Paco Peña

Concert Preview
“A Compás: To the Rhythm”
The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company. 8 p.m. Oct. 10. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W., $36-$62. 404-413-9849, www.rialtocenter.org.

By Pierre Ruhe
In Southern Spain, you’re likely to find the timeless folk flamenco dance in unexpected, spontaneous places — a group of Gypsies by a roadside caravan, young Spaniards off in the corner at a bar or at a citywide street fair, often highlighted by a fervently observed (and passionately disputed) performance competition.
Stripped down to its essentials, all it takes is a dancer bursting with emotion, a pair of clapping hands and what the Spaniards call “duende,” a demon spirit that possesses performer and audience alike — the same mythic energy a matador and a bull share during a bullfight.
“Flamenco is not written down but passed down from generation to generation,” guitarist Paco Peña said, “so it continues to allow for new ideas to come into it.”
Peña’s world-famous …

Continue reading Paco Peña brings Flamenco dance company to Rialto »

4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra

Concert previews
4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra
9 p.m. Oct. 3, Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery, $10, 290 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive S.E.,  Atlanta, 404-522-0655, www.eyedrum.org.
Also 9 p.m. Oct. 17, Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, $7, 644 N. Highland Ave N.E., Atlanta, 404-874-5756, www.thehighlandinn.com.

By Bob Townsend
The high concept behind Atlanta’s 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra is a mix of West African-influenced rhythms and Eastern European klezmer melodies. On paper, it seems like a pretty unlikely musical mash-up.
But to hear this jazz orchestra — wailing away on tunes such as “Greater Lagos Wednesday Night Talmud Meeting” — is to experience a soulful, swinging sonancy that freely shifts from funky grooves to joyful schmaltz.
The 4WAKO, as it has come to be called, was founded by leader and trumpet player Roger Ruzow — a veteran of the avant-garde, free jazz ensemble Gold Sparkle Band and a Clayton County public school music teacher. …

Continue reading 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra: ‘This should be really fun’ »

THURSDAY

AC3 Festival 2009

This is the fifth year for AC3, offering three days of below-the-radar hip-hop spread out over multiple venues in East Atlanta and Little Five Points. National acts Rakim, Kidz in the Hall, Black Sheep, J-Live, People Under the Stairs and others share the stage with Atlanta artists such as Killer Mike, Collective Efforts and Psyche Origami.
8 p.m. Oct. 1-3. $33. The EARL, 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950, www.badearl.com.

Sunny Day Real Estate. Photo: Brian Tamborello

FRIDAY

Psychedelic Furs

A lot of post-punk British bands of the early ’80s wanted to be the earlier version of David Bowie, which Bowie himself no longer wanted to be. The Furs’ Richard Butler was the most successful, carving a distinctive style out of hero worship thinly disguised with a punky veneer.

8 p.m. Oct. 2. $26.50. The Masquerade, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178, www.masq.com.

SATURDAY

Sunny DayReal Estate

Emo, punk rock’s more sensitive offspring, got much of its blueprint from …

Continue reading Live Music Picks, Oct. 1-8 »

The Fame Kills concert tour with Kanye West and Lady Gaga has been canceled. Tickets were to go on sale this weekend. Credit: Associated Press

LN = Live Nation, 1-877-598-8698, www.livenation.com
TM = Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com
TA = Ticketalternative, 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com

ON SALE SEPT. 30
Willie & Lobo. 8 p.m. Jan. 30. Center Stage. $22.50. TM.

ON SALE OCT. 2
Bijan Mortazavi. 9 p.m. Nov. 7. Center Stage. $35-$55. TM.
Queen Latifah. 9 p.m. Nov. 19. Center Stage. $35. TM.
Rusted Root. 7 p.m. Nov. 22. Masquerade. $20 advance. TM.
Riggs. 9 p.m. Nov. 28. The Loft. $15. TA.
Metric. 8 p.m. Nov. 30. Center Stage. $20. TM.
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam. 8:30 p.m. Dec. 3. The Loft. $15. TA.

ON SALE OCT. 3
CANCELED: Kanye West and Lady Gaga. 8 p.m. Dec. 11. Philips Arena. $39.50-$129.50. LN.
Jeff Dunham. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 28. Philips Arena. $50.50. TM.

UPCOMING SHOWS
Dr. Dog. 8:30 p.m. Sept. 29. The Loft. $15. TA.
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. 8 p.m. …

Continue reading Hot tickets 9/29 »

This is the album cover for the tribute CD.

The band Maze featuring Frankie Beverly hasn’t put out a new album since 1993’s “Back to Basics.” Yet the silky soul group tours year after year with fans flocking to sold-out shows (including annual visits to Atlanta’s Chastain Amphitheater) to hear decades-old hit songs.

Those same classics will draw Maze fans to this new tribute album, “Silky Soul.. A Tribute to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly,” which features major artists such as Mary J. Blige, Ledisi and Kem. While the digital version of the CD was released last month, the physical album finally hits stores today.

Musiq Soulchild kicks things off with a smooth as silk version of a song that it is actually a tribute Maze did in honor of the late Marvin Gaye, who was instrumental in the band’s success. Like many of the other tunes on this album, “Silky Soul” stays true to the Maze sound, but with an updated tempo.

In addition, Maze fans will enjoy Blige’s “Before I let Go, …

Continue reading New CD pays tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze »

The city’s musical highlight Thursday night was at the Drunken Unicorn in Poncey Highlands where Juliette Lewis, American Bang and the Ettes rocked out for a couple hundred fans who took the Drunken description to heart. Ms. Lewis was born in Los Angeles on June 21, 1973 to Geoffrey Lewis, an actor, and Glenis Duggan Batley, a graphic designer. She wanted to act since she was six years old, and has appeared in over forty films and made-for-TV movies. She appeared in The Wonder Years as Wayne’s girlfriend in Episodes 24, 34 and 36. Lewis first garnered international attention and acclaim in 1991 with her turn as Danielle Bowden in Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1992. Over the next few years, she won further critical support in Peter Medak’s Romeo Is Bleeding, and as opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia. In 1993 she acted alongside Leonardo Dicaprio and Johnny Depp in the drama film What’s Eating …

Continue reading Actress Juliette Lewis At Drunken Unicorn »

Disco Biscuits

FRIDAY
Disco Biscuits
They may be part of the Grateful Dead-inspired jam-rock underground, but the Disco Biscuits are resolutely 21st century in their use of electronic dance music elements.
7 p.m. Sept. 25. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. N.W. 404-659-9022, tabernacleatl.com.

FRIDAY
Loggins & Messina
More than a decade before Kenny Loggins reached his “Footloose” pinnacle, he and Jim Messina took “Your Mama Don’t Dance” into the Top 10. They followed it up with a couple of often forgotten Top 20 entries, “Thinking of You” and “My Music.”
8 p.m. Sept. 25. Chastain Park Amphitheater, 4469 Stella Drive N.W. 404-733-5012, www.classicchastain.com.

FRIDAY
The Walkmen
Experimental post-punk is rarely as tuneful as the stuff on this Brooklyn-based band’s latest album, “You & Me.” It’s a musical meat grinder that pumps out tasty stuff such as “Canadian Girl,” which channels a doo-wop-like melody through the Velvet Underground, and “Donde Esta La Playa,” with its echoes …

Continue reading Live music picks Sept. 25-29 »

Shawn Mullins will perform at Variety Playhouse on Nov. 28. Credit: Jessica McGowan/AJC file

LN = Live Nation, 1-877-598-8698, www.livenation.com
TM = Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com
TA = Ticketalternative, 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com

ON SALE SEPT. 25
Shawn Mullins. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 28. Variety Playhouse. $22.50; $20 advance. TM.
moe. 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Classic Center, Athens. $25-$30. TM.
Derek Trucks Band. Dec. 2-3. Variety Playhouse. One day, $34, $29.50 advance; two days, $50. TM.
Assembly of Dust. 9 p.m. Dec. 4. Vinyl. $12; $10 advance. TA.
Perpetual Groove. 8:30 p.m. Dec. 30 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31. Variety Playhouse. Dec. 30 show: $22.50-$25; $20-$22.50 advance; Dec. 31 show: $27.50-$30; $25-$27.50 advance; two-day pass, $40-45. TM.

ON SALE SEPT. 26
Honor Society with Esmee Denters. 6 p.m. Nov. 22. The Loft. $15. TA.

UPCOMING SHOWS
7:30 Club Showcase. 8 p.m. Sept. 24. Vinyl. $8; $6 advance. TA.
Juliette Lewis. 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24. The …

Continue reading Hot tickets 9/22 »

The sold out BEAT Birthday Bash 10 took place Saturday night, September 19 at Wild Bill’s. The lineup and appearances featured, in order,  DJ’s Mami Chula,DJ KID and Johnny D, Kandi, Sean Garrett, Krave, Rich Kids, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Keri Hilson and Akon. T-Boz was there to show support for her fellow ATL artists, but did not perform. DJ Maverick joined Lil Jon on Stage, while  Akon surprised the audience three times by stage diving, crowd surfing and being raised back up to the stage. Every performance was high energy.

WHAT  DID  YOU  THINK  OF  THE CONCERT? (Photo Credit: Lisa Keel/ www.robbsphotos.com)

For other concert photography linked to Access Atlanta, please visit for Atlanta …

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Atlanta-based Goodie Mob played a reunion show Saturday night, September 19, at the Masquerade Music Park. Opening acts were Pastor Troy and YoungBloodZ. Goodie Mob is widely considered one of the founding hip hop acts of the Dirty South movement. The group’s first album, Soul Food(1995), stands as one of the earliest Southern rap albums to emerge on a major label and, along with OutKast’s debut, essentially proved that rap was no longer a West and East Coast phenomenon. Goodie Mob consists of Cee-Lo (Thomas Callaway), Khujo (Willie Knighton, Jr.), T-Mo Goodie (Robert Barnett), and Big Gipp (Cameron Gipp).

Continue reading Goodie Mob Reunion at Masquerade Music Park »