Happy New Year folks! I look forward to seeing you all at shows and in the record stores, restaurants and shops. Remember every dollar you spend counts – so lets support the local venues that are working so hard to keep us entertained and the publications that entertain us (or provided something to wrap up the fish heads).
Elvis Birthday Bash hosted by Wayne Bertsch
Friday, January 8, 2010
Locals Only
2449 E. 56th Street
317-255-4013
21+, 9:00 pm, $8
A sure sign of the new year is Wayne Bertsch’s Elvis Bash. Once again, Wayne has assembled another all-star lineup to celebrate the King’s birthday.
"If the King were still alive, he'd be turning 74 that weekend. We wanted to bring together an event that showcases the diversity of his music. Elvis was more than a rockabilly act. His music assembled elements of rock, gospel and R&B in ways that influenced almost every musician that came after him," writes Barfly cartoonist and promoter Wayne Bertsch. "I wanted to assemble a line-up that reflected the diverse sound that made Elvis a standout even amongst the other giants in the Sun records stable."
The features The Danny Thompson Trio (formerly known as the Messarounds), Mandy Marie and the Cool Hand Lukes and indie rock band, Harley Poe.
No one does a theme like Locals Only – I can’t wait to see what they will feature for their annual Elvis-centric menu. Elvis clothing, hip shaking and sneers encouraged.
www.localsonlyindy.com
Edie Carey and Bobbi Lancaster
Friday, January 15, 2010
Urban Element
901 North Pennsylvania Street
317-423-2938
8:00 pm, all-ages, non-smoking, $12
Just hearing Edie Carey’s name makes me smile! She was a CATH coffeehouse favorite and it brings back memories of great music and laughter. Promoter Robin Coleman’s Segment of Society has picked up several CATH alumni for her concert series. I have a hard time describing Edie’s music without using a ton of dashes: singer-songwriter-folk-pop-roots-rock. Her shows are intimate, whether there are nine or fifty people in the audience thanks to Edie’s talent for engaging the audience. I’ll see you there!
www.urbanelementindy.com
www.edicarey.com
With Love, Dessau by Emily Kennerk
January, 2010
christopher west presents
646 Massachusetts Ave (the Dean-Johnson space)
Gallery hours: Wednesday-Saturday, various hours
I haven’t had a chance to check out the new gallery, christopher west presents, and this month will be the perfect time. Emily Kennerk will be exhibiting her new work, With Love, Dessau. The exhibition is comprised of drawings, photographs, sculpture and an installation.
Emily spent the summer in Berlin and she explored the relationships between American suburbia and the Bauhaus structures in Dessau. She uses appropriated images and drawings from pre-Nazi era Germany to explore the nature and boundaries of expectations
Emily now lives and works in Las Vegas, where she is the Head of Sculpture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She received her MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2001 and had a solo exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2007. Which is all very exciting for me – I first met her has a pig-tailed girl from Zionsville who loved to explore our farm and was a blast to hang out with. We had a few Instant Message conversations this summer while she was in Germany. I can’t wait to see what the talented Emily Kennerk has produced.
http://christopherwestpresents.com
Reviews:
The Meatballs, BoyToy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Zonnies Closet
This review is filed under, “you never know what the evening will bring.” Friends have been encouraging me to check out the band, The Perennials, and I was thrilled to learn they were playing downtown, not far from Fountain Square where I was already planning to be.
In Nora fashion I arrived just as The Perennials finished. The trip was not in vain - I was delighted by the next two bands. The Meatballs were art-punk as it should be. Quirky and funny and incognito. Rumor has it they're Purdue professors. The Boy Toys are also Lafayette based. Power pop as it should be – pogo-dancing fun.
www.myspace.com/theboytoysmusic
New Year’s Meltdown
Otis Gibbs, Vess Ruhtenberg, The Academy, America Owns the Moon
December 31, 2009
Locals Only
I’m no stranger to meltdowns on New Year’s Eve, mostly of my own doing. The stress over what to wear, where to go and the pressure of the midnight kiss (or lack of). The Meltdown show was the perfect antidote to all of that. Cara Jean Wahlers made beautiful personalized party hats – mine featured the great Josh Johnson drawing of me at the top of this column, all I had to add was a black dress, fishnets and heels.
The show was perfect and the crowd was great. Locals Only had just the right amount of people there – crowded, but not packed with the cool kids and the rest of us, lots of love and community in the room and nary a meltdown in sight. Otis opened the show with a beautiful acoustic solo set. He walked through the crowd for his last song giving a nod to the music community and fans along the way.
Vess Ruhtenberg formed a band for the evening that included Tina Barbieri playing bass, Dana Cooper on piano, and Joshua Strodtman on the drums. They were lovely.
A Squared Industries spun dance music between sets, champagne and noisemakers were distributed and we cheered in the New Year. I stayed for the first couple of songs of the great indie band, The Academy before driving my charges home. Yep, I was the designated driver – I appreciate the great non-alcoholic beer Locals Only carries – they made it easy not to be tempted by a real beer.
Happy New Year!
.JPG)
