Music Forecast 1.1–1.7: Me Like Bees, A.J. Gaither, Brody Buster, and more
One-Man Band Stand
If you’ve caught a performance by A.J. Gaither, with his homemade cigar-box guitars, or by one-man band Brody Buster, you know that these men possess a strange and wonderful superpower. They, along with artists Cooper CW Ayon and Lou Shields, are bionic-transformer types, Iron Men: individual human beings one moment, full-blown orchestra the next. It’s hard to say what would motivate someone to take on such an immense project (madness? lack of friends?), but we’re impressed anytime we see Gaither strapped barefoot to his kickdrum or Buster wringing tears out of his harmonica. Saturday night at Westport Saloon, all four of these maniacs will make you stomp, shake, hoot and holler.
Saturday, January 3, Westport Saloon (4112 Pennsylvania, 816-960-4560)
The Sharrows, Nicholas St. James
Madison, Wisconsin’s the Sharrows have taken to calling their music “farm rock,” which may be more of a reflection on the band’s surroundings than its sound. Even so, the Sharrows’ Days of Yore doesn’t have much in the way of crunchy country flavors. The album title does reference the band’s throwback sound, but it’s not the one you’re thinking of: “Yours and Mine” could have been ripped from the Allman Brothers catalog, and “Echo” could easily translate into an old-school punk song if the band was brave enough for sludgy guitar riffs. This is not music for a tractor ride or the church social. This is music for a different kind of good time, one you’ll doubtlessly get to enjoy Wednesday at the Replay. Lawrence singer-songwriter Nicholas St. James opens.
Wednesday, January 7, Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-7676)
Me Like Bees, Westerners, the Electric Lungs
If you’ve recovered enough by Friday from your New Year’s Eve celebration, RecordBar has a whole slate of local rock to ruin you again. The Electric Lungs deliver searing punk-rock jams, but the band also isn’t shy about showing off its folk influences. Lawrence garage-pop band Westerners recently signed to local label the Record Machine; if this group isn’t on your radar yet, it should be. Me Like Bees, one of the area’s most promising young rock bands, headlines. If you haven’t experienced Me Like Bees’ Arcade Fire–like joy or the warm, radio-ready voice of lead singer Luke Sheafer, you’re not just missing out but also doing everything wrong. Get it right on Friday.
Friday, January 2, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)
Coed Pageant
Bradley and Gretchen Bergstrand — the husband-and-wife, guitarist-and-drummer duo known as Coed Pageant — probably want you to think that they’re super-folky. On their latest album, Drag, Bradley’s whiny, nasally voice nearly croons about life in California (before the couple moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, so Gretchen could pursue graduate studies). Don’t be fooled: Coed Pageant is no back-porch folk act. Sonically, the Bergstrands have a lot more in common with the Starting Line and Mates of State. Abrasive, melodramatic lyrics are half-shouted and then coated in sweet garage-pop melodies. It sounds early aughts, but perhaps a little retrospection is appropriate at this time of year.
Friday, January 2, El Torreon (3101 Gillham Plaza, 417-619-2563)
