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77 Square is the definitive arts, culture and entertainment guide for Madison, Wis., and the surrounding area.
Singer-songwriter Purdy to play at High Noon
Unlike other TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Cold Case," "Lost" rarely uses pop songs on its soundtrack, unless you count that Three Dog Night eight-track tape Hurley found in the van. (All the Losties out there know what I'm talking about.)
So, it's a feather in the cap of singer-songwriter Joe Purdy that the show used his music memorably in an early episode -- his wistful, ukelele-driven "Wash Away" laid underneath a montage of the group chilling amid the wreckage on the beach.
But Purdy's music is nice to listen to even if you aren't squatting next to the smoldering remains of a fuselage. He'll be at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave., Thursday, Aug. 14 (9 p.m., $10 at the door).
Opening for Purdy will be mononomic singer-songwriter Meiko, who plays quirky but accessible pop rock in the vein of Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles. She's also followed those artists' path outside the major-label system to success: Her debut album came out last week on MySpace Records.
Jay Nash and Chris Seefried of Low Stars round out the bill.
Because I'm not very bright, I sometimes get atmospheric Chicago rockers Califone confused with Tex-Mex indie rockers Calexico. Califone grew out of the ashes of the slashing '90s Chicago band Red Red Meat, and in its new incarnation is lo-fi and rootsy, but with a wild, experimental bent. Calexico did none of those things.
The band's last album is "Roots and Crown," and will have a follow-up coming in 2009. Califone will be at the High Noon Saloon at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16. Tickets are $12 through B-Side, Strictly Discs and Mad City Music Exchange, and The Judy Green (billed as a "Califone auxiliary band," whatever that means, although they have a horn section) and local treasure Sleeping in the Aviary open.
If you didn't know it was in Michigan, you might think Ypsilanti was a city in some exotic foreign country. So maybe it makes sense that one of the country's fastest-rising Afro pop bands, the eight-piece Nomo, is from the town.
Nomo is playing the Annex, 1206 Regent St., at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 ($13 advance through www.brownpapertickets.com, $15 door).
Grampall Jookabox opens the show.
Depressed? Tattooed? Under the age of 22 or so? Then Secondhand Serenade may be right for you. The Bay Area band -- which began as a one-man acoustic act by frontman John Vesely, who is still pretty much the only constant member -- plays raw but wounded songs, with the aftermath of a relationship a favorite songwriting subject.
Secondhand Serenade headlines a big lineup at the Majestic Theatre, 115 King St., at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, with My American Heart, Play Radio Play, The Graduate and Rookie of the Year all opening. Tickets are just $12 through www.majesticmadison.com, which works out to just pennies a serving.
Get your own blood a-pumping when some fine local bands throw a benefit for the Red Cross at the High Noon at 9 p.m. next Wednesday, Aug. 20 ($5 cover). "Rockin' for the Red Cross " features jam band Grasshoppers, prog rockers Baghdad Scuba Review, the eclectic roots rock of Elf Lettuce, and the fusion funk of Bu.R.P.