The boho hip-hop caravan known as the Smokin' Grooves tour has been in
mothballs for three years. Likely reasons: no new OutKast album, no new
Lauryn Hill album. There still isn't a new OutKast studio album, and
Hill's Unplugged is turning into a bit of a fiasco, but what the hell:
they're at it again. OutKast's intergalactic funk vibe carries over into the
set by former Goodie Mob principal Cee-Lo, this year's must-see
performer. Soul diva and Dre protégée Truth Hurts and beat
jugglers Jurassic 5 fill out the bill, which puts in an appearance on
Wednesday at the Tweeter Center (617-931-2000) in Mansfield.
And then the Who were two: Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are
soldiering on in what's become a memorial to late bassist John Entwistle. Their
show at the Tweeter on Friday has been officially sold out for months, but
high-priced VIP seats are still available. Tickets are also still available,
we're surprised to report, for Creed at the Tweeter tonight (Thursday,
July 25). We were given to understand that the Lord would handle the buyout in
such cases, but perhaps even He's gotten sick of 'em. Creed are also at the
Verizon Wireless Arena (603-644-5000) in Manchester on August 6; former Alice
in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell opens both dates, and he plays his
own headlining gigs this Friday at the State Theater (207-780-8265) in Portland
and on August 5 at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence.
Exiles from indie-rocker mecca -- that'd be Louisville -- VHS or Beta
prove they can get the drum machines and handclaps and jazzy keyboards and
flutes and wah-guitars and vocoders of late-'70s/early-'80s disco just as right
as Air and Daft Punk. The half-dozen tracks on their debut EP, Le Funk
(ON! Records), are prime mirrorball howlers, and we're happy to observe
that the Betas aren't finicky about hamming it up: see "Disco Paradise" and
"Solid Gold." They're at the Iron Horse (413-584-0610) in Northampton on
Saturday; at the Call (617-751-2255) in Providence on Tuesday; and at T.T. the
Bear's Place (617-492-BEAR) in Cambridge on Wednesday. Can VHSOB sustain indie
disco for a full set? Will they turn out to be good, bad, or funky? Or will
they, like the Tom Tom Club, turn out to be a little bit of all three?
The exiles from Talking Headsville are spending a couple of weeks in New
England, including dates tonight at Toad's Place (203-562-5589) in New Haven;
Saturday at the FleetBoston Pavilion (617-931-2000), for a one-off show with
the B-52's; Tuesday at the Iron Horse; Wednesday at Higher Ground
(802-654-8888) in Winooski, Vermont; and next Thursday, August 1, at the Asylum
(207-772-8274) in Portland. You can also catch the B-52's at the Cape Cod
Melody Tent (508-775-9100) in Hyannis on Sunday.
If you happen to be in the Green Mountain State this weekend, the 16th
Vermont Reggae Festival (802-862-3092) brings together Michael Rose, the
Abyssinians, Third World, and others on Saturday at Champlain Valley Exposition
Center in Essex Junction. And if you work up an appetite, pop over to the
New England Barbecue Championships at the Harpoon Brewery (888-HARPOON) in
Windsor on Saturday and Sunday.
Bob's boys
Local Anesthesia: Feel the love