The Music Box
By MICHAEL BUCKLEY For the Maryland Gazette
Pier Six creeps and crawls with the Pink Floyd tribute band Several Species tonight (6 p.m.).
The band takes its name from an early psychedelic period Pink Floyd song called "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" (Ummagumma, 1969).
The tribute offers a full array of lights and lasers to accompany favorites by the world’s greatest psychedelic art rock band.
Tonight Rams Head On Stage presents one of the best of the old school funk bands, the Average White Band, playing two shows (6 & 9 p.m.)
Monster hits like "Pickin’ Up the Pieces" and "Cut the Cake" are just the icing on the cake. In their latest incarnation, AWB has been rediscovered and reinvented by more than 100 modern R&B, hip- hop and rap artists, including Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown, T.L.C., and Puff Daddy.
Tomorrow
One of the most provocative and powerful psychedelic bands of the 60s was the Jefferson Airplane.
With the dawn of the space age, the imagery of science fiction as envisioned through the work of author Robert Heinlein, Airplane lead singers Paul Kantner and Grace Slick formed a cooperative band of musicians as Jefferson Starship.
The original vision is re-envisioned by Paul Kantner tomorrow night at Rams Head On Stage (7 p.m.) joined by original Starship member David Freiberg, singer Cathy Richardson (who recently portrayed Janis Joplin on Broadway) and Chris Smith.
The Mars Volta which plays Rams Head Live tomorrow night (7 p.m. doors – all ages welcome) is a modern prog-rock act, blending elements of jazz, hardcore and psychedelic rock.
Country music band Sugarland, led by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, headlines Sunday in the Country beginning noon at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Also on the bill are Rodney Atkins, Billy Currington, Jason Michael Carroll and Laura Bryna.
Monday
Even in the face of his struggles with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Eric Lowen continues to perform live shows with his musical partner of 20 years, Dan Navarro. The duo of Lowen & Navarro presents two shows this week (Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. each night) at Rams Head On Stage.
Alanis Morissette takes center stage at DAR Constitution Hall this Monday night (8 p.m.)
Tuesday
The Hellish Rock Tour comes to Rams Head Live on Tuesday night featuring performances by Helloween and Gamma Ray (7 p.m. – all ages). Germany’s Helloween has been called the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 80s.
The band’s guitarist left after four years to form a new band called Gamma Ray.
Wednesday
On Wednesday night, Rams Head Live presents Built to Spill, a postmodern Pavement-style indie-pop band led by guitarist Doug Martsch. For this show, Built to Spill will perform their album "Perfect From Now On" in its entirety. The Meat Puppets open the show (doors 7 p.m. – all ages welcome).
Thursday
Blues singer Cathy Ponton King makes a very special appearance at Rams Head On Stage on Thursday night on a bill which also features Steve Guyger & the Excellos (7:30 p.m.)
Other shows Thursday night in Baltimore include Assembly of Dust with siren Theresa Andersson at the 8×10 Club, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the Lyric Opera House (both at 8 p.m.) Finally, don’t miss the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Historic Avalon Theatre in Easton (8 p.m.)
Named for the historic Preservation Hall in New Orleans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is "a bridge across the ages – a link between the present day and the heyday of traditional New Orleans music."
The group of musicians has been touring across the country for more than 25 years to preserve the New Orleans Jazz style. Together, the group keeps alive the traditions and history of this uniquely American sound. Hailed by the San Francisco Examiner as "The best jazz band in the land," the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is known for its high energy, crowd-satisfying performances.
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Michael Buckley is writer, producer and host of the Sunday Brunch each week from 7-10 a.m. on 103.1 WRNR-FM. You can reach Michael at voicesofthebay@aol.com
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