MON 10/13
Punky Folkster
Ani DiFranco is part mainstream, part up-yours
Ani DiFranco's music is showing up on Internet chill music mixes. Is that a good thing? Her inclusion in these compilations, which make for soothing Sunday-morning background music, is a sign of the acceptance the artist's once-underground approach to folk music has found. DiFranco's latest studio album, Evolve, has not met with the same critical acclaim as 1995's breakthrough, Not a Pretty Girl, or even 2002's live album, So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter. But the fact is, she still has plenty of venom on the tip of her tongue. In the album's rambling final rant, "Serpentine," DiFranco unleashes her politically charged fury in full force, informing us that "Uncle Sam is rigging cockfights in the Promised Land." Ani DiFranco performs at 8 p.m. Monday, October 13. Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas. For information, call 713-225-8551. $26.50 to $29.50. -- Greg Barr
SAT 10/11
Cored Out
With its chunky guitar riffs and political, pop-philosophy lyrics, Die Young
is probably best described as hardcore, no matter how you think of the word.
The band tells us that "Only the blind see in black and white," and "Our relentless
pursuit of truth absolute has kept us on our knees." But in true punk fashion,
the meaning of these words is secondary to the roar of the instruments. This
weekend, Die Young will play at the Fallcore Fest with a slew of other searing
screamers, including Will to Live and Pride Kills. 8 p.m. Saturday, October
11. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak Drive. For more information, call 713-862-3838
or visit www.fitzlive.com. $8. --
Keith Plocek
Paging Dr. Watson
More than a century ago, William
Gillette was given free rein to revamp the script of the play Sherlock Holmes.
The character's creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, told him, "You may marry him,
murder him or do anything you like to him." Now see where the Alley Theatre
has taken the old chap. Friday, October 10, through Sunday, November 2. For
information and showtimes, call 713-228-8421 or visit www.alleytheatre.org.
$35 to $50. -- Lisa Simon