This Week's Best Concerts

Many folks are concerned about the notion of sustainability these days, and that’s a fine thing. However, I recently read about a push for python meat as a sustainable alternative to beef. The online Exotic Meat Market suggests that python meat is good for what ails you – asthma, lumbago (haven’t hear that term since my grandmother used it), diabetes, ringworm and skin fungi. Well, okey dokey!

Many folks who have spent time in Texas and Louisiana have been given the opportunity to eat snake, but most have not taken advantage of it. My sole experience occurred at a Mother’s Day brunch at the Briar Club several years ago. Don’t know what giddy genius thought it was a good idea to serve rattlesnake on that particular occasion, but there you go.

A rattlesnake measuring somewhere between two and three feet was laid out at a carving station, with some sort of sauce drizzled down its back, probably to conceal where the serpent had been fileted. Two young boys were eying the setup, when the chef at the station snapped, “Try rattle snake! You be brave!” This scared the crap out of the kids, who quickly headed for the safety of roast beef. Not wanting to receive the same treatment as the youngsters (and feeling kind of sorry for the guy, since it appeared that he hadn’t had many takers), I asked for a small piece. It tasted like chicken.

Ticket Alert

Due to intrafamily squabbles, Dweezil (son of Frank) Zappa can’t use the “Zappa Plays Zappa” name to advertise his concerts, but it really doesn’t matter, since those who know, know. For his next tour, Zappa the Younger will perform selections from his father’s albums Apostrophe (‘) and Roxy and Elsewhere. The Houston show is set for Wednesday, January 15 at the House of Blues, and tickets are on sale now.

Boho goddess Rickie Lee Jones will play the Heights Theater on Friday, January 24, touring in support of her latest, Pieces of Treasure (Duchess of Coolsville), a jazz take on the Great American Songbook. Tickets are on sale now. Oh, and when you go to the show, don’t forget the beret and cigarettes.

A few tickets remain for Tyler the Creator’s “Chromakopia” show on Wednesday, March 19 at Toyota Center. If you don’t have ‘em yet, better get ‘em fast.

Concerts This Week

Andy Summers isn’t filling up stadiums like his former Police bandmate Sting (currently touring with Billy Joel), but he has broadened his horizons, creating a concert format that incorporates both his distinctive guitar chops and his photography skills. “A Cracked Lens + A Missing String” is the name attached to the tour, which stops at the House of Blues tonight.

Bonnie Raitt began her career as something of a blues purist, but her musical stylings quickly broadened once she fell in with Little Feat, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon and other ‘70s California artists. Raitt had limited commercial success, but her work (particularly her slide guitar prowess) was highly regarded within the music industry. That all changed with her 1989 album Nick of Time, which reached No. 1 on the charts and earned her an armload of Grammy awards. More recently, Raitt has enjoyed success with the album Just Like That…, which features her songwriting in addition to her vocals and guitar playing . Raitt performs tonight at the Hobby Center.

Guitarist Deke Dickerson and his band, the Whippersnappers, are at the Continental Club on Thursday, performing their unique brand of rockabilly. Dickerson’s name may be familiar to music geeks, as he is an author who writes for the magazines Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar. Not only that, he is also an authority on roots music of all varieties, with a biography of Merle Travis to his credit. Dickerson says, “This is the great music of the American twentieth-century experience. Rock and roll, rockabilly, western swing, rhythm and blues, surf music, garage, punk. It’s every bit as vital and important as jazz or classical; it just hasn’t gotten its due yet. There has to be somebody out there waving the flag for this music.” Attaboy, Deke!

No one has ever accused Jackyl of being subtle. Cases in point? Their first album included songs like “She Loves My Cock” and “The Lumberjack,” which features a chainsaw solo. The band will play at Warehouse Live Midtown on Friday. I wonder if they have a designated roadie who is responsible for the chainsaw. You know, tightening the chain, topping off the oil, etc.

Dallas alt-country / rock and roll band the Old 97’s will perform on Sunday at the Heights Theater, on the road in support of their latest release, American Primitive. As a bonus, fellow Texans, Austin’s Fastball, will open. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: Fastball is named after the band’s favorite porno movie, Fastball. ‘Cause More Knowledge is More Power: Fastball starred Andrea True, who had a disco hit with “More, More, More” in 1976.