Crib Notes

The Sunny Day Real Estate show at Center Stage this Saturday has been sold out for months, but there are plenty of other great shows on which to spend your hard-earned dollars this week. Here’s a list of nine shows going on between tonight and Wed., Oct. 6 that I wholeheartedly endorse, in order of priority.

Of course the smart money is on the Wavves show at the Earl on Sunday night. Recent drama with Black Lips aside, the Wavves  kid puts on a fun show of sweetly damaged California pop melodies ravaged by noise in the most brain-pleasing way. According to singer/guitar player Nathan Williams, the idea behind the group was to create songs that resembled something like Beatles-esque pop filtered through the dissonance of Sonic Youth’s guitar sounds, but due to his lack of skills when it came to recording, the resulting songs more closely resemble something like a mashup of Pavement circa Slanted & Enchanted and the Jesus & Mary Chain circa Psychochandy, wrapped in a Zoloft haze — can’t go wring there. Ganglians and Facehugger open. $10. 8 p.m. Sun., Oct. 4. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com.

Grizzly Bear needs no introduction, so I won’t waste your time, other than to say that they’re bringing their brand of fey and lofty art pop to Variety Playhouse on Mon., Oct. 5. The show is currently sold out, but keep on eye on the Variety Playhouse’s Twitter page as more tickets are rumored to be made available this week. 8 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354.

Photo by Dale Heise

Tonight Digital Leather plays 529. I’ve yet to hear a recording from this one-time Jay Reatard cohort that I can fully endorse, although word on the street is that the Sorcerer album on Goner is the one to get. Regardless, Digital Leather played 529 a couple of months back and the full-band treatment of what’s mostly the one-man studio project of Omaha resident Shawn Foree, gave sort of a dark, Buzcocks pop edge to these synth-heavy no wave numbers, adding some much needed girth. Thee Crucials and the F’n Heartbreaks open. $7. 9 p.m. 529, 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769.

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UPDATE: Read the follow-up post, Sugarhill’s last jam — plus a Shameless Plug for the future of live music in Atlanta.

Next Tuesday will be the last night for Sugarhill — Atlanta’s premier destination for live soul and progressive urban music.

It’s a stunning announcement — but maybe not too surprising considering the obstacles the venue has faced since its inception.

Much of the onus for the club’s closing lies with “Underground [Atlanta] mismanagement,” according to co-owner Richard Dunn, who partnered with Jason Carter (Sol Fusion promoter), Freddy Luster (former co-owner of Yin Yang Café), and Rival Entertainment/Center Stage co-owners Josh Antenucci and Tom Cook to open the venue in September 2006.

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ESTELLE

Estelle/Solange/Suai
March 12 at Center Stage

The theme of the night was independent thinking — or the lack thereof.

We’re not just talking about outside-the-box performers Solange, or the night’s headliner Estelle, either. No, the crowd gets called out this time. The source of my discontent: Center Stage has a unique setup in that you don’t have to stand in front of the stage; fans can actually cop a squat in the surrounding theater seating and, essentially, leave the dance floor clear. Mind you, I’ve been to a number of shows at the venue and have never seen this happen — until this night. If only one person would have boldly made a move, others would’ve followed. But nooooo…
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On Friday night, I had the chance to be reminded of all the reasons why I love Lizz Wright, who I profiled in this week’s issue in anticipation of last Friday’s performance at Center Stage. Wright, a Hahira native who attended Georgia State University and performed around town before moving on, is out touring on her third (and best) CD, The Orchard. But the performance also reminded me of the reasons why I believe the best is still yet to come for this 28-year-old marvel who often draws comparisons to Norah Jones (for better or worse).

Wright must be a delight to work with in the studio. It’s probably no coincidence that they now share the same producer, Craig Street, who seems to have a gift for matching vocalists with talented session musicians and songs to cover. And sure enough, The Orchard boasts some wonderful re-workings of everything from Ike & Tina Turner’s “I Idolize You” to Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You.” (Fans may also recall her brilliant reworking of the ’60s anthem, “Get Together,” actually titled “Everybody Get Together,” popularized by the Dave Clark Five.) Technically speaking, Wright is arguably as proficient as any alto out there, and that includes another to whom she’s compared, Cassandra Wilson. She can wring vibrato from the lowest, huskiest notes without every sounding flat or without resonance, and she almost never cheats on a note. She has an uncanny ability to fill her tones with the kind of warmth that make altos such a delight. And she almost never, ever tries to over-sell a song.

But in a weird way, this last strength in the studio seems to become a weakness when she performs live, because Wright tends to hold back in a way that leaves the audience wanting more. Now, take this as one cynic’s opinion; I’d argue a solid majority of the Center Stage audience would disagree with me. But from the moment she took the stage to her encore, Wright barely made an attempt to connect with her obviously appreciative audience, or to take a song to another level — beyond the studio version.

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