Culture

The old guard was the Who (two week ago’s concert).

Punk’s vanguard was the Sex Pistols (Americans could argue for the Ramones & the New York Dolls, but Britain had far and away the more vibrant movement and the Pistols were its undisputed leader and last week’s
concert).

This week our concert band is a member of punk’s rearguard: the Buzzcocks. This 1981 concert was the band’s last till they reformed in 1989.

It’s amazing to me now that such a good band would have failed. However, the punk & new wave movement spawned more bands than could be supported and many good ones fell by the wayside and others never got the recognition they probably deserved (XTC and Husker Du come to mind).

When vocalist Karrin Allyson steps to the microphone, you can’t predict what style or language she’ll be performing in. The best part is, it doesn’t matter.

Allyson is referred to as a jazz vocalist, and has climbed to the pinnacle of the genre since recording her debut album, I Didn’t Know About You, in 1992. She is now regarded among the top vocalists in jazz. Releasing her 13th album last year, Allyson has put together a career that has brought her to top stages around the world, performing at major jazz festivals in Brazil, Japan, Australia and Europe, as well as the most legendary venues in the United States, including regular appearances at New York’s Blue Note and Birdland. Along the way, Allyson has garnered four Grammy Award nominations, most recently for her 2012 album ‘Round Midnight.

Twilight Music presents Pennsylvania-based, acoustic folk trio The Stray Birds, plus traditional singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Keith Murphy at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 pm.

When The Stray Birds take the stage, the spotlight falls on three voices raised in harmony above the raw resonance of wood and strings. It is a sound drawn from the richness of American folk music traditions, spun with a stirring subtlety and grace. Maya de Vitry, Oliver Craven and Charles Muench’s performances speak to an uncompromising reverence for songs and their embrace of the experience of live music. Reveling in the energy of each room, a connection to the audience is the essence of their show. 


Last weekend’s performance was the Who from 1970, when they were in the midst of a run of highly successful albums that included Tommy (’69), Who’s Next (’71) and Quadrophenia (’73).

By 1977, the year before this weekend’s concert takes place the Who’s formidable energies were tied up in legal wrangling over royalties.

Finally, one night in March of that year Pete Townsend, the group’s guitarist and principal song writer and in this instance, negotiator walked out of an 11 hour meeting with a seven figure check in his hand.

He headed to a bar called the Speakeasy where a couple of his protégés were playing (John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett). He got drunk on only two shots of whiskey.