ThisWeek Westerville News & Public Opinion
April 25, 2013
m o c . s w e n k e w s i h t @ r e h c s i f j
jfischer@thisweeknews.com
Young veterans, established rising stars, fresh and yet wise – these dichotomies apply in equal measure to both Seth Glier and Liz Longley, who share the Columbus Performing Arts Center stage in a Six String Concerts show Friday, April 26. Glier spent Seth Glier plays a most of his teens Six String Con- and early 20s on certs show Fri- the road, indeed day, April 26, at still logging in the neighborhood of the Columbus 250 live shows in Performing Arts a year. But his Center. time of reckoning would have to come, and Glier considers his latest record, Things I Should Let You Know, as a sort of coming of age, facing the realities of growing up. Longley, like Glier based in Massachusetts, is wholly modern and crazy talented. The recent Berklee College of Music grad already owns a host of songwriting awards. Tickets are $20/$23. Visit sixstring.org. BONUS: The start of singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester is of Vietnam-era vintage. His name should ring enough bells given Winchester’s own critical acclaim, plus he’s had songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Joan Baez, Nicolette Larson and even the Weather Girls. Sweet. Winchester plays the Grand Valley Dale Ballroom Thursday, May 2. Tickets are $25. Visit zeppcolumbus.com. The Craig Taborn Trio is laid out like a traditional jazz piano trio, with piano (Taborn) double bass (Thomas Morgan) and drums (Gerald Cleaver).
Woodlands Tavern hosts Fruition Tuesday, April 30.
In fact, Taborn even challenges many standard jazz conventions, which is also not unlike a lot of jazz piano trios. But it’s the combination of Taborn’s at-once compositional and improvised approach to music-making and his bandmates’ sensitivity to his desire for form and formlessness that make this ensemble a treat. The Wexner Center for the Arts hosts the Craig Taborn Trio Saturday, April 27. Tickets are $18. Visit wexarts.org.
The Beat confesses genuine bemusement at Dillinger Escape Plan. The New Jersey five-piece can play for sure, and has a great name (which always gets The Beat’s attention). Tunes that cram a whole lot of directionless riffing into 90-second packages, though, leave
us unfulfilled. Check ’em out with openers Faceless and Royal Thunder Tuesday, April 30, at the A&R Bar. Tickets are $20. Visit promowestlive.com.
Lucero hails from the musical crucible that is Memphis, Tenn., and that heritage is reflected in the band’s sometimes grim, gravelly version of country-punk, inflected with flavors of R&B/soul and roots rock. Like an East Coast bar band playing honky-tonk. One listen to a Lucero classic such as Nights Like These and you’ll get what we’re talking about. It’s rock ‘n’ roll, baby. Lucero plays The Bluestone Wednesday, May 1. Langhorne Slim and the Law open. Tickets are $17/$19. Visit liveatthebluestone. com.
Newgrass (which isn’t really new any more – is there a postnewgrass?) collective Fruition calls to mind a pair of other similar-butnot-quite-so trios in Nickel Creek and Crosby, Stills and Nash. The Portland, Ore., quintet’s harmonies sparkle and the acoustic playing fairly crackles with energy. Raw and vibrant. Plus, if you check out this show, you’ll always be able to say you came to fruition. (We couldn’t resist.) Catch ’em at Woodland Tavern Tuesday, April 30. Hocking River String Band opens. Visit woodlandstavern. Lucero plays The Bluestone Wednesday, May 1. com.
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Random notes
■ The 2013 OhioDance Festival will be held April 26-28 in Columbus. The annual event includes workshops, dance classes/ instruction, presentations and panel discussions and performances by dancers and teachers from throughout the state. Executive director Jane D’Angelo said the festival is intended as both a professional conference and for amateur dancers young and old. It is hosted by Ohiodance, with offices in the Riffe Center, and BalletMet Columbus. A special feature this year is a cooperative program with Amethyst Inc., a residency program for women in recovery. OhioDance has been working with residents (and their children) on choreography that will be presented during the Saturday-night showcase. D’Angelo said both OhioDance and Amethyst were interested in how the arts might assist these women. The festival is open to the public. Get details at ohiodance.org – and read more in the BeatBlog at ThisWeekNEWS.com. ■ Earlier this year,The Beat served as a judge for one of three semifinal rounds of Groove You’s Instaband Battle of the Bands. One of the three groups advancing was a sextet from Groveport called A F(r)iend in Me, so we believe we deserve credit for the fact that the hardcore outfit won the finals of the event.
Made up of high school students, the band has been together only since late summer/early fall of last year. Anyway, The Beat finally had a chance to sit down with the band, and you can see the video, as well as some of the band’s performance from the Instaband finals, on The Beat page at ThisWeekNEWS.com. ■ Tonight’s Wexner Center Gala, featuring a performance by Natalie Cole and local community choir Harmony Project, also benefits Ohio State’s Harding Behavioral Health’s STAR (Stress,Trauma and Resilience) Program of the Wexner Medical Center. So it’s kinda two benefits in one! If you haven’t made plans, you can still get down to Mershon Auditorium.Yeah, it’s a “gala,” but you can get tickets for $25. Visit wexarts.org. ■ The Columbus Children’s Choir will hold its second annual Home Grown II concert, featuring alumni from the group’s 26-year-history, Saturday, May 11, at Broad Street Presbyterian Church.A $10 donation is suggested. Proceeds benefit the Sandra Mathias Fund, named for the CCC’s founder, who retired last year. The current choir will perform its final concert Sunday, May 12, at Otterbein University’s Cowan Hall. For more information, visit columbuschildrenschoir.org.
Local hardcore band A F(r)iend in Me was the winner of the inaugural Groove You Instaband Battle of the Bands.