Music Forecast February 7-13
Bloodbirds
Over the past year and a half, local trio Bloodbirds has released a handful of EPs, the common denominator being a dark, psych-tinged post-punk sound. The group is led by Mike Tuley, who has brought the same unhinged quality to Bloodbirds that he did to his former group, Ad Astra Per Aspera. Bloodbirds’ new LP, Psychic Surgery, is out online; the vinyl, which you can order at this show, will be available in April. With Ex-Cult and Lazy.
Tuesday, February 12, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)
Tributes to Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo
Local singer Lee Langston organizes an evening of neosoul tributes. At 7 p.m., former Fugee Lauryn Hill gets the cover treatment from Natasha Ria El-Scari, ShavonQueen, MC Storm and others. At 9 p.m., Langston, Chosen Voice, Mike James, Kevin “Churchboi” Johnson and Les Izmore tackle the songbook of D’Angelo.
Saturday, February 9, at the Gem Theater (1601 East 18th Street, 816-474-6262)
Pokey LaFarge
In 2011, I wrote in these pages that Pokey LaFarge “slicks his hair back, wears a baggy suit and generally looks like a character in Boardwalk Empire.” The producers of the show apparently concurred; LaFarge’s version of the old pop standard “Lovesick Blues” played during the closing credits of a Season 3 episode last year. LaFarge, who hails from St. Louis, keeps it old-timey, mixing ragtime, Dixieland, blues and folk. Nucky Thompson would approve.
Saturday, February 9, at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club (3402 Main, 816-753-1909)
Cody Canada & the Departed
From the mid-1990s until a couple of years ago, Cross Canadian Ragweed seemed to tour nonstop. The red-dirt country group is currently on hiatus, but frontman Cody Canada is still moving, having founded a new group, the Departed, which released its second album last year. That record, Adventus, is full of blazing, Skynyrd-style, Southern-rock jams that shouldn’t be too much of a leap for fans of Canada’s old band.
Thursday, February 7, at Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)
The Dropout Boogie Fat Tuesday Party
Carnival costumes are encouraged at this Mardi Gras celebration, and guests are also promised delicious New Orleans fare and drink specials. Work off all those heavy calories by getting down to some presumably Big Easy–centric soul and funk 45s from the DJ dudes in the Dropout Boogie.
Tuesday, February 12, at the Brick (1727 McGee, 816-421-1634)
Victor Wooten
Routinely cited as one of the greatest living bass players, Victor Wooten holds down the low end in Bela Fleck and the Flecktones; he has collaborated with the likes of Dave Matthews and Stanley Clarke; and he has five Grammy awards on his mantel. His latest solo affair, Words and Tones, comprises 14 original Wooten compositions performed by female singers Meshell Ndegéocello and Saundra Williams (of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings), among others.
Friday, February 8, at Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)
