Sound Menu May 02 2007

THURS/3

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AN EVENING WITH TODD RUNDGREN This spring before he hits the road with the 2007 New Cars tour, Rundgren is playing smaller theaters with a supergroup of his own, including internationally vaulted players Tony Levin, Jesse Gress and Jerry Marotta. Tonight he returns to anchor a sure-to-be-enthralling evening of tunes from an enviable body of work that reaches back to the late ’60s. $26.50. 8 p.m. The Roxy. 404-233-7699. www.ticketmaster.com. — Lee Valentine Smith

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LISA GERRARD As one-half of Dead Can Dance, vocalist Lisa Gerrard established a legacy of ghostly and otherworldly elegance with her often wordless vocalizations. Tonight she makes a rare solo appearance, performing songs from her most recent release, The Silver Tree (4AD). Expect nothing short of an arsenal of ethnic instrumentation churning out a somber and dramatic show of elaborate beauty and surreal emotions. $35. 8 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — Chad Radford

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THREE RING CIRCLE It’s a bit unusual to see a trio in bluegrass, but these three guys have the chops to carry on like nothing’s missing. Dobro player Rob Ickes is a mother plucker, Andy Leftwich tears up the fiddle and mandolin, and bassist Dave Pomeroy adds some bottom. $7. Jam at 7 p.m., band at 9 p.m. Red Light Café. 404-8747828. www.redlightcafe.com. — James Kelly

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FRI/4

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BLONDE REDHEAD, ANNUALS Blonde Redhead’s latest offering, 23, swaps the group’s trademark dissonance for brittle pop melodies that sparkle with electronics. Despite the change of course, the songs are as catchy as ever. Raleigh, N.C., group Annuals plays experimental pop music that balances elements of electronic and fey but straight-ahead pop tones that lean toward the realm of the singer/songwriter. $17.50-$20. 8:30 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — CR

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JOHN LEGEND, CORINNE BAILEY RAE This synergistic bill pairing the king and queen of the current crop of clean-cut, sophisticated, Grammy-approved neo-soul singers perfectly caters to the upscale wine-and-cheese nibblers that frequent this venue. Neither act relies on trendy hip-hop beats or raps from guest vocalists, and both exude the vocal chops, classy style and songwriting savvy to suggest they will have lengthy careers in their genre as long as they continue to keep the faith. $38.50-$69.50. 7:30 p.m. Chastain Park Amphitheatre. 404-233-2227. www.ticketmaster.com/venue/114766. — Hal Horowitz

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LISE DE LA SALLE Nineteen-year-old pianist Lise de la Salle plays with both virtuosity and musical depth. The blond, cherubic beauty entered the Paris Conservatory at age 11, and since 2003 has recorded three CDs on the Naïve label. She will perform Mozart’s “Twelve Variations, K. 265” and “Rondo in A minor, K. 511,” Maurice Ravel’s “Sonatine,” and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Sonata No. 3,” “Toccata,” and selections from his popular incidental music for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. $25. 8:15 p.m. Spivey Hall. 678-466-4200. www.spiveyhall.org. — Mark Gresham

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MALENA PEREZ, AMANDA RAY Two singers cut from the same creative cloth, but with an entirely different sense of style, will make for a crucial cool-out session. Blending influences such as Flora Purim and Sade, Malena Perez composes her own melodies and lyrics. Imagine a subtle mix of Björk and Sade and there you have Amanda Ray, who fuses her vocals with electronic production. Consider them two sides of the same coin flipping Atlanta’s soul idiom on its head. $10. 10 p.m. Apache Café. 404-876-5436. www.apachecafe.info. — Rodney Carmichael

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SAT/5

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CRUISO DE MAYO Tonight, Cruis-O-Matic, the Rain Men and Frankie’s Blues Mission are throwing a little charity dance party on this festive day o’ May. The ‘Matic men and the Rain Men are banding together to help send the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer team to the U.K. this summer for a big tourney ‘cross the pond. The Cruis-O-Matic hit machine has added a few “new” tunes to its impressive list of Nuggets-style oldies as well. Go ahead, request something; they probably know it. $8. 8 p.m. Club 29. www.club29atl.com. — LVS

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DEERHUNTER, JAY REATARD, SILVER DAGGERS Deerhunter’s live shows are always a wild card. Throughout the set, melody and song structure collapse into a haze of white noise and shimmering feedback over vocalist Bradford Cox’s wide-eyed and mechanized vocalizations. Jay Reatard of Memphis, Tenn.’s oddball punks the Reatards plays a set of jittery, goofy and lo-fi post-punk. Silver Daggers (featuring members of Mika Miko) opens. $8. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — CR

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“THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT” An ongoing series produced by ATL SOUL that features live performances by a host of local raw soul talent: Eugene IV, Madam CJ, Avery Sunshine, Bren Herrera, Jahi Kearse, Brodie and Smokie Brown. Add DJs such as Kai Alce, Jamal Ahmad, Rev. Lee, Mike Music and Ramon RawSoul to the mix and it’s easy to see why events such as this continue to drive Atlanta’s underground soul scene. $15. 9 p.m. Apache Café. 404-876-5436. www.apachecafe.info. — RC

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MC FRONTALOT The latest hip-hop trend is as antithetical to gangsta rap as possible: nerdcore. Word-savvy geeks are making a play for all those suburban teens, and MC Frontalot is leading the pack. Humorous in a way rap hasn’t been for years, Frontalot riffs on a wide range of everyday maladies (Internet porn, getting older, indie credibility), dropping pop-culture references (Ralph Macchio, e-mail scams) and offering cockeyed perspectives (“I Heart Fags,” “Romantic Cheapskate”) with a confident flow. $10. 8 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. 404-870-0575. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. — Chris Parker

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RALPH STANLEY, GRUPO SIQUISIRÍ A rather curious pairing of acts that are both considered “string bands,” tonight’s show consists of bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and Mexico’s Grupo Siquisirí. The music of the Veracruz region is sort of like country, only with a Latino accent. No word yet on whether the bar will be serving tequila and moonshine. $35-$59. 8 p.m. Rialto Center for the Performing Arts. 404-651-4727. www.rialtocenter.org. — JK

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SUN/6

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CLARENCE CLOAK Organist Clarence Cloak, from Ormond Beach, Fla., performs Alexandre Guilmant’s “Grand Choeur en Ré Majeur,” César Franck’s “Prière” and J.S. Bach’s “Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor” on the Cathedral of St. Philip’s 1962 Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. Free. 3:15 p.m. Cathedral of St. Philip. 404-365-1050. www.stphilipscathedral.org. — Mark Gresham

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LITTLE COUNTRY GIANTS, GABRIEL KELLEY, HOOTS & HELLMOUTH The LCGs have been working hard on the road, spreading their rootsy sound all over the place. It’s always a treat to hear them in the intimacy of Eddie’s listening room. Kelley hails from Athens and plays that Americana stuff, and H&H are an old-timey, Philadelphia-based string band. $10-$50. 7 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — JK

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TUES/8

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THE CINEMATICS Like their peers in the Editors, this Glasgow, Scotland, quartet fashions shimmering walls of guitar yoked in service to brooding darkwave arrangements that echo New Order and Echo & the Bunnymen. Though they’ll never get points for originality, the execution of their debut, A Strange Education, suggests good things if they can graduate from imitation to innovation. $8. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — CP

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WED/9

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PAUL SANCHEZ, SONIA TETLOW Current and former Cowboy Mouth members join together tonight to offer an intimate and soul-tinged taste of New Orleans. Jovial singer/songwriter Sanchez will present some of his jaunty musical delights from his recent Between Friends solo-release CD and guitarist/bassist/whateverist Tetlow will feature a number of old and new favorites from her seemingly endless supply of acoustic scorchers. $13. 6:30 p.m. Eddie’s Attic, 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. — LVS

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THU/10

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ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Host Ken Meltzer and ASO conducting fellow Laura Jackson lead this one-night listen-and-learn-style concert including Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (yep, the one featured in Disney’s animated Fantasia, with Mickey and the mops) and the 1919 version of the orchestral suite from Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, “The Firebird.” $25. 7 p.m. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center. 404-733-5000. www.atlantasymphony.org. — MG

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COCO ROSIE, BUSDRIVER, TEZ Coco Rosie (aka sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady) returns with The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn. One sister sports a mustache, one sings like an elfish Billy Holiday. Together they craft a surreal and operatic album that melds haunted-house sounds with beats, samples and chirps. Busdriver wields a balance of rapid-fire rhymes and acerbic wit. French experimental MC and beat-maker Tez also performs. $12. 7 p.m. Masquerade. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. — CR

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THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS This jazz/R&B/jam supergroup of sorts features established journeymen of the genre such as keyboardist Robert Walter and reedman Karl Denson. The quintet’s new album proves that a near decade-long hiatus from playing under the Greyboy moniker hasn’t dulled its collective juices as men on a funky mission. Guaranteed to put ants in your pants. $22.50-$25. 8:30 p.m. Variety Playhouse. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com. — HH

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GUITAR SHORTY Legend (and his bio) has it that Hendrix checked out his gigs back in the day, but the flamboyant Shorty nails a tough Texas-blues rocking groove all his own. He cut his first single in 1957, made a resurgence in the ’90s and hasn’t stayed off the road since. The days of midsong flips and standing on his head at shows may be behind him, yet Shorty’s meaty leads take care of the gymnastics as his gruffly expressive voice and rugged songs keep fans riveted and returning for more. $10. 8 p.m. Blind Willies. 404-873-BLUE. www.blindwilliesblues.com. — HH

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PAT DINIZIO, A.J. CROCE DiNizio, internationally known as the songwriter and voice of Hi-Watt ’80s jangle masters the Smithereens, turns down the volume tonight to offer a stripped-down set of his solo material and a few choice revisions from his cache of melodic pop masterpieces. He shares the interesting bill with rollicking piano man A.J. Croce, son of Jim Croce. $12-$19. Tavern on the Bridge. 770-232-1210. www.tavernonthebridge.com. — LVS

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SAY ANYTHING, SAVES THE DAY, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA Singer/guitarist Max Bemis burst onto the scene in 2004 with Say Anything’s conceptual second album, ...Is a Real Boy, which traces the rise and fall of a band led by an emotionally troubled singer resembling himself (Bemis suffered a nervous breakdown after the album’s release). Saves the Day recovered from its limp, poppy major-label debut (In Reverie), returning to Vagrant and rediscovering the punk-pop verve of its early days on last year’s Sound the Alarm. The warm, rich indie pop of Manchester Orchestra opens. $17. 7 p.m. Masquerade. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. — CP

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Bands/performers/venues wishing to be included in Sound Menu’s noted-acts boxes may send recordings, press material and schedules two weeks in advance to Creative Loafing c/o Rodney Carmichael, 384 Northyards Blvd., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30313, or e-mail information to: rodney.carmichael@creativeloafing.com. To be included in the listings only, e-mail venue and band schedules by Friday at noon (for the issue that comes out the following Thursday) to soundboard@creativeloafing.com.