THURSDAY 12/10

 

Advertisement

DESTRY/BEAR COLONY

8 p.m., Vino’s.

Advertisement

 

The members of Destry and Bear Colony shouldn’t have any trouble finding something to talk about. Both acts were spawned by long-distance collaborations. Back in 2005, Little Rock’s Vince Griffin shared with musician friends all over the country songs he wrote while bedridden. In 2007, those songs became “We Came Here to Die Die” and inspired the indie-rock collective to solidify enough to tour fairly steadily since then (even if the line-up has occasionally shifted). Destry is the brainchild of Michelle DaRosa, formerly of Straylight Run. Last year, she collaborated with a group of musician friends, much like Griffin, by e-mailing song sketches back and forth. That work led to the just-released LP “It Goes On,” a stark collection of moody pop. The Holy House and Modoc open. LM.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

FRIDAY 12/11

 

Advertisement

MICHAEL BURKS

9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $10.

Advertisement

 

Michael Burks inherited the blues. His grandfather played Delta-style acoustic in the South Arkansas juke circuit, and his father often backed Sonny Boy Williamson II and other name acts when they came through Milwaukee. According to his probably partly apocryphal blues bio, Burks learned to play all his father’s 45s at age 5 and played his first gig at 6. Several decades down the road, Burks’ father moved the family to Camden and opened the Bradley Ferry Country Club, a 300-seat juke joint, where he installed his guitar prodigy son as the leader of the house band. Tables by the front of the stage got so popular they had to be booked two weeks in advance. When the club closed in the mid-’80s, Burks put the blues to the side and worked for a time as a mechanical technician. It wasn’t until 1997, when he was 40, that he released his debut album. It drew rave reviews. Ever since, he’s been steadily grinding it out on the road. For his tireless touring and long, feverish sets, he’s earned the nickname “Iron Man,” which is also the title of his latest album. Look out for an awe-inspiring guitar attack. LM.

 

 

Advertisement

ARKANSAS

CHAMBER SINGERS

7:30 p.m., Trinity Presbyterian Church. $10-$15.

 

n As it has for some 30 years, the Arkansas Chamber Singers devotes a special program to the holidays. “That Special Time of Year” blends classical, jazz, gospel and pop in a program that features works by Dudley Buck, Jacquet de Mantua and Mendelssohn. The 65-voice group closes the program with a traditional medley of carols —We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” “O Tannenbaum,” “Somerset Wassail,” “The Very Best Time of Year” and “Deck the Halls.” The Chamber Singers reprises the concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Cathedral of St. Andrew. LM.

 

 

4X4 CREW’S

‘JACKPOT PARTY’

9 p.m., Gusano’s. $10.

 

It’s housecleaning time for the 4X4 Crew. This show’s your last chance to hear “Tell Yo Mama” performed live. The four-man crew— Burna Boi, SJ, Truuf tha Nusence and DJ Fatality — will retire its signature Ray Charles-sampling anthem (“Tell yo mama we from Arkansas!”) after Friday. More out with the old, in with new: At the show, the group also plans to unload all remaining copies of its debut album, “4 Brothers,” shop a new mixtape and preview its sophomore album, “Urbal,” due out next spring. Look for 4X4 to get the room stirred up. The group’s three MCs are never afraid to enlist the crowd in some call and response. In keeping with the theme, the first 50 people through the door get a free lottery ticket. The concert is open to ages 18 and above. LM.

 

 

SPECTRUM

10 p.m., Star Bar. $5.

 

Cool Shoes’ visual effects man Cameron Holifield is branching out, going to a “visually enhanced sonic experience.” That’s code for a DJ set of the same sort of disco and electro jams you might hear at Cool Shoes, with the same kind of tripped-out video art you might see at Cool Shoes (if you can’t find the music on the dance floor, look for it in the videos), but in a whole new context. Namely, Star Bar, the midtown lounge, where the dance floor is intimate, only folks of drinking age can get in and a separate room awaits the dance-weary/averse. Holifield and Cool Shoes co-founder Risky Biz both DJ. They’ve got their followings, but according to Holifield, the biggest draw might be local photographer Dandiwer, who’s lately been lighting and backdropping space at Cool Shoes and taking free, posed party pics. It’s sort of like lastnightsparty — a collage of hipsters — with better lighting and less nudity. LM.

 

SATURDAY 12/12

 

FOUR ON THE FLOOR

9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $5.

 

This ain’ t the CBC Television sketch comedy series from the mid-’80s, and it’s not the uniform rhythm so prominent in electro beats either. Instead, think drag racing, backseat sex, ripped jeans, long hair, booze and showing up late to class reeking of weed, and we’ve got Ground Zero for all that Four on the Floor embodies. Aside from a hell of a showing in last year’s Times Musicians Showcase, FOTF’s CV includes placing first in the 2008 Isle of Capri Regional Battle of the Bands (earning 10 large), opening for Heart, Ted Nugent and Jackyl, and claiming as loyal a fanbase as any other working band in town. The backstory deserves  mention, too. Guitarist Charlie Page, bassist Al Martin and drummer Mike “Daddy-O” Dugan, after 20 years of trial and error seeking a front man possessing both talent and personal chemistry, finally struck gold in singer E.C. Haynes. After a noticeable absence around town, FOTF’s devout rowdies will be out in full force. Floor it. PP.

 

 

ROAST OF

ANGRY PATRICK

9 p.m., Juanita’s. $10.

Besides featuring talent-starved hacks as guests of honor (Gene Simmons, Larry the Cable Guy), Comedy Central’s occasional roasts do have some redeeming values, especially if you catch a late-night broadcast and avoid the ritual agony of 57,000 bleeps. What better way to be celebrated than to have your dearest chums drop your drawers in front of a room full of people? So, in case you haven’t noticed, Juanita’s has been accommodating local and national comedy acts for quite some time, and this one has potential to burn. Not only is local comic and radio personality Angry Patrick due to suffer irreparable harm at the hands of his comic stable mate Michael “Doc” Davis, but it also marks Patrick’s arrival at 40, not always a laughing matter to the age-sensitive. After-party music by Stereo Down will keep the show going post-roast. Bring the marshmallows. PP.

 

 

SONNY BURGESS

AND THE PACERS

8 p.m., Legion Event Center. $6.

 

Maybe they’ll put it on the web sometime, or you could just pick one up. In the new Oxford American, our Hogs columnist, Derek Jenkins, has a peach of an article about the roots of Sonny Burgess and the Pacers. The best part is his description of Charlie’s in Swifton, just one of a long line of little clubs on the Northeast Arkansas boogie circuit in the ’50s. It was, Jenkins writes, “little more than a pile of blocks divided in half by a concrete wall with a hole in the center. Every time folks got out of hand, the proprietor lodged a teargas gun in that hole and fired off a canister … .” How’s that for the roots of rock ‘n’ roll? More than 50 years later, Burgess and the Pacers keep on keeping on. They give those seminal sides cut for Sun Records (“Red Headed Woman,” “We Wanna Boogie”) a live workout more than 100 times a year, all across the world (Australia, Spain and Sweden got a taste of Newport this year). Catch them at the Event Center, at 315 E. Capitol, for next to nothing and, on Saturday, Jan. 16, at a multi-venue concert in Argenta, in celebration of OA’s Arkansas-focused music issue, that also features Larry Donn, Sleepy LaBeef and Jim Mize (tickets at store.oxfordamerican.org). LM.

 

 

 

Arkansas Times: Your voice in the fight

Are you tired of watered-down news and biased reporting? The Arkansas Times has been fighting for truth and justice for 50 years. As an alternative newspaper in Little Rock, we are tough, determined, and unafraid to take on powerful forces. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, we are making a difference. But we can't do it without you. Join the 3,400 paid subscribers who support our great journalism and help us hire more writers. Sign up for a subscription today or make a donation of as little as $1 and help keep the Arkansas Times feisty for years to come.

Previous article Last Stop at The Station. Next article AND THE WINNER IS . . .