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Where It's At

Duncan Sheik and Vienna Teng double-up at Chop Suey; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers celebrate thirty year anniversary at White River Amphitheatre, Ruth Brown checks in at The Triple Door; Mellowdrone trips out at Chop Suey
by Albert Rodriguez, Richard Kennedy and Jessica Browning - SGN A&E Writers photo - Duncan Sheik Seattle Gay News presents Duncan Sheik and Vienna Teng Saturday, July 29 - 9pm Chop Suey - www.ticketweb.com for tix / $15 It's both unfortunate and a blessing that singer-songwriter-theatrical composer Duncan Sheik and pianist-vocalist Vienna Teng are performing in a space the size of Chop Suey. Unfortunate because Sheik's cleverly penned, delightfully arranged pop songs and Teng's deep, melodic ballads deserve a grander stage. On the other hand, the experience of seeing and hearing these two artists in an intimate setting is a blessing beyond any disguise. The bottom line is if you're searching for a quality show comparable to the price of a movie ticket and add-on snack bar expenses, Duncan Sheik and Vienna Teng tomorrow night at Chop Suey is it. Sheik received a Grammy nomination for his sarcastic 1996 hit "Barely Breathing" and has steadily drawn a Gay following over the course of his decade-long recording career. A handsome, clean-cut appearance (though he's been sporting a full beard lately) and a crafty, witty approach to contemporary pop are a couple of reasons why he's caught the attention of non-hetero music fans. Another reason is Sheik's recent dive into live theater, composing tunes for Michael Meyer's off-Broadway new musical Spring Awakening. The production completed a three-week engagement at the Atlantic Theater Company earlier this month. In an interview with Seattle Gay News nearly two years ago, Sheik mentioned working on Spring Awakening and on Meyer's other project, the Gay-themed film A Home At the End of the World starring Colin Farrell. Sheik has interviewed with the Seattle Gay News twice. He's touring in support of his fifth album, the critically acclaimed White Limousine. Teng, who used to be an engineer for a major software firm, took a big step forward professionally when she signed to Rounder Records last year. She was previously with the independent, Seattle-based Virt Records. Teng began taking classical piano lessons at age five, assuming the name "Vienna" from the city that produced such noted composers as Bach and Chopin. While attending Stanford University, where she earned a degree in Computer Science, Teng began playing coffee houses and attracting fans to her piano-driven songs laced with delicate, dramatic backgrounds. A pair of well-received recordings, Waking Hour and Warm Strangers, and opening slots for Shawn Colvin, Joan Osborne, Indigo Girls, Patty Griffin and Marc Cohn exposed Teng to a wider audience. Her third offering Dreaming Through the Noise was released this week. The album features the track "City Hall", which Teng wrote shortly after the same-sex marriage headlines in San Francisco when Mayor Gavin Newsom permitted Gays to marry there in 2004. Like Sheik, Teng is no stranger to the Seattle Gay News. She has interviewed with us twice. Seattle Gay News is sponsoring the Sheik-Teng show at Chop Suey tomorrow night. We've put our personal stamp of recommendation on these artists. I've met Sheik in person and he's a sweet, respectable guy with a shy side, but he also possesses a great sense of humor and is very Gay friendly. Teng is the kind of performer who easily appeals to Gay men and Lesbians, often compared to pop diva Sarah McLachlan. At press time, tickets for Sheik and Teng were still available. Expect Sheik to play songs from various albums, including "Barely Breathing" and "On a High". Cross your fingers for his career-best "Start Again" and the coolest rendition of "Wonder Wall" this side of Oasis. Teng will stick to songs mostly from her just-released CD. Chop Suey has tasty cocktails and nightly beer specials, but Madison Pub, CC's and Thumpers are within walking distance. - A. Rodriguez Pre-concert CD recommendations: Daylight by Duncan Sheik, featuring "Start Again" and "Genius", and Warm Strangers by Vienna Teng featuring "Feather Moon" and "My Medea". Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers w/ Trey Anastacio Sunday, July 30 - 7:30pm White River Amphitheatre - Tix at www.ticketmaster.com / $32.50-$75.00 Could you work with the same people for thirty years? Tom Petty has. And from the sounds of it, he's ready for thirty more. The legendary rocker and his bandmates, The Heartbreakers, are celebrating three decades of rocking and rolling by embarking on a summer tour that includes a Seattle-region stop this weekend. Going to a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show is like attending a Rolling Stones concert. It's an experience, not just a performance. I've seen them three times and had an absolute blast each time. It's a party zone, with beach balls bouncing all around, people singing along to every word of each song, and the most hideous and hilarious dance moves from a rocker crowd that ranges from white trash to upscale urbanites. In thirty years, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have sold 50 million albums worldwide, have been nominated for 16 Grammy awards and won 4 times, earned Billboard magazine's "Century Award" for creative lifetime achievement, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and were inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ensemble's discography reads like a list of must-haves, including Hard Promises (1981), Full Moon Fever (1989) and Into the Great Wide Open (1991). The group's Greatest Hits package, which came out in 1983, was honored with the Recording Industry Association of America's Diamond award for sales exceeding 10 million copies. But, enough with the accolades. You get the picture, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the shit. Sunday night's concert marks Petty and company's debut at White River Amphitheatre. The band has played at The Gorge and the Tacoma Dome, but never at Auburn's outdoor venue. Petty recently announced that this summer's tour features The Strokes, John Mayer and Frank Black as opening acts in select cities. Additionally, Stevie Nicks will make guest appearances at several shows. At press time, only ex-Phish frontman Trey Anastacio was listed as a supporting act for Petty's gig this weekend. There's no shortage of fun at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show. It will be a party zone, trust me on that. A free shuttle based at the SuperMall's Red Robin will relieve you of driving all the way to the venue and parking fees. Expect to hear new music from Petty's solo release Highway Companion and old favorites like "The Waiting", "Free Fallin'", "Runnin' Down a Dream", "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "American Girl". My fingers are crossed for "Refugee" and my all-time Petty fave, "Learning to Fly". - A. Rodriguez Pre-concert CD recommendation: Greatest Hits featuring "Learning to Fly", "I Won't Back Down", "Refugee", "Into the Great Wide Open", "You Got Lucky" and "The Waiting". Ruth Brown Monday, July 31 - 7pm and 10pm The Triple Door - (206) 838-4333 or www.thetripledoor.net for tix / $35-$38 Before Aretha Franklin claimed the title "Queen of Soul", Ruth Brown was known as "Miss Rhythm" and with good reason. She was a gritty, aggressive belter with an impressive range, and she was the top R&B performer from the early to mid-50s. She influenced many performers after her, including Etta James and LaVern Baker. Initially inspired by the jazz styles of Billie Holliday and Sarah Vaughn, a young Ruth Weston ran away from her Portsmouth home in 1945 with a traveling trumpeter. While performing on the road she was introduced to two men who were starting a fledgling record label called "Atlantic." Weston became Ruth Brown, and her seductive vocal delivery shone incandescently on her Atlantic smashes "Teardrops in My Eyes" (an R&B chart-topper for 11 weeks in 1950), "I'll Wait for You" and "I Know" in 1951, 1952's "5-10-15 Hours" (another number-one rocker), the seminal "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" in 1953, and a tender Chuck Willis-penned "Oh What a Dream" and the timely "Mambo Baby" the next year. It's no surprise that Atlantic was known as the "house that Ruth built." Like many other artists from this time, Brown found herself forgotten from her label once the hits stopped flowing. While raising her two sons there was a time when she was hired as domestic help, just to make ends meet. In the 1970's, she found the courage to get back into the music and entertainment scene. She was featured on television sitcoms, displaying comedic talent she never utilized previously and began to perform live again. In 1985, she appeared as the one and only Motor Mouth Maybelle in Hairspray, directed by Gay icon John Waters. 1989 found her starring on Broadway in Black and Blue, which won her a Tony Award. A chance to see a musical legend like this is rare, and an even better treat on stage at The Triple Door. Plan for a delicious dinner and arrive early for drinks and appetizers in the Musiquarium Lounge. You will find all the information you need at www.thetripledoor.net. - R. Kennedy Pre-concert CD recommendations: Miss Rhythm (Greatest Hits and more) featuring "So Long" and "Teardrops From My Eyes", and a wide representation of her catalog with Atlantic. Mellowdrone w/ Monsters Are Waiting and guests Wednesday, August 2 - 9pm Chop Suey - www.ticketweb.com for tix / $8 Mellowdrone, in spite of its short and rather dramatic history, is a band that could easily slip under your radar. And that would be a shame. Mellowdrone's debut Box, released in April 2006, is a bit of a sleeper hit. Give it a few listens and wander into the album a few tracks, and you'll find there's a lot more going on than you hear at first listen. In a nutshell, Jonathan Bates (singer, writer/arranger, guitarist) dropped out of the prestigious Boston Berklee School of Music where he was studying on a scholarship, moved to LA to perform under the moniker Mellowdrone, found a label and lost a label when funding ran out, and was snatched up by renowned guitarist Johnny Marr of The Smiths to open Marr's solo tour. A fitting chain of events for a band that takes some inspiration from David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti's prom-queen-gone-wrong fractured vision. To further complicate matters, fellow Mellowdrone guitarist Tony DeMatteo almost lost his ability to walk in a near-fatal car accident prior to the tour with Johnny Marr. After months of recovery, the band toured incessantly with the likes of The Killers, Secret Machines, and She Wants Revenge. Naturally, all of these events have left Mellowdrone's music with an urgency and a wry sense of the bittersweet you can hear under the surface of these huge and impassioned soundscapes. If the record sounds a bit askew, it's because it is a collection of sorts; the full length contains select tracks from the band's two EPs and a handful of new material. Loop-friendly programming mixed with angular guitars and throaty, intelligent vocals& with Mellowdrone, you get the distinct feeling these songs are only preludes. The best is yet to come. - J. Browning Pre-concert CD recommendations: Box featuring "Fashionably Uninvited" and "Whatever The Deal". photo - Vienna Teng