Welcome to “Seven in Seven,” where each Friday we take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out in the coming days.
Here are seven of the best for the week beginning Oct. 1:
36 Crazyfists – Oct. 1 at The Voltage Lounge
If forced to describe Alaskan heavy metal unit 36 Crazyfists in just a single word, you might want to go with persistent. Since forming some 20 odd years ago in Anchorage, they’ve gone through four different labels, lost members to everything from the usual band infighting to fatal car crashes, and they’ve shared the road with the likes of Alice in Chains, Killswitch Engage and Poison the Well. They’ve steadily made a name for themselves and faced several ups and just as many downs and just released their eighth album, Lantern, Sept. 29.
Manchester Orchestra – Oct. 1 at The Fillmore
The Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra, led by Andy Hull and co-writer Robert McDowell, this past July released the LP A Black Mile To The Surface, a bold record of vision and purpose, inspired by and dwelling in a sensory, cinematic experience. It’s a reinvention of sorts, both musically and personally, indicative of a sort of cosmic worldview shift, partially due to their last album, last year’s Swiss Army Man, the soundtrack to a movie of the same name. Working with a different medium influenced their approach to the new material and gave them new ideas of how to think about writing, how songs could flow, and how to layer melodies on top of one another to propel the tune into a new emotional arena.
Seth Walker – Oct. 1 at Sellersville Theater 1894
Over the past decade plus, Seth Walker has grown to be recognized as one of the most revered modern roots artists in the United States; a three dimensional talent comprised by a gift for combining melody and lyric within a song, a rich, Gospel-drenched, Southern-inflected voice and a true blue knack for getting around on the guitar. Growing up on a commune in rural North Carolina, the son of classically trained musicians, Seth Walker played cello long before discovering the six-string in his 20s. When his introduction to the blues came via his Uncle Landon Walker, who was a musician and disc jockey, his fate was forever sealed.
Sweet Spirit – Oct. 5 at World Cafe Live – Downstairs
Interestingly enough, the nine-piece band Sweet Spirit started as a solo project. Austin singer Sabrina Ellis was going through some distressing times as the band that she fronted for several years with her then husband was disintegrating along with their relationship. Everything she was working toward was suddenly in free-fall, so she started Sweet Spirit to hone her ability to write and perform on her own. Still writing and performing with her longstanding garage punk band A Giant Dog, band co-founder Andrew Cashen was intrigued by Ellis’ new emphasis on soul and country and pop music as touchstones for Sweet Spirit and quickly climbed on board the project. The rest, as they say, is history.
KMFDM – Oct. 6 at Underground Arts
Spawned in Germany during 1984, KMFDM pioneered the crossover between techno/dance and heavy metal with their signature industrial sound. Moving to Chicago in the mid-80’s they were the pride of WaxTrax! Records during the label’s peak. Rapidly evolving year by year through intense experimentation and touring, the band has redefined themselves with each new release, including their latest, Hell Yeah, which came out over the summer. Led by multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, KMFDM remain as relevant as ever.
Robert Cray – Oct. 7 at the Santander Performing Arts Center
Robert Cray has been bridging the lines between blues, soul and R&B for the past four decades, with five Grammy wins and over 20 acclaimed albums. For his latest project, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, he links up with the legendary house band for so many artists like Al Green, having been an integral part of the Hi Records label back in the 70s. The record, which came out back in late April, is Cray foraying into soul almost effortlessly.
Rock Allegiance Festival – Oct. 7 At The Bb&T Pavilion
The annual Rock Allegiance Festival has moved across the Delaware to Camden, but has lost none of the heaviness. Headliners Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Halestorm and Five Finger Death Punch are some of the most beloved by hard rock fans. There will also be some comedy relief with Steel Panther as well as some up and comers like Ded, He Is Legend and The Biters. Spread across three stages, the festivities kick off around 1 p.m., so make sure to get there early so as not to miss out on anything.
