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PrintWelcome to summer music season
A look at what’s happening in the local music scene.
Rather than blather on about how much summer and music are incomplete without the other, I would rather quote a beautiful soul:
“One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain.”
— Bob Marley, “Trenchtown Rock”
May 22, 23 and 24 — Backwoods Bash ThunderMoon Ranch, 33440 W. 51 St. S., Mannford.
This event will feature a full weekend of camping, music and fun just 20 minutes south of Tulsa at ThunderMoon Ranch on the official start of summer: Memorial Day weekend. The organizers have packed the weekend with something for everyone.
Sometimes everyone and their musical preferences resemble the waitress in “The Blues Brothers.” To wit: “Oh, we play both kinds: country and western!”
But this festival has the Southern rock of Finding Jimmy Hoffa on Friday night; the Comanche Code Talkers, a Native American drum circle, on Sunday; and trip-hop, jam bands, funk, ambient, soul, ska and too many more to mention in between. The only music that may not be here is country and western.
Here’s the best part: Tickets are $10 for the entire weekend.
May 6 — George Clinton and the P Funk All Stars Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E. Second St.
It will never get funkier than the post-nuclear funkageddon this funkstitution of funk studies and his Board of Funkspirators will bring to Tulsa’s newest venue.
If you have never caught the band’s show live, first bludgeon yourself. Then get tickets at the Flytrap Web site. If you are familiar with the All Stars’ face-melting funkalypse, then you know you want some more.
May 15 — Boulder Acoustic Society All Soul Acoustic Coffeehouse, 2952 S. Peoria Ave.;
www.allsoulcoffeehouse.com
These guys rock an eclectic set list as well as some diverse instruments. If there is such a thing as punk-roots, they may qualify, as their high-energy shows have them currently booked on the road well into December.
Three words I have never heard together before (from the band’s press release): “All of this comes from four young guys who wear vintage clothes, savor small batch bourbon and rock the ukulele.”
Cain’s Ballroom 423 N. Main St. The Cain’s just gets silly good with its May lineup:
May 21 — Badfish, a tribute to Sublime Normally, I would rather get my feet scraped than see a cover band. But this rule, along with most others, has some exceptions:
- Is there any way to see the actual band live? In this instance, no. Sublime’s singer and songwriter, Bradley Nowell, died of an overdose in 1996. Right up there with Kurt Cobain’s suicide as one of the worst days in modern music history.
- Is it glorified karaoke or an homage to the work of said band? Checking its MySpace site (www.myspace.com/badfishsublimetribute) shows a band that goes out of its way to worship Sublime and sounds great doing so.
- The only way to make this show more enticing would be to have it April 26 (see the song: “April 26, 1992 (Miami)”).
May 28 — Ben Folds As funny as he is talented, Folds can work an arena or a flophouse into a frenzied sing-along. This show is almost a no-brainer not to miss, almost as much as …
May 29 — Ghostland Observatory Every time I stare at the sun long enough, I can get that same feeling I had at this band’s last show (blissfully blinded by the performance and the 5 zillion-watt laser retinal assault). This is an early candidate for Show of the Year.
