Thursday, February 3
Umphrey’s McGee with Orchard Lounge
Buster’s, 8:30 P.M.
I wouldn’t even list this show, except to point out that not just one...
Friday, February 4
Bawn in the Mash
Cosmic Charlie’s, 9:00 P.M.
…not just two, even…
Friday, February 11
KFTC Benefit / I Love Mountains Bluegrass Showcase
Al’s Bar, 7 P.M.
Look, those “I heart mountains” bumper stickers are nearly as obnoxious as those Euro-wannabe decals bearing the initials of some hoity-toity resort (HH, MV, etc.) you and I can’t afford to visit, invariably plastered on the rear window of some earth-destroying SUV you and I can’t afford to buy, and which we can only hope is one day driven straight off the bridge at Chappaquiddick. And anyway, who doesn’t love mountains, or at least tolerate their existence? I’ve never met the mountain-hater: “None of that damned elevation for me! It’s either good, flat land or I’ll be six feet under it!”
On the other hand, however grievous the sins of the Land Rover set, they pale in comparison to those of the mine operators to our east, so intent on leveling the central Appalachian range that one day we should be able to roll basketballs straight downhill from Rupp Arena straight into the Atlantic Ocean.
Don’t like that? Then go to Al’s Bar and spend the money you were saving for your next trip to Aspen on something worthwhile. Mountain-saving activities continue through Wednesday, so no excuses for not doing your part, you self-absorbed shit.
Sunday, February 13
Yonder Mountain String Band
Buster’s, 8:30 P.M.
…there are THREE prominent jammie hippie frat-type bands playing prominent Lexington venues within two weeks of one another. This raises some questions: are these venues deliberately courting the jammie hippie frat-type crowd in Lexington, or are they trying to beat the rest of us into submission? And in either case, who’s really behind these shows and what’s the agenda? If we smoke enough pot and listen to enough forty-seven minute multi-orgasmic medleys will we forget our cares and ignore what the government is doing behind our backs? Is it only a coincidence that these shows take place so soon after Jim Gray took office?
When I Look At The World: Christian Themes in Alternative Music
New Hope Church, 10:00 A.M.
During this weekly lecture series Professor Robert Lodder explores the development of religious themes in modern mainstream rock through analyses of particular songs. Previous installments include U2’s “When I Look at the World” (Irish, Messiah complex—smart choice), Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven” (too obvious, but I guess you gotta do it), and “Sleep Now in the Fire,” by Rage Against the Machine (the m*****f*****g apocalypse, son!). You bet. I’m with you.
But on the second Sunday after we go to press, Dr. Lodder is discussing…not Sabbath, not Tool, but the GOO GOO DOLLS. It doesn’t matter which song—how do you include the Goo Goo Dolls in an ongoing scholarly conversation that includes U2, Zeppelin, and RATM? I don’t care if in four neat stanzas Johnny Rzeznik managed to grapple with the great questions confronting humanity in an era of declining faith; it’s still the cotdang Goo Goo Dolls.
Coldplay the week after puts the series on more solid ground, but lapses such as the Goo..G…I can’t type that name anymore… —Buck Edwards
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