back (like I was dangerous or something), but EV said, “No, it’s OK.” So I asked him. I think he said Marlboro. I was only 15, but somehow Kroger sold me two big boxes of them.

The leg
Pearl Jam was on stage and everyone was distracted, so it seemed like a good opportunity to check out their dressing room and search for evidence to take home. It was on the top floor (which I knew about from a previous time when I was sent up there to deliver sugar to Meatloaf, where he was in his bathrobe). Nobody stopped me, so I went up and walked in (the door was half open, so I could have easily just been lost and wandering into the wrong room, right? Yes, I thought — a believable explanation if I get caught). The lights were off except for a couple of lamps and the bathroom light. There were all these weird psychedelic black light posters on the walls and lava lamps, which I found odd. To the left of the door was a love seat and a small coffee table with the EV stargazers and the little figure boy. I thought, OMG, I’ve found EV’s SPOT — his NEST!! I focused, got in hyper-absorption mode and looked further. And as I looked around a corner next to the coffee table, my eyes fell on something right there in front of my face. Leaning against the wall was … was EV himself — only it was just part of him. Just his LEG. Without a doubt, it was Eddie Vedder’s OWN leg — only it was FAKE. Fake as in not alive or attached to a body. (more…)

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By Chris Parker

It’s been an eventful year for Dead Confederate. Since last September’s release of the debut LP Wrecking Ball, they’ve appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and recently finished a tour with childhood heroes Dinosaur Jr. This weekend, the Athens quintet pulls double-duty closer to home, performing at both AthFest and Corndogorama.

Dead Confederate’s sultry psych rumble evokes a range of acts including Pink Floyd’s spacey atmospherics, the Black Angels’ primal drone, and My Morning Jacket’s Southern-fried guitar rawk. They came into existence in the late ’90s as the jam-oriented act Red Belly Band. After graduating from college, they set about pursuing music in earnest, embarking on a new sound, name and outlook.

“We fell in love with creating music all over again,” says singer/guitarist Hardy Morris. “We were floundering as a college band that didn’t take themselves too seriously. Then we started writing some songs that really mattered to us and it took on a whole ’nother level.”

Continue reading “Dead Confederate feeling festive in preparation for new album”

(Photo by Pamela Littky)

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By Azia Squire

Taking Back Sunday with Anberlin and Envy on the Coast. $25. 6:30 p.m. The Masquerade (HEAVEN), 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com.

Fresh off the tense departure of guitarist/vocalist Fred Mascherino (who inspired “Capital M-E”) Taking Back Sunday has a new line-up, sound and album, conveniently titled New Again. “Sink Into Me,” the album’s first single best illustrates the changes, as it’s more stadium rock than the angst-ridden instrumentation and depressed guitars the band usually pulls off so well.

One element missing from this album is Taking Back Sunday’s penchant for duel vocals. The absence strips some of the songs of the uniqueness heard in earlier releases such as “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team),” the first single from Tell All Your Friends. Released when John Nolan of Straylight Run was still in the band, the track’s strength is the evident solidarity of the two vocalists (Adam Lazzara and Nolan) fighting each other for dominance. Now it seems like lead singer Lazzara is mostly fighting his own voice, and it leaves the melody a bit thin.

One of the tracks on New Again that dodges the thin bullet is “Everything Must Go,” on which Lazzara passionately handles the music alone. “Cut Me Up Jenny” is catchy and energetic, much like “Phasers Set to Stun” from the second album Where You Want to Be. Other highlights include “Swing” and “Summer, Man.”

With only one vocalist, the revamped Taking Back Sunday line-up will take a bit of getting used. But overall, Adam Lazzara has proven that whether there’s Fred, or John Nolan, or heck, even Jesse Lacey, he’s all fans really need for a decent TBS album. (WEA/Reprise) 4 out of 5 stars

Taking Back Sunday with Anberlin and Envy on the Coast. $25. 6:30 p.m. The Masquerade (HEAVEN), 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com.

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Each summer, music festivals seem to try to outdo each other with line-ups, film series, logos, locations and ticket prices but few are as big and crazed as Bonnaroo. Held in Manchester, Tenn. every year since 2002 on a 700-acre farm called the Great Stage Park, this year’s 4-day festival featured Nine Inch Nails, TV On the Radio, Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Erykah Badu and dozens of others.

View Bonnaroo photo gallery.

(Photos by James Camp)

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By Sarah Bakhtiari

Updated

PEACHES, DRUMS OF DEATH. $20. 7 p.m. Mon., June 15. Masquerade (Heaven). 404-577-8178. masq.com.

Canadian singer Merrill Nisker, better known as Peaches, is known in the electronica genre for her sexually explicit material and provocative shows. With rather blunt songs on sex, gender roles, and more sex, her new album I Feel Cream echoes the same messages heard on such past releases as Fatherfucker, but with a more melodic sound.

Since debuting with Teaches of Peaches in 2000, the electroclash queen has remained fairly consistent with her synth-punk sound. With I Feel Cream however, Peaches has released her most pop-sounding album without yet despite its electronic classification. The songs are catchier than ever, but still miles away from popcorn territory. Sounding like former roommate Feist, Peaches takes a different route on a few songs by singing in a soft, almost angelic voice — something fans have rarely heard. (more…)

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See photo gallery of Matisyahu’s June 2 performance at the Tabernacle.

(Photo courtesy Perry Julien)

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WED/3
THE DECEMBERISTS The chamber pop quintet engages fanciful folklore with baroque instrumentation and prog-rock arrangements. Their ability to pull it off is a testament to front man Colin Meloy’s storytelling and the group’s musical talent. $27.50. 8 p.m. Tabernacle. 404-659-9022. www.livenation.com. — Chris Parker

THURS/4
TAB BENOIT, LEGENDARY JC’S Louisiana bluesman Benoit might be a frequent visitor but that doesn’t make his Telecaster driven swamp rock any less riveting. Recent shows have him stripping down from his roaring trio with an acoustic solo mid-set performance that further showcases Benoit’s underrated soulful voice. $17.50. 8 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com. — Hal Horowitz

WAYNE HANCOCK The train is a roadhouse boogie warrior, and didn’t let a nasty dustup stop his tour. Grooming a couple of fresh faces on stage every night, they should be pretty dang good by the time they get here. $12. 9PM. The EARL. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — James Kelly

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BRANDI CARLILE

WED/20
BRANDI CARLILE Indigo Girls-approved singer/songwriter Carlile returns to Eddie’s for a stripped-down performance. Her rich voice has filled halls and arenas, so hearing her introspective musings in such an intimate setting is a rare treat. Sold out. 10 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — Hal Horowitz

THURS/21
KRS-ONE The Blastmaster KRS-One anoints Hip Hop Appreciation Week in Atlanta with a host of city all-stars: Killer Mike, Bone Crusher, Nappy Roots, Stacey Epps, A. Leon Craft, Ness Lee, the Beat Gods, Señor Kaos, 4-IZE, Punchlyne, Stahhr, Adrift da Belle, Bobby Creekwater, Stat Quo, Stanza, Dres tha Beatnik, Clan Destined, and the Regime, along with DJs Majestik and Feel X. $20. 9 p.m. The Loft. 404-885-1365. www.theloftatl.com. — Rodney Carmichael

THOMAS FUNCTION, CARNIVORES, PAPER KNIVES Huntsville, Alabama’s Thomas Function takes the best parts of soul, garage, rock, gospel and shoegaze and wraps it all into one dirty Southern punk jam. Carnivores play spiraling, art-damaged indie rock. Paper Knives also perform. $7. 9 p.m. 529. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com. — Chad Radford

FRI/22
BOB LOG III, WILLEM MAKER A near perfect double bill matches the raw, Fat Possum label’s swamp stomp of Maker with Log’s one-man-band banging blues/garage/techno schtick. Prepare for some freaked out, twisted hoodoo. $10-$12. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — HH

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