What is it about aging rock stars? Sometimes it seems like they are a bunch of old folks at a retirement home feuding back and forth, just looking for something to be upset about.
This week, Moby (the musician, not the late former Houston disc jockey) is talking smack about the Kinks, in particular their 1970 song “Lola.” It seems that Moby believes “Lola” is “gross and transphobic,” adding, “I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are.”
Dave Davies, guitarist in the Kinks, smacked back, claiming that Moby is way off base, pointing out that the band members were, during their touring days, friendly with a group of drag performers known as The Cockettes. Also of note is the song’s lyric, “I’m glad I’m a man and so is Lola.” It sounds like the characters in the song were happy with the arrangement.
No doubt that the spat will continue. At this point, Jayne County, a veteran punk singer who is trans, has entered the fray, declaring on social media, “’Lola’ will always be a very special song to me! With this song, The Kinks projected themselves into the modern world. The REAL world! A world full of all kinds of people! Bisexual, gay, trans, not just a world full of straight heterosexuals!”
The ever-acerbic and sometimes grumpy Ray Davies, the Kinks lead singer who wrote the song with his brother Dave, has yet to weigh in. That should be interesting
Ticket Alert
Some acts just aren’t for everyone. Such is the case with Insane Clown Posse, a duo whose music is described as “horrorcore rap.” With faces painted in menacing black and white designs, these are definitely some creepy clowns. Pennywise? A wimp compared to these dudes. The Juggalos (ICP fans) will unite at the House of Blues on Thursday, April 23, and tickets are on sale now.
Guitar players (hell, musicians in general) can be a bit peculiar, but with Buckethead, the weirdness is off the chart. Bucket (Mr. Head?) is the heavy metal guitar shredder who will only perform wearing a white mask with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on top of his noggin. He was in Guns N’ Roses for a while, but I guess he was too strange, even for Axl Rose. And did we mention that Buckethead once claimed to have been raised – by chickens – in a chicken coop? But, as David Bowie once said of Ziggy Stardust, “Boy could he play guitar.” You can catch Buckethead’s act on Sunday, June 14, at the House of Blues.
Todd Rundgren will perform at the House of Blues on Wednesday, June 17, as part of his “Damned If I Do” tour. Rundgren explained the name by saying, “It’s always a challenge for me because my audience is so diverse, I never know what they’re in the mood for. I want to make sure we have all the musical ammunition we need to satisfy the spectrum.” The artist presale (including a VIP option) starts today, with the general ticket sale set for Friday.
Willie Nelson will be all over Texas during the Fourth of July weekend, bringing his Outlaw Music Festival to Dallas on Friday, Austin on Saturday (the festival doubles as Willie’s Fourth of July Picnic in this case) and winding up at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday, July 5. In addition to Willie, the bill includes Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Stephen Wilson Jr., Margo Price and Lily Meola. The ticket sale starts on Friday.
Bryan Adams has experienced something of a career renaissance over the past year, riding on the success of his most recent album, Roll with the Punches, a reunion with uber-producer Mutt Lange. Adams will perform at Toyota Center on Wednesday, July 29, which means a break for his fans who might otherwise have to endure the summer heat at the Pavilion. As a bonus (and as a way to pump up ticket sales), Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo will open. There are a passel of presales for this concert, some of which are already underway, with others rolling out today and Thursday. If any tickets are left after the many presales, I suppose those will be up for grabs on Friday.
Get ready for a serious dose of ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia on Sunday, October 4, when the ladies of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Presales are in progress, and the general sale will begin on Friday. Get ready to push it real good!
Though John Lydon (formerly known as Johnny Rotten) declined to take part in this fall’s Sex Pistols reunion tour, it seems that the notion may have inspired him in a roundabout way. That’s right, Lydon will be going on the road again, but in this case, he will be reuniting with Public Image Ltd, his post-Pistols band. PiL will be in Houston on Thursday, February 25, at the White Oak Music Hall, and tickets are on sale now.
Concerts This Week
In some cases, a band whose music contains too many facets can create confusion among listeners and therefore give rise to a marketing nightmare. However, that’s not a problem for the Wood Brothers. Though the band has achieved its greatest success on the country charts, the Brothers have successfully combined blues, folk, gospel and jazz, appealing to fans of all different stripes. Check them out on Friday at the Heights Theater.
A Flock of Seagulls? The band with the singer with the weird hair? Are they still around? Well, yes, as a matter of fact, still under the leadership of vocalist and keyboard player Mike Score (the guy whose hairstyle had a certain avian quality about it). If you are jonesing for the early days of MTV, head over to the House of Blues on Saturday.
Also at the House of Blues this week – on Tuesday – is Hawthorne Heights, a collection of emo dudes celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s breakout album If Only You Were Lonely. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Hawthorne Heights was embroiled in a controversy around the time of If Only’s release. Though the band said that they were not involved in the scheme, a message was sent out to fans on a mailing list and posted on MySpace (wow, this was a while back) encouraging fans to engage in shenanigans at record stores in order to boost their sales. And for some reason, the missive included a shot at Ne-Yo, asking fans to hide copies of his new album in other artists’ bins, so as to make them harder to find. The rallying cry was “”The number one slot belongs to us.”