Thursday, Feb. 11
Bill Bellamy @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
Russell Simmons’ “Def Comedy Jam” was one of the defining comedy institutions of the ’90s and comedian Bill Bellamy claims one of its most memorable performances in a set that coined the term “booty call,” which decades later remains part of the American lexicon. Bellamy’s star has faded somewhat since the Bill Clinton era, when he regularly popped up on MTV and starred in the 1997 comedy How to Be a Player, but he’s stayed active on stage and on screen, landing roles on TV shows like “Mr. Box Office’” and “Hot in Cleveland.”
James Lee Stanley @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Folk and soft-rock songwriter James Lee Stanley has been putting out solo albums steadily since the early 1970s, when he was signed to RCA records, but he found a new audience in the ’90s as he recorded and toured with former Monkee Peter Tork. In recent years Stanley has recorded at a steady pace, both in collaboration with fellow songwriters like John Batdorf and Cliff Eberhardt, and on his own. In 2014 he released his latest studio album, the understated, largely acoustic Apocaloptimist.
Friday, Feb. 12
Godspeed You! Black Emperor w/ Xylouris White @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Montreal post-rock innovators Godspeed You! Black Emperor went silent for a good stretch of the ’00s, prompting widespread speculation that they’d permanently broken up, even as the band insisted they hadn’t. True to their word, the band returned in 2010 and picked up where they left off—by recording soaring, string-rich suites that swell and contract in the most dramatic ways possible. Last year they released their latest album, Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, their first collection of new material written entirely after their reformation. It’s an album that could have only been recorded by this particular band, yet it affirms the group’s continued capacity to surprise. These four lengthy songs twist and turn in unpredictable directions.
|
|
Saturday, Feb. 13
Jim Norton @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Though his edgy, sometimes uncomfortable comedy is a tough sell for mass audiences, Jim Norton has a reputation as a comedian’s comedian, a favorite of tastemakers like Louis C.K., Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler, all of whom have featured him on their various T.V. shows. After years stealing scenes as a stand-up guest and panelist on various late-night talk shows, Norton became the host of his own loose take on the late-night format, “The Jim Norton Show” on VICE in 2014, the same year that he earned title billing on the Sirius Radio morning talk show “Opie with Jim Norton,” a re-tool of the network’s “Opie and Anthony” show, on which Norton had served as a third host. Norton’s current “Mouthful of Shame” standup tour promises to deliver more of his trademark cringe humor.
The Pines w/ Buffalo Gospel @ Club Garibaldi, 9 p.m.
The men of The Pines have a humble appearance and hushed sound: The wavering vocals of Benson Ramsey and David Huckfelt dance with melancholy banjo and slide guitar melodies, while a subtle synth or cello often haunts the background. However, the band can take pride in their rare beginnings. Ramsey and Huckfelt, both from Iowa, began playing together while staying in the same neighborhood in Arizona. After settling down in Minneapolis, they added Ramsey’s brother, Alex, on keyboards, drummer J.T. Bates, bassist James Buckley and banjo player Michael Rossetto. The group quickly gained acclaim and was signed to Red House Records in 2007, which released their sophomore album Sparrows in the Bell that same year. The band’s latest for the label is last month’s Above the Prairie, another collection of dusky, richly textured folk.
Sunday, Feb. 14
Henry Rollins @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Punk icon Henry Rollins cut his teeth on hardcore music, fronting Black Flag and then Rollins Band, but these days he has another outlet for his anger: spoken word. Now a columnist for L.A. Weekly and the host of a weekly radio program on KCRW (he’s also the former host of the Independent Film Channel’s “The Henry Rollins Show”), he tours behind long, entertaining rants about politics, music, culture and anything else that’s been occupying his mind lately. With the country in the middle of a heated election, he should have no shortage of things to discuss at this appearance. He’s called Donald Trump a “bored rich guy just being crass,” and has thrown his support behind Bernie Sanders.
The Cactus Blossoms w/ Jack Klatt @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
As their band name suggests, Minneapolis’s Cactus Blossoms are infatuated by the sounds of the old west, particularly the easy country and western swing music of the 1950s and ’60s. After years cutting their teeth on stages around the Midwest, brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum channel the spirit of that era on the duo’s lovely debut album, You’re Dreaming, which they recorded with another artist who shares their love of mid-century Americana, JD McPherson.
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Jack & Jack w/ Daya @ The Rave, 6:30 p.m.
It’s been about a decade since bands began breaking out en masse through MySpace, but these days upstarts have moved on to much newer, more novel social-media platforms. Case in point: Omaha’s teenage pop-rap duo Jack & Jack, who owe much of their success to Vine, where they posted silly, six-second videos of them covering songs and performing comedy skits. As their social-media following grew, the two moved away from comedy and toward original music, self-releasing a lighthearted EP of contemporary pop, Calibraska, last year.
