Tim’s Picks: An edition Out of the Blue
Tim’s Picks: An edition Out of the Blue
Five of the best ideas heading into your Greater Lafayette weekend.
Support today comes from Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting a free showing of “The Price of Progress: The Indiana Avenue Story” on Nov. 14 at Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. The two-act play highlights the heritage of a downtown Indianapolis community called “The Harlem of the Midwest” for its thriving culture of Black-owned businesses, performing arts, educational influences and a jazz legacy — from bebop to hip-hop — that attracted the most renowned musicians of the 20th century. Get more details and free tickets here.
Thanks also to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
And now, with five of the best ideas heading into your weekend, here’s …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
“Hasta la Muerte” by Las Cafeteras, 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center, Purdue University — For millions of Latinos, spooky season doesn’t end at Halloween. Oct. 31 is just the prelude to Day of the Dead — All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). These holidays often include the intense visuals of sugar skulls, altars dedicated to the dead and black clothing. It’s also full of music as Los Angeles’ Las Cafeteras proves. The band harnesses the pageantry and emotion of the holiday throughout its “Hasta la Muerte” show. Along with the music, dancers add to the visuals for a captivating and intense performance. $24-32. Tickets.
Frank Muffin’s ELO Tribute: ‘Out of the Blue,’ 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4 and 5, The Arts Federation, 638 North St., Lafayette — Jeff Lynne — ELO front man, Traveling Wilbury and iconic sunglasses wearer — will get the Frank Muffin tribute treatment for two concerts this weekend. Local rock trio Frank Muffin has found a niche in putting on full-scale and impressive tribute concerts. The band usually homes in on a certain signature album: Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” The Band’s “Last Waltz” and the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” were all presented by Frank Muffin and friends in recent years. ELO’s “Out of the Blue” is a worthy choice as it features singles “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” and “It’s Over.” However, this event isn’t just a chance to groove to the 1977 multiplatinum album. It’s also to witness how guitarist Hans Rees, bassist Brittany Rees and drummer Brad Pendleton employ 16 of their friends to fill out the sound. “This ELO album has been on our ‘list’ for a number of years,” Brittany Rees said, “and it was truly just time to dive in and dedicate our time to this one: the most ambitious album musically since ‘Sgt. Peppers’ (2017) and ‘The Wall.’ (2018). This one is truly a musical feat to pull off live, since there were so many recording techniques that are difficult to perform. We are playing the entire double album cover to cover, plus some additional ELO hits to finish the night.” Proceeds from both shows will benefit Family Promise of Greater Lafayette homeless shelter. $20. Tickets.
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PMO Fall Show, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette — Dozens of Purdue Musical Organizations’ (PMO) singers and bell ringers will showcase their talents during the PMO Fall Show. You’ll hear new arrangements from Purdue Bells, Heart & Soul, the All-Campus & Community Chorale, and the University Choir, which helped absolutely bring the house down during last weekend’s Lafayette Master Chorale’s “Considering Matthew Shepard” concert at St. Thomas Aquinas. The Boilermakers blended seamlessly with the Lafayette Master Chorale for a powerful experience that yielded a several-minute standing ovation. While the Lafayette Master Chorale is the cream of the crop, the young voices beefed things up in sound and emotion. Hardly any eyes did not have at least some dust in them that day. Check out these excellent singers on their own, though, this weekend at this free concert.
Grandmaster Flash, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Saturday, Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center, Purdue University — Hip hop celebrated its 50th birthday this summer, and one of the artists that was there in the genre’s infancy will share stories and music about rap’s roots. Grandmaster Flash was one of the first standout DJs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, he had one of hip-hop’s first hits and the first track to speak on societal ills with “The Message.” Flash and other historians trace hip hop’s birth to parties thrown by DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx, New York. Flash attended those parties and started performing soon after as a DJ. Flash was one of the first to employ scratching, beat matching and creating a bed of beats from short snippets of music that eventually led to sampling. It's only fitting that Flash’s “The Message” is a popular sample itself and can be heard on many, many recent TikTok posts. It’s proof that hip-hop is a dominant force today in the United States musically and culturally — and it all started on a couple turntables in New York City. Free but tickets are required.
The Receipts with Vanilla Fortress and The Jackies, 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, The Spot Tavern, 409 S. Fourth St., Lafayette — Sort of like a low-fi Mr. Bungle, The Receipts are most likely the weirdest band in Muncie. The group, led by vocalist David Dale, features funky guitar, heavy bass and minimal drums to create such sonic masterpieces as “Pubic Hair in the Street” and “Mommy’s Handsome Boy.” The Receipts are fresh from a gig at The Melody Inn in Indianapolis before the band will make its Lafayette debut. Opening the show will be Vanilla Fortress and Lafayette’s own The Jackies. $10.
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
Thanks, again, to Stuart & Branigin for sponsoring today’s edition.
Thanks, also, to Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting a free showing of “The Price of Progress: The Indiana Avenue Story” on Nov. 14 at Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. Get more details and free tickets here.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.