Music Tonight: For music-loving 9-5ers who have the day off tomorrow for Veteran's Day, there are plenty of live music options tonight. After you've solemnly paid tribute to our brave men and women in the U.S. military, of course. Those who think ukuleles are just little souvenir guitars from beach vacations might be surprised to learn there are ukulele legends and virtuosos. See one for yourself tonight at Oakley's 20th Century Theatre at 8 p.m. What Bela Fleck has done for the banjo, Jake Shimabukuro has done for the ukulele, pushing the limits of expectations to come up with his own unique, dazzling style. The Hawaii native utilizes effects and stylistic exploration to concoct a sound that's miles beyond what traditional Hawaiian musicians could ever have imagined. Shimabukuro has performed with Bette Midler and Jimmy Buffett and he's also a spokesperson for the org Music is Good Medicine, which promotes music, arts and health through community outreach. Tickets for tonight's 20th Century show are $25. The musician owes some of his surprising fame to the "viral video" phenomenon — most people in the world discovered him on YouTube when a dazzling version of Jake performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" wowed the web. Check out Shimabukuro's magic fingers below, performing a version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." —-
• MOTR Pub welcomes Crooked Fingers to Over-the-Rhine tonight for a free show with Strands of Oak, the Indie Folk guise of Philly singer/songwriter Timothy Showalter. Crooked Fingers frontman Eric Bachmann nearly quit the music biz, but you wouldn't know it by his activities of late. He recently completed a reunion tour with his seminal ’90s Indie Rock band Archers of Loaf, and he returned to Crooked Fingers to record, release and now tour behind the new album, Breaks in the Armor. Read more about CF here and click below for the trailer for Breaks, which came out just last month on Merge Records.
• Singer/songwriter Julian Velard brings his theatrical Piano Pop to the inmate confines of the Southgate House Parlour tonight for a 9 p.m. show with Sharon Little. The New York native benefited greatly from internet exposure — his 2009 debut The Planeteer came after Velard was "discovered" on MySpace and became the center of a label bidding war. Velard is supporting his latest release, Mr. Saturday Night, which has garnered comparisons to the likes of Billy Joel and Randy Newman. Admission is $10. Below, enjoy the video for Velard's "Love Again for the First Time."
• Bluesy, rootsy rockers The Spikedrivers perform tonight at Corryville's Mad Frog. The Columbus six-piece formed in 2003 and describes itself as "what might have been if Louis Prima had led The Band." The group tours a lot and their adrenalized live show has become their calling card — the group has two studio albums out, but they've released three live ones. Check out the group's song "Like Water" below.
Momentous Happenings in Music History for November 10
On this day in 1978, AC/DC's live performance at University of Essex was simulcast on the BBC as part of the "Rock Goes to College" series. The program ran from 1978-1981 and featured oft-bootlegged concerts by an eclectic batch of musicmakers, including Boomtown Rats, The Stranglers, John Martyn (a favorite, apparently, with several appearances), Cheap Trick, The Cars, The Police, Average White Band, Bill Bruford, The Specials, Spyro Gyra, Joe Ely, Tom Petty, UB40, The Roches, U2 and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Here's AC/DC full appearance:
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a Nov. 10 birthday include: Blues/Soul artist Bobby Rush (1935); lyricist (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Lion King) Tim Rice (1944); rapper Warren Griffin, better known as simply Warren G (1970); "Ruff Ryders' First Lady" Eve Jihan Jeffers, better known as rapper/actress Eve (1978); and singer/guitarist for AltRock band Jimmy Eat World, Jim Adkins (1975).
Adkins and Jimmy Eat World apparently have a fan in superstar Taylor Swift, who was named Entertainer of the Year at last night's Country Music Awards. During a recent concert in Arizona, Swift and Adkins performed a cover of JEW's huge hit, "The Middle," which she has been covering in concert off and on for the past several years. Here's the unlikely "duet" from AZ (apologies for the poor quality — this is one of the better recordings):
