seven things to do in seven days
Beach House Tue. Sept. 18 | Bloom (Sub Pop), the fourth album by Baltimore duo Beach House, naturally follows the blossoming of 2010 favorite Teen Dream. It’s yet another dusky, gauzecloaked retreat from a band that seems to build such things in its sleep. Dustin Wong opens at Tipitina’s. PAGE 51.
Ricky and Varla Turn You On Thu. & Sun. Sept. 20 & 23; Thu.-Sun. Sept. 27-30 | Ricky Graham and Varla Jean Merman are joined by Jefferson Turner on piano and Brian Albus on percussion for a musical revue featuring their renditions of hits, country tunes, disco, songs from Mary Poppins and original pieces. At Mid-City Theatre. PAGE 63.
The Walkmen Sat. Sept. 22 | Having found perfection on 2010’s Lisbon, the Walkmen ascended to a higher plane: June release Heaven (Fat Possum) is a sure-footed, surefire contender for rock record of the year. Milo Greene opens at Tipitina’s. PAGE 51.
SEPT
Fiona Apple | Seven years after releasing her last record, 2005’s Extraordinary Machine (Epic), mercurial singer-songwriter Fiona Apple this year released The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. The visceral, entirely acoustic album is fraught with unhinged, discordant moments, but it also contains beauty and dark humor in Apple’s exquisite poetry. Blake Mills opens at the House of Blues. PAGE 51.
Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks and Gladys Knight Sat. Sept 22 | This trio of female singers spans several decades of popular music. Perhaps that’s the point; the American Association of Retired Persons presents the concert in conjunction with its Life@50+ expo at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. At the New Orleans Arena. PAGE 51. Lewis Black Sun. Sept. 23 | An admirer of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, comedian Lewis Black believes no subject, great or small, is offlimits. And everything from smartphones to politics in Washington D.C. is likely to set off one of his hallmark tirades and appeals for sanity. Hear him unload at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. PAGE 49.
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > september 18 > 2012
OFF! Fri. Sept. 21 | Hardcore punk supergroup OFF! — with Keith Morris of Circle Jerks, and members of Burning Brides and Rocket from the Crypt — crashed 2010 with a slew of EPs. This year, the band released a self-titled full-length, a breakneck 16-track LP of bruised and bloodied pit firestarters. Punk legend Negative Approach and North Carolina’s Double Negative open. At Tipitina’s. PAGE 51.
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