SMOOTH JAZZ, SCREAMING, AND BEYOND
Having just returned from a vacation to New Orleans, I’ve been a bit behind on the goingson of the upcoming week. But on a music fan note, New Orleans is a great place to go to just take in music all the time. Everywhere you go in the French Quarter, someone is playing something and it’s pretty much all good. Also, New Orleans is about 35 degrees warmer than Saskatoon right now. Getting home was a huge bummer, but the music’s still plenty good in Saskatoon. BARBRA LICA
When: Friday
Where: The Bassment
What: In case anyone who reads this wasn’t sure, I am a fan of good jazz music. I’m not sure how you could miss that, since I endeavour to include a jazz performer every time this column goes up. Anyways, how good is Barbra Lica? A JUNO nominee and an excellent singer-songwriter, she was once ranked among the top five jazz singers in Canada by CBC — Lica has the accolades appropriate for her talent. We really are fortunate to have such a robust jazz music scene in Saskatoon to be able to attract quality performers like Lica to the city. If there are still tickets left, this is a night of great music waiting to happen. HATTIE
When: Saturday
Where: Black Cat Tavern
What: Hattie has a genre that I’m not sure how to describe. It’s not a case of being a slightly esoteric style of folk rock or anything — he’s just got a neat combination of grunge-style pop beats to go along with smoky and laid-back vocals. It’s a really effective musical style that succeeds through that contrast: There’s a relaxed vibe to the vocals and a driving energy to the electric rhythms that back up the singing. Maybe this is one of those cases where we don’t need labels. And I’m sure that I’ll get a message from someone that tells me the exact style, but frankly it’s just really cool to see something this new and creative from a Saskatchewan artist. KORPIKLAANI
When: Thursday
Where: Coors Event Centre What: Metal music isn’t for everyone — trust me, I understand — but Korpiklaani is just so. Darn. Cool. The band based out of Lahti, Finland (yes, Scandinavian countries do seem to produce the coolest metal bands) is a folk-metal group with a viciously heavy-hitting sound. They are probably most well-known outside of the circles of metal fans as the ones who recorded the song Vodka. The video has more than 31 million views, and it’s incredibly well-done (and pretty funny). It’s obviously not their best song, but it just goes to show what a great group this is. Want a chance to really headbang this week? Korpiklaani is the band for you.