Column for October 20, 2010

We have a big week in store for the southeast Idaho live music scene, with concerts at large and small venues throughout the weekend.

Tomorrow the 21st, Destino is in concert at the Blackfoot Performing Arts center. Concert starts at 7:00 p.m., and tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students to age 18, available at Tweedy's Music or online at www.blackfootpac.com. For more information, call (208)317-5508.

Although Destino formed only a few years ago, their musical fusion blend of opera and pop music, coined as “popera,” has been received with praise from audiences and critics alike. A few of their peak performances have been at the 2008 Miss America Pageant, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The Canadian-based group includes vocalists Terance Reddick and Joey Niceforo, pianist Roy Tan and violinist Rosemary Siemens, who draw on influences from gospel, soul, R&B, jazz and musical theater. Their debut CD, “Forte,” released in 2008 included the single "Show Me the Way Back to Your Heart," composed by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren. For more, visit www.destino3.com.

Ok, popera not your style? The FlipSide Lounge has a psychobilly / punk show that may be of interest. On Thursday the 21st, Trigger Itch and Demoni, both based from Boise, will crank it up starting at 8:00 p.m. The FlipSide is open to those 21 and over.

Demoni calls themselves “surfified punkabilly,” a collaboration of many different music styles. Find out more at www.myspace.com/demonipsycho. Trigger Itch plays alternative rock and punk. Find them online at www.myspace.com/triggeritch.

And on both Thursday and Friday, the 21st and 22nd, Sweet Rain plays at the Riverside Hot Springs Restaurant & Lounge in Lava. Music entertainment is free to the public of all ages and starts at 5:30 p.m. The Riverside is located at 255 E. Portneuf Ave., just off Main Street in Lava. Call (208)776-5504 for more information.

Sweet Rain is a guitar and piano duo of husband and wife, Vince and Jena, based from Colorado. Expect instrumental, easy listening music that ranges from nostalgic standards to light classical. “Of course I’ve done piano bar and corporate party type gigs as a single,” Jena writes from their website, “but playing in a duo setting with Vince has let me blend my classical training with his years of jazz, country and pop experience.”

Listen for their single, “Miracle of You,” which was used for Dateline NBC’s piece “A Long Way Home.” Read more at www.sweetrainmusic.com.

Two concert cancellations of note: folk singer Judy Collins’ concert at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls, which was scheduled for Friday the 22nd by an independent promoter, was cancelled last week. And Blood On the Dance Floor, the electronica / powerpop band based from Florida, has moved their Friday concert from The Icon on Main Street in Pocatello to The Basement in Ogden, UT, according to their website.

On a more positive note, Idaho’s Douglas Cameron is scheduled to play at Marigolds Wine on Flandro Drive in Pocatello this weekend, Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 7:00 p.m. Music entertainment is free; Marigolds is open to those 21 and over.

Douglas Cameron released his first CD, “The Consequence of My Choices,” in 2004. His most recent CD, “Songs of September,” was released in 2009. Cameron plays folk, rock and pop with a twinge of country. Visit www.douglascameron.net.

At Portneuf Valley Brewing this weekend, located on S. 1st Ave. in Pocatello, the Kevin Young Jazz Quartet takes the stage on Friday the 22nd beginning at 8:30 p.m. Music entertainment is free and open to all ages.

Kevin Young has been playing saxophone for 35 years. In 2001, Young released his first CD of jazz standards, "Sax for the Soul," and a few years later released a collection of holiday songs. Expect to get up and dance; this jazz quartet has been known to swing. For more, visit www.jazzsaxrecords.com.

And on Saturday the 23rd, the locally-based roots rock and reggae band, Bender, plays at the pub starting at 8:30 p.m.

Bender has been a long-time area favorite band, appearing at many outdoor local events as well as on regular rotation at Portneuf Valley Brewing. Formed in 2008, Bender plays mostly original music, a few covers now and then, on guitars, lap steel, harmonica, banjo and percussion. If you haven’t caught one of their shows, Saturday night will be a good time to do it. They’re groovy, man.

Find Bender online at www.myspace.com/benderpocatello or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Bender.

Linda Alexander
a.k.a. Lana Banana for Idaho Live Music
slowloosegravel@yahoo.com
slowloosegravel.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/showmetheband