The weekend starts early this week with lots of fun options for Thursday night. T-Bird and the Breaks bring the blue-eyed-soul-meets-'60s-funk to Ole Tavern, and jazz/funk trio LBC play at Martin's. LBC is reminiscent of Medeski, Martin and Wood instrumentation, while T-Bird is an old-school Dap-Kings/James Brown-inspired 10-piece party, complete with horns.
If you work close to downtown, stay in the area after work for the Mississippi Museum of Art's monthly installment of Jazz, Art and Blues with Chris Alford this Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Seven dollars gets you to the bar and access to the art and the tunes at your leisure. If you're hungry for dinner afterward, head over to Hal & Mal's restaurant where Pryor & the Tombstones will be cooking things up at 7:30 p.m.
The big rock show Thursday night is Framing Hanley and Lynam at Fire, 9 p.m. $15. But let not that dissuade you from getting to Fire on Friday night for Zoso, self-described "ultimate Led Zeppelin tribute" band. It's not like you have options to see the real thing. And this repeat performance comes at the request of those who saw them rock the house two months ago. The soundman promises to overpower the legions of air guitarists in the house trying to hit those high notes. Sing it as loud as you can manage, strum that air guitar large and loud. Just down the street are several other great options for Friday night.
If you're the alt/indie rock sort, be sure to hit up Roosevelt Noise and The Delicate Cycle in the Hal & Mal's Courtyard. Martin's brings the Oxford jam band Gunboat, and Outlaw bluegrass favorites Mayhem String Band get it on at Ole Tavern. Local rock/hip-hop super group Storage 24 will be at Sam's Lounge. It's been a while since they have played around. Daniel Guaqueta has been drumming for Storage 24 for the past eight months and is ready to bring the house down.
The JFP is putting on the Fifth Annual Chick Ball this weekend in Hal & Mal's Red Room. You'll find details in this issue. On Friday, there will be a play, "The Scutley Papers" and a singer-songwriter showcase, and the actual Chick Ball is Saturday night. From 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. St. Brigid, Hot Tamales, Lady Mary and Time to Move Band, The Paper Dolls, Lizz Stroud, Tenia Sanders, Infinite and DJ Kiss will perform. A silent auction, games and more are also part of the evening. Your $5 goes to the Center for Violence Prevention toward startup costs for an abuse-prevention program.
It's been quite some time since Starkville-based college rockers Young Agent Jones have donned Jackson stages. Saturday night they make their return to Martin's. For more than 10 years, these high-energy Clash/British power-pop/rock-inspired Mississippians have been honing and tightening their sound. They are as fun, intense, catchy and hooky as Green Day with '80s power pop delivery. They will earn your $5 cover charge in sweat.
Be sure to mark your calendar for next Saturday, Aug. 1, when Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance return to Martin's. It's southern-rock at its finest.
If you weren't the early bird and bought your $100 Voodoo Music Festival three day pass before they announced the line-up, you're out of luck. The line-up is out for the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 weekend, and the three-day pass has gone to $169. They will go up again when the daily schedule is announced so you may want to buy your pass now at http://www.thevoodooexperience.com for Kiss, Eminem, Jane's Addiction, Widespread Panic, Flaming Lips, Justice, Wolfmother, Pogues, Eagles of Death Metal, Ween, Black Keys, Silversun Pickups, Fischerspooner, George Clinton, Mates of State, Squirrel Nut Zippers and others.