In The Bones of J.R. Jones‘ new video for “The Good Life,” off his new album Slow Lightning, a blond woman stares dead-eyed into the camera in front of a greasy spoon’s kitchen hood, a row of pots hanging behind her. Cut to food order tickets: “ribeye,” “not a chx (tofu),” “fried chicken sando.” She’s a burned-out restaurant worker who slides on her jacket, steps out the back for a smoke, steals a pickup, and drives off into the night for an epic scofflaw adventure as frontman Jonathon Linaberry’s voiceover sings, “I lost my head/ For the last time/ Just feeling down/ I need to turn it around// I’m headed out/ And staying to the morning light/ Bleeds this night out/ Cause I’m after the good life/ The good life.”
Who hasn’t been there? Fed up with the grind, sick of the responsibilities, desperate to let loose, repercussions be damned. Linaberry, better known as The Bones of J.R. Jones, knows something about the grind.
“There was no ‘a-ha’ moment,” he said in press materials, “no life-changing revelation, no singular flash of inspiration. It was just a fierce, steady, undeniable energy, a force of nature I had to wrestle and wrangle with for years until I could harness it.”
Hence the name of his new album, Slow Lightning, a collection of 12 Southern Gothic songs—raw, visceral, and maybe a little haunted. Think Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska or Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago.
“I felt very lost at the time I was writing these songs,” Linaberry confessed. “It was a moment of deep crisis and anxiety, but I knew the only way out was through, which meant I just had to bring myself to the table every day and put in the work.”
The result is a terrific, somber album from a guy who started playing in New York punk bands before discovering and falling in love with Alan Lomax’s field recordings of American blues, folk, and gospel musicians throughout the 1930s and ’40s.
See him on his Slow Lightning Tour this Friday, Feb. 9, at Club Car Bar (7 p.m.; all ages; $15 at goodmedicinepresents.com) with Malena Cadiz, who’s touring in support of her third album, Hellbent & Moonbound.
The following evening, The Sam Chase & The Untraditional plays Saturday, Feb. 10, at Club Car Bar (8 p.m.; all ages; $18 at goodmedicinepresents.com) with Max MacLaury opening. The band’s bio sums it up perfectly: “The Sam Chase has a voice like a nun on the lam with a mouthful of cigarettes and curse words in a lonely bar, drunkenly dancing next to a broken jukebox. His songs are scribbled, not written, on lipstick and sweat stained motel bed sheets because he likes the way the ink bleeds. His guitar runs on diesel and leaks like the morning after too much whiskey. This is a show you’ll probably want to tattoo on your body so everyone will know that you knew him before he was cool.”
Country and Kottke
Country singer-songwriter Priscilla Block is a force of nature, a no holds barred, take no prisoners, love her or leave her kind of performer. Take her 2022 song “Off the Deep End,” on which she sings, “You can find me at the bar, shuttin’ down Broadway/ Going too hard, bat shit crazy/ So, turn the night up to ten, the whiskey’s fine, jump in/ Going off, off, off, off, off the deep end.” You wouldn’t know it at first, but the song’s about a breakup she refuses to let get her down.
“Well, I took a little time/ I threw myself a pity party/ Staying cooped up, hardly went out at night/ Turns out that’s pretty boring, yeah, maybe I’m just more of a/ Train wreck in the morning/ A tornado with no warning, uh huh// I hear you’re asking ’round town/ Where I been and where I got to, think I give a __ about you?/ Let me break it all down/ Yeah, ever since you left me, I’m letting loose/ Cause everything’s better on a dance floor/ Smoking Camels out the backdoor, uh huh/ Well, if you wanna go, I’m going right now.”
She’s a hoot, and she plays the Fremont Theater on Saturday, Feb. 10 (8 p.m.; all ages; $22 at prekindle.com) with Ryan Larkins opening.
“This is me,” Block said in press materials. “Love it or leave it.”
Virtuoso acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke plays the Fremont on Tuesday, Feb. 13 (8 p.m.; all ages; $37 to $62 at prekindle.com). Now 78, he remains a singularly talented fingerpicking guitarist who mixes blues, jazz, and folk to create mesmerizingly interesting syncopated and polyphonic rhythms played on frequently open-tuned guitar. He needs no introduction. He’s deservedly among the most famous guitarists in the world.
Pick your poison:
emo, classic country,
or ska-funk
The Siren is the big winner for variety this weekend with a little something for everyone. Into confessional lyrics over a punk beat? EMO KIDS have you covered on Friday, Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $17 presale at tixr.com), when they perform cover songs by bands such as My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, The All-American Rejects, Blink-182, and more. They strive for note-perfect renditions of classic emo hits.
It’s free music Saturday, Feb. 10, starting with Bitterwater Road (2 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), a local band playing classic country covers. Boot scoot and boogie, y’all. Later that night, check out the Nada Rasta OG Reunion Show (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). These local reggae-rock-ska-funk-punk legends return for an epic night.
According to organizers, “Nada Rasta is the culmination of a core group of musicians who have played together for years in several other bands. But after more than a few lineup changes and a lot of time spent hashing out new songs to fit the new group, this band is feverishly looking to travel and get themselves heard.”
Deadheads assemble
The Grateful Dead has been gone for 29 years, but for the last 12, Grateful Dead tribute band The China Cats has been filling the hole. They’re the longest running Bay Area Dead tribute known for their vast repertoire of nearly 200 of the band’s songs that retain the Dead’s sense of improvisation. As the Cats says, they sound “tight but loose; loose but tight.”
The China Cats feature lead guitarist Matt Hartle, known for his regular Grateful Sunday series at Felton Music Hall. Hartle also works with Joe Craven in the acoustic project Painted Mandolin. Rhythm guitarist Scott Cooper plays in SLO frequently with his band Rosebud. Rounding out the band is keyboard player Steve Sofranko, bassist Roger Sideman, and drummer Michael Owens.
The China Cats return to SLO Saturday, Feb 10, at SLO Brew Rock (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $15 at ticketweb.com). It’s the band’s first performance at this club.
Laissez les
bons temps rouler
Mardi Gras isn’t until Tuesday, Feb. 13, but you can get an early start when The Clark Center presents Mardi Gras Mambo featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas on Friday, Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m.; $45 to $65 at clarkcenter.org).
First formed in 1977, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is notable for incorporating funk, soul/R&B, and bebop into traditional New Orleans jazz sounds. Still going strong, they won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance in 2023.
The Zydeco Cha Chas is fronted by Nathan Williams, who grew up in a Creole-speaking home in St. Martinville. According to his bio, “Nathan eagerly sought out the music of zydeco originators such as Clifton Chenier. Later, while recovering from a serious illness, Nathan decided to dedicate himself to learning the accordion. That dedication blossomed into an illustrious career, which now spans three decades.”
Don’t miss your chance to see two Louisiana legends.
Love is in the air …
Looking for a grand gesture of affection to express your feelings for your significant other? Look no further than That’s Amoré, a Valentine’s bouquet of Broadway hits brought to you by Opera San Luis Obispo on Sunday, Feb. 11, in SLO’s historic Monday Club (1 p.m.; $100 at ticketleap.com).
According to OperaSLO, “This ‘Party with a Purpose’ is also a sneak preview to the leading cast of our Mother’s Day weekend grand production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast! We’re thrilled to introduce patrons to soprano Hilary Maiberger, who will play the role of Belle, and baritone Grant Gary, who will play the role of Beast! The event will also include a ‘Princess Dessert Auction’ showcasing the region’s finest bakers. This exciting recital will be accompanied by pianist Susan Davies and also feature talented young artists in an afternoon of Broadway’s greatest hits! What better way to show your love for someone special and OperaSLO? Tickets include wine and light appetizers.” Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Health & Wellness 2024.