Concentrate

When it comes to the classic rock pantheon, The Kinks are consistently the most under-appreciated bands in rock and roll mythology. You don't see Guitar Hero games centered around their three-chord exploits, bestselling tell-alls on the end caps at Borders, or tales of divorce splashed across the tabloid press (although Ray running down a mugger in New Orleans got a little press). Nevertheless, Ray Davies is truly a giant among  Rock Gods in my not-so humble opinion. From the earliest example of punk guitar riffs ("You Really Got Me") to scathing anthems dedicated to disaffected youth ("Well-Respected Man", "20th Century Man") to the greatest song ever about a transvestite (Come on, I don't need to spell it out for you, do I?), The Kinks are worthy of all of the adjectives thrown at bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zeppelin (among others). And they're just as influential.

In fact, Ray Davies has released 500 songs over the last five decades.

Plus, who other than Ray has had the stones to call The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" rubbish?

And then there's this dead-on quote about "Taxman": "It sounds like a cross between the Who and Batman. It's a bit limited, but the Beatles get over this by the sexy double-tracking. It's surprising how sexy double-tracking makes a voice sound."

Still, at 65, Ray still knows how to (a) rock and (b) entertain. Actually, you should probably flip the order of those. Read his 1994 autobiography, X-Ray, to get a sense of how good a storyteller Davies can be. And he carries that into his live act, throwing in anecdotes with new and used tunes that are "Oh, so good and oh, so fine." Past glories, future horizons, Ray has always got something to say, and it's always interesting. And tuneful.

His last solo album is "Working Man's Cafe," and "Hymn for a New Age" proves he's still got great songs in him yet. Then there was last year's "The Kinks Choral Collection," which took his more introspective material to a new level. And the projects keep rolling on: A "Kinks Musical" stage project (an idea I had about a decade ago), a possible reunion tour, and the first band album in 17 years (if brother Dave Davies is well enough, and can keep from coming to blows).

It's a combination acoustic concert (first set) and full-blown rock concert (second set) with openers The 88.

Tickets are $35 and $45.

With a name like Rubblebucket you know it has to be good.

Of course, we're talking music here, not jelly. Jam, however, is definitely on the menu.

If the sultry sax and horns, sauntering bass, and languorous beat on "Don't Exaggerate" sound vaguely familiar, well, maybe this Boston area poly-rhythmic dance/rock band took a bit o' Beantown's former fave Morphine's smoky iconoclasm to heart.

And that's just one influence in a musical menagerie of influences.

With an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to groove, Rubblebucket channels everything from Fela Kuti to The Talking Heads, and yet manages to sound wholly original. Somewhere between reggae jam and tight jam ensemble, this octet churns out catchy melodies, mesmerizing harmonies, and robust enough Afro-Cuban rhythms to keep audiences swaying on their feet for hours. Lead singer Kalmia Traver, who sings and plays saxophone with equal skill, is near-perfect in her soulfully understated, down-the-well vocals. The lyrics might not win any poetry awards but the funk groove will erase any need for something more.

Winners of Best Live Act of the Year at the Boston Music Awards, Rubblebucket is a trip-rock soul experience that redefines fusion for the new millennium.

Tickets are $8. Patchouli is optional.

“Love is light, not glory
A story, not a crown.”

Joe Henry is like Tom Waits, but not as stylistic.
Like Bob Dylan, but not as indulgently folksy.
Like Randy Newman without the winks and grins.
But more importantly, he never crosses into cliche like the others occassionally do.

Henry started as an Americana troubadour (like his pals in the Jayhawks) then jumped ship and switched directions just as alt-country exploded. Instead, Joe tossed aside his strum and twang and submerged himself in atmospheric chamber folk albums like "Trampoline"  and "Fuse." His sound is warm and rich, tinged with both a caustic sadness and wry humor.

Joe Henry is either a sinister romantic or dark-hearted idealist, spinning jazz, blues, country, rock and disembodied big band sounds into an exciting and passionate folk-noir. Though he took a few years off to concentrate on producing (earning a Grammy for Solomon's Burke's comeback CD), Henry has just grown stronger as a storyteller, as a lyricist, and an instrumentalist. His music defiantly hovers between mid and slow tempo swing and sway, with glistening cinematic waltzes and chamber atmospherics.

He's circled back to his roots and brought with it melodies and arrangements that can best be described as loungey Americana, music that both haunts and disorients with cool melodies, warm sincerity and soulful darkness.

Tickets are $20

More musical stew for you! If Rubblebucket wets your whistle for musical genre mash-ups then Cyro Baptista's Beat the Donkey will drown you in a tempest-tossed stew of tap dance, martial arts, samba, jazz, rock, hip hop, funk and, most importantly, percussion. Imagine if Maceo Parker or George Clinton went to Sao Paulo to learn capoeira, then made it part of their grooves and moves. Think: Tropicalia meets wah-wah funk with a bit of Bruce Lee thrown in for good measure.

Matching Brazilian vocal weirdness and wild, elaborate costumes with an untamed barrage of beats, metallic guitars, and exuberant stomping, Cyro and his crew live up to their "beat the donkey" moniker...which means to throw a no holds barred blow-out party. (literal translation: "Pau Na Mula" meaning "Let’s go, let’s do it!")

The ultimate point of Cyro's crazed world-jazz is to either get you on your feet and dance or watch with your jaw hanging open. Or both.

And Baptista is no musical slouch. He has ongoing collaborations with Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis, Yo Yo Ma, Herbie Hancock, John Zorn, and Trey Anastasio (Phish).

The Village Voice said of his ensemble: "This band has an entertainment jones, and the energy of their attack has a free for all physicality that keeps a smile on your face."

Don't let the family-friendly designation fool you. This is genre-busting, frontier-crashing, polyphonic chaos at its best.

Tickets are a very affordable $16 / $8 for kids.

 What is Beat The Donkey? Check out this video from an Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary.

Andy MacDonald's name really means something in skateboarding circles. He's kind of the Michael Jordan of the deck. Winner of more X Games medals (19) than, well, anybody, and eight time winner of the World Cup Skateboarding competition, it's safe to say the dude is the best-known vertical skateboarder to hit the half-pipe. (He was also he first person to ride a skateboard in the White House.)

MacDonald will be in town for a skateboarding demonstration sponsored by Redbelly Boardshop as part of a fundraiser for the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee.

Determined to build a topnotch skate park in Veteran's Park, AASAC is holding a weekend of events to help make its dream a reality. Starting at high noon on Saturday, a family-oriented indoor public skate jam with “street” and half-pipe skateboarding contests will be front and center, with $1,000 in prize money. The event is open to the public and a $5 donation is suggested ...but, please, feel free to give more! Contestants pay $10 to participate.

Food, beverages and merchandise will be on hand, and  former pro skater Johnny Fonseca will perform throughout the day.

And there's music, of course. Permanent Greenlight's Forest Juziuk, Chuck Sipperley, and Raj Mahal will all spin and load tasty tunes along with Chicago DJ. The weekend's final skate jam will be accompanied by Ann Arbor rock band Mazinga.

HELMETS ARE REQUIRED TO SKATE but spectators can come as they are (and for free).

But, of course, the main attraction will be MacDonald, who will be on hand to instruct and impress.

And even if you're not a skate fan, go, give the kids your support and drop a few sheckels in the donation box. It's a community effort for a community resource, don't be cheap!

And remember this: If your town doesn't have a skate park, it becomes a skate park.

One of the highlights of my visit to Prague a couple of years ago was a trip to the Kafka Museum. Rather than high art it was high concept, offering an immersive experience that was surprisingly engaging when you consider the dark, brooding, nihilistic content it was based on. (Yes, there was a giant roach on hand).

"In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world."

György Kurtág specializes in marrying odd ideas with modern classical music... an oxymoron, I know. Taking Kafka's diary entries and aphorisms from his letters the composer has created 40 very short pieces for a violinist and soprano vocalist. The combination of source material and musical accompaniment --pizzicati, start-stop phrasing, whispers, shreiks, and song-- proves to be pretty darn engaging if you tune your ear accordingly.

"Slept, woke, slept, woke, miserable life"

Yeah, it's kind of avante garde, but you don't need a black turtle neck and PhD to appreciate Kurtág's tunefulness, rhythms, and approach. I'm hardly a knowledgeable fan of classical or modern music but as far as experiments go, Kafka's Fragments was an interesting listening experience. The music sometimes complements, sometimes mocks, and often times supports Kafka's text and the effect is mesmerizing. I wish the lyrics were in English rather than German, but with a handy-dandy guide, audiences should be able to follow along.

Test the boundaries of your taste and check out Soprano Tony Arnold and violinist Movses Pogossian's take on this challenging work.

The the New York Times says: "Arnold’s drama is touching, with a sense, from the freshness of her singing and from her thoughtful involvement, that the experiences reflected, refracted or directly conveyed in these miniature scenes are happening to her, right now, as she utters."

Plus, how can you not love a lyric like:  

"The moonlit night dazzled us. Birds shrieked in the trees. There was a rush of wind in the fields. We crawled through the dust, a pair of snakes."

Mikhail Shmidt discusses Kafka Fragments from gatheringnote on Vimeo.