Backbone > Ear Whacks
Nightlife Highlights 1-03
by Wavy Davy

Doctor Romo/Woodstock Cajun Dances
January 3. Fans of Louisiana music are lucky to have both country and city styles represented locally with acts like Doctor Romo and the HooDoo Man. Cajun (country) music relies on fiddle, accordion, and even washboard to set the rhythm for spirited dancing. If you know how to dance Cajun or would love to learn, check out Woodstock Cajun Dances the first Friday of each month at the Woodstock Community Center on Rock City Road. (For a full schedule of traditional dance events in the area, check out www.feathersite.com/dance.) 8pm. $8. 384-6673.

Uncle Innocent
January 4. Perhaps the Hudson Valley’s most difficult quartet to pigeonhole, Uncle Innocent made the scene with “Unspoken”, an instrumental acid-jazz gem off a debut album full of thrash punk and dub rock. No moss on these boys, their latest collaboration included Asian throat singer Battuvshin and a studio full of good karma. Look for the results on their forthcoming sophomore effort, Full of Care Be, a musical road map through today’s minefield of political correctness. Hear them live at Oasis and wonder, where have all the flowers gone? 10pm. $4. New Paltz. 255-2400 or www.uncleinnocent.com.

Bluesday Tuesday
January 7, January 21. It’s easy to take-for-granted the artists and musicians who host regular events each month, since you know (or hope) you can always catch ‘em next time. For almost five years Big Joe Fitz and the Disciples of Soul have set the standard with bi-monthly blues jams at the Willow Creek Inn. On the first and third Tuesdays monthly, Joe and the crew lay it down for singers and soloists, while the beer and food flow easily and the crowd dances their appreciation. 8pm to midnight. No cover. Stone Ridge. 340-8510.

T.K. Blue Quartet
January 11. For 20 years saxophonist T.K. Blue has been musical director for pianist Randy Weston’s various ensembles and cut his chops in the ‘70s touring with icon Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand). On his second Arkadia release, Eyes of the Elders, Blue brings a hard-earned ancient-future vibe to a program of wholly contemporary material. Make the connection when Transart/Cultural Services (of West Park) bring Blue’s quartet to the BSP space in uptown Kingston, part of the former Anyone-Can-Whistle theater on Wall Street, and an ambitious project in itself. 7pm. $30, $25 advance. 384-6350 or www.transartinc.org.

Otis Taylor
January 11. It’s an ironic tribute to grizzled blues veteran Otis Taylor that although he began playing professionally in 1964, he should win the 2002 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist. (Taylor retired from the music business in 1977 and returned in 1995, shortly thereafter releasing his first CD Blue Eyed Monster.) Tackling subjects like injustice, suffering, and loss while hard-strumming his acoustic guitar, Taylor has been described as a “blues miracle.” 9pm. Rosendale Café. 658-9048 or www.rosendalecafe.com.

Towne Crier 30th Anniversary Concert at Vassar
January 19. First, let’s establish that this show is at the Vassar College Chapel, not the Towne Crier, but the line-up justifies the choice of larger venue. Headlining will be Kate and Anna McGarrigle, the Canadian songwriting siblings whose song “Heart Like a Wheel” launched Linda Ronstadt’s platinum-selling album of the same name. (If that’s not enough star power, Kate’s ex-husband is Loudon Wainwright III and their kids are Rufus and Martha Wainwright.) And plenty of folks will turn out for singer-songwriter Greg Brown, a folk legend and Towne Crier veteran and vocalist Lucy Kaplansky, a former duet partner of Shawn Colvin’s with a truly unique vocal sound. The question is: How will the Towne Crier top this for their 50th? 6pm. $40-$70. 855-1300. www.townecrier.com.

Blue Oyster Cult
January 25. The Chance is an ideal venue for just about any touring act, from Fishbone to Yellowman and the Ratt (!) reunion. Hard-rockers unite when boc brings their stadium show into this medium-sized venue with attitude. Raise that lighter when they play “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” “Burnin’ for You,” and their monster hit “Godzilla”. Opening acts will be Loveshine and Torque. 10pm. $25. Poughkeepsie. 471-1966 or www.locoloboevents.com.

—Wavy Davy