Her albums have frequently appeared in our annual "best of" lists and the lady who defines sensual and soulful country-flavoured folk rock is one of the finest, and most consistent songwriters of the past couple of decades. She is Lucinda Williams and she has carved such a niche for herself that sometimes you see albums from up-and-comers with "the new Lucinda Williams' on them. But there is only one and it has been many years since she stopped hearts in the Gluepot with her unique blend of rootsy styles that can also lean towards dirty blues. So her return is overdue and very welcome. You can catch her at the Town Hall on Tuesday, April 6. Tickets on sale Monday, February 15.
Making a somewhat more raucous return is Californian metal-funk band Incubus, the five-piece who fuse tender, poetic lyrics with neckbreaking riffs and turntable scratches. That said, lanky frontman Brandon Boyd reckons their new album A Crow Left of the Murder is a flamboyant and psychedelic follow-up to their 2001 release, Morning View. They play the North Shore Events Centre on Tuesday March 30.
And for something completely different, the great voice of Senegalese griot (story-teller/historian) singer Youssou N'Dour comes to town a week later. N'Dour's distinctive and powerful voice has been long championed by Peter Gabriel ("Like liquid silver, I felt the hairs rising on the back on my neck," he said on first hearing N'Dour) and jazz saxophonist Brandford Marsalis has attempted to replicate N'Dour's soaring style. Best known for his single with Neneh Cherry Seven Seconds, N'Dour has been a major figure in the World Music scene for over two decades but has label-hopped as record companies haven't quite known what to do with him because he is essentially a live artist whose performances can be thrilling. He plays the Auckland Town Hall, Friday, March 12. Tickets on sale now.
BAD IS AS BAD DO: Yes, great Hollywood performances are the hot topic but lest we forget it's also time for the Razzie Awards - officially The Golden Raspberry awards for worst screen performances. And in the same week that Jennifer Lopez confirmed that she had ended her stormy, high-profile engagement to Ben Affleck, Gigli - the movie that sparked their off-screen romance - gets the uncertain honour of leading the pack in nominations for the awards that celebrate the very worst of the American movie industry's annual output.
The mob comedy gathered nine nominations, The Cat in the Hat, a sometimes risque riff on the children's classic by Dr Seuss, was just behind with eight Razzies, including worst actor for Mike Myers for a performance award organisers called a "fur-ball hocking desecration". Lopez may be the front runner as 2003's worst actress, but other star-crossed screen lovers also had a rough ride with the Razzie judges. Angelina Jolie, who chases romance to geopolitical hot spots in Beyond Borders, also scored a nomination, along with Kelly Clarkson who chases fellow American Idol Justin Guarini through an antic-filled Miami spring break in From Justin to Kelly. Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz grabbed a dual dishonour with worst-actress nods for their high-kicking, crime-fighting return in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Sylvester Stallone, an evil, video-game mastermind set on global domination in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, took his 30th Razzie nomination, more than any actor in the history of the awards. The Razzies will be given out a day before the Academy Awards and offer winners a spray-painted raspberry atop a nest of Super 8 film. Most awards go unclaimed.
FORGOTTEN STARS: If those pangs of excitement over the Lord of the Rings Oscar nominations aren't enough to keep you occupied until the big event, a documentary on Sky TV tomorrow could at least ease the wait. Middle Earth Report: Caring for the Woods (screening on BBC World, 8.30pm) profiles the film's forgotten stars, exploring the fate of the country's native forests with clips from the first two LOTR films. Director, producer and writer David Jacobs was approached over six years ago to make a film about the native wood pigeon, but struggled to get funding until he came up with the idea to connect the doco with the films. "There are clear environmental values in The Lord of the Rings - the books promote what we would these days call sustainability," he explains. "The movies encourage us to care for our environment."
<I>Chatterbox:</I> Rootsy style and dirty blues
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.