A.A. Bondy, Amy Cook And More
[UPDATE] 12:59p.m. AA Bondy, Amy Cook and Wade Ogle have cancelled due to icy roads in Northwest Arkansas. George’s will reschedule the show.
The local clubs are shifting out of low gear (from the holidays and the UA break) and back into high this week. All of the clubs, including Opal Fly’s new space near the square are back into full swing.
George’s is bringing in a bonus lineup of singer songwriters this week that will be worth leaving home for and will help you shake the cabin fever.
On Saturday night, get a triple dose of “wow” when NWA’s own Wade Ogle and The Sea Shall Free Them (Tyler Bame, bass and backup vocals, James Cohea, drums and percussion) open for touring songwriters A.A. Bondy and Amy Cook. Ogle will be releasing his new album later this month, so expect a preview of what’s to come.
Cook called Los Angeles home before moving to Austin five years ago. In L.A. she was a regular at the landmark Hotel Café. Her songs have been featured on several TV shows including “Dawson’s Creek” and “The L Word.” Her newest album is slated for release this year and was produced by the fabulous Alejandro Escoveda who also performs on the album.
Bondy’s home has been “the road” for the past few years. He’s coming through town on a coast-to-coast tour that takes him from San Francisco’s Café Du Nord to Brooklyn’s Union Hall. Bondy has been getting rave reviews for his music. He describes his latest album, When the Devil’s Loose, as sounding like a “radio washed up on shore after a shipwreck.”
Also on Saturday night, the popular jam band Mountain of Venus will play a free show in the lounge at George’s.
Tuesday night, one of Arkansas’s best-kept secrets, Elise Davis, will play George’s. Davis brings to mind early Sheryl Crow and it’s easy to imagine her songs playing in the background of “Gray’s Anatomy.” When Davis was in high school, she entered the 2006 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase competition and won a semi-finalist spot. Since then, the Little Rock native has recorded three albums and is working on a fourth. She has a new band (Jordan Trotter, lead guitar; Trevor Ware, bass; Joshua Tate, drums) that back Davis with finesse. This should be a fine show.
First Thursday
The monthly “art night” in downtown Fayetteville is today. From 5 to 8 p.m. during “First Thursday,” the ddp gallery and Fayetteville Underground will open new shows and most of the artists will be on hand.
Salon I is the name of the new exhibit at the ddp gallery. The gallery will be filled with work by gallery artists. Gallery owner Dede Peters says the gallery will be wall-to-wall art.
At the Fayetteville Underground, Don Nibert, a Fayetteville potter who rarely shows in Fayetteville, will exhibit his work in the Hive Gallery. Hot Springs artists Christopher Baber and Michael Shaeffer, two cutting-edge artists that call themselves Pedigree, will show in the Revolver Gallery.
There will be group shows in the Vault and E-Street galleries by the studio artists of the Fayetteville Underground.
Nibert has worked as a studio potter for 22 years. He primarily sells his work at juried shows all over the country.
Pedigree’s exhibit is titled “Matters of Consequence” and will feature solo works by both artists as well as their collaborative works. The combined work of the two artists has been pegged by some as an attempt to create an emotional blueprint.
Baber’s work is described as schematics of the human experience. The color drawings are loosely based on timelines and electrical schematics to create a visual representation of abstract concepts such as love and hate.
Shaeffer’s work began as fashion-based illustrations dealing with the concepts of personal identity and American pop culture. Recently his work has taken a turn toward more personal interests.
Exhibits at ddp gallery and Fayetteville Underground will be on up throughout January.
