This Week In Music: Jan 15 - 21

                                                                                          The Dears


Monday, January 15
Little Richard
BB King's Blues Club & Grill
$60

More than any other performer - with the exception of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties. His frantically charged piano playing laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. Raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally and Good Golly, Miss Molly defined the dynamic sound of Rock N' Roll. Lets also not forget that on their first U.S. tour The Beatles chose to cover one of Lil' Dick's tracks to  hysterical audiences. Though clearly a couple of keys short of a Steinway, Richard is a born entertainer guaranteed to push the decibel level to its extreme. Just push his recent reality TV atrocities to the back of your mind.


Tuesday, January 16
NAS
Hard Rock Cafe
Free

Hip Hop is dead? Not so, merely evolving and NAS finds himself at the forefront of the genre. Built to last and last to be built. Check out this MTV live taping and be quick because these free tickets ain't gonna be around long.


Wednesday, January 17
America
BB King's Blues Club & Grill
$45 adv/ $49 DOS

America had several Top 10 hits in the '70s, including the #1s, A Horse With No Name and Sister Golden Hair. They also scored big hits with I Need You, Ventura Highway, Tin Man, Lonely People, Sister Golden Hair and You Can Do Magic. More recently they went into the studio and recorded new material for their just-released album, Here and Now . The record features collaborations with contemporary artists such as Fountains Of Wayne, Ben Kweller, My Morning Jacket, Ryan Adams and Smashing Pumpkins. The record also features a very special cover of Nada Surf's Always Love accompanied by the band.


Thursday, January 18
Sloan
Bowery Ballroom
$20

Hailing from Halifax and residing in Toronto, Sloan have carved out their own niche in the music world comfortably churning out accessible, acoustic singer-songwriter singles as comfortably as they produced guitar-driven power-pop. Respected throughout the music community for staying true to their roots and not compromising their independence, they have managed to stay both sonically relevant and artistically progressive.


Friday, January 19
The Dears
Webster Hall
$20

Montreal's The Dears have not been left to toil in the field since releasing 2003's album, No Cities Left. In 2005 they released a live album and late in 2006 they released their solid follow up studio album, Gang Of Losers. Murray Lightburn, the lovechild to proud parents, Damon Albarn and Morrissey has been blessed with an equal share of their charismatic vocals as well and the power to craft remarkably hooky, elaborately arranged indie-pop. Making The Dears even more compelling however is their dynamic live show complete with members who sound as good as they look. Yipsters get ready...


Saturday, January 20
The Subdudes
Irving Plaza
$22 adv/ $25 dos

Formed In 1987, The Subdudes created acoustic driven songs featuring sparse instrumentation with a strong emphasis on songwriting and vocal harmonies. After splitting up in the 90's and reforming in 2002, The Subdudes continue to attract a dedicated legion of old fans while also attracting new ones.


Sunday, January 21
Howard Jones
Florence Gould Hall
$35

80's synth-pop sensation Howard Jones - though relatively obscure for the past 15 years - has remained consistently active touring, recording and writing (Jones co-produced and co-wrote material for Sugababes' 2002 album, Angels With Dirty Faces). Having sold more than 8 million records Jones cracked the US charts with singles like, No One Is To Blame, Things Can Only Get Better, Like To Get To Know You Well and Everlasting Love.

Tags:   America, BB Kings Blues Club and Grill, Ben Kweller, Bowery Ballroom, Canadian Bands, Chuck Berry, Damon Albarn, Elvis Presley, Flornce Gould Hall, Fountains Of Wayne, Hard Rock Cafe, Howard Jones, Indie Pop, Irving Plaza, Little Richard, Morrissey, MTV, My Morning Jacket, Nada Surf, NAS, Ryan Adams, Sloan, Smashing Pumpkins, The Beatles, The Dears, The Subdudes, Webster Hall

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Posted on 1/14/2007 ( Permanent Link )
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