Houston Concert Watch 1/21: Rodney Crowell and More

The annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show opened yesterday in Anaheim, CA. It’s a five-day event that gives manufacturers of musical equipment and related products an opportunity to present their latest wares and gives music business types an opportunity to get ripped and hang out with those of their own kind. Lots of well-known musicians will be there, either to perform or to hawk products that they endorse. This year’s list includes Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Mike Dirnt (Green Day) and Houston’s own Laura Lee (Khruangbin).

While searching online for the exact dates of this year’s show, I came across the question “Can Regular People Attend NAMM?” No, they cannot. Nor should they. Unless you are obsessed (and I mean fanatically obsessed) with guitars, keyboards, drums and the like, this shindig is not for you. If you consider yourself “regular” or “normal,” stay away.

On the other hand, if you are the sort who can debate the virtues of different transistors (e.g. germanium vs. silicon) used in fuzz boxes, you will feel right at home. It’s not like any other convention. Lots of rock and roll fashion statements, some nonstandard hair styles, many sunglasses indoors, and a higher percentage of people wearing leather pants than you might see elsewhere.

And did we mention loud? With over 1,800 exhibitors and 4,000 brands represented, the volume level can rise in a hurry as the battle for attention gets intense. For the past several years, NAMM officials with decibel meters have been strolling around the premises to monitor sound levels emanating from the display booths. Everyone knows the rules, but every year a number of folks say “screw it” and crank things up to 11. But hey, what’s a rock and roll gathering without a bit of “stick it to the man” and “kick out the jams” thrown in for good measure?

Ticket Alert

I must confess that hearing anything by Air Supply causes me to twitch involuntarily, owing to a couple of years working in the K-Lite (“Light Rock with Less Talent”) radio format during the late ‘80s. Be that as it may, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of their musical partnership, which began when the two singers met while performing in a touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar in Australia. Tickets are on sale now for Air Supply’s concert on Friday, April 10, at the Smart Financial Centre, with meet and greet packages available.

Miami’s favorite rapper, Pitbull, will hit the road later this year for a tour christened “I’m Back!” Has he been away? In any case, Pitbull will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Friday, May 22, with Lil Jon opening. Presales begin next Wednesday, January 28, with the general sale on Friday, January 30.

A few weeks ago, we received word that guitar whizzes Joe Satriani and Steve Vai would be teaming up for a tour this spring. Now, another two-guitar extravaganza has been announced, in this case a tour pairing Paul Gilbert (formerly of Mr. Big) and Greg Koch (like Gilbert, a “guitarist’s guitarist”). You can catch them at Warehouse Live on Thursday, May 28. If you play guitar and need some inducement to practice, this concert should do the trick.

John Mellencamp has always been a prickly kind of guy. Case in point: twice in the past couple of years, Mellencamp has chastised audiences for not being quiet and paying attention during his concerts, going so far as to cut one of the shows short. In that instance, he was telling a story between songs when an audience member shouted out, “Play some music!” To which Mellencamp replied, “What do you think I’ve been doing, you cocksucker?” Maybe it has to do with those years when he was known professionally as “Johnny Cougar.” That experience could make a guy bitter. Tickets are on sale now for his performance at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Thursday, August 8, so be on your best behavior and consider yourself warned.

Concerts This Week

Colter Wall will play two (count ‘em!) nights – tonight and Thursday – this week at the Bayou Music Center. In a shrewd move, the Canadian singer-songwriter has managed to extend his marketing reach by making some of his songs available for film and television. To date, his tunes have appeared in the movies Hell or High Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, along with the shows Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Peripheral and Yellowstone.

The Mucky Duck will host a couple of shows featuring beloved Texas artists this week. On Thursday, it’s Rodney (“The Houston Kid”) Crowell with Sam Baker, followed on Friday by Alejandro Escovedo. Either? Both? Take your pick – you can’t go wrong.

When compared with other progressive country / outlaw artists, Ray Wylie Hubbard always had the distinction of being one of the most eccentric. And I mean that in the best possible way. While some of his contemporaries wrote only about beer, dance halls and getting stoned, Hubbard crafted songs with a sly, often satirical or comic, slant. The best known of these is, of course, “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” but a deeper exploration of his catalog will be rewarded with gems like “Snake Farm” and “Screw You, We’re from Texas.” Hubbard will perform on Friday at the Heights Theater.

On Saturday, the Josh Abbott Band will bring its country stylings to the House of Blues. Abbott formed the group while he was a grad student at Texas Tech, recruiting several members of his Phi Delta Theta fraternity to play gigs with him. And you thought frats were only good for keg stands and beer bongs!

During the jazz fusion scare of the 1970s, guitarist Al Di Meola established his reputation as a player with incredible technique and speed on both acoustic and electric guitar. He successfully managed to combine jazz, rock and Latin music in a mix that was, while kind of a wank-fest, still tasteful and always inventive. Catch him on Saturday at the Heights Theater.