WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9 2013 >>>
1. Long revered as a visionary in American music, Danny Barnes is joining with mandolinist Matt Sircely at 8 p.m. inside Olympia's Pig Bar. Placing poetic songwriting alongside instrumental mastery, Barnes and Sircely together form a powerhouse duo that conjures great traditions in American music right before launching into some of the most innovative acoustic music that's never been heard. Friends for 10 years, most of their collaboration has taken place in Barnes' kitchen, including recording for Danny's Minner Bucket Records, and now they invite audiences around the Northwest to witness what they've been cooking up.
2. Burnished metal art is like glass art in this respect: It's natural beauty can be so enticing that the artist doesn't really have to do much of anything. It's so easy to get by with just a nice surface. Luckily for visitors to Fulcrum Gallery, artist Devin Reynolds brings a nice aesthetic sense to his brushed metal work in his show, "Caustic Compositions" from noon to 6 p.m. Read Alec Clayton's full review of "Caustic Compositions" in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.
3. Many associate the banjo with The Beverly Hillbillies - or rather, bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs strumming its theme song. Vince Brown certainly knows his way around a bluegrass banjo, but he also explores jazz with his banjo, which isn't a big leap from progressive bluegrass. Blending bluegrass, folk, jazz, and other genres, Brown is considered one of the South Sound's foremost banjo virtuosos. The upbeat Brown - who adds his talent to Hot Club Sandwich, Tune Stranglers, Greta Jane Quartet, and plays and teaches guitar, banjo and ukulele in Olympia - strums everything every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. inside the Swing Wine Bar & Café.
4. Love 'em or hate 'em, Sublime is a legendary band. Die-hard fans of the Long Beach-based ska punk rockers with the signature skater brand may argue that the group is not the same without front man Brad Nowell after he died of a heroin overdose in 1996. At 7 p.m., Sublime tribute band Sublime LBC will rock "Smoke Two Joints," "Crazy Fool" and other favorites at Jazzbones. Bonus One: They are playing with Long Beach Rehab, featuring members of Sublime LBC and Bad Brains.
5. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi's sound is virtually unrelated to the roomy traditions of soul saxes, honking saxes or deep-chested boudoir ballad saxes. It derives from the classic, free, often enthusiastic tradition of Joshua Redman as filtered through Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, all of whose shadows can be traced-Redman in Kandi's funky organicism, Gordon in his dynamic harmonics, Stitt in the intensity that coats his every note with a Gritty City finish. Kandi has been hanging with organist Delvon Lamarr and drummer Adam Kessler, which has added groovy innovation to Kandi's sound. The Kareem Kandi Band heads back to The Swiss at 7 p.m. for another Wednesday open jam session.
LINK: Wednesday, Jan. 9 arts and entertainment calendar in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
