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Local duo Them Savages release their new album "Church Songs" at Sundara Friday. Photo by Cindy Clark.
THU, JAN. 26
TRAIN HOPPING VAGABOND
Portland-based singer-songwriter Kory Quinn wrote his new album in only a couple weeks while on a cross-country train trip from Oregon to Chicago. Tagged Waiting for a Train, tracks on the album sound like a hobo blues revival. Sometimes Quinn sings with the chug-a-choo of a speeding locomotive, while other tracks are bluesy ballads and love songs, paying solitary homage to maternal figures, bums, lovers and sure enough—“sitting on a bench, waiting for a train.” Quinn will pull into Flagstaff Brewing Co., 16 E. Rte. 16, for a free show starting at 9 p.m. For more info, dial 773-1442, or check out www.reverbnation.com/koryquinn.
BROS NAMED PO
It’s unclear which came first—the band or the van—but the one with wheels is named “Warsaw 1” and delivers reggae/ska punksters Warsaw Poland Bros. to more than 300 shows a year. The Tucson-based band produces albums on their own independent label, Invisible Mass Records, was voted one of JamBase.com’s “top 10 favorite touring bands.” They’ll be making their way to the Green Room, 15 W. Agassiz, where reggae-groove locals the Naked Ape Show will share the stage with them. The free show starts at 9 p.m. For more info, dial 226-8669.
FRI, JAN. 27
SONGS OF THE SAVAGE
After many shows around town displaying their live talent, angsty acoustic duo Them Savages are putting it on record. An LP, to be exact. Sundara, 22 E. Rte. 66, is hosting a CD release party in the album’s honor, which is titled Church Songs. Not only will Them Savages be playing the entire album live, but they’ll also be giving away copies of Church Songs for free to anyone who attends. Other local voices, including a couple of those who contributed to the album, will also be sharing the stage at Sundara: Just Animals, Brandon Jim Band, Ben Michaels Band, and Bryant Vazquez of Vagabond Gods. The party starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 at the door and the show is open to all ages. For more info, call 779-3292. Check out selected tracks from Church Songs at www.themsavages.bandcamp.com.
SEEDY AND STEAMY THEATER COMING TO A STAGE NEAR YOU
“Cabaret,” the notoriously suggestive stage production, is getting a local treatment. The musical tells the story of the Kit Kat Klub in Germany in 1931. The Kit Kat serves as a backdrop to the love story unfolding between cabaret performer Sally Bowles and her main squeeze, young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Meanwhile, the master of ceremonies for the Kit Kat emblematizes a weak and alarmed Weimar Republic about to lose its political power to the Nazis. See the drama unfold at the Doris Harper-White Community Playhouse, 11 W. Cherry. Tickets are $29 for Friday’s opening night performance and include a reception with the cast and crew. Tickets for all other performances are $25. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. and the musical runs from Jan. 27 through Feb. 18. For more info, dial 774-1662, or visit www.theatrikos.com.
SAT, JAN. 28
SOCIAL D: KIND OF LIKE SUNNYD WITH BOOZE AND A BLOODY NOSE
Social Distortion has been turning albums out of Orange County for 30 years and in 2011 the cowpunk guppies-turned-godfathers released their most recent album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. The new album has some of the heavy riffs that made them popular in the ’80s but also lightens up a bit with bouts of storytelling songs. (Though stories are what you’d expect from a band whose frontman Mike Ness is missing a chunk of his left ear because a guy bit him in the middle of a bar brawl. True story.) See Social Distortion at the Orpheum Theater, 15 W. Aspen. Folk/punk Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls and alt-punk SHARKS, two handsomely English bands, will open the show. Doors open for the all-ages show at 6:30 p.m. and the music starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $43. For more info, dial 556-1580 or check out www.facebook.com/sharksuk, www.frank-turner.com and www.socialdistortion.com.
A VISIBLE DIFFERENCE FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN
The international campaign Invisible Children often presents a challenge to people worldwide to raise awareness and funds in their local communities that will support the organization’s cause. And the National Honor Society of Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy is responding by hosting a benefit event. Indivisible Children works to implement educational programs and economic structure as tools to rehab children affected in war-torn central Africa, who are often forced to become child soldiers or whose lives are dramatically altered by war. FALA’s benefit is from 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Club 412, 520 N. Switzer Canyon Drive. Tickets are $10 at the door and include appetizers and dessert. The evening will feature visual and performance art and a silent auction. The students’ goal is to raise $1,000 for Invisible Children. For more info, call 779-7223 or visit www.invisiblechildren.com.
THE LONE STAR STATE’S SECRET WEAPON
Country musician Aaron Watson is lyrical about his obscurity within the celebrity realm on his latest album. Singing, “Now you may not see me on your TV/I’m seldom heard on your radio/But if you’re lookin’ you might just find me/Somewhere between the road and the rodeo,” Watson downplays the release of 10 albums under his own label, Lone Star Records, and alludes to the life of a guy handling both a career in music with some normalcy. This isn’t to say Watson hasn’t enjoyed success—Willy Nelson has contributed to his albums, he’s seen his name on the Billboard charts a few times, and has a devoted fanbase all over the South and Southwest. Watson and his band, Orphans of the Brazos, will be at the Museum Club, 3404 E. Rte. 66. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the band plays at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more info, call 774-5213 or check out www.aaronwatson.com.
Additional photos for this story:
Portland's Kory Quinn plays Flag Brew Thursday. Courtesy photo.
Warsaw Poland Bros. play the Green Room Thursday with Flag's Naked Ape Show. Courtesy photo.
Punk godfathers Social Distortion play the Orpheum Saturday Night with Sharks and Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls. Courtesy photo.
UK punks Sharks play the Orpheum with Social D on Saturday. Courtesy photo.
Country crooner Aaron Watson will play the Museum Club with his band Orphans of the Brazos Saturday night. Courtesy photo.
Them Savages' new full-length album "Church Songs."
