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THIS WEEK AT THE CLUBS:   CHRIS MCFARLAND His new and second acoustic rock album, As If To Lay To Rest, emotionally delves into the current pains of McFarland's life: losing his daughter to an estranged wife, suicide attempts, and watching friends pass away. Nevertheless, his lyrics and intonations in this recent effort leads one to describe his sound as "optimistically melancholy." Saturday, Downtown Lounge. —BF   JONATHA BROOKE Brooke lists the WOW Hall among her favorite places, including recent gigs in Copenhagen and the world-famous jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland. Holding Bonnie Raitt as one of her greatest influences, Brooke draws upon her own real-life experiences that she then "peppers with fiction." High-quality poetic writing and emotionally charged vocals. Saturday, WOW Hall. —BF SIDE PROJECT Moving between Latin rhythms, acid jazz, funk and R & B, Side self-heralds as able to entertain not only those looking for a buzz and background buzz, but also to grip the "jazz connoisseur." Left to right: Drew Albares (bass,) Scott Rubey (Piano,) Gerry Rempel (guitar,) Liesel Alkire (vocals,) Mark Dent (trombone) and Robert Elchert (drums.) Ba-da-boom. Saturday, Jo Federigo's. —BF HOLLIS ANN VIPOND CD RELEASE Recently awarded a coveted grant from the Jim BEAM bourbon company, Holli Ann ViPond and songwriting partner Rebekah Joy Johnson—together SpunHoney—have been able to release their second CD, BeeCharmer, of country roots, folk storytelling and powerful melodies. They say that some of the money they received has already been put to good use.  Saturday, Lone Star Bar and Grill. —B CLICK HERE FOR CLUBS LISTINGS Dancing Tunes Sam Bond's, Café Paradiso offer high quality shows. BY BRETT CAMPBELL For more than a decade, Eugene's Kutsinhira Cultural Arts Center has been one of the freshest wellsprings of world music in Oregon. With the guidance of Seattle's late, lamented Dumisani Maraire (Dumi), a renowned Zimbabwean musician-ethnomusicologist, a group of local musicians who shared a love of the marimba and mbira (the so-called "thumb piano," whose zingy sound percolates through so much Zimbabwean music) formed various performing ensembles and began a series of weekly classes and frequent performances that helped spread these joyous, upbeat African sounds throughout our community. Today, with the frequent participation of Zimbabwean master musicians Ambuya Beauler Dyoko, Cosmas Mgaya, and Musekiwa Chingodza, Kutsinhira players continue their study, cultural exchange and performances of this lively, danceable music. Various Kutsinhira players and guests perform on their appealing new CD, Musimboti, which comes close to capturing the effervescent but elusive live sound of these mbira and marimba ensembles. Consisting mostly of traditional mbira songs, the disk also includes some fine singing and drumming. You can hear them at 8 pm Saturday, Sept. 7, at Sam Bond's Garage, when Kutsinhira's Kudana marimba, Zambuko marimba, Portland based Njuzu Mbira and some of Eugene's finest mbira players perform music of Zimbabwe for marimba, mbira, drums, hosho (a shaker), vocals and dancing. Proceeds from the concert will go to projects that provide much-needed help to strife-torn Zimbabwe, whose economy is currently being wrecked by the power-mongering of long-time dictator Robert Mugabe. This is a chance to help a good cause and dance to some of the planet's most delightful sounds. Sam Bond's has really been on a roll of late, bringing some of the best live music of the year to Eugene. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, the club hosts Seattle's Minus 5, and on the 12th, features the drum-propelled modern jazz of the Scott Amendola band. This Bay Area ensemble can veer from screaming guitar-based jazz rock to violin-led ballads to dense funk featuring sax. Amendola, who's played with the likes of Charlie Hunter and Bill Frisell, is a crack drummer adept at shifting time signatures and writing strong original material. His latest album also features covers of Jimi Hendrix, Nick Drake and Fela, which shows just how wide-ranging (albeit occasionally unfocused) his ambit can be, but kudos to him for exploring far and wide. One of the best shows I saw at Sam Bond's this summer featured the eloquent Los Angeles singer-songwriter Stew opening for Dan Bern. Stew (aka Mark Stewart) also opened for one of his major idols and influences, Arthur Lee of Love last month. And now he's back again, playing at Café Paradiso on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Like Lee, Stew faced the challenges of music-biz stereotyping and pigeonholing. (A black singer who doesn't rap? A singer-songwriter in the Beatles tradition who's black?) in his acclaimed band, The Negro Problem. His solo work (usually accompanied by bassist/keyboardist Heidi Rodenwald) puts even more of a focus on his brilliant, frequently very funny lyrics and images, which New York Times writer Ed Ward compared to Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Jacques Brel and Ray Davies. Ward called Stew's new album, The Naked Dutch Painter, "perhaps the finest collection of songs an American songwriter has come up with this year," and I agree wholeheartedly. Don't miss this one. Café Paradiso also hosts the fine Yachats-based guitarist Tony Kaltenberg on Friday, Aug. 30th. Accompanied on some tunes by TR Kelley on fretless bass, Kaltenberg can make a solo acoustic guitar sound like a band, flipping between flat-picking and finger-styling. His percussive style recalls Michael Hedges, but he can also summon the evocative melodicism of Windham Hill's Will Ackerman and the articulate rhythms you hear in Leo Kottke's work. Café Paradiso's warm, intimate atmosphere should be an ideal setting for this up-and-coming musician. Back to Top ROCKER-T AT WILD DUCK ON THURSDAY.   Bigtime Rockers Reggae and rock superstars in Eugene this week. BY VANESSA SALVIA Get ready for Rocker-T, who will be appearing Thursday at the Wild Duck. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rocker-T has been a major part of New York City's dancehall and reggae/ hip-hop scene. While he moved from Brooklyn to Northern California in 2000, he helped build New York's scene on a foundation of socially conscious and uplifting lyrics and an earnest faith his fans relish. Over the course of his career he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Yellowman, Burning Spear, Maxi Priest and Rita Marley. He's a multi-talented artist who not only performs in a half-chanted, half-sung way accompanied by a DJ known as "sing-jay," but also plays guitar, melodica, drum machines, niyahbinghi drums and keyboards. Rocker-T writes his own music and lyrics about the holy trinity of subjects: ganja, Babylon and Jah. He began toasting for Rob Kenner's BBC2 Sound System shortly after forming his own ska band in 1986, The Skadanks. He continued toasting some internationally known DJs and gained fame in his own right. Today he continues to perform in the U.S. and abroad with a variety of acts, including Cannabis Cup Band, Version City Rockers, Stubborn All-Stars, Positive Sound Massive and I.R.T. Band. Rocker-T's 1999 dancehall release If Yu Luv Luv Show Ya Luv was named Reggae Album of the Year by High Times Magazine, and if you saw the movie Next Friday with Ice-Cube, you recognized the cover appearance of his Tru Ganjaman EP, revealing the artist with a blunt that would put any ever rolled by Cheech and Chong to shame. While on If Yu Luv Luv, Rocker-T celebrates Jah, he also says he doesn't care what religion you are, he just wants us all to live in peace and harmony. When Rocker-T rhymes, the positive vibe abounds and his music just makes people the world over feel good. When Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey's not playing with his band of 18 years, he joins up with some well-known musicians for a sporadic side project he calls The Minus 5. The 5's most recent release, Let the War Against Music Begin, connects R.E.M's Peter Buck, Posies‚ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, Los Lobos' saxophonist Steve Berlin, High Llama's Sean O'Hagan, even Robyn Hitchcock among others for a topsy-turvey and bittersweet pop album. Such all-star personnel can only be convened with inspired results, the focus being on crafting musical gems that sparkle in unexpected ways. On Got You, McCaughey croons "I've tried beer and I've tried poison/ I sleep standing up/ It's all for you/ Brand new static on the same old station/ New rotation for the same old tune/ I look at you through a hole in a leaf/ From your ice cream smile to the tops of your feet/ I take it and I put it in my pocket/ Now I've got you, got you." "A Thousand Years Away" features Buck's distinctive Rickenbacker 12-string and a buoyant energy that keeps this song floating high above your head. McCaughey borrowed a page from Guided By Voices Robert Pollard's surreal notebook for the track The "Amazing Dolphin Boy." McCaughey brings a self-deprecating wit and an intelligent creationism to all his work that resonates no matter who he's working with. From the sweetly '60s reminiscent "Great News Around You," to Robyn Hitchcock's closing monologue about the afterlife and "the intestines of God," the CD is at times whimsical chicanery, other times sober reminiscence. McCaughey's The Young Fresh Fellows released a CD at the same time as this new one by The Minus 5, called Because We Hate You. The Minus 5 will appear Wednesday at Sam Bond's.     Back to Top .   BAGEL BAKERY AA 760 Blair Ave. *  342-4390 Sat 8/31: Jim Hershey--11 am Su 9/1: Three Rivers Showcase--10; Acoustic BLACK FOREST 50 E. 11th * 344-0816 Thu 8/29: Dave Young Band--9:30; Rock Fri 8/30: Roy G. Biv--9:30; Psychedelic Su 9/1: Open Mic--9:30 Mo 9/2: Emerald City Sessions--9:30 Tu 9/3: Jessica & Shadow--9:30 We 9/4: Motherfunction--9:30; R&B THE BRICKHOUSE 4136 4th St. Spfd. * 988-1612 Thu 8/29: Karaoke--10 Sat 8/31: Dodge Ball Victims, Rezjudikata, Eve's 2nd Sin--10 CAFE PARADISO   AA NS 115 W. Broadway * 484-9933 Thu 8/29: Jessica Plotkin--8:30 Fri 8/30: Tony Kaltenberg--9; Percussive instrumental guitar Sat 8/31: Don Conoscenti--9 Mo 9/2: Hershey's Showcase--8:30 Tu 9/3: Open Mic--8 We 9/4: Roy Brewer--8:30;Flamenco guitar and dance CHANTERELLE'S    5th & Pearl * 484-4065 Thu 8/29: Skip Jones & Friends--9:30; Blues Fri 8/30: Olem Alves & Friends--9:30; Jazz Sat 8/31: Thomas Mackay Trio--9:30; Jazz Tu 9/3: Blues Jam w/Byron Case We 9/4: Nicolette Helm/friends--9:30 CORNUCOPIA 295 W. 17th St.* 485-2300 Fri 8/30: Red Pajamas Trio--6 COZMIC PIZZA 1432 Willamette * 338-9333 Thu 8/29: Poetry Lives w/Cel Lapp, Joan Dobbie--8 Fri 8/30: Ariel Storm, Paul Orbell Trio--7 Su 9/1: Subversive Pillow Theatre--9; Film DIABLO'S 959 Pearl * 683-3855 Thu 8/29: Ladies '80s Night--9 Fri 8/30: Yummie Bootie Night w/Jon Smith, Tremor--9; Hip hop, dance classics, requests Sat 8/31: Big Pimpin w/ Howie, Steve, Anmar--9; Hip house, disco Su 9/1: Glamour Night w/Lady Godiva, Karress, Glamour Girls--9; Cabaret We 9/4: Darkside Wednesdays w/DJs Hanif, Ceez--9; Underground hip hop, old school soul, R&B DOC'S PAD 165 W. 11th * 683-8101 Thu 8/29: Ladies' '80s & Retro Night--9 Fri 8/30: DJ Alpyne--9; Hip hop Mo 9/2: Roosters Blues Jam--8 DON JUAN'S #2 33100 Van Duyn Rd. * 684-869 5Thu 8/29: DJ Music--8; Country, rock Fri 8/30: Karaoke--9 Sat 8/31: DJ Music--9 Su 9/1: DJ Music--9; '50s to present Mo 9/2: Karaoke--9 Tu 9/3: DJ Music--9; '50's to present We 9/4: DJ Music--9; '70s-'80s DOWNTOWN LOUNGE 959 Pearl * 343-2346 Sat 8/31: Chris McFarland--9 Su 9/1: Soul Food Night--9 Mo 9/2: Blue Monday--8 Tu 9/3: Ouija Tuesday--8 We 9/4: Down Low at the D Lo--9 EMBERS SUPPER CLUB 1811 Hwy. 99 N. * 688-6564 Thu 8/29: Billy McCoy--9; Country Fri 8/30: Michael Anderson Trio--9; Variety, country Sat 8/31: Michael Anderson Trio--9; Variety, country Su 9/1: Michael Anderson Trio--9; Variety, country We 9/2: Billy McCoy--9; Country FOXFIRE 4740 Main, Spfd * 747-7900 Thu 8/29: Ampt--9:15; RockFri 8/30: Forrest T. Black--9:15; Rock Sat 8/31: Go to 11, Forrest T. Black--9:15; RockSu 9/1: Karaoke--7:30 Mo 9/2: Karaoke--7:30Tu 9/31: Jam with Anton--9:15 We 9/4: The Johnny Wild Band--9:15 GOOD TIMES TAVERN 375 E. 7th * 484-7181 Fri 8/30: Door No. 3--8 Sat 8/31: Circle of Light--9:30; Reggae HOLLYWOOD TAXI 535 Main, Spfd * 747-0307 Fri 8/30: Ozone Baby--9 Sat 8/31: Ozone Baby--9 HUMBLE BAGEL AA 2435 Hilyard * 521-3389 Thu 8/29: Charlie Parker--6:30; Jazz Fri 8/30: Thomas Mackay--6:30; Jazz Sat 8/31: Charlie Parker--6:30; Jazz JO FEDERIGO'S 259 E. 5th * 343-8488 Thu 8/29: Jo Fed's All Star Jazz Jam--9:30 Fri 8/30: Lazoo--9:30 Sat 8/31: Side Project--9:30 LAVELLE WINE BAR 5th St. Mkt * 338-9875 Fri 8/30: Gus Russell--5:30; Jazz Sat 8/31: Gus Russell--5:30; Jazz LONE STAR BAR & GRILL 33140 Van Duyn Rd. * 686-8686 Thu 8/29: John Michaels--9; Country DJ Sat 8/31: Hollis Ann Vipond, Rebekah Joy Johnson CD release party--9 We 9/4: Coyote Ugly Night w/John Michaels--9; Country LUNA 30 E. Broadway * 434-5862 Thu 8/29: Thomas Mackay Quartet--9; Jazz Fri 8/30: Tim McLaughlin's Eleven Eyes--9:30; Electronic funk Sat 8/31: The Sham--9:30; Groove We 9/4: Olem Alves Quartet--9; Funky jazz OREGON ELECTRIC STA.   27 E. 5th * 485-4444 Fri 8/30: Don Latarski Trio--8 Sat 8/31: Don Latarski Trio--8 PLANET GOLOKA    679 Lincoln St. * 683-7155 Thu 8/29: "A-Z Ancients" talk--6:30 Fri 8/30: "Sanskrit From English" talk--6:30 Su 9/1: Free Vegan Dinner--6:30 Indo Trance Dance--8 Mo 9/2: Banjo Man--8:30 Tu 9/3: Crouching Tiger--6:30; Film We 9/4: Kava Ceremony--6:30 Vedic Astrology--7 QUACKERS    2105 W. 7th * 485-5925 Fri 8/30: Blues All Stars--12 am We 9/4: Blues Jam--8 RAMADA INN   225 Coburg Rd. * 342-5181Fri 8/30: Valley Boys--9:15; Rock Sat 8/31: Valley Boys--9:15; Rock ROADHOUSE    3018 Gateway * 746-6000 Mo 9/2: Family Karaoke--5 RUMBA ROOM    100 E. Broadway * 484-1747 Thu 8/29: Cuban Wheel w/Mike & Simona--8 Fri 8/30: Fiesta Mexicana--10; Banda, cumbia, salsa Sat 8/31: Pedro Navajas--10We 9/4: Beg. salsa w/Emilio Menendez--7 SAM BOND'S GARAGE 407 Blair * 431-6603 Thu 8/29: RotoSquirrel w/TR Kelley--9 Fri 8/30: Jackstraw--9:30; Bluegrass Sat 8/31: Old Time Jam--5 Su 9/1: Vivian's Keeper, Tony Gilchrist--8:30 Tu 9/3: Bluegrass Jam--9; Jam rock We 9/4: Minus 5 w/Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Barrett Martini, Dan Jones and Ed Cole--9; Rock SAMURAI DUCK 980 Oak * 345-6577 Thu 8/29: Last Chapter, Rhythm Pimps, Idiot Savants--10; Alternative, punk Fri 8/30: Mine Thirtyseven--10; Progressive rock Sat 8/31: Minus Mine, Dualesque, Dislogik, Thought Riot--10; Heavy melodic Mo 9/2: DJ C4's Explosion--9Tu 9/3: Christopher Hawley, Joe Ragman--10; Folk jam We 9/4: Community Sound System--9 SENOR FROG'S    444 E. 3rd * 484-2927 Thu 8/29: DJ Karaoke--6:30 Fri 8/30: DJ Mario--9; Cumbia, Banda, Merengue Sat 8/31: Salsa, Merengue--10 SWEETWATER'S Valley River Inn * 687-0123 Fri 8/30: Paul Biondi's Band--8; Rock 'n Roll Sat 8/31: Paul Biondi's Band--8; Rock 'n Roll TACO LOCO     7th and Blair * 431-3871 Mo 9/2: Fuzz--7; Funk, jazz TAYLOR'S     894 E. 13th * 344-6174 Mo 9/2: DJ Tekneek--10 TINO'S RESTAURANT    15th and Willamette * 342-8111 Sat 8/31: Olem Alves, Mike Hanns Duo--6; Jazz TINY TAVERN     394 Blair * 687-8383 Thu 8/29: The Mighty Muffin Blues Band--9:30 Fri 8/30: Sunken Grade--9:30 WETLANDS BREW PUB    922 Garfield * 345-3606 Sat 8/31: 2 Bucks Short, Courtesy Clerks, Blasphemous Abnormality--10 WILD DUCK MUSIC HALL    169 W. 6th * 485-3825 Thu 8/29: Rocker T--9:30; Reggae WOW HALL   AA 291 W. 8th * 687-2746 Thu 8/29: Unwritten Law, Home Grown, Riddlin' Kids, Miami Airlines--7:30; Punk rock Fri 8/30: Prodd, Conception, Ailment--9:30; Hard rock Sat 8/31: Jonatha Brooke, Maia Sharp--8; Singer/ songwriter Blackalicious, Onry Ozzborn, DJ Zeph--9:30; Hip-hop CORVALLIS CLUBS THE BEANERY 500 SW 2nd St. * 753-7442 Fri 8/30: Jerry Coltrell--8 Sat 8/31: Lew Jones--8 BORDERS 777 NW 9th St. * 738-0580 Fri 8/30: Nancy Nickelsberg--8 FOX & FIRKIN 202 SW 1st. * 753-8533 Thu 8/29: Jet Black--9; Rock-a-billy Fri 8/30: Mandroid--10; Hard rock Sat 8/31: Sally Adler--9; Jazz NEW MORNING BAKERY    2nd St. * 754-0181 Sat 8/31: Acoustic Blues Jam--7 Back to Top Table of Contents | News | Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive