Fish Story
FRI 11/12
Side by side on a concert stage, Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood look like a skyscraper next to a convenience store. Idlet is 6 feet 9 inches tall, and Grimwood 5 feet 5-1/2 inches — yet they’re compatible in the musical duo Trout Fishing in America and have found a comfortable niche in the music industry. Idlet’s and Grimwood’s paths crossed in the late ’70s, when they were both in Houston’s bar-band scene, though Grimwood also played with the Houston Symphony. As Trout Fishing in America, they ended up appealing to all-ages audiences without compromising their musical interests.
“At first, we tried to separate out the shows we would do for kids in a school gig, for example, and the adult shows we’d do in the clubs,” Grimwood says. “But more and more, the music is blended together a bit like Paul Simon’s music. A lot of styles — folk, rock, blues, bluegrass and a Louisiana sound — that stay true to our essence.”
The duo’s 2001 CD, Infinity, earned a Grammy nomination, and this year’s follow-up, It’s a Puzzle, is their 11th release of songs split between conventional subject matter and such seemingly banal topics as waking up with bedhead — further evidence of their generation-spanning fanbase. They admit that their longevity is largely a function of owning their own label, a necessary creation given their eclectic style. “We’re not a commercial juggernaut,” Idlet says.
“We tried to follow the trends in the ’80s and felt like we’d fallen through the cracks,” Grimwood adds. “Then somebody told us, ‘No, you’re filling up the cracks.'” Trout Fishing comes to Lawrence’s Lied Center (1600 Stewart Drive, 785-864-2787) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. —Steve Walker
Still Sowing
SAT 11/13
Now that Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal are reconciled, we keepers of the ’80s flame — who long for the days when MTV played videos and Aqua Net was just as crucial to a band’s success as catchy hooks and cranked-up Casios — must decide whether the newly revamped Tears for Fears is anything more than a shameless nostalgia monger. The decision would be easier if it weren’t for the fact that the band’s new album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, is a thoroughly lovable work of McCartney-saluting orch-pop. See these rulers of the world, circa 1985, at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ameristar Casino (8201 Northeast Birmingham Road). Call 877-444-2637 for tickets. — Jason Harper
Dear John
SAT 11/13
The name John Doe is synonymous with anonymity, so it’s easy to imagine a local frontman using that alias to showcase his sensitive side. After all, it’s not as if the John Doe, formerly of X, would play an art gallery that’s never hosted a touring act, right? Actually, the punk pioneer really is headlining this bill. Doe, whose solo career has included hard-edged country and raucous rock, now concentrates on solo acoustic fare, and the Farm (504 East 18th Street) is an appropriately intimate setting for the surprisingly warm material. Alacartoona starts the 8 p.m. show Saturday. Get tickets at Recycled Sounds (3941 Main) or call 816-931-2843. — Andrew Miller
Fancy Dance
SAT 11/13
When she was just 17, Judith Fugate was handpicked by renowned choreographer George Balanchine to join the New York City Ballet, where she was principal ballerina for 11 years. She left in 1997 to co-found BalletNY (then called DanceGalaxy) with her husband, Medhi Bahiri, in an attempt to make ballet more accessible, gain fresh audiences and provide an outlet for mature dancers — like, 28-year-olds. Given Fugate’s history, it makes sense that her company’s productions this year are devoted to the centennial of Balanchine’s birth. BalletNY makes its Midwest premiere at 8 p.m. Saturday at Johnson County Community College’s Yardley Hall (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park, 913-469-4445). Fugate gives a lecture at 7. — Annie Fischer
