Highlights
Double trouble at GoodFolk with Darlene and Luna Tart
Get out tonight for a good time at GoodFolk in downtown Fayetteville. At 7 p.m. Canadian gypsy Darlene, who is now basing out of the Ozarks, will be joined by pal Luna Tart for a rare NWA performance. The two performed together for years as two-thirds of the gypsy-cowgirl-cabaret group ‘the Road Dog Divas. Their one-of-a-kind show will make you wonder how you can prevent your children from joining their circus. Darlene is the one person we know who has mastered vocal improv. She can go from keening and chanting to operatic soprano to mariachi to Finnish yoiking to yodeling and even barking like a dog, before you know what path she’s traveling down. Yeah! Hear this girl go!
Luna Tart aka Laura Freeman drags a curious history behind herself, like the train of a stained, sequined dress. Her jazzy Texas sass can cause a flashback to a 1920 speakeasy and as rockzilla.net puts it—if Dorothy Parker had a love child with Jimmie Rodgers, the baby might sound like Laura Freeman.
Show at 7 p.m. Tickets $10 at the door. Info: 521-1812.
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Ever heard of Michael Franti? If not, you should bring yourself up to speed and thanks to George’s you can do just that. The San Francisco group, Michael Franti and Spearhead, will play the club on Tuesday night as part of their 2007 tour winter with dates in Santa Fe, N.M. and Ashville, N.C. already sold out. Later this spring they’ll be headed to Bonnaroo and Sasquatch.
Franti’s first foray into music was in 1986 when he founded the Afro-industrial band The Beatnigs, which was followed by a the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy with jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter in 1991. Next came Spearhead in 1994. The current band lineup is comprised of expert players Carl Young, Dave Shul, Manas Itene and Raliegh J. Neal II.
Franti is a dead-on dyed in the wool political musician, but he’s not your grandfather’s protest singer. The music is primarily a meld of reggae and Afro Caribbean, but occasionally goes full sound radio ready for other songs with perfect finesse. It’s upbeat and danceable, but with strong political lyrics. Franti has made visits to Iraq, Israel and Palestine, to see first hand the human cost of the war. After visiting the war-torn areas he produced the documentary film “I Know I’m Not Alone.” He also lectures on social justice and human rights issues, speaking at venerable spots like Stanford and Yale and sharing the stage with the likes of Bill Clinton and Michael Moore.
If all this makes Franti sound like a bore: wrong. Very wrong. It’s a show not to miss. Tickets $20 advance at George’s. Get ‘em now.
Ball in the House
A capella all the way. The Boston pop and R&B a capella group Ball in the House—aka the guys who do the sounds on the Cool Whip ad—will wow audiences at 7 p.m. Friday at the Walton Arts Center. The group goes beyond just singing, using their voices to create the sounds of drums and bass. Anyone remember The Mills Brothers? Tickets $10-$18.
Have some sax
Those who want to check out some top shelf sounds and enjoy free concerts from time to time, should keep a close eye on the music section of the Free Weekly’s 8 Days a Week calendar. The University of Arkansas music department schedules both student and faculty shows that showcase some great music. One that’s coming up is the Aux Arc Saxophone Quartet performance at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the university’s Fine Arts Concert Hall. The group was founded in 1998 by the UA’s Stan Morris. Other members of the group are Joshua Fugit, Jason Cooney and Billy Mere. The music is an audience friendly repertoire of well known traditionals and music written especially for the saxophone quartet.
