Outside of a bassist who just underwent a sex change, few elements can turn around the dynamic of a rock band as fatefully as a showstopping lead singer, someone who possesses a voice that hits your gut like a bloodthirsty wolf attacking raw meat. Cincinnati blues-rock trio Heartless Bastards have the good fortune to feature such a frontwoman, the lovely Erika Wennerstrom, whose aggressive alto transforms the Bastards from merely a solid garage band to an emotive, lyrically dense, assertive and snarky rock ‘n’ roll machine. That’s not a dig on drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebaugh, who provide a helluva lot of noise on the band’s signature blues-rock standouts and adapt surprisingly well to the temporary foray into folk on the band’s newest record, “The Mountain.” But just like all the other acts on the band’s Delta blues label, Fat Possum, it’s the Bastards’ killer mouthpiece that affects the soul. (Andy Seifert) January 31 at Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, (773)404-9494, at 9pm. $15.
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.
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.
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.
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.
