Saturday, April 16
Variety Show to benefit Reading Camp
Buster’s; 899 Manchester. 8 P.M.
I’ll tell you the artist roster in a sec, but first, let’s talk about literacy. Not high-talkin’ fancy-pants 50¢-word-usin’ literacy, but the basic ability to read and write at an age-appropriate level. Here in Kentucky about 12 percent of the adult population can’t comprehend basic prose, which is, well, poor. I mean, Alabama’s worse, but is that the benchmark we really wanna use? No.
The way you fix this problem in the long term is by making sure kids get the reading help they need, and since neither parents nor the schools have demonstrated they can always do the job, you have to look for extra help. That’s where Reading Camp comes in; basically, if you’ve got a 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-grader who’s falling behind in language skills, Reading Camp will take the kid off your hands for a week, free of charge, and do some intensive remedial reading instruction for the duration.
It’s an Episcopal church program, but at the moment the Anglicans have too many problems of their own to bother trying to convert anyone, so the worst that will happen is that your child will come back from camp with a slight Oxbridge accent and a taste for fresh scones, in addition to knowing how to read at least a little bit better than before.
Now, the roster: Fifth on the Floor, Barry Mando Project, Holler Poets, Josh Branham…and like a half-dozen more musicians and dancers that I’m not gonna list because it shouldn’t matter who’s playing, damn it, because you’re going there to support the cause, which is making sure Kentucky’s kids learn to read properly, and your ten bucks ($12 day-of) helps keep Reading Camp free. So you’re going, yes? Learn more at bustersbb.com and readingcamprocks.org.
Wax Fang with Onward Pilgrim and The Bad Reeds
Cosmic Charlie’s; 388 Woodland. 9 P.M.
Some of you hate reading and would prefer we all existed in some sort of hazy pre-Enlightement state of ignorance, and others of you just like to be contrary for contrary’s sake. I can respect the latter, at least, and so I offer for your consideration Wax Fang, who sound a bit like PiL-era John Lydon fronting early Rush: specifically, you get the off-center melodic sensibility of the first combined with the power and virtuosity of the second. It has to be that way because we don’t look to John Lydon for virtuosity, ya know?
The cause here is to support local-ish music, which ought to be enough for you, since you hate reading so much.
Monday, April 18
Kelsey Skaggs
Natasha’s; 112 Esplanade. 9 P.M.
The music is that Nashville+alt country+quirky singer/songwriter stuff that’s real easy to like, but what’s fascinating about Kelsey Skaggs is the remarkable personal story and socio-religious manifesto that appears on the “About” page on her web site. After you get past the facebooky stuff, like the love of hiking and Family Guy and sushi, there’s this:
“Life was easy and good growing up, as I faced the challenges normal 6 and 7 year olds face of best friends, picking favorite colors and dandelions. But that all changed when I was put in situations that I shouldn’t have been and I became a victim of a broken world…Once I started to grasp what had happened, I started understanding the things I would need the Lord to help me conquer.”
But there’s hope:
“My experience was just a small speck of what happens on a daily basis, to women all over the globe. I was wrecked for these women that go through this every day, all day, and I felt an overwhelming need to fight the growing demand for the innocence of children everywhere. I had started getting involved in music during my crucial years of rehabilitation, and it proved to be a source of tranquility and rebuilding; it also became a pedestal that gave me a voice. ”
Now, normally I make fun of band bios and that sort of thing (see this week’s letters, for example), but I ain’t making fun of this. In fact, not only do I recommend you go see the show and buy the record, but you ought to be doing everything you can to help stop child abuse wherever and whenever you can. Don’t say to yourself, “oh, that’s none of my business.” You know damn well it’s everybody’s business. Kelsey works with an organization called Love146, but there are plenty of others, and there’s plenty to do in your own neighborhood. In our neck of the woods there’s the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, at kykids.org, and look for Kelsey’s cause at love146.org.
Saturday, April 23
Big Maracas
Al’s Bar; 601 N. Limestone. 9 P.M.
Why mention Big Maracas here, again, when we’ve mentioned them many times before, when they’ve already gained renown in our fair community for playing some of the highest-energy shows around, when they’ve already demonstrated they time and again leave every member of their audience sweaty, exhilarated, and ready for activities in which their inhibitions would normally prevent them from engaging? Why?Because they’re playing for a cause too, which is the liberation of your uptight ass.
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