Thursday, 26
ELProject, Bombs Away Café, 2527 NW Monroe Ave. 9 p.m. Free
Mango Django provides some of Corvallis’ most oft leaned-on live jazz music. They’re talented, eclectic, and they play out a bunch for free, so they’re pretty much the tippity-top of the Corvallis jazz scene. Well, buckle up because they’re going all Gang Starr with this hip-hop collaboration that sounds intriguing at the very least. Though I doubt these guys are going to get as gully as Guru used to (RIP) I tend to think this is gonna be one of the hottest live music nights of the week.
Wild Hog in the Woods, Calapooia Brewing, 140 NE Hill St., Albany. 7 p.m. Free
Go wild with this super authentic bunch of American strummers as they play what their website describes as “stringband music totapatoeto.” If you have any idea what that is, you’ll probably love this band. The rest of you will just like it a whole lot, because they’re great. It’s time to go hog wild, as they say. “They” being some people much, much older than me.
Friday, 27
Sam Cooper & Company and Ghost Towns, Bombs Away Café, 2527 NW Monroe Ave. 9 p.m. $3
Buckle up for Corvallis’ favorite, and apparently only, known musical genre. That’s right, it’s folk/Americana out of Portland, and I predict banjos and flannels will be present. I kid because I love. But all joking aside this is a pretty strong “show of the week” candidate right here. Sam Cooper plays charming and light romantic stuff, and Ghost Towns plays a more eclectic, fuller-sounding version of the same which includes accordions, brass, and other accoutrements. But both bands are toting extremely strong musicianship. I’ll be toting a jar of moonshine and my love of local music. We’ll see who ends up partying backstage…
http://www.ghosttownstheband.com/
Albany Civic Theater, 111 1st Ave. SW, Albany. 7:30 p.m. $12 ($9 for seniors, juniors)
One of Shakespeare’s greatest plays gets a 1920’s treatment at the ACT, and for $12, you have no excuse to miss this, unless of course the Majestic is doing Twelfth Night at the same time. They’re not. So go see Beatrice and Benedict verbally joust and then fall in love, and then fall out of love and then fall in love once more. Taking place in the flapper era is an intriguing setup and a creative direction to take the worn material, so bring your tommy guns and your bathroom stills and get thee to Albany. Also, can I have a ride? Because my Model T took a Model S all over my driveway and won’t start.
http://www.albanycivic.org/14-15-Much-Ado.htm
Saturday, 28
Tim Snider and Mbrascatu, Cloud & Kelly’s, 126 SW 1st St. 10 p.m. $3 to $5
Mbrascatu absolutely blows my mind. Maybe they have an unfair advantage because they play Italian folk-inspired indie rock, and that’s just not as played out as… say… another Americana band. Or maybe their advantage lies in the fact they’re an insanely talented group of musicians. Either way, this is undoubtedly the most exhilarating and interesting band to come through Corvallis this or any other weekend. I’ll be attending the show with a really culturally offensive Mario Bros. costume, because that’s how I get down. You should choose the classier avenue of just going and maybe buying some merch. There’s also a guy named Tim Snider opening for them who I didn’t pay as much attention to because I was too busy nerding out over the headliner, but he also plays amazing world music and just returned from a tour of Brazil.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tim-Snider/307714087077
Penn’s Woods & A Gearbox Heart, Bombs Away Café, 2527 NW Monroe Ave. 9 p.m. $3
Well well well, Corvallis, what’s this? A punk show? Don’t mind if I do! Penn’s Woods is a little more emo; they’ve got a scent of Jawbreaker about them, while A Gearbox Heart is more upbeat melodic pop-punk. They’re both energetic and loud and remind me of a time when I got all boned up for the punk scene. Nowadays I’m a little too tired to jump up and down to this stuff, but if you’re even a modicum less old and pathetic than me, this might be the show for you. Just don’t request any New Found Glory covers. It’s not that they wouldn’t play them, it’s just that if you do, I’ll have to kill you.
https://www.facebook.com/PennsWoodsBand
https://www.facebook.com/GearboxHeart
Sunday, 29
Majestic Reader’s Theatre Presents Enchanted April, Majestic Theatre, 3 and 7 p.m. $10 ($8 for members, seniors, students)
The thespians of the Majestic want to take you on a vacation to Italy, courtesy of the stage adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim’s classic 1922 novel, Enchanted April. The lavish and dramatic story of Londoners learning to appreciate life and love once more by taking a trip to Italy is not what immediately comes to mind as a great candidate to get the Reader’s Theatre treatment, but that’s what makes this series so fun and vital to Corvallis’ stage scene. This is basically the English version of How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Get your groove back at one of our first tastes of the state of the theater under its new direction.
http://www.majestic.org/march-readers-theatre/
Blues Jam!, Calapooia Brewing Company, 140 NE Hill St., Albany. 4 to 6 p.m. Free
**classic blues riff** I’ve got the blues… Whoah yeah, the not-many-shows-on-Sunday blu-hu-hu-hues. I’ve got the don’t-want-to-drive-to-Albany-but-there’s-literally-no-other-live-music-available-anywhere-so-what-else-can-I-do bluessssss (cue guitar solo as I run out of breath). So? Am I in? Can I join the Blues Jam? What? There’s no tryout and I just have to show up? Thanks, but I could have used that info before I made an ass out of myself… You may want to consider not doing a whole audition and just showing up yourself, because as I’ve made clear, this is pretty much your only option to hear music on Sundays that isn’t from your iPod.
https://www.facebook.com/calapooiabrewing
Monday, 30
Bryson Skaar, Imagine Coffee, 5460 SW Philomath Blvd. 7:30 p.m. Free
Until Monday Night Football starts, I’m not sure I recognize a good reason to not be at Bryson Skaar’s jazz piano explosion at the ‘Gine. In fact, out of all the explosions in the ‘Gine, this may be my favorite. Next time I’m there I plan to request “Caravan,” and then if he doesn’t know it or have the sheet music handy, I plan to hum as many bars of it as is necessary to jog his memory. And then if he still can’t play it, I’ll just have to get tough with him, by which I mean begging him to play it while I’m dragged out of the place crying.
http://www.reverbnation.com/brysonskaar
Traditional West African Dance Classes, Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St. 7:15 p.m.
Where’s Gloria Estefan when you need her? Because this town is dreadfully short on rhythm. Good news for all you who can’t keep a beat, Fefafe and the West African dance community are here to teach you how to move. And you better learn quick, because the alternative is learning to move… to Albany.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fefafe/511049845683731
Tuesday, 31
Community Movie Night with Ygal Kaufman, Darkside Cinema, 215 SW 4th St. 2 and 7 p.m. Free
CMNYK Curator Ygal Kaufman has something new in store for the March 31, 40th installment of Community Movie Night. It’s 1963’s The Terror, directed by the great Roger Corman, starring Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson! This is one of Corman’s works during a period when he was obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe. This one isn’t actually a Poe adaptation, but it has that feel. It also features a young Nicholson in basically his first major starring role, and he even directed some scenes. As always, this is a free screening, and donations benefit the Darkside Cinema renovations, so don’t be a rube and miss it.
https://www.facebook.com/freemovienightcorvallis
Celtic Jam, Imagine Coffee, 5460 SW Philomath Blvd. 7 p.m. Free
What’s better than a Welsh Jam, Scotch Jam, and Raspberry Jam all mixed together? It’s the weekly Celtic Jam at the ‘Gine. Now don’t get all excited about jamming up the ‘Gine, because this event is pretty low key. But if you have a fiddle, a bouzouki, or just some Irish dancing shoes, you may want to be front and center for this hot weekly get-down. I had a bouzouki myself once, but I got to close to Michael Flatley while blazing a solo and now it’s just matchsticks. Such is life…
Wednesday, 1
The Jenna Summer Smith Band, Bombs Away Café, 2527 NW Monroe Ave. 7:30 p.m. Free
Rockabilly and soul mixed together for a bit of vintage-sounding excellence? Count me in! Smith’s band includes local stalwarts like Linden Wood, and her sound is something akin to honey dripping into a bottle of whiskey. Yes, please. I won’t be able to make this show, unfortunately, because Wednesday night is the night I dedicate to treating my athlete’s foot problem. It’s really not a problem so much as a disaster, so I’m afraid no exceptions can be made. Who’d have thought amputating a football player’s foot in my living room would make such a mess?
Oregon Jamboree Mystery Concert, La Sells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St. 7:30 p.m. $15
A mystery show, with a mystery band that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital? What a fantastic idea. I have no snark up my sleeve for this, it’s a genuinely clever idea for a great cause. I have to admit, I was more into the idea when I thought the concert involved a murder mystery element, rather than just a band whose name is being kept under wraps, but still… sounds fun.
Thursday, 2
Free Range Open Mic Night, Bombs Away Café, 2527 NW Monroe Ave. 8 p.m. Free
Look, let’s come to terms with some “hard truths,” as I like to call them (I should really copyright that…): you all suck. At music, I mean, not at life. Well, maybe both. But the point is, the only way to raise your music game up is to get straight up fearless. That’s why I highly endorse open mics. Not only does it make performers better, but I rarely get a chance to throw eggs and rotting vegetables at humans. Usually I have to settle for throwing it at the goats in my backyard. I don’t know how they got there, or how much rotten fruit is “too much,” but… oh yeah, Open Mic Night. You should go to this…
Rusty Hinges, Calapooia Brewing, 140 NE Hill St., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Free
Great band full of nice people plays for free at brewery, local alt-weekly writer is still a dismissive jerk about it. Film at 11. That’s how I’d pitch this story if it were on local TV news. But in lieu of a proper intro, just bear in mind that this is a great band full of nice people that will be playing for free at a brewery. You can just imagine me being a dismissive jerk about it, right? Seriously though, these guys are pretty excellent and fun.
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