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 November 5:
?Barb Wire Dolls – November 5 at Voltage Lounge
Barb Wire Dolls were never here to mess around, engage in pleasantries or shy away from a challenge. This loud, female-fronted five-piece rock and roll band that started in an artist commune in Crete, Greece have gained a solid global reputation, building their loyal following – dubbed the Street Generation – by playing over eight hundred shows in twenty five countries over just a few years since relocating to Los Angeles. In 2015 after seeing the band live, the incomparable, irreplaceable and forever missed Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead had them signed to the Motorhead Music record label and last years’ album Desperate was released to critical acclaim.
?JD McPherson – November 5 at World Cafe Live – Downstairs
As a visual artist, Broken Arrow, Okla., native JD McPherson is well versed in the process of working within clearly defined formal parameters, and he employs a similarly rigorous discipline with his music. In the sonic arena, he is much more a pioneer than roots resuscitator. McPherson is knocking at the door of something that arguably hasn’t yet been accomplished; a spirited, almost spiritual hybrid that brings the forgotten lessons from the earliest days of rock and roll into a future that has room for the modernity of studio technique and 21st century singer/songwriter idiosyncrasies that Little Richard – one of his musical heroes – would not recognize.
?Josh Ritter – November 5 at Union Transfer
The September release of Gathering marks 20 years since Josh Ritter began recording and performing music. Along with his loyal bandmates, the Royal City Band, and engineer Trina Shoemaker, the singer/songwriter returned to the Clubhouse studio in Rhinebeck, NY with more songs than he’d ever had before at one time. Re-energized after a recent collaboration with legendary artist Bob Weir and – at the same time – tired of living in the shadow of his earlier self, Ritter felt charged with exploring the possibility of cutting himself loose from his own and others’ expectations. Going by the sound of the record, it worked.
?A Perfect Circle – November 7 at BB&T Pavilion
Alt-rock supergroup A Perfect Circle formed in 1999 with principal members Billy Howerdel of Ashes Divide and Maynard James Keenan, best known as the frontman for Tool, rounded out by a fluid line-up designed with the freedom to shift with each ensuing album. Busy with their other projects, their time together has always been punctuated by periods of inactivity, but in early 2017 they returned, announcing work on a new album and a North American tour, which sold out within minutes and included a the outfit’s debut Hollywood Bowl performance.
?All Them Witches – November 7 at The Foundry
Heavy, heady and hypnotic, Nashville’s All Them Witches concoct a powerful and potent psychedelic sound that fuses bluesy soul, Southern swagger and thunderous hard rock. With their transfixing releases, including this year’s Sleeping Through the War, and a jam-filled live show where no two gigs are the same, the band has amassed a devoted following and have become something of a sensation in the underground rock scene.
?Yngwie Malmsteen – November 7 at The Theatre of Living Arts
In music, there are guitarists, and then there are guitar gods. Yngwie Malmsteen has long been the latter. When he was barely 20, he exploded onto the music scene with his jaw-dropping technique of lightning fast harmonic minor scalar riffing. His 1984 album, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, established seemingly overnight the style now referred to a neo-classical melodic rock. A legend in both style and technique, Malmsteens long career reach new heights when his totally classical work for orchestra and solo electric guitar, Concerto Suite, was released, proving that his classical credentials were genuine.
Tegan & Sara – November 10 at The Tower Theater
A decade ago, Tegan and Sara released the breakthrough album The Con. This year, to mark the 10th anniversary of the acclaimed work, the twin sister duo released The Con X: Covers. The collection features covers of 14 of their favorite artists, each interpreting a song from the original album. More importantly, last year the pair launched The Tegan and Sara Foundation, which fights for economic justice, health and representation for LGBTQ girls and women – three areas where LGBTQ girls and women face the biggest challenges.