BY GWEN DERU
TODAY
BERMUDA TRIANGLE at Iron City.
ROOTS 2 GRASS, CHESHIRE POSSUM and MEGAN MCMILLAN at the Nick.
COMEDIAN JB BALL at the StarDome Comedy Club.
LESS THAN JAKE at Saturn.
LIVE BAND KARAOKE, 7:30 p.m. at Perfect Note.
JOSE’ CARR WITH JAZZ ON FIRST, 7-10 p.m. at Jazzy’s on First Avenue North.
LIVE AT STEEL, 8 p.m. with SHARRON performing and DJ DUBB in the Mix at Steel on First at 23rd Street, downtown Birmingham. Get your live music and dance on every Thursday night.
AFTER WORK AFFAIR every Thursday, 4 p.m. at 1st and 23rd.
BERMUDA TRIANGLE featuring BRITTANY HOWARD OF ALABAMA SHAKES, BECCA MANCARI and JESSE LAFSER with THELMA AND THE SLEAZE at Iron City.
FRIDAY
COMEDIAN BRUCE BRUCE at the StarDome Comedy Club.
SCARLET CANARY, FORGOTTEN GREY, BLINDSPOT and ONE DAY CLOSER at the Nick.
RUMBA LATINA BIRMINGHAM: LATIN NIGHT at Saturn.
GUITARIST DAVID P. STEVENS at Perfect Note.
HARD WORKING AMERICAN with LOS COLOGNES at Iron City.
TIM SPINOSI’S COLOSSAL COMEDY SIDE SHOW at StarDome Comedy Club, 7:30 p.m.
JAZZ at UNWIND FRIDAY, 8 p.m. at Jazzi’s on 3rd with great jazz.
FANCY FRIDAYS, 5 p.m. featuring JILLIAN GRAY with YARBROUGH & COMPANY every Friday at Legends on 18th Street North, Downtown. Birmingham. This is an After Work Experience hosted by Keely and Tiger and catered by Chef Jones. Call (205) 212-4406 for more.
PLUM BAR on 17th Street, Downtown.
HARD WORKING AMERICANS at Iron City.
SATURDAY
AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY at Iron City. 6 p.m.
RAILROAD PARK is where the fun is Saturday.
BOX ERA, SUNQUAKES, KYLE KIMBRELL BAND and MURPH, at the Nick.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, every Saturday, at Luxe Ultra Lounge, 300 24th Street S with DJ CHOCOLATE.
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
VOCALIST SANDY REDD,7 p.m. at the Perfect Note.
*VNV NATION and IVARDENSPHERE at Saturn 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
Convict Leasing and Parke Papers, 3-5:30 p.m. at the Central Library.
SLOW ART SUNDAY, 2 p.m. at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
GINO FANELLI and G. W. HENDERSON 8 p.m. at the Nick.
PARACHUTE PUNK NIGHT w. HOUND and COMMEL MOSEL at Saturn.
OH WONDER: ULTRALIFE TOUR at Iron City
MONDAY
NICK HAKIM and SAM EVIAN 9 p.m. at The Nick.
CARD PLAYERS SPOT at the TIDE AND TIGER, 6 – 12 p.m.
TUESDAY
BILLY RAFFOLD at the Alabama Theatre and opening for NEEDTOBEATHE
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
TIDE AND TIGER HOT TUESDAY, 3 p.m. until … on Graymont across from Legion Field with $.50 wings and drink specials until 9 p.m. For more call (205) 503-3880.
THE VIBRATORS, LOLAS and SKEPTIC?, 9 p.m. at the Nick
PLUM BAR on 17th Street, Downtown.
JOSE’ CARR at the Boss Lounge, 8:30 – 11 p.m.
(SANDY) ALEX G HOVVDY and CRUMB at Saturn.
WEDNESDAY
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
WINE AND JAZZ at the Perfect Note.
SERATONES, ROYAL & TOULOUSE and ALABAMA ROSE at Saturn.
VAJRA and EMBER at the Nick.
NEXT THURSDAY
SMART PARTY at Iron City.
FOLK FAMILY REVIVAL and WATCHING FOR FOXES at the Nick.
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
DINOSAUR JR. and ESY ACTION at Saturn.
NEXT FRIDAY
COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
PSYCHO DEVILLES, V-8 DEATH CAR, and THE MIKEY CLAIMS BAND at the Nick.
ALWAYS and NAP EYES at Saturn.
JUDAH & THE LION – GOING TO MARS TOUR at Iron City.
FOR COMMUNITY LOVERS
AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL – Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church is hosting an African American Cultural Festival on FridAy, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. DJ VIC will be mixing the music with special guests the BIRMINGHAM HERITAGE BAND. There will be African dancing, line dancing, church tours, solo jazz musicians, fashion show, Bingo, Raffle Drawings, Children’s Face Painting, Mobile Game Truck Tennis Exhibit, African and American Cuisine and beverages, a Vendors Market and much more. The address is 608 First Street South, Birmingham, Alabama 35205. For more information, call (205) 960-2833.
SPEED NETWORKING – Join and meet 300-400 prospects from across the Greater Birmingham area on October 12, 8:30 – 10:20 a.m. at the Birmingham Marriott, 3590 Grandview Parkway. There will be other participating chambers including Greater Shelby County, Homewood, Hoover Area, Motevallo, Mountain Brook, South Shelby, Trussville and Vestavia Hills. RSVP to shamber@mtnbrookchamber.org.
WALL STREET JOURNAL RECOGNIZES BIRMINGHAM – The Wall Street Journal featured Birmingham in a travel article, ” A Truly Delicious Long Weekend in Birmingham, Ala.” After providing a brief history of the city, the article provides a three-day guide to the most prominent barbecue restaurants, bars and historical landmarks in Birmingham. Among the Birmingham sites earning praise were Highlands Bar & Grill, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Railroad Park, the Negro Southern League Museum, the Redmont Hotel, Barber Motorsports Park and several others. This latest media appearance for Birmingham follows a host of others including DK Eyewitness Travel, Southern Living, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Washington Post.
FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS
SATURDAY DAYHIKE, 9 a.m. at Point Mallard Park and Dancey Bottoms, Decatur, Alabama – DETAILS: The hiking route offers very scenic views. The Point Mallard Park portion of the walk will be on a trail right along Wheeler Lake, an impoundment of the Tennessee River. It a wildlife refuge for the Dancey Bottoms part of this hike, the trip is primarily a hike and not a bird-watching trip. There will be bird watching at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Observation Building with variety of birds including several species of waterfowl and possibly a few sandhill cranes. Bring a picnic lunch and drink to eat on the trail. Rated fairly easy. Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 7 and over are welcome. Optional dinner after. Meet 9 a.m. at the Hayden/Corner Park and Ride. Info: Dan Frederick, seoutings@bellsouth.net or (205) 631-4680.
SUNDAY DAYHIKE, 1 p.m. -Southeastern Outings Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park – DETAILS: Enjoy a moderate four mile walk in the woodlands near Birmingham on a Sunday afternoon. This is an excellent outing for introducing your friends to Southeastern Outings and for making new friends who enjoy the outdoors. Parts of this hike may be off the color-coded trails. There will be some ups and downs. Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 8 and up able to walk the distance of about four miles and complete the hike are welcome. Share an adventure! Bring a friend. Optional dinner after the hike.
Depart 1 p.m. from the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. Bring $5/person adults ($2 seniors age 62 and over and children age 4-11) park admission fee plus your drink. Info: Edd Spencer, (205)317-5868.
FOR MUSIC LOVERS AND SPOKEN WORD
BARDS & BREWS POETRY SLAM, Friday 6:30 – 9 p.m. at the Central Library. BPL’s popular spoken word poetry and craft beer event returns in a poetry slam format as part of the 2017 Eat Drink Read Write Festival through October 10. Shaheed & DJ Supreme will be performing live at 6:30 p.m. and poetry will begin to flow just after 7 p.m. Must be 18 or older to enter and 21 or older to drink beer.
SERATONES AT SATURN – SERATONES will be rocking the house Tuesday at Saturn with Get Gone, the potent debut album by the Shreveport, Louisiana natives in Seratones, makes a strong case that this little-known corner of the state is fertile ground, musically speaking. A.J. Haynes (vocals), Connor Davis (guitar), Adam Davis (bass) and Jesse Gabriel (drums) serve up a combination of Southern musicality, garage rock ferocity, and general badassery. Haynes’s powerful singing voice, first honed at Brownsville Baptist Church in Columbia, Louisiana at age 6, rings across every track. Davis’s bass and Gabriel’s playing propel every song with the grit, energy, and rawness of punk, the feeling of soul, and occasionally, a little jazz swing. The other Davis offers a clinic in guitar riffs, from swaggering blues to searing interstellar leads.
JAZZ at UNWIND FRIDAY, 8 p.m. at Jazzi’s on 3rd with great jazz.
LIVE BAND and KARAOKE, 8-11 p.m., tonight, at the Perfect Note.
GUITARIST DAVID P. STEPHENS, Friday and VOCALIST SANDY REDD on Saturday, 9 p.m. at the Perfect Note.
SUNDAY JAZZ, 5 p.m. at the Perfect Note.
JAZZ JAM SESSIONS, every Fourth Sunday, 6 p.m. at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (Carver Theatre), except for Christmas.
SPOKEN WORD OPEN MIC NIGHT, every Third Sunday, 7 p.m. at the Carver Theatre.
BILLY RAFFOUL AT THE ALABAMA THEATRE – Singer, songwriter, and musician Billy Raffoul released “Driver” to rave reviews with NPR stating “Billy Raffoul has stepped into the spotlight with a strong debut single that foreshadows a promising career as a songwriter and singer.” He followed “Driver” with the release of “Dark Four Door” and an accompanying video of Billy’s powerful acoustic performance of the song. The 22-year old Raffoul’s signature sound is a rough-hewn, low-timbered rock and roll that nods to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Neil Young, and Joe Cocker, and is powered by Raffoul’s gravelly, soulful voice and deeply felt lyrics.
FOR COMEDY LOVERS
AT THE STARDOME:
TODAY: COMEDIAN JB BALL. His personality keeps his audiences engaged, thinking and laughing through another show that varies each night, while keeping it fresh, current and sometimes topical Ball is always weaving together his established favorites, newer material and maybe some funny stuff that popped into his head on the way over or right there. JB Ball’s mic skills have landed him appearances on MTV, CBS, Comcast, SIRIUS/XM Satellite Radio, and the 2013 film The Investigator. Ball was the winner of the 2014 Trial By Laughter Comedy Fest and recently won the title of Florida’s Funniest Comic. His observations are the kind that make you laugh right before engaging you in a deeper debate. Either way you bounce it you’ll have a ball with J.B. Ball!
THIS WEEKEND: COMEDIAN BRUCE BRUCE. Bruce Bruce is a name synonymous with keeping audiences rolling with laughter thanks to his captivating improv skills. Bruce’s larger than life comedic style has been showcased across the country. His wit, spontaneity and dazzling personality set him apart from other standup comedians. Although Bruce is known for his adult comedy, he prides himself on not using vulgarity to win a laugh. He is well known to audiences from his two-year stint of the host of BET’s “Comic View” as well as the host of BET’s “Coming to the Stage.” Bruce can currently be seen as “Big Shug” in the Lionsgate feature film ” Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector”, starring along side comedian Larry the Cable Guy.
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time.
(People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send comments to my emails: thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com or gwenderu@yahoo.com.)
