 Friends of Dean Martinez
Continental Club, Thursday 3 Last time we checked in with steel guitarist and lead Friend Bill Elm, he had transported his revolving clique from Tucson to Los Angeles, touching down at the Continental Club as a touring band in June 1997. It's two years later, and this time around at the red velvet and glitter palace marks the Friends of Dean Martinez's inaugural gig as an Austin band, Elm having recently moved back to his childhood summer home. That's a lot of moving around, but you can hear these landscapes pushing up through the Friends' music. The fluid sway of Elm's slide moves the band's all-instrumental songs back and forth between sand and salt water, Hispanic missions and gringo hotel lounges, the mystic desert and the sexy havoc of an old Chevy tearing through it. The band's new album on revered indie Knitting Factory, Atardecer, with its orbiting Moogs and Theremin added to the equation, rambles like tumbleweeds in outer space. Considering that Austin is the cosmic cowboy center of the universe, Elm and his revamped hometown posse ought to be feeling right at home. -- Kim Mellen
Arc Angels
La Zona Rosa, Friday 28 Although it's a little odd that there would still be tickets available for the Arc Angels' third and final local reunion gig, it's definitely not because the first two shows failed to live up to the hype. At La Zona Rosa last Saturday, it could very well have been 1992, only it was impossible not to notice that both Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton have done some growing up; not only do they seem to genuinely like each other, both are playing and singing with decidedly more flair and authority than they did six years ago. As for how strong the foursome's chemistry still is, it's a good bet that a week of Dallas and Houston dates should make this last show even better. Bramhall's new album drops in August (the first single, "I Wanna Be," is a surprising reunion highlight), and Double Trouble and Sexton have their own irons in the fire, so see 'em now or forever hold your peace. -- Andy Langer
Ian Moore
Saxon Pub, Friday 28 A recent spate of Ian Moore gigs may have some locals hoping that the increasingly eclectic guitarist has moved back to Austin. Nope. He still lives on a small island somewhere off the coast of Washington state, but he has been around a lot lately, working on his yet-to-be-released follow-up to last year's Ian Moore's Got the Green Grass. For these two shows (he also plays tonight, Thursday), Moore wanted a quieter, more intimate setting for mostly acoustic music from the new album, the last album, and plenty of older stuff as well. Joining him onstage will be drummer J.J. Johnson, keyboardist Bukka Allen, and guitarists Mark Addison and George Reiff, along with plenty of special guests. Thursday, Troy Campbell plays the early set (9:30pm), and Friday it's Jeff Klein.
 Ruben Ramos, Little Joe y la Familia
Dessau Music Hall, Saturday 29 The reality of the situation is that the musical acts catering primarily to Austin's ever-growing Hispanic population don't need no stinking press. The Eastside's underground news network routinely sells out Austin Music Hall-size shows that receive no ink from los gringos, word of mouth being all the publicity local promoters need. El Gato Negro, Ruben Ramos, is one of the few local Latinos that has achieved some measure of crossover success, as has Lone Star perennial Little Joe Hernandez, so a little ink is due them and their shared maestro status. If your name ends in "ez," however, y'already knew that, didn't you? Que si! -- Raoul Hernandez
Jazz Revolution III
The Ritz, Saturday 29 The Jazz Revolution has thus far stayed true to its mission, offering a wide array of strong local music in support of big name folks like Earl Harvin and Roy Hargrove. The third time around, the marquis headliner may be missing, but the lineup still boasts a host of local talent, all of whom are coming to jazz music in their own way. DJ Resinthal and DJ Trey Lopez start the evening off, spinning records for the first hour until the Glover Gill Trio takes over at 8:30pm. At 9:30pm, pianist Laura Scarborough plays with her trio, and at 10:30pm it's Darin Layne's Trio D, which includes the Soul Hat rhythm section. Blue Construct's 11:30pm slot matches up pianist Carl Settles with DJ Phyfteen, while the hip-hop of Reelaktz, from Dallas, closes.
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
The Mercury, Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 When sax giant Karl Denson comes to town, whether he's traveling with West Coast acid jazz collective Greyboy Allstars or with Tiny Universe, his own band and a Greyboy "sidecar project," audiences are treated to a fusion of funk, hip-hop, and jazz sounds that are as high-energy and dance-ready as anything going. The Mercury's habit of matching up multiple local acts for opening slots gives us a chance to see a nice selection of local talent playing at their very best. Saturday, trumpeter Ephraim Owens opens. Sunday, it's Tunji.
Roy Heinrich & the Pickups, Mike Landschoot
Sheffield Hillside Theater, Sunday 30 The choice is simple: you can go find a quiet country bar with a good jukebox or you can see Roy Heinrich & the Pickups. You wouldn't go wrong either way, but give Roy the nod. His silky tenor flows beautifully through the 10 songs from his latest album, Smokey Night in Bar, or on any of his dozens of originals. With his band the Pickups rolling along with him, an evening with Roy Heinrich is the musical equivalent of chicken-fried steak with lots of gravy -- it's as country as it gets and you won't need a roll of quarters. -- Margaret Moser
Seal, Joan Jones
The Backyard, Monday 31  The Grammy-winning singer known simply as Seal has made a handsome career performing contemporary torch ballads. His exquisite voice is on a par with the greatest soul singers; if this were the Seventies, he could be Al Green. The London-born son of Nigerian immigrants, Seal's voice is beautifully showcased on his latest release, Human Being, and will doubtless comprise the bulk of his set. Opener Joan Jones is touring in support of her first solo record since the dissolution of her former L.A. rock band Sun 60. On Starlight Criminal, Jones' songs and voice -- and her trumpet -- prove as strong as they ever were, now with a significant maturity behind them.
-- Margaret Moser
ALSO PLAYING: Friday: Kevin Russell, Jimmy Smith, Flipnotics; Monte Warden, Trish Murphy, Dessau Music Hall Saturday: John Wesley Harding, Ellis Paul, Stubb's; Neil Young, Bass Concert Hall Sunday: Damnations TX, Grand Champene, Stubb's; Alejandro Escovedo, Continental Club Monday: Dale Watson, Babe's Tuesday: Antebellum, Super Corpse, Transfixr, Emo's Wednesday: Fun Lovin' Criminals, Dangerman, Liberty Lunch; Loudmouth, La Zona Rosa Thursday: Govinda, Mercury |
