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Keith Price isn’t your ordinary jazz musician. The Winnipeg-based guitarist is equally adept at playing traditional beatnik-era jazz as he is at putting his own jazzy take on grunge songs such as Nirvana’s “Lithium.”
The Keith Price Trio, which includes drummer Curtis Nowosad and Julian Bradford on bass, play their first headlining show at the Slice on Feb. 15.
“I grew up in that era, but didn’t really discover (the music) until after Kurt Cobain died,” said Price, who holds a music degree from the University of Manitoba. “So I asked what if I just played the melody and made it more jazzy. The song lent itself well to it. There is a lot going on in the song. I was surprised at the genius in it.”
His new CD “Gaia/Goya” features the jazzy cover of “Lithium” and a couple of instrumentals inspired by Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road,” and beatnik writers such as poet Gary Snyder.
“I always try to read ‘On The Road’ when I travel, just reading about him meeting all of these people. And Gary Snyder is Japhy Ryder in ‘Dharma Bums.’ I think he’s a professor in California. I should send him a copy of the CD and see what he thinks of it,” he said.
He’ll give a variety of songs from Neil Young to Mos Def’s “Umi Says” the same jazzy treatment.
“A lot of the hip-hop guys were influenced by jazz,” he observed.
The show begins at 9 p.m. There is no cover.
Also this week
Brush with reality, reality TV that is, when DJ Pauly of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” fame plays Bully’s Entertainment Centre on Feb. 15.
Other great shows this week include a return from the Pernell Reichert band, who play the Slice on Feb. 16, and playing at Enmax Centre the same night is Nova Scotia rapper Classified and B.C. rock band Hedley.
Several New West Theatre veterans will be playing “Old Folk Favourites 3” at the Yates/Sterndale Bennett Theatre on Feb. 17 and 18. The folk-themed event is fundraiser for both the Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre as well as the Lethbridge Seniors Citizens Organization.
On Feb. 18, Daniel Sky is back in Lethbridge to play the Owl Acoustic Lounge. He will be playing upbeat original folk/rock along the lines of George Harrision.
If you want to laugh, comedian Pickle is performing at Average Joe’s on Feb. 18.
Don’t forget open mics all over the city. There is an open mic at the Cave on the Lethbridge College Campus on Feb. 16, and Paul Kype and Texas Flood host the Slice’s open mic on Feb. 21.
Last, but not least, there is a cool metal/progressive rock show at the Slice on Feb. 19 with Chron Goblin and Lustre Creame.
Fur Eel will bring the funk and the noise and everything in between to the Slice on Feb. 17.
The Regina-based funk, rock, pop quartet is fresh off the release of its sophomore CD.
Justin Sheppard, Thomas St. Onge, Travis Reshaur and James Belle incorporate a variety of influences in their music.
“There’s nothing worse than being pigeonholed as a blues band or a funk band or a pop band,” Sheppard said.
“We all listen to diverse and different influences, which is why you can’t really say we’re a funk band because there’s some hip-hop, some rock and roll and some blues. It’s very diverse, which is really great.”
He describes the show as “crazy, high energy.”
“We don’t just stand there and play music, though the music is very important. We play our instruments very well. Our show is what people talk about. The show is the reason we have any type of buzz.”
The band’s debut album featured a lot of lyrics and chord progressions that were improvised in the studio, Sheppard said.
“Our first record was written and recorded two months after we became a band . . . On this one, we paid more attention to chord progressions and song structure.”
The group enjoys being on the road.
“We meet such nice people. We’ll have the occasional heckler which we’ll have to deal with, but most people are there to enjoy it,” he said.
There is no cover for the Lethbridge show, which will begin at 10 p.m.
The week that was
The Lethbridge Folk Club Wolf’s Den was packed to the rafters for a fun, globe-trotting set by the Sultans of String in Feb 11. The Toronto quartet had a lot of fun on stage playing a variety of up-tempo instrumentals which drew heavily from the musical wells of Celtic music, jazz, blues and a plethora of Afro-Cuban and Arabic rhythms.
“Everything sounds better with a rumba and flamenco rhythm,” chortled beaming frontman/violinist Chris McKhool as he and the band got the audience to clap along. Guitarist Kevin Laliberté got to show how diverse the band is as McKhool exhorted him to play an array of styles including classical, blues, jazz, ’80s rock, bossa nova and Cuban salsa while the other band members danced to the rhythm.
And while they are primarily an instrumental band, they showed they could sing and harmonize very well during a hot version of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.” They wound down their set on an energetic note by inviting opening act Phrashant John on stage to play Arabic flute with them.
If CKXU loves you, then a lot of people showed they love CKXU, too, on Feb 11 at the Slice for CKXU Loves You VI. The annual University of Lethbridge-based community radio station on the weekend was sold out by a mass of people enjoying a variety of jokes and local musicians having fun on stage reinterpreting love songs and anti-love songs.
I arrived just in time to catch an interesting set from Andrew Scott, backed by drummer and former band mate Kyle Harmon. Scott was a character on stage through a solid version REM’s “The One I Love.” Then things got a little weird and entertaining as Harmon shouted “Andrew, Andrew” from behind his drum kit.
They played Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” which segued into Kings of Leon’s “Sex Is On Fire,” then back in to the Springsteen song. Scott donned the ukulele for one last song before calling it a night.
The Ketamines showed a lot more improvement with their set of straight-ahead punk rock love songs, most of them obscurities from band such as Megan and Teenage Head. They played a tight, loud and energetic set, which had a good-sized crowd banging their heads in front of the Slice’s stage.
Metal band Arcanis decided to “bring the heavy to this night of love songs,” and were good for their word. The colourfully dressed band brought elements of ’80s metal and more modern sounds to their upbeat set.
I caught the last couple songs of rockabilly from the Hi Strung Downers, a four-month-old Calgary-based rockabilly band, who were playing Jimmy’s Pub and Brasserie on Feb 11. They included members of much of Calgary’s rockabilly community, including Buzz Elroy and the Hayseed Rockets. They had a packed room up and on their feet as they cut loose with some kinetic standup bass, rattling drums and a lot of twang.
All 12 of the people at the Slice, Feb. 6 were loving the Todd Wolfe band as they tore into an energetic set of blues rock music.
The trio filled in all the spaces as bassist Justine Gardner played in the pocket, her thumb anchored to her bass pickup guard as she let her fingers do some groovy walking while drummer Roger Voss kept the time.
Wolfe played some supremely tasteful lead guitar and belted out the blues as his voice gave the music a John Cougar Mellencamp meets the Los Lonely Boys vibe.
He played an array of original music and some long lost classics from the likes of Derek and the Dominoes and even a groove heavy version of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen.”
Together they provided a solid, laid back blues behemoth, though they let each other out of their cages to roar on the odd bass solo and drum solo. Throughout, Wolfe played every note perfectly in place. He didn’t say much on stage, but told a quick story about New Orleans before playing a song called “Why So Blue?”
While there weren’t a lot of people in the audience, they were enthusiastically enjoying the show with one of the more exuberant shouting out “All 12 of us are loving this” throughout the set.
He played a revamped version of Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac’s “ Need Your Love So Bad” and “Homework.” plus some old Derek and the Dominoes.
They ended their first set with solos, lots of solos, before taking a really short set break and picking up the tempo again in the second set.
There were more tasteful solos and great groove as he played several originals including “On The Run,” which was a definitely a highlight.
A handful of people enjoyed Calgary based roots/ rock trio Brocade, Feb. 9 at the Slice.
They had the stage set up like a comfortable living room with lamps and adorned the stage with black velvet paintings of bridges, landscapes, ships and various animals all over the backdrop and front of the stage.
Bassist Weeze Brown sported a Leeroy Stagger t-shirt, which fit in well as the band had a strong Leeroy Stagger / Elliott Brood style roots rock sound.
They started off slow with a soulful Sly and the Family Stone cover, which had one amorous couple up and dancing.
The trio showed a lot of energy on stage and played catchy riffs while exhibiting a keen sense of melody.
They played a long first set including a much of their debut CD “Like You were Here,” and some strange ones like their “number one hit” about Weeze’s cat. They played a few choice covers including a Prince’s “ You Don[t have to be Pretty, to be My Girl” and an unusual arrangement of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” before asking the audience for requests.
They played their first single “Riot,Riot.”. They ended their set with a cover of the Black Crowes’ “Remedy,” and took a short break.
They returned for a quick set including Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” before ending with their latest single and video “Every Single Day.”
Feb. 15
The Slice — Keith Price trio
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A. Beat open jam
Ric’s Grill — Ain’t Misbehaving with Bridgette Yarwood and Evan Schaaf
Feb. 16
Good Earth Coffee House — Renee Werenka and Friends
Slice— Pernell Reichert Band
Enmax Centre — Classified and Hedley
The Cave — open mic
Feb. 17
Jimmy’s Pub — Open mic with Cory Oryniak and Dave Tillsley
Ric’s Grill — Davidson Porter Trio
Average Joe’s — Dueling Pianos
Lethbridge Folk Club — bluegrass jam
Yates — Old Favourites
Casino Lethbridge — Hippodrome
Mocha Cabana — James Oldenburg
Owl Acoustic Lounge — Church
Slice — Fur Eel
Feb. 18
Mocha Cabana — James Oldenburg
Casino Lethbridge — Hippodrome
Bully’s — DJ Pauly D from “Jersey Shore”
Slice — Dreams of Reason
Owl Acoustic Lounge — Daniel Sky
Ric’s Grill — Cal Toth
Average Joe’s — Pickle
Feb. 19
Slice — Chron Goblin with Lustre Creame
Feb. 20
Owl Acoustic Lounge — open mic
Feb. 21
Slice — open mic with Paul Kype and Texas Flood
Bo Diddly’s — open mic with Double Jack
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