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Weekend Picks: Of Montreal, Moody Blues, Drivin' N' Cryin', No BS! Brass Band, The Low Counts, Goldrush plays REM, Horsehead, Virginia Beer & Bluegrass Mini Festival, Life on Mars

The weekend starts Thursday with psychedelic art rock band Of Montreal at The Broadberry. Tix are $18 advance, $22 day of show, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and Pillar Point opens. [UPDATE 3/23 9:39 AM - The Broadberry says this show is now SOLD OUT!] There aren't many tickets yet so get them soon if you are getting them. You might dig Of Montreal if you like The Decemberists, REM, Syd Barrett, The Kinks, Beck, or Robyn Hitchcock. Here's the band performing "Empyrean Abattoir" earlier this month:

Classic art rockers Moody Blues are at The Altria Theater Friday night. Tix range from $55 to $90. Show starts at 8 and there is no opener. Here's the press blurb:

The Moody Blues – Justin Hayward (lead guitar, vocals), John Lodge (bass guitar, vocals) and Graeme Edge (drums) – have been at the forefront of the classic rock music scene for almost 50 years, with their multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold albums and singles hitting Billboard at #1, Top 5, Top 10, Top 20 and Top 40. Their illustrious roster of hits include: “Nights In White Satin,” "Tuesday Afternoon," “Ride My See Saw,” “The Story In Your Eyes,” “Isn’t Life Strange,” “Question,” “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)” and “Your Wildest Dreams,” and many more.

The band named the tour “Fly Me High” to mark the 50th Anniversary of Justin Hayward and John Lodge joining Graeme Edge, Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder as lead guitarist and bassist for the iconic band.

And here's the Moody Blues in 1968 performing "Nights in White Satin":

Goldrush plays tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time, at least in my mind, REM at Savory Grain on Friday night, In the 80's and 90's, every album by the band was met with great anticipation and they provided the soundtrack for my college and post-college years. I'll never forget when I was working at WZZO in Allentown and the single "Drive" came in the mail one Tuesday morning. Before it even went on the air, I grabbed it and threw it in the closest CD player, determined to be the first on Earth, or at least in the Lehigh Valley, to hear it. The song started with a feeling of dread that sucks you in, the violins swirl and lull you into a false sense of well-being and when the electric guitar riff kicked in, I got goosebumps that I still get today. The show starts at 10 when Goldrush does a set of originals followed by REM tunes for the rest of the night. This is a FREE show so you have no excuse not to go. Drink specials too! Here's "Drive" from REM:

And here's Goldrush with "Pale Blue Dot": Saturday at Capital Ale House Downtown, it's the Virginia Beer and Bluegrass Mini Festival. Doors open at 2, show starts at 2:30, tix are $15 advance, $20 at the door. Here's the lineup:

Here's James Justin & Co.'s "Slid": Hardywood busts out the Bourbon Raspberry Stout with Vanilla (mmmmmmm!) on Saturday and celebrates with music from garage rock n' rollers The Low Counts out of NC. This band will work here. They make me want to drink beer. Festivities start at 2. Music starts at 5. It's FREE to get in. There may be some other bands but if there are, they ain't sayin'. Here's "Keep It Burning" from The Low Counts:

More brewery fun on Saturday as the Bowie tribute band Life on Mars is at Strangeways Brewing as they break out the Martian Spring Bier de Mars. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and it's $10 to get in. Here's Bowie in 1973 singing about "1984" on the 1980 Road Show: No BS! Brass Band things gets funky because Spring is finally here at The Broadberry Saturday. Tix are $15, doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Planet Hunting Methods opens. Here's the band's full performance for Audiotree a year ago: Country/Soul/Rock n' Roll band Horsehead is at The Camel Saturday night with New Boss (same as the old boss?) and Prabir opening. Tix are $5 advance, $7 day of show, doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Here's Horsehead's "Casual Dracula": Tuesday night at Capital Ale House Downtown is the underrated Drivin' N' Cryin'. I recently realized that I had 3 CDs from them that I hadn't listened to since about 1995. I popped them in the old CD player and was reminded what a great band they were/are with their Southern rock/psychedelic/blues mix. Tix are $15 advance, $18 at the door, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Great Peacock. Here's the press blurb:

Celebrating their 30th Anniversary together, Atlanta-based southern hard rock act Drivin’ n Cryin’ was also inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in the Fall of 2015.

In October 1985 Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ played their first show at Atlanta’s famed 688 Club. The band quickly gained attention for its blistering live shows and amassed a rabid fanbase in the fertile soil of the late-1980s music scene in the Southeast. Now 30 years later, founding members Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen find themselves enjoying a milestone anniversary for the band, having survived the pressures of fame, a shifting musical landscape, multiple lineup changes, and miles of back roads and highways to arrive here.

With a gold record, 10 full-length albums and a handful of EPs to their credit, the band still refuses to rest on its laurels, adding Jason and the Scorchers axe man, Warner E. Hodges, to the lineup and continuing to tour the United States and Europe to great acclaim. In 2015, a vinyl-only collection of 10 choice cuts from the band’s 4-EP ‘Songs’ series, entitled Best of Songs, was released on Nashville’s Plowboy Records. Comfortable with their past and confident in their future, the band has an arsenal of songs, a full tank of gas, and no plans of stopping any time soon.

And here's "Build a Fire" from 1991:

Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with one more from REM.

Oh, hell. Let's make it two more.

Tony Jordan
Posted by Tony Jordan at 11:05 PM Labels: Broadberry, Drivin' N' Cryin', Goldrush plays REM, Horsehead, Life on Mars, live music, Moody Blues, No BS! Brass Band, Of Montreal, Richmond, The Low Counts, Tony Jordan, Virginia Beer & Bluegrass Mini Festival
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