Find your groove before weekend
Katchafire show kicks off tremendous midweek music offerings
To quote the wise words of Loverboy, “Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend.”
But sometimes you gotta get your groove on and you can’t wait until the end of the week.
Here are a few options for midweek shows in the coming week, you know, in case next Friday can’t get here fast enough.
Katchafire
When, where: 8 p.m. Sunday at The Knitting Factory Concert House, 919 W. Sprague Ave.
Cost: $16
New Zealand roots reggae septet Katchafire is scorching a trail around the globe and slowly sewing the world together with a chill wave of trans-generational grooves.
From humble beginnings as a Bob Marley tribute to a double-platinum major label debut, Katchafire has caught on over the years and remained hot on a perpetual worldwide tour. The crew is closing out its summer with jaunts to Europe, Australia and Brazil, but not before coming to the U.S. for the second time in an extensive tour that burns through Spokane on Sunday.
Angela Marie CD Release Party
When, where: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Eco Depot, 1326 W. Sprague Ave.
Cost: No cover announced
Occasionally performing as a solo act, often performing with her band of collaborators – including a flute-playing bass player and backup vocalist, lead guitarist and drummer – Angela Marie is perfectly at home on her own or leading the way in the group setting.
For seemingly months on end the singer-songwriter and guitarist has been playing two to three shows per week.
Somehow during that time she managed to record a full-length CD, “Seriously Lighthearted,” which she releases on Tuesday.
Ascetic Junkies with Cars and Trains
When, where: 10 p.m. Wednesday at Mootsy’s, 406 W. Sprague Ave.
Cost: $5
When the Ascetic Junkies’ banjo player moved to Argentina, he took with him the obligatory bluegrass pigeonholes that come with the territory.
Portland’s Ascetic Junkies have augmented their lineup and are continuing to indulge in their own brand of noisy Americana pop-rock.
The progression of AJ’s sound is documented in each of its three records, starting with the 2008 folk-infused “One Shoe Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”; followed by the more pop-oriented “Don’t Wait for the Rescue Squad” in 2009; leading up the rock-heavy Americana release, 2010’s “This Cage Has No Bottom.”
Ascetic Junkies intent with the songwriting is to transform singer/guitarist Matt Harmon’s acoustic pop songs, twisting them around as much as possible without breaking them outright.
The compositions are treated more like prose than traditional song structures, but without sacrificing what makes the songs catchy in the first place.
When the Ascetic Junkies take their music onstage, they do so with unbridled joy and righteous fury, making their live shows soar and crackle like dry lightning.
Before you head to Mootsy’s to catch Ascetic Junkies live on Wednesday, be sure to check out their animated music video for “Why Do Crows” on the band’s website, http://theasceticjunkies.com. It’s both creepy and cute.