Filmed last fall at Newby’s as an extension of the Memphis Troubadours Acoustic Showcase and as a pilot for a proposed syndicated television show, The Acoustic Highway will have its local premiere at the Lounge on Wednesday, March 27th. The event will kick off with a live remote broadcast by 107.5 FM the Pig from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by an airing of the one-hour pilot. The program features performances by Cory Branan, Garrison Starr, Paul Thorn, Robert Belfour, and Native Son interspersed with interview segments filmed at various local landmarks.
After the screening, a Troubadours-style song-swap will commence, featuring Cory Branan, Kim Richardson, and Patrick Dodd. After this premiere, according to Troubadours organizer Wayne LeeLoy, aka Native Son, the Troubadours Showcase will change from weekly to monthly and will feature big-name national acts joining local Troubadours regulars. — Chris Herrington
They Might Be Giants are the unquestioned kings of the novelty song. Unlike other silly songsmiths, their material doesn’t lose its goofy luster after the third spin — because there is more to it than just goofiness. Once you’ve heard one of their earliest anthems, it’s hard not to “keep a little birdhouse in your soul,” and it’s impossible to hear their revved-up, classic-in-its-own-right cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” without grinning ’til your face cracks. Of course, now that they have a Grammy and have produced a CD for Dave Eggers’ highfalutin, cleverer-than-thou quarterly McSweeney’s, They Might Be Giants are defiantly too good for you. Perhaps they always were. They’ll be at the New Daisy Theatre on Thursday, March 21st.
For some down-home rock-and-roll, Earnestine & Hazel’s is the place to be this week. The Grownup Wrongs, featuring the Reigning Sound’s Greg Cartwright on guitar and the Porch Ghouls’ suitcase-pounder Bruce Saltmarsh on real drums, will play on Friday, March 22nd. The last time I saw these guys play was a year ago in somebody’s basement, and as near as I can tell that was the first and last time they played, so this is truly a rare engagement. They will be opening for Oakland rockers The Cuts.
— Chris Davis