Halloween is bearing down on us, which means the party machine is revving up. But there’s more: riveting local concerts and under-the-radar live music gems.
Jimmy Leach
JIMMY LEACH QUINTET
MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT THE B.O.B.
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday
Tickets: $10 ($5 for West Michigan Jazz Society members)
Where: Bobarino’s in The B.O.B, Grand Rapids
Trumpeter and singer Jimmy Leach has assembled an all-star cast of jazz players to accompany him in the opening salvo of the West Michigan Jazz Society’s monthly Monday Night at The B.O.B. concert series. Also in the house with Leach: guitarist Mike Hyde, pianist Steve Talaga, bassist Tom Lockwood and percussionist Mike Van Lente. More details online at the jazz society website.
The Maine
THE MAINE, ANBERLIN
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday
Tickets: $20
Where: The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Appropriately enough this week, The Maine’s fourth and most recent pop-punk album is titled “Forever Halloween.” Florida rock band Anberlin, meanwhile, just released “Devotion: Vital Special Edition,” featuring three new songs and more than a dozen remixes. This national co-headlining tour (with special guest, Lydia from Indian Lakes), heads to the East Coast after this Grand Rapids stop. Get ticket information online at the Intersection website.
Meanwhile, The Stache (The Intersection’s front lounge) features Lionize, The Love Hate, Kastanza and The Legal Immigrants in an 8 p.m. show the same night ($12).
Josh Groban
JOSH GROBAN
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Tickets: $39.50-$84.50
Where: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
Singer Josh Groban brings his “in the round” tour to Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena, with a stage set up in the middle of the venue to afford a more intimate experience for fans. And, to be sure, Groban has some incredibly avid, dyed-in-the-wool fans. He released his sixth studio album, “All That Echoes,” in February and his current North American tour is taking him from coast to coast.
For tickets, go online to the Van Andel Arena website.
Blue October
BLUE OCTOBER, UNLIKELY CANDIDATES
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Tickets: $25 advance, $28 day of show
Where: The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Texas modern rock/alt-rock band Blue October is touring behind its latest atmospheric, anthemic album, “Sway,” with the single, “Bleed Out,” climbing the charts. Unlikely Candidates and Tori Vasquez are also on the bill for the Grand Rapids show.
Get more information online here.
Danzig
DANZIG, DOYLE
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Tickets: $28.50 advance, $32 day of show
Where: The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids
With his distinctive baritone voice leading the way, Danzig, aka Glenn Danzig, has straddled heavy metal, hard rock, doom metal, gothic rock, punk and, yes, classical music. His last album, 2010’s “Deth Red Sabaoth” had one heavy metal mag raving about its “solid, catchy and rocking” hooks.
By the way, those Halloween-appropriate names just keep coming this week: Glenn Danzig is spearheading this 25th anniversary tour with former horror-punk Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, as well as Butcher Babies, Texas Hippie Coalition and A Pale Horse Named Death. I can hear the gloom and scary stuff oozing already. Get tickets online here. But if you’re feeling lucky, the first person to send an email to
jsinkevics@gmail.com with “Danzig Rocks” in the subject line will win a free pair of tickets to Wednesday night’s show courtesy of Local Spins.
And to keep up the roof-shaking rock, Coheed and Cambria, with Balance & Composure and I The Mighty, light it up at The Orbit Room at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, $28.50. Find more information online at The Orbit Room website.
Orange Goblin
ORANGE GOBLIN, HOLY GRAIL
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Tickets: $18 advance, $20 day of show
Where: The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Yet another appropriately named band rolling into town the week before Halloween. Shoot, even Orange Goblin’s original moniker, Our Haunted Kingdom, would work in this case. The 16-year-old doom metal/stoner rock band from the United Kingdom is – in their words, not mine – “not just the UK’s reigning champions of party-starting, booze-fueled metal, but one of the very best live rock bands of all time.” Pretty bold statement, eh? They’ll rip up The Pyramid Scheme with Holy Grail, Lazer/Wulf and Against the Grain.
Joanne Shaw Taylor
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Tickets: $10
Where: The Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids
This force of nature in the blues-rock scene finally lands at this West Side gem of a music venue in a show sponsored by the West Michigan Blues Society. Born in Great Britain and now based in the Detroit area, Joanne Shaw Taylor qualifies as a guitar phenom who’s released three studio albums. The last time I interviewed her I was much impressed with her dedication to her craft, which she displays in energetic fashion during her concerts. Get ticket information online here.
(By the way, The Tip Top follows with another rockin’ show featuring a Detroit act: The Twistin’ Tarantulas rocabilly up the place on Saturday, with help from The JetBeats, $8, 8 p.m.)
Bob James and David Sanborn
DAVID SANBORN AND BOB JAMES
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Tickets: $75 ($250 includes pre-concert dinner)
Where: St. Cecilia Music Center, Grand Rapids
Hard to imagine a better double bill of jazz greats for St. Cecilia Music Center’s “Great Artist Gala,” a fundraiser that traditionally kicks off St. Cecilia’s season of jazz in the historic, much-revered Royce Auditorium. Jazz/pop saxophonist David Sanborn linked up with highly regarded, Grammy-winning smooth jazz pianist Bob James to record an all-acoustic album of jazz, “Quartette Humaine,” which was released in May. Read more about Sanborn and the upcoming show in this MLive story by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk. And get tickets online here.
Cowboy Junkies
COWBOY JUNKIES
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $39
Where: Saugatuck Center for the Arts, 400 Culver St., Saugatuck
The laid-back alt-country vibe of Canada’s Cowboy Junkies has spawned a devoted, die-hard audience of fans over its 27-year history. Their tour stop in Saugatuck promises to unveil songs from an upcoming new album, “The Kennedy Suite,” that gets released in Canada on Nov. 12. I still have folks talking to me about the fabulous show they put on several years ago at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, so seeing them in this intimate venue should be a real treat indeed. Get ticket information online here.
Gareth Asher
GARETH ASHER & THE EARTHLINGS
JD EICHER & THE GOODNIGHTS
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $25 advance, $30 day of show
Where: Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake
This double bill should rev things up nicely at this popular Spring Lake listening room as part of its Pin Drop Concert Series. The acoustic Southern soul of singer-songwriter Gareth Asher is paired with the indie-pop/rock and alternative acoustic strains of Pittsburgh’s JD Eicher & The Goodnights, who are making another stop at this venue. Get tickets online at the pindropconcerts.com site.
Anthony Attalla
HALLOWEEN ON IONIA
WITH DJ ANTHONY ATTALLA, MORE
When: 2-midnight Saturday
Tickets: $10 advance, $15 day of show
Where: Ionia Avenue, south of Fulton Street, Grand Rapids
Originally from Detroit and now hailing from Chicago, house DJ and music producer Anthony Attalla is the just the tip of the electronic dance music iceberg for the first-ever Halloween on Ionia celebration being hosted by McFadden’s Irish Saloon: Kalendr, DJ Slim Tim, The Drill Team, Biff Tannen, Uncle Jesse, Alexander B2B Subtractive, OBJ and Jump Smoker DJ Marquee also are on the bill. Heated tents, games, various beverages and food will be on hand. More important even, Halloween on Ionia is offering $6,000 in prizes for the best costumes, so garb up in your mostly beastly gear alon with your dancing shoes. Details online at the official website.
Mayday Parade
MAYDAY PARADE, MAN OVERBOARD
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $27
Where: The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Florida pop-punkers Mayday Parade started as an independent outfit, growing quickly into a national crowd favorite. They just released their fourth album, “Monsters in the Closet,” so just like The Maine, above, the title seems apropos for this Halloweening time of year.
The jam-packed bill for this show also features Man Overboard, Cartel and Stages & Stereos. More info online here.
HALLOWEEN AT THE B.O.B.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $10
Where: The B.O.B., Grand Rapids
There’s nothing quite like Halloween at The B.O.B., which for years has hosted West Michigan’s biggest indoor feast of ghouls, goblins, witches and wacky, weird attire. With live music cranking all night inside and out, the 21-and-older party hosted by B-93 and The Brew will dole out more than $6,500 in cash prizes for the best and wildest costumes (judging takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. and you must be present to win). Get more information at The B.O.B.’s website.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Local Spins’ weekly selections of bubbling-below-the-surface, must-see shows you might have overlooked
Needtobreathe playing Calvin College, 8 p.m. Wednesday, the show is sold out – I’m only mentioning this show to let folks know that, yes, indeed, rock band Needtobreathe is playing Grand Rapids this week and there are no more tickets left. Just so you know.
German Culture Club with live music, German food and beer at Grand Rapids Brewing Co., 6 p.m. Wednesday, $5 donation – Choral performances, a guitarist and an accordionist are part of the German fun being rolled out mid-week at Grand Rapids Brewing, all benefiting Kids’ Food Basket. Details online here.
Chris Tomlin
Chris Tomlin bringing his “Burning Lights Tour” to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, $19.50-$36 – Grammy Award-winning Christian music artist Chris Tomlin returns to West Michigan, with Louie Giglio and DJ Promote also on the bill for this tour. Tomlin – whose “Burning Lights” album snagged the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year (only the fourth time a contemporary Christian artist has managed that feat) – will release the “Burning Lights Deluxe Edition” with his “Live From Red Rocks” DVD on Oct. 29. Get tickets online here.
Roster McCabe returning to Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, free – This Minnesota electrojam band has been a longtime favorite at Founders, swinging back in for Thursday’s free show in the refurbished taproom to unleash its funky soulfulness, electronic dance music and rock aided and abetted by Dynamo, which features members of Funktion. On Saturday, Founders hosts Up Until Now and Ty Beat, $5. Get the lowdown online at foundersbrewing.com.
Chordis Bell and Bayside Bombshells playing a Halloween bash at Watermark 920 in Muskegon, 7:15 Friday, $10 advance, $12 day of show – Watermark Live presents a Halloween party unlike any other to kick off the weekend. West Michigan’s Chordis Bell – Patrick Lewis, Justin Avdek, Steve Harris – plays a stew of jazz fusion, rock, country and experimental strains. The night actually begins with the bawdy entertainment of Northern Michigan’s Bayside Bombshells, a burlesque troupe combining comedy with sultry striptease. Folks attending this show are encouraged to get into the spirit and wear Halloween costumes. Get more information online at watermarkcenter.com.
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Benefit in Grand Rapids at 1 p.m. Saturday, donation — This event helps those who’ve fought for our country so it’s mucho worth attending. Saturday’s show at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, 3000 Monroe Ave. NW, features Youz Guyz, Jesse Ray Carolina, Mark Swanson, Sam Kenny and Emma Loo, and Persistent Flashback Disorder. Admission is free with a donation of any of the following items: batteries, DVDs, Bic lighters, large-print paperbacks, recent magazines, clothing, shoes, body wash, after shave lotion, razors, individually wraped candy bars and snack bags, Meijer gift cards. Get details online here.
Neil Jacobs
Guitarist Neil Jacobs playing The Block in Muskegon, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, $28 – I’ve seen this 12-string acoustic guitar phenom from the Grand Haven area playing up close and personal, and he will absolutely pop those eyes and drop those jaws with his tasteful guitar acrobatics. Neil Jacobs is a treasure, and this new Muskegon venue makes a fine place to catch him in action – up close and personal. Get tickets online here.
Out of the Blue playing Zellie’s Opry House’s gospel night, 7 p.m. Saturday, $8 – This Howard City bluegrass/folk venue brings in a crowd favorite, led by the father-and-son team of Dave Conley Sr. (guitar) and Dave Conley Jr. (banjo). Get details online here.
Super Happy Funtime Burlesque playing The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, 10 p.m. Saturday, $10 general admission, $25 VIP – Now for something completely different when it comes to Halloween bashes. Grand Rapids’ rollicking Super Happy Funtime Burlesque troupe brings its 21-and-older stage show back to The Pyramid Scheme. Details online here.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
The post Josh Groban, Danzig, Sanborn & James, Cowboy Junkies, Halloween revelry: The Big List Concert Guide appeared first on Spins on Music.