Just about every musician who lives near other human beings has dealt with noise complaints. Usually, the objections come from neighbors, but sometimes the call is coming from inside the house. Sorry, roommates, significant others and parents!
Recent reports from Kyoto, Japan indicate that, when people living near Kazunori Yokoi finally complained to the police that the guitarist had been making their lives miserable for years, things got serious really quickly.
The Kyoto po-po quickly assessed the situation with the aid of a decibel meter, which indicated that the guitar shredding coming from Yokoi’s dwelling exceeded 80 dB, which is about as loud as heavy city traffic or a nearby garbage disposal. Loud, but not nuts. In most cases, the perp would be told to turn it down, and that would be the end of it.
But not this time. Kyoto’s finest sprang into action, confiscating over 40 guitars, some amps, and a CD player. Yokoi was then charged with assault. Assault? I mean, how badly does a guitar player have to suck to end up with a charge like that? Just to be safe, I’d better start practicing more.
Ticket Alert
Hip-hop, R and B and trap pioneer Rod Wave has added a second night to his upcoming engagement at Toyota Center. Wave will be onstage Monday, September 21, and Tuesday, September 22, with Friday opening both nights. There are still some decent seats available for the 21st and a bunch for the 22nd.
A fine evening of blues is on tap at the Heights Theater on Thursday, November 12. Headliners Tommy Castro and the Painkillers will be serving up the main course, with GA-20, a hardcore blues band out of Boston, opening. This isn’t just blooze, this is the real deal.
I realize that I mentioned Reverend Horton Heat in this column last week, but it is my duty as your responsible scribe to alert Houston music lovers to an incredible double bill coming up at the Heights Theater on Friday, November 27. Los Skarnales will open, with the Rev closing the show. Two of the most spirited bands in Texas, one night, together on the same stage. Oh, and by the way, it’s the evening after Thanksgiving. Kind of perfect, eh?
Aaaaaaand this just in: BEAT, a quartet formed in 2024 to pay tribute to the music of latter-day King Crimson, will perform on Saturday, November 28, at the 713 Music Hall. The aggregation’s first tour was a worldwide smash, so BEAT is going back on the road this fall, again operating with the blessing of King Crimson Grand Poobah Robert Fripp. The lineup remains largely the same: guitarists Adrian Belew and Steve Vai plus bassist Tony Levin, with drummer Terry Bozzio replacing Danny Carey on the drummer’s throne,due to the latter’s commitments with his band Tool. Presales are in progress now, with the general sale set for Friday.
Concerts This Week
Ah, that wacky John Mellencamp. Just a few months after calling an audience member a cocksucker at one of his shows (the offending party had instructed Mellencamp to “play some music” during a pre-song spoken introduction), The Artist Formerly Known as Johnny Cougar is in hot (well, lukewarm) water again.
This time, the brouhaha surrounds Mellencamp’s decision to stop his band in the middle of “Pink House” and its line about a “vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico” to eschew the proposal that the Gulf of Mexico should instead be referred to as the Gulf of America. “What a stupid fucking idea,” Mellencamp was quoted as saying. Big Bad John is at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Thursday, so we’ll get to see if he has anything special in mind for us in terms of audience interaction.
Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen calls the concept of “Yacht Rock” bullshit, but – hate to tell you, Don – that ship has, so to speak, sailed. A certain group of folks love yacht rock as much as their puka shells and captain hats, and that’s not going to change. Genre stalwarts Toto will perform on Friday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, headlining a bill that includes stylistic compatriot Christopher Cross and the Romantics. Yeah, I know that the Romantics might better be characterized as power pop rather than yacht rock, but let’s not forget “Talking in Your Sleep,” even if “What I Like About You” is a better song.
It’s a busy week at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, with the Black Crowes and their “Southern Hospitality” tour rolling in on Saturday. It was a bit of a surprise when brothers Chris and Rich Robinson decided to bury the hatchet in 2019, but what has shocked some fans is the fact that the brothers have mounted several successful tours since then and released two solid records, Happiness Bastards and A Pound of Feathers. And did we mention 1972, a 2022 EP featuring songs from that year by The Stones, David Bowie and Rod Stewart? Damn near a Christmas miracle, that’s what it is.
Guess Who lead singer / keyboard player Burton Cummings has some brass, as they say. Fed up with legal wranglings over ownership of the band’s name, Cummings cancelled his long-standing agreement with music licensing agency BMI, meaning that anyone who played his songs in a public venue would be – along with the venue’s owner – liable for damages.
This shut down a somewhat ersatz version of the Guess Who that had been performing on the oldies circuit and cleared the way for Cummings and original guitarist Randy Bachman to embark on their “Takin’ It Back” tour, which hits the Smart Financial Centre on Saturday, with former Eagles guitarist Don Felder opening. For more on the back story, check out Bob Ruggiero’s Houston Press interview with the newly rejuvenated Cummings.
And speaking of legal matters, are you familiar with the case of Afroman? The artist who gave us the stoner classic “Because I Got High” has ended up a civil rights leader following a 2022 police raid of his home which found no illegal activities. Incensed, Afroman put the bong down and wrote a bunch of new songs, culminating in the release of the album Lemon Pound Cake. Some of the videos released to promote the record were taken from security cam footage recorded during the raid, which led to some of the officers involved suing Afroman, who eventually prevailed in court. You can help Afroman celebrate his victory on Sunday at the House of Blues.
