Just coming up for air again -- hey, it's been a busy week, what with McCain's scary soccer mom dominatrix (thanks, Tommy Chong!) and I think someone resigned the other day (it was hard to tell from that speech; man, the arrogance just boggles the mind...) -- to alert you to some of the going-ons this weekend that we've been too busy to post.
First of all, the Dirtbombs are doing a homecoming show at the Majestic tonight... but if you're a Detroit rock fan, you already knew that. Ditto the Dally in the Alley festival (does any American city have more fucking music festivals than this one does?), which runs tomorrow from noon to midnight, featuring some of the area's hottest bands and acts performing everything from hip-hop to electronica and electro pop to garage rock and pop rock. Go here
for a full music schedule, running the gamut from Breakfast of Champions to one of our favorite local melodic noisemakers Wildcatting to a set by Slum Village. Or go here for a rundown of the festival in general, which is celebrating its 31st anniversary in 2008.
Meanwhile, Callahan’s in Auburn Hills has joined forces with local promoters Carrick House Concerts to launch an Americana/roots series of shows that kicks off tonight, September 5th, with an appearance by ‘70s pub-rock legend Graham Parker. (Hey, Parker’s from England... so he doesn’t necessarily fit in with the “Americana” part of the theme but he certainly fits into the “roots” part of the equation.) I saw him perform about two years ago and he was every bit as good as he was back in the days when he used to play Detroit halls with his great pub-rock supergroup, the Rumour. If you go tonight, request something from the classic album, Squeezing out Sparks; either “Discovering Japan” or “Local Girls” would do just fine. Callahan’s will carry on with the series throughout the fall, including a performance by Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter/Arlo Guthrie’s daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie (now that’s “Americana!”) on Sunday, October 12th, as well as an appearance by Tommy Ramone’s bluegrass band (yes, you read that correctly -- Tommy Ramone’s bluegrass band), Uncle Monk, on Sunday, November 16th. Callahan's is located at 2105 South Boulevard ,Auburn Hills; 248-858-9508. Go here for more info.
Finally, speaking of “Americana roots,” if you've perused the music section of the local bookstores recently, you may have seen a new toll tome entitled Images of America: Motor City Rock And Roll, The 1960s and 1970s. The book was the brainchild of 78-year-old local photographer and former promoter, manager and newspaper publisher Bob Harris (that's him with the young Rolling Stones on the cover) who then collaborated with Doug Peters, also a former concert promoter now turned trial lawyer. The book is full of vintage photos from the decades mentioned in its title, including not just local superstars but some of the rock legends who passed through here during those years. You've seen some of these before (a percentage is nothing more than old promotional/publicity stills a la the Michael Ochs Archives)
but I can guarantee there’s a lot here you've never seen before.
Two of the photographers featured predominately in the book are Detroiters Frank Pettis and Leni Sinclair. The latter, of course, is celebrated internationally for the shots she took during the late ‘60s Detroit rock revolution (the MC5; the Stooges), as well as for her photos of avant-garde jazz artists of the era. Pettis, meanwhile, got hooked on photography when, as a young teen, he shot photos of Elvis Presley at Olympia Stadium in 1957. He would go on to be the staff photographer at the legendary Eastown Theatre for years. Pettis photographed nearly every rock act that passed through the Motor City for decades, straight through to the new wave era of stuff like Duran Duran and the Stray Cats. He recently stopped up at the MT offices to proudly display his photo albums
and they are awesome, including the numerous shots of Frank with his old friends (and D-town regulars), the Faces.
Anyway, Pettis and Sinclar will be selling and autographing copies of the book this Sunday, September 7th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Metro Detroit Record Show, which takes place at 25671 Gratiot (just south of I-696 between 10 and 11 Mile Rd.) in Roseville. Admission is $3. Check it out and have a great and safe weekend.
Mr. Parker: In Auburn Hills tonight...
