RECOMMENDED It’s impossible for this writer to maintain any kind of neutrality when dealing with an artist who a) plays with a Pixies tribute band b) has toured with Lucero c) was nominated for a Grammy at age five, and d) has a Shel Silverstein tribute album on the way. Basically, there’s no way that Bobby Bare Jr. doesn’t completely rule, in my humbly smitten opinion. This blue-blooded Nashville son—his father, Bobby Bare, was a top-40 staple for years—brings the rock, without all the pretension. Take into evidence 2006’s “The Longest Meow.” Eleven tracks, eleven hours, eleven musicians—sounds gimmicky, right? Well, in less than a full rotation of the clock, Bare laid down a take on classic country that could only have been produced after Nirvana, after the Brit-pop invasion, after the Pixies and, of course, after only eleven hours. So what does it all mean? Simply put, it means that you have to go see Bobby Bare Jr. do his thing before you die. Hey look, he’s playing at Schubas. (K. Tighe) Saturday, January 5 at Schubas
Related Stories
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Can’t-Miss Music Events (Fall Arts Preview 2023) This fall we get new albums and tours from iconic acts like Wilco and Kurt Elling, plus a Corrine Bailey Rae project inspired by Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank.
