Concert Previews
Terri Clark She's a real Northern light. Terri Clark is a Canadian who developed into a spirited and charismatic Nashville hit maker on the strength of such country-rocking crowd-pleasers as "Better Things to Do," "Girls Lie Too," and
Terri Clark
She's a real Northern light. Terri Clark is a Canadian who developed into a spirited and charismatic Nashville hit maker on the strength of such country-rocking crowd-pleasers as "Better Things to Do," "Girls Lie Too," and "You're Easy on the Eyes." These hits revealed a tough, red-blooded chick who could give as good as she got from the guys, and her torrid live album,
Road Rage
, showed she could deliver the goods on stage, too. But Clark can also be a thoughtful balladeer. It's an equally appealing side of her that will no doubt be highlighted in this show, in which she will perform solo and acoustic.
- Nick Cristiano
Richard Thompson
In the more than 40 years since Richard Thompson first made a name for himself as the teenage guitarist of Brit folk-rockers Fairport Convention, the now-61-year-old mega-talent continues to dazzle with his jaw-dropping musicianship. Never better than when he has an audience to charm with his razor-sharp songwriting, clever wit, and effortless playing - no one is his equal on both electric and acoustic guitar - Thompson is touring to plug
Dream Attic
, a collection of new material recorded in front of an audience this year. Along with the backing musicians from the new album - multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn, drummer Michael Jerome, bassist Taras Prodaniuk, and violinist Joel Zifkin - Thompson has been disarming audiences by covering the bulk of
Dream Attic
in the first half of his current shows, and older songs in the second (stretching all the way back to the Emitt Rhodes-penned "Time Will Show the Wiser," lead track from Fairport's 1968 debut).
- Nicole Pensiero
The Walkmen
Such a strange band is the Walkmen. The group of Philadelphians and New Yawkers have been together a decade, owned a rehearsal/studio space in Harlem, appeared on teen soap opera
The O.C.
, wrote a novel as one unit (
John's Journey
), recorded a pretty, note-perfect take on Harry Nilsson's
Pussy Cats
, and, with their newest CD,
Lisbon
, struck a deal with online handcraft specialists Etsy to design their graphics and such. All this makes the Walkmen something like the James Franco of indie-pop. That the band manages to create sultry unique songs famously inspired by the eerie atmospheres of Eno/Byrne and the monotonic thwack of the Velvet Underground just adds to the party. And a party is just what the doctor ordered for
Lisbon
(a follow-up to the fabulously forlorn
You & Me
), what with lyrics like "Don't get heavy, let's be light" on "Woe Is Me" and an overall mood-swing toward the upbeat. Then again, it's not as if the Walkmen shoot streamers or ice cakes during this baleful, echo-filled bash. "Blue as Your Blood" and "While I Shovel the Snow" are deeply evocative of sunless afternoons and winter chills. Maybe it's a pity party. Huzzah.
- A.D. Amorosi