The Record Crate: Award Shows and Packed Houses

Perusing the Grammy fallout this morning, I guess I need to hear that Herbie Hancock record of Joni Mitchell songs, if it was good enough to not only be the second jazz album in history to snag "Album of the Year" at the Grammy's but also wrestle an accolade from the gravitational pull of Amy Winehouse. Locally, kudos to St. Landry Parish's Terrence Simien who won the first "Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album" award for his Live! Worldwide album, as well as to Shreveport native Kenny Wayne Shepherd who scored nominations for "Best Traditional Blues Album" and "Best Long Form Music Video." Last but not least, congrats to Lil Ray Neal who finished third at the Memphis International Blues Challenge.

Last week Band of Horses, the current favorite band of seemingly everyone, filled the Spanish Moon to capacity. Band of Horses bears more than a passing resemblance to My Morning Jacket, sans their versatility, but that's OK. If you'll pardon the pun, Band of Horses (soaring reverb vocals over fuzzed-out anthems) is a one-trick pony, but they ride that pony well. The local showcase did equally well at the KLSU benefit later in the week. To Ape Iron, a melodic ambient collective comprised of member s of Wilderness Pangs, and entertaining but somewhat puzzling rap act Tabernacle opened the show, and Terror of the Sea tore into the night with their usual fervor, reaching a poignant climax adding Fred Weaver on guitar and vocals with "Left of the Dial," The Replacements' 1985 tribute to college radio. We have a good thing in KLSU, and it deserves your support.

This week, be sure to catch one-man blues/punk tornado Scott H. Biram at an early Wednesday 8 p.m. show at Spanish Moon. Biram's brand of hillbilly mayhem recalls that of Hasil Adkins with a little more rattlesnake thrown in. Over at Chelsea's, The Last Waltz Ensemble tries to recapture the grandeur of Bob Dylan and The Band during what many consider to be their finest hour, and Bill Callahan, one of the finest singer-songwriters to emerge from the rock underground, will bring material from his former project Smog and his critically-acclaimed solo album, Woke on a Whaleheart. Read More...