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From Wainwright to World Beat on the Westside This Week

By Tomm Carroll

Friday, November 2-Thursday, November 8—It’s a red letter day for Red House Records this Friday as the St. Paul, Minnesota-based indie label has two of its most prominent folk artists – both with new albums out – performing on the Westside. The problem for fans is that the artists are playing different gigs.

	Folk music mainstay Loudon Wainwright III gives a free show at the auditorium of the Getty Center in the Sepulveda Pass, while young folkie Lucy Kaplansky headlines a double bill at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, with support by another talented singer-songwriter, Alice Peacock. Wainwright ‘s latest release, Last Man on Earth, is a collection of some of the most introspective material he’s recorded in years. The melancholic and downbeat tunes, most of which were previewed at a show at McCabe’s last spring, were written after the death of the songwriter’s mother a few years ago. But that songwriter being ol’ Loudo, those songs still possess a sly humor and more than a sampling of his witty wordplay. And of course, expect a fair amount of visits back to Wainwright’s extensive catalogue at this waiting-list-only gig. After singing in a duo with Shawn Colvin in the oast , Kaplansky decided to change directions and earned a doctorate in Psychology, after which she opened a private practice.
Loudon Wainwright III

Lucy Kaplansky

Lucky for her -- and her fans – she made another foray into music, and her career as a singer-songwriter took off with a vengeance. After three albums for Red House, plus a stint in the folk "super-group" Cry, Cry, Cry, Kaplansky was in high demand. She’s sung with Nanci Griffith, Richard Shindell, Dar Williams and John Gorka, to name but a few. Her latest album is the acclaimed Every Single Day, and you can bet its songs will be prominently featured at this show.

Other shows of note this week:

Friday

Cover tunes rule when Led Zep Again and Asbury Park salute their respective heroes at 14 Below in Santa Monica.

R&B legend Ron Thompson and the Resistors promise to have some famous friends in tow at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier.

James Harman and Kid Ramos rock the blues at Santa Monica’s Harvelle’s.

British performer, wit and raconteur Ian Whitcomb holds court at Boulevard Music in Culver City.

Saturday

Acoustic guitar whiz Willy Porter performs a pair of shows – 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. – at McCabe’s.

Multi-percussionist Adam Rudolph brings his 25-piece Go: Organic Orchestra to the Electric Lodge in Venice (also Friday).

Sunday

A singer/songwriter showcase with Just Plain Folks is on tap at Rusty’s.

Cubensis does its weekly Grateful Dead thing at 14 Below.

Monday

Shane Endsley, Outside the Box and Click. BOOM. comprise the triple bill at Santa Monica’s Temple Bar.

Tuesday

Janiva Magness delivers her no-nonsense blues at Harvelle’s.

Wednesday

Pianist Danny Zeitlin is joined by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson for a five-night-stand at Culver City’s Jazz Bakery (through the following Monday).

Thursday

Crossover classical and jazz is the name of the game when The Jacques Loussier Trio takes to the stage at Schoenberg Hall on the UCLA campus in Westwood.

PICK OF THE WEEK

STIMMENS WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL

ROYCE HALL, UCLA, WESTWOOD
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4

The Stimmens International Music Festival comes to California with a mini-World Beat Woodstock featuring voices and instruments from around the globe.

Featured at Royce Hall tonight are such diverse artists as West Africa’s Abdoulaye

Diabate (pictured), Madagascar’s Senge vocal trio, Hungary’s "Mitsou" Juhacz Miczura, and American performance artist/vocalist Rinde Eckert from the avant- garde Paul Dresher Ensemble, along with others.

A Mali-born vocalist and drummer, Diabate began singing and drumming at tribal celebrations at an early age. He has since gone on to become an international Afro-pop star.