Check It Out
Check It Out: January 18, 2013
Written by Dave Gil de Rubio, dgilderubio@antonnews.com Wednesday, 23 January 2013 12:26
Dr. John – Locked Down (Nonesuch) Is not quite the condition you’ll need to be on when you listen to this collaboration between Mac Rebennack and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who produces and serves as the bandleader for this project. Fully immersed in his Dr. John, the Night Tripper alter-ego, Rebennack dials up the psychedelic funk to epic levels, employing sultry call-and-response female vocalists to compliment the clattering clavinet pacing strutting “Kingdom of Izzness” and riding a baritone-saxophone-fueled groove on the hypnotic “You Lie” before totally floating off into the ether via the soul-jazz workout “Eleggua” complete with bouncy flute runs and a heavy cadence. And when he’s not tweaking your social consciousness with lines about war’s humanity and asking if the rebellious revolution is the final solution on the percolating title track, the N’awlins native stops long enough to conjure up the spirit of the late Screaming Jay Hawkins on “Big Shot,” a loping slice of second-line voodoo trimmed by eerie keyboard fills, other-worldly harmonies and a honking sax. Auerbach proves to be the perfect collaborative partner, helping his musical mentor cap of these 10 songs with “God’s Sure Good,” an uplifting testimony of salvation punctuated by Auerbach’s Steve Cropper-flavored riffing.
Sat. 1.19
NYC
Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven @Stage 48
605 W. 48th St., 8 p.m. $20 adv. $25 DOS. www.stage48.com, www.boultoncenter.org
Trained mathematician David Lowery makes his annual January swing through the area with the two groups he fronts. Eighties alt-rock heroes Camper Van Beethoven defined quirkiness with a smorgasbord approach to music that mixed the disparate sounds of ska, country, punk, and noise-rock into a centrifuge that spat out nuggets like “ZZ Top Goes to Egypt,” “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and “Joe Stalin’s Cadillac.” The dawn of the ’90s found CVB splitting into the Monks of Doom and Cracker camps, with the latter finding considerably more commercial success than its predecessor. Since both sides reconciled with the ’99 compilation Camper Van Beethoven Is Dead: Long Live Camper Van Beethoven, this evening will find Cracker mixing older gems with material off its forthcoming record outing, La Costa Perdida, the band’s first since 2009’s Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey.
Sat. 1.19
Huntington
Dari Alexander @ Book Revue
313 New York Ave. 7 p.m. Free. 631-271-1442 www.bookrevue.com
If LL Cool J and Alicia Silverstone can tout diet books, why not FOX 5 co-anchor Dari Alexander. Her new book, The Quick & Clean Diet: Lose the Weight, Feel Great, and Stay Lean for Life advocates eating whole grains, lean proteins and good fats which eschewing heavily processed, refined, pre-packaged and fast foods. There’s even a forward by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Important note: All books signed at Book Revue events must be purchased at Book Revue. If you purchased the book prior to the event please save your receipt. If you purchased the book from somewhere else, you can still get it signed, Book Revue just asks that you make a purchase in the store of equal or greater value to that book.
Sat. 10.14
Huntington
The English Beat @ The Paramount
370 New York Ave., 8 p.m. $45, $32.50, $22.50. 631-673-7300 www.paramountny.com
Even though Dave Wakeling remains the sole founding member of the English Beat, this sextet still pumps out the kind of bona fide ska that made them a cornerstone of the early ’80s British Two Tone movement alongside peers The Specials, Madness and The Selecter. Any doubts are immediately erased when you pop on any of last year’s Beat releases: The Complete Beat 5-CD box set, the double-disc Live! at the US Festival: September 3, 1982 & May 28, 1983 or single-CD The Complete Beat.