WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 *Due to the holiday, some venus might be closed. Please call ahead.* [ Acoustic/Folk ] Rob & Gary Acoustic. Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 199 Woodcliff Dr. 248-4825. 5:30 p.m. Free. Steve Laciak, Kate Phillips. Lovin’ Cup, 300 Park Point Dr. 292-9940. 8 p.m. Free. Moon Zombies played Friday, December 21, at Monty’s Krown. PHOTO BY WILLIE CLARK
Jackson Rohm Friday, December 28 Johnny’s Irish Pub, 1382 Culver Road 5 p.m. | Free | 224-0990, johnnysirishpub.com [ COUNTRY/POP ] It’s Atlanta’s Jackson Rohm’s
boredom that’ll save you from yours. Rohm rolls well within the contemporary pop/country idiom, dipping his wheels in rock ’n’ roll grease. Rohm barnstorms the United States a la carte, his songs fleshed out and dressed up in a beautiful, detailed Americana. On disc and backed up, the man has the stain of the hardcore troubadour on his hands. It ain’t “Copperhead Road,” but it ain’t country fluff either. Good stuff. — BY FRANK DE BLASE
Steve Laciak/Kate Phillips Wednesday, December 26 Lovin’ Cup, 300 Park Point 8 p.m. | Free | lovincup.com [ SINGER/SONGWRITER ] Now here’s an interesting
pairing: Steve Laciak and Kate Phillips come from rather different corners of the ring. Laciak has a BA in jazz studies and has traversed the globe absorbing music along the way. Phillips has spent her career traipsing the Great White Way appearing in productions from “Bye Bye Birdie” to “Hello Dolly.” But you can catch them both at the same time when they play Lovin’ Cup this week. — BY FRANK DE BLASE
Can the dead breathe in space? [ review ] by WILLIE CLARK
Though Friday may have been one of the first snow-flurry-filled nights of Rochester’s winter season, inside Monty’s Krown the musical temperature was anything but low. RoarShark opened up the night with a set of surefire surf rock, filled with that genre-defining wet, splashy reverb and tonal riffs that call to mind everything great about the beach (waves, babes, and sunny days) without forcing you to actually go there and deal with the sand and seaweed. The group forgoes a singer (except for a few screams here and there); this is a guitar world, and by God the guitars are going to rule it. Normally when a band goes without a singer I find that it’s hard to latch on to a specific sound, but RoarShark’s licks were meaty enough to sink your teeth into. The group’s dual lead guitar/bass guitar solo lines easily filled the spotlight. Then it was the Moon Zombies’ turn to rise and take the stage. This group is funk, funk, funky, but with a heavier and solidified rock architecture that makes it a little louder and fiercer than you might expect from a funk band. The group shifted from one planetary genre to the next, sampling some
straight-up ska-skank tunes (Reel Big Fish’s “Beer” was in there), to rhythmic and soulful systems, and even to heavier rock explosions. Most of the flow was seamless, but there was still a little disconnect from song-to-song with so much genre shifting — some people may find the band’s grabbing of so many sounds divisive rather than inclusive. The keyboard managed to tie things together a bit, but tended to get a little lost in the more rock-laden pieces. The band shied away a bit, especially vocally, on some of the songs where it seemed a little unsure of itself. But boy, when the group was on, it was firing all cylinders. It created a totally different vibe when it let loose, like on the closer for the roughly two-hour-long set, “Zombie Dance.” The world may not have ended on Friday night — too bad, Mayans! — but if there were any dead people in the room, I’m pretty sure even they made it up on their feet for the last dance. And since the undead never really die, Moon Zombie has time to continue to flesh out and trim the fat from its set, making everything all the juicier for the living, the dancing, and the dead.
[ DJ/Electronic ] DJ Adam. Nashvilles, 4853 W Henrietta Rd. 334-3030. Call for info. Call for info. DJ Dorian. TC Riley’s, 200 Park Point Dr. 272-9777. Call for info. Call for info. Teen Set 45 Party. Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave. Midnight. Free. Y Not Wednesday w/DJ ET. Plush, 151 St. Paul St. 2325650. Call for info. Call for info. [ Jazz ] Julie Ketchum Duo. Bistro 135, 135 W. Commercial St. 662-5555. 6 p.m. Free. Margaret Explosion. Little Theatre Café, 240 East Ave. 7:30 p.m. Free. Vince Ercolamento& Joe Chiappone Jazz Quartet. Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave. 342-6780. 8 p.m. Free. [ Karaoke ] Italian American Karaoke. Italian American Community Center, 150 Frank Dimino Way. 594-8882. 7:30 p.m. Free. Karaoke at Mayfield’s Pub. Mayfield’s Pub, 669 N Winton Rd. 288-7199. 9 p.m. Free. Karaoke at Sanibel Cottage. Sanibel Cottage, 1517 Empire Blvd. 671-9340. 6 p.m. Free. Karaoke at California Brew Haus. California Brew Haus, 402 Ridge Rd. West. 6211480. 9 p.m. Free. continues on page 13
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