Sounds Good: Yonder Mountain@Liberty Hall, The ACBs & Fourth of July@RecordBar, Radkey@Replay, Robert Earl Keen@Granada

Assuming you’re able to dig yourself out, there’s some good shows coming up this weekend.  

Don’t worry, you’ll stay warm next to the crackling orange glow of Robert Earl Keen and Yonder Mountain String Band.

A little whiskey might help, too.

Thursday, February 28th

Yonder Mountain String Band at Liberty Hall in Lawrence

It’s hard to believe that these guys have been cranking out their Colorado jamgrass for about two decades now.  Along the way they’ve played just about everywhere – festivals, stadiums, holes in the wall, you name it.

Some of my fondest memories of YMSB are from around 2002, when the boys from Nederland would make the hour trip up to Vail’s 8150 Club.  The club was famous for its bouncing wooden floor that would flex and spring with the rhythm of the fans crowding up to the front of the stage.  I guess I never even considered that it might be a safety issue, as the club was in the upstairs of a large building.

Whatever, YMSB would burn and burn some more, administering blistering bluegrass riffs with a younger spin that attracted the ski bum crowd.

Friday, March 1st

The ACBs and Fourth of July at the RecordBar in KC

This is probably my most anticipated record release of the last six months or so.  The ACB’s are KC’s best pop craftsmen, hands down.  This show has them teaming up with Lawrence’s most beloved indie-folksters to hype their sophomore effort, Little Leaves.

Their first album, Stona Rosa, was an instant classic.  The first single off Leaves – Record Store – picks up right where Stona left off with ridiculously high falsetto vocals, cool guitar riffs, and a punchy backbeat.  Plus, it’s been featured on MTV.  (Now they just play music as background noise for teens calling each other fat.)

Radkey at the Replay in Lawrence

Perhaps the hottest KC-area band over the last 12 months, the three teenage brothers that make up Radkey label are themselves a punk band, but they’re really more than that.

“Regardless of the decade there will always be teenage boys excited by Led Zeppelin; they come in a never-ending parade driven by angst, alienation, and impuissance,” noted Too Much Rock‘s Sid Sowder.  “The band’s key confessed influence, however, is The Misfits. While Radkey has frequently been labeled as Ramones-esque by the local press, it’s really Glen Danzig and crew that shine most apparent in the band’s blend of punk aggression and classic rock ballast.”

Saturday, March 2nd

Robert Earl Keen at the Granada in Lawrence

Last time this Texas troubadour rolled through town he packed the Granada to the gills with his feel-good, red dirt party music.  Girls in tight ass cowgirl jeans and boots, dudes in pearl snaps, you know the deal.  And of course REK’s easy going performance style that always includes plenty of stories and singalongs.  I’d expect the same thing this go around.