October at Bogart’s: Shows to Know

Saturday, October 10 (9 pm)
Keller Williams, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, is known as a “one man jamband.” The former Deadhead began playing music in the early ’90s, combining elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, jazz, funk, electronica and dance. His live shows are an incredible thing to witness, as he has mastered the process of live looping, bouncing back and forth from guitars, percussion and synthesizers. He has released several solo albums, but as a respected musician in the jamband community, he has performed and worked with a number of bands and artists like the String Cheese Incident, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Michael Franti, Charlie Hunter, Bela Fleck, Fareed Haque, Steve Kimock, John Molo, John Scofield and Victor Wooten. He often works cover songs into his show, putting interesting spins on songs from Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, the Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Van Morrison and the Sugarhill Gang. Prior to releasing his latest effort this past August, he spent much of the summer releasing tracks from the album every week. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Wednesday, October 14 (8 pm)
Speaking of multi-instrumentalists, Andrew Bird rolls into town this month. A classically-trained musician since the age of four, Bird has also mastered the process of live looping, and the use of instruments like violin, guitar, mandolin and glockenspiel, as well as the art of whistling. His first taste of commercial success came with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, with whom he performed with in the mid-to-late ’90s. He has worked in various settings, from assembling different bands, to only solo, to working with other artists that include Neko Case, The Verve Pipe, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Bobby Bare, Jr., Ani DiFranco, Charlie Louvin, Loney, Dear and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. He released Noble Beast very early this year, which is considered his best material yet, receiving high praises from Paste, Pitchfork, Spin and Rolling Stone, to name a few.

Joining Bird on the tour is yet another multi-instrumentalist, Annie Clark, otherwise known as St. Vincent. She attended the Berklee College of Music, only to drop out after three years. That may have actually been a wise decision, because shortly after she joined the massive, twenty-piece psychedelic/symphonic pop band, the Polyphonic Spree. After a few years with the Spree, she would go on to work in Sufjan Stevens band, and finally would release her debut, solo album in 2007. Earlier this year she released the follow-up, entitled Actor, which also received high praises, debuting at #90 on the Billboard 200. This show is one of my favorite picks of the entire year.

Saturday, October 17 (9 pm)
The theme for October at Bogart’s certainly seems to be “have your mind blown/have your face melted.” I can’t believe that all these shows take place in just a week’s time. The last show of that week period will truly knock you flat on your butt. Grammy Award-winning outfit, The Mars Volta, are bringing their insane, intense, chaotic mix of prog, experimental, jazz fusion and Latin and Salsa music. Formed by Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the Mars Volta rose from the ashes of the popular ’90s punk band, At the Drive-In. There was a band called De Facto, which is often thought of as the Mars Volta in its earliest form, although they were heavily influenced by dub and reggae, and the music of King Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry. Named Rolling Stone’s “Best Prog-Rock Band of 2008″, the Mars Volta are considered to have one of the best live shows in all of the current and hottest non-mainstream, commercial bands. This should be a great week for Bogart’s.

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