This Week's Best Concerts

Boy, the authorities in Ohio are no fun at all. At the very least, they are monumental sticklers, assessing new dispensaries fines amounting to over $200,000, even before legal cannabis sales began in the state last month. Some of the penalties had to do with signs that were larger than the law allows. But others were related to marketing slogans, i.e. “Can You Take Me Higher?”

If that line bothers the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control, how about these?

“Our buds are not duds. Our flower has power.”
“Parsley, sage, rosemary and weed.”
“Our buds are dank. And you can take that to the bank.”
“You’ve got a chronic condition. Well, you will after you smoke our stuff.”
“Relax, you’re toking on it.” (Though a reference to Madge in the
Palmolive television ad from the ‘70s might sail past the youngsters.)
“Even the Pope digs our dope!”
“Some stores sell weed killer. We sell killer weed.”

Hey, always happy to help out.

Ticket Alert

In the “country and western” department, the Sons of the Pioneers come down firmly on the “western” side. The Sons have been consistently doing their thing since 1931, using exquisite harmonies to tell stirring tales of the old west (“Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Ghost Riders in the Sky”). Remember the opening of The Big Lebowski? Yeah, that was the Sons of the Pioneers. You can catch this legendary act on Saturday, September 28, at Main Street Crossing, where they will perform a matinee and an evening show.

The pride of Gause, TX, Ruthie Foster, will perform at the Heights Theater on Friday, October 25. News of an upcoming Foster gig is always welcome, but there is a bonus this time. Kam Franklin, lead singer with the Suffers (the pride of Houston, TX), will also be on the bill, listed as a “special guest.” Tickets are still available, so grab them while you can.

According the Heights Theater website, Dave Mason’s show set for Sunday has been cancelled. No reason was given, but Mason also had to pull out of a previously scheduled show at the Heights a few months back, so you have to wonder. Hope Dave’s OK.

Concerts This Week

If bluesy guitar with a bit of rock and roll thrown into the mix is your jam, don’t miss guitarists Walter Trout and Carolyn Wonderland on Thursday at the Heights Theater. Wonderland, of course, has been well-known to Houston audiences since her days at the Last Concert Café. Trout, one of the most highly regarded contemporary blues musicians, has been spanking the plank since the ‘60s, backing artists like John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton and Joe Tex. Trout also served as lead guitarist with Canned Heat and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (as did Ms. Wonderland). If you go to the show, I dare you not to play some air guitar. Or at the very least, make a few “stank” faces.

Well, at least Creed is honest, billing its current tour as “The Summer of ‘99.” And why wouldn’t the band want to return to those halcyon days, just before the Y2K panic, when they were selling millions of copies of their second album, Human Clay? After a few breakups and hiatuses, Creed is on the road, taking audiences back 25 years. And if a rousing chorus of “Higher” doesn’t do enough to make your sense of nostalgia kick in, how about an opening set from fellow hitmakers Three Doors Down (“Kryptonite”)? Check it out on Saturday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

From “Shout” in the ‘50s to “Twist and Shout” in the ‘60s to “Who’s That Lady?” in the ‘70s, the Isley Brothers have racked up a stack of hit records. And let’s not forget “Fight the Power,” one of the greatest protest songs ever (“When I rolled with the punches / I got knocked on the ground / With all this bullshit going down”). You can catch the Isleys on Sunday at the Smart Financial Centre.

Some double bills make you raise your eyebrows and wonder “Why?” Not so with Sunday evening’s concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion featuring Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. The pairing of two hard rockers – christened the “Freaks on Parade” tour – who revel in grossing out an audience makes sense on paper and on stage. Throw in opening acts Ministry and Filter, and you’ve got a show! Pro Tip: If you have a pet snake, leave it at home, lest it fall into Alice’s sinister hands.