Bonus after the break: Triumph with Ladysmith Black Mambazo

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All hail the King

springfield.com

Every Monday, the Showdown tells you who to see and where to see ‘em.

Monday: In Billy Shakes’ Titus Andronicus, the title character’s daughter gets raped and has her hands and tongue cut off so she can’t finger the perps — namely the sons of Goth Queen Bitch and Titus’ enemy, Tamora. After an interracial bastard son (scandal!) and lots more death, dismemberment and deception, Titus gets his revenge by killing Tamora’s sons and feeding them to her in a pie. No better name for a band who “communicates utter contempt with life/people while simultaneously loving and celebrating it/them through anthems.” With When Cars Ascend and Br’er, at the Barbary, doors at 6 p.m., tickets are $10.

Tuesday: Whoever said you can’t judge a book by its cover is stupid. Hoobastank? Terrible band name, terrible band. Steve E. Nix and the Cute Lepers? Awesome band name, tight little power pop/two-chord punk (Johnny Thunders + Cheap Trick = Cute Lepers) off Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records. With Avenue Rose and Power Chords, at the M Room, doors at 8 p.m., tickets are $10.

Wednesday: Time to class it up with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Tonight, they’re doing Bernstein up right with music from West Side Story, On the Waterfront and On the Town. At the Kimmel Center, show at 8 p.m., tickets are $39-85.

Thursday: Say it loud! There’s a reason he’s the Godfather. Still Black, Still Proud gives an African spin to the music of James Brown. Come for the King of Funk, stay for the likes of Pee Wee Ellis and Vieux Farka Toure. At the Kimmel Center, show at 7:30 p.m., tickets are $25.

Friday: Math rock is a terrible way to tag a band. What the hell does that even mean? Ok, we know what it means, but who wants to describe their favorite band as math rock? Instead, we hear at the Showdown would like to call Don Cabellero not math rock, simply rhythmically adept rock. Catchy, no? With An Albatross and Ponytail, at Johnny Brenda’s, doors at 10 p.m., tickets are $10.

Saturday: The Showdown isn’t advocating actor-to-musician crossovers. They are usually of ear-bleeding quality. But, while he may not have pipes that could’ve gotten him a record contract sans-movie stardom, Terrence Howard has got a nice, quiet husk to his voice. Backed by swelling strings or flamenco-y guitar and (thank the lord above) less auto-tune than most pop stars, this kid may have a future. At the TLA, doors at 8 p.m., tickets are $35.

Sunday: Celebrate the life of late local amp guru John Martin and get a bonanza of bands. In tribute to the guy who gave you a million wonderful-sounding concert experiences. We tip our hat. With Martone All Star Jam, Overdrive Datemaster, The Beloved Infidels, Harrison Webb Blues Thing, Chet Delcampo, The Martians, The Sparklers, Chrash, Tony Violence, Mountain King, at Johnny Brenda’s, show at 7 p.m., $6 donation at the door.

Episode 5’s winning design

bravotv.com

Sometimes, two wrongs do make a right. Who would’ve guessed Jerell and Stella would crank out one killer outfit that really deserved to win? Gunn said it best by describing their fitted V-neck, silk top, kick-ass leather belt and leopard float skirt design as a “true collaboration.” It trumped the likes of winners Keith and Kenley’s layered-ruffle, high-waisted A-line and floral blouse straight from Yawnsville. But as for every other designer, this safari ride through Lipstick Jungle, Brooke Shlelds’ latest television endeavor, was pure nightmare.

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. Everything you touch turns to crap — including poor, full-of-potential Kelli. It was sad to see her go, especially when Daniel deserved the boot. He couldn’t even make a roushed skirt! Suede was stressed to capacity by Terri, who surprisingly didn’t deliver this week when it came to design. She did, however, deliver the best line of the evening as she described Suede as having “balls of va-jay-jay.” I don’t know what it means, but Terri’s still my girl. Korto’s creamsicle poof coat gave Joe — and every viewer at home — reason to cringe, and though I didn’t mind Blayne’s sportswear-gone-work-wear emsemble, the judges begged to differ and left Leanne and him on the hot seat.

Next week’s gonna get ugly after Kenley LOLed at Daniel’s proclamation that he has “impeccable taste.” (I thought they were friends, no? Our first broken alliance!) But Meana Garzilla won’t let Kenley have all the fun, as she reminded Daniel directly (and the whole lot of them indirectly), “You can’t get taste if you don’t have it.” I have taste … a taste from drama!

View all the designs from Episode 5 here.

Bonus after the break: Wait, the Riddler has a magic wand?

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I have a habit of buying produce I don’t recognize. Sometimes it works out, and my Buddha hand lemon is both a pretty garnish and centerpiece. Sometimes my Monstera deliciosa takes over the kitchen and scares me out of eating it. I’m declaring pluots, my latest fruit find, a success.

A cross between a plum and an apricot, the pluot is a patented hybrid created by biologist Floyd Zaiger. Although it’s not particularly attractive (I think it looks like a dinosaur egg; nectarine reviewer Pat Rapa says skeeball) the plout is at least as tasty as its parent fruits. It’s much larger than a plum (think a big peach, but not a giant peach) and sweeter, with an unusually firm texture. As arts editor and fellow pluot taste tester Carolyn Huckabay noticed, the unexpectedly bright red flesh looks like a beating heart. For best results, take a big, creepy bite and hold up your wounded pluot triumphantly.

I found my pluots at the Beechwood Orchards stand at Headhouse Farmers Market, but I’ve also seen them at Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

thumpthump

snapped by monica

Bonus after the break: A really gory Ricky-Oh scene.

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Oh no he didn’t!

amctv.com

After two episodes of presumed marital fidelity, ad exec Don Draper (Jon Hamm) caves big time. Meanwhile, wife Betty (January Jones) is aggressively wooed by a Salingerean oaf (Gabriel Mann) at her riding club. Media buyer Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) makes an uncharacteristic power play. The Utz Potato Chip account is imperiled when its celebrity spokesperson (Patrick Fischler) mortally insults the Utz oligarchs (Jan Hoag and Steve Stapenhorst). After a thorough workout last week, Kinsey (Michael Gladis) and Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) are MIA this week. Joan (Christina Hendricks) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) barely surface. Odd, disjointed episode, all in all. But like its main character, Mad Men is all about taking the long con over the short one, so let’s give Matthew Weiner the benefit of the doubt and chalk this one up to long-term plot development.

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It’s time for yet another Local Support transmission courtesy of fearless leader and MP3 fiend Jon Solomon. We’ve got some hip-hop, some punk rock, some ambient noise, some true oddities that defy description of any kind, etc. Boot up your Podcast Player 3000, kick back and please enjoy.

Audible

myspace.com/audibleband

Audible’s “Dust From a Broom” kicks us off with a fresh leak/world debut from their forthcoming full-length, brimming with chopped up samples, circular riffs spoken through four and six strings, and some pretty boy-girl harominzinin’. Carl Franke’s “Berks County Bike Ride” is a slab of funky synth jazz that sure sounds like the most fucked-up, awesome bike ride of all time. Expo & Screwtape get “Ohh So High” with their fresh “(Radio Edit),” safe-proofed for your virginal minds (err, sort of). Gianmarco Cilli makes use of those pretty slide guitars that sound right out off of I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, but with some almost Beach Boys-ian ahh-ahh backups to put some sand between the folk’s toes. Meanwhile, B Mulvey takes us mountain climbing with the acrid leads and head-banging retro-metal riffs of “Super Himalaya.”

With a track running around the minute mark, Von Hayes recalls a more raucous version of Guided By Voices’ lo-fi glory days, which makes sense — even Bob Pollard would be impressed that this is their second full-length in two months. Bells Bells Bells provide a haunting Halloween anthem for your August, while Writtenhouse & Eshon Burgundy’s “Way To Go” brings back the early ’90s hip-hop vibe, allowing you to choose between a head-bobbing lounge session or some smoothed out grinding. Pilot Cloud’s “Map” gets its Seam on with an atmospheric guitar/bass/drums jam that builds into cascading rockouts with whispered vox, and the Situation serves up a vintage Dandy Warhols pop jam with some funk guitar that doesn’t play around. Is that Axl Rose wailing in the background every now and then?

Dwizz

myspace.com/gotpartybeat

BC Camplight has a kind of Belle & Sebastian/Los Campesinos! vibe about their wistful orch pop, and while the DVD Ensemble certainly hates the living shit out of Blu-Ray, they sure do love hypnotizing ambient noise jams, if “Intellectual Sight” tells no lies. Recently reunited CBGB’s favorites Neighbors & Allies make a rallying cry for punks with “Punks” — that being of the punk rock, not the Wawa-loitering potheads — and Dwizz does some kind of weird, mindfucking, chopped/screwed MIA thing, and you’re just going to have to listen to it — I won’t even try.

Beat Frequency continue the trend, but now with guitars and random-stream-of-consciousness lyrics about dead dollar bill man on “President’s Day.” Finally, Stuntmen see us off with some of that punk rock edge that Neighbors & Allies were begging for a few tracks prior. It’s been fun, kids — see you in two.

Audible - “Dust From A Broom” - In Simple Intervals
Carl Franke - “Berks County Bike Ride” - First Berries After Hibernation
Expo & Screwtape - “Ohh So High (Radio Edit)” - mp3
Gianmarco Cilli - “Let’s Promise To Be More True (To Us)” - Homely Joys
B Mulvey - “Super Himalaya” - Cascades

Von Hayes - “Boo Hoo” - Evident Eyelid
Bells Bells Bells - Carolina In A Cornfield” - Throw Down Your Anchor
Writtenhouse & Eshon Burgundy - “Way To Go” - mp3
Pilot Cloud - “Map” - Cdr
The Situation - “Cherry” - mp3
BC Camplight - “Soy Tonto” - Rock The Net: Musicians For Network Neutrality (c)
The DVD Ensemble - “Intellectual Sight” - Road Closed
Neighbors & Allies - “Punks” - Separate Ways
Dwizz - “Salt, Pepper, Ketchup & Hot Sauce” - Party Music
Beat Frequency - “President’s Day” - This Is Harrisburg, Not Topeka (c)

Stuntmen - “Snake Oil” - Small Time

Duration: 01:18:45