music May 18: Alpha Bitch Soup at the Redwood Cafe

Posted by Leilani Clark on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 3:29 PM

John Cougar Concentration Camp. Brian Jonestown Massacre. Kathleen Turner Overdrive (well, this one might be fake). Reo Speeddealer. Hillbilly Idol. Furious George. Pabst Smear. And introducing Alpha Bitch Soup, who join a long line of bands that make naming the band into a game of puns. Hailing from Sonoma County, the project features Artemis de Cello (formerly of the Lemon Lime Lights) and Robin Pfefer, former owner of the now-defunct Black Cat bar in Cotati. Bringing their particular mix of cello, guitar and tap dancing to the stage, Alpha Bitch Soup play with Mark Growden Duo on Saturday, May 18, at the Redwood Café. 8240 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati. 9pm. $6—$10. 707.795.7868.

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music May 15: Ash Reiter at Lagunitas Tap Room

Posted by Leilani Clark on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 3:22 PM

Back in the days when cassettes ruled the world, if I really liked a song, I would record it over and over in order so that I could listen to it on repeat without rewinding. “I’ve Got Something I Can Laugh About,” by Bay Area indie pop band Ash Reiter, is a song that bears repeating, and would have definitely had a cassette entirely to itself back in 1986. Led by Sebastopol-bred Ash Reiter, the Berkeley-based band has exited the singer-songwriter ghetto and entered the sweet spot with their latest album, Hola, which showcases the frontwoman’s lush, swoon-worthy vocals all wrapped up in effervescent pop melodies. It might be a cliché, but this truly is a band that you want to see now, so when they hit the big time, you can say, “I knew them way back when . . .” Ash Reiter puts the pop in pop on Wednesday, May 15, at Lagunitas Tap Room. 1280 N. McDowell Ave., Petaluma. 707.778.8776.

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Tags: Lagunitas, Ash Reiter, Image

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music May 11: Ruthie Foster at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center

Posted by Leilani Clark on Thu, May 9, 2013 at 11:26 AM

Ruthie Foster has come a long way since her days of singing Top 40 covers in a Navy ensemble band. The Texas-bred blues and soul singer has released six albums, performed with a fantastic roster of musicians—including blues firebrand Paul Thorn—and, without the help of any major label, forged a career that’s netted two Grammy nominations. Her latest album, Let It Burn, finds Foster covering songs by Adele, the Black Keys, Los Lobos, the Band and others, in addition to new original material. Foster appears in a solo performance on Saturday, May 11, at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center. 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. 8pm. $33—$35. 707.823.1511.

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Tags: Ruthie Foster, Sebastopol Cultural Community Center, Adele, Image

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music May 4-5: Cloverdale Fiddle Festival at Cloverdale Fairgrounds

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, May 1, 2013 at 11:06 AM

Before popular music became impregnated with the bizarre old-timey decree that every hot new band must (a) have a banjo player, (b) dress like they’re associates of the Artful Dodger or whatever, and (c) embrace the patina, but not the core, of The Grapes of Wrath, there was the Cloverdale Fiddle Festival. Now in its 38th year, the festival awards prizes for competition in a variety of styles (Old-Time Style, Texas Style, Waltz, Twin) and age brackets (last year’s entrants spanned from age seven to 78). Entertainment by the Kathy Kallick Band and many others keep things moving, but it’s the competition here that shows Cloverdale’s All-American small-town charm at its best. Fiddle away on Saturday and Sunday, May 4—5, at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. 1 Citrus Fair Drive, Cloverdale. 10am—6pm each day. $13. 707.894.2067.

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music May 3: David Sedaris at the Wells Fargo Center

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, May 1, 2013 at 11:03 AM

At this point, in the year 2013, everyone knows the deal on David Sedaris—so much so that his new book Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (the most David Sedaris-y David Sedaris title in the history of David Sedaris titles) is subtitled “Essays, Etc.” In it, the celebrated NPR contributor and chronicler of his own little life, etc., writes about his unsupportive father, etc., his new job picking up trash on the side of the road, etc., nasty thoughts he writes daily in his journal, etc., drinking, etc., and, yes, owls, etc. With all this et cetera flying around, how can a diehard This American Life fan possibly experience it best? With an in-person appearance, naturally, in the company of similarly obsessed Sedaris fans. David Sedaris charms the pants on Friday, May 3, at the Wells Fargo Center. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. 8pm. $45—$65. 707.546.3600.

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music May 3: Kyle Martin Band at Aubergine

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, May 1, 2013 at 10:59 AM

In the heyday of the never-forgotten Boogie Room, a house-garden-commune-barn-venue in Southwest Santa Rosa, it wasn’t uncommon to find a hardcore band like M.D.C. playing inside the barn, while outside, around the fire pit—always—a group of people jamming together on acoustic instruments. One resident campfire standby at the Boogie Room, named Kyle Martin, has just released a solo album that encapsulates a special, rural brand of idealism. See the upbeat song “Romance”, which contrasts the insidious nature of advertising (“TV tries to sell you that you are ugly, you smell bad, you’re hairy, hey, people think you’re scary”) with the natural onset of love, which “doesn’t cost a thing.” Martin has an adventurous band and a pure heart; he plays Friday, May 3, at Aubergine. 755 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 8:30pm. $5. 707.861.9190.

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music April 20: Travis Tritt at the Lincoln Theatre

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:38 PM

Before Randy Jackson sat though hundreds of off-key singers for American Idol, he was producing albums for someone who could sing, Travis Tritt. Performing since the early ’90s, Tritt started his career as somewhat of a bad boy with a heart of gold, his outlaw image a contrast to the honky-tonks and cowboy hats of the Billy Ray Cyrus era. The two-time Grammy winner has also seemed to age backward, looking better as the years go by. Hear hits like “Can I Trust You with My Heart” and “Tell Me I Was Dreaming”—which has an epic five-minute music video in which a pregnant wife dies but the unborn baby survives—when Tritt plays Saturday, April 20, at the Lincoln Theatre. 100 California Drive, Yountville. $55—$65. 9pm. 707.944.9900.

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music April 19: Blue Sky Riders at Sweetwater Music Hall

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:36 PM

What happens when three big names in music come together to create music? The answer: Blue Sky Riders. The band includes Kenny Loggins and Gary Burr, who started playing together while Loggins was working in Nashville. The two had so much fun during jam sessions that they decided to call up Georgia Middleman, who’d written songs for big names like Reba McEntire and Faith Hill. Burr wrote for Billy Ray Cyrus and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Loggins needs no introduction. It’s no wonder the group feeds off of each other so well; feel their chemistry on Friday, April 19, at the Sweetwater Music Hall. 19 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley. 9pm. $37. 415.388.3850.

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music April 18: Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom at 142 Throckmorton

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:34 PM

Over the years there’s sadly been a deficit of successful female drummers. Meg White from the White Stripes, Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney and Gina Schock from the Go-Go’s come to mind, but Allison Miller deserves to be on the list as well. The New York artist started playing at the age of 10, and her experience shows in her group Boom Tic Boom’s new album No Morphine, No Lilies. Together with Myra Melford, Todd Sickafoose and Jenny Scheinman, Miller takes listeners through a crazy and exciting journey in modern jazz. Hear songs like “Pork Belly” and “Nuh-Uh, No Sir” when Boom Tic Boom plays (with clarinetist Ben Goldberg replacing Scheinman) on Thursday, April 18, at 142 Throckmorton Theatre. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. $18—$28. 8pm. 415.383.9600.

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music April 7: Anne-Marie McDermott at the Kanbar Center

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 11:46 AM

One word describes Anne-Marie McDermott’s fingers while playing the piano: manic. McDermott is a classical pianist with virtual power tools for hands, and her fingers move with such proficiency and energy that if you blink, you risk missing something. Her secret? Spontaneity. She doesn’t worry about the notes or details because she feels they will come through naturally—and, boy, do they. McDermott shows her passion for the black-and-whites when she plays Golijov, Mozart and Chausson on Sunday, April 7, at the Kanbar Center. Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael. $29—$59. 5pm. 415.392.4400.

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