Briefs

Yesteryear roars back

Journey, Heart

and

Cheap Trick

Date: Wednesday, August 6, gates at 6 pm

Venue: The Amphitheater at the Wharf (4550 Main St. in Orange Beach) www.thewharfal.com

Tickets: $75, $69.50, $49.50, or $39.50 available through Ticketmaster

The Amphitheater at the Wharf will echo with the sounds of proms past when Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick take the stage.

Of these three bands, Journey’s appearance has to be one of the most anticipated, as they are standards of classic rock radio across the U.S., and not many people fail to recognize former frontman Steve Perry’s alto vocals. When Perry departed the band, it left the rest of Journey’s members wondering how to replace that distinctive voice.

Fast-forward to 2007 as Journey guitarist Neil Schon caught wind of a Filipino band called The Zoo whose lead singer’s voice bore a striking resemblance to Perry’s. After viewing their performances on YouTube, Schon contacted front man Arnel Pineda. Before long Pineda was fronting Journey full-time and lent his vocals to their latest album “Revelation,” which debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Top 200.

Positioned to please

Analog

Missionary

Date: Saturday, August 9, 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Mary O’Keefe Cultural Center Theater (1600 Gov’t St. in Ocean Springs, Miss.)

Tickets: $8 at the door

Analog Missionary remains one of the area’s most enigmatic and eclectic musical groups. Their brand of “art-rock” has amazed audiences across the nation, and they continue to tour and record in the process.

As far as their live performance, the members of Analog have made a habit out of trying to make each show special. From Anstrom’s belly-dancing to the addition of instruments such as the Theremin and the Chapman’s Stick, each performance is truly a unique experience.

And now they are taking it to a whole new level

With their upcoming performance in Ocean Springs, Analog plans on immersing their audience in art. As the crowds enter the theater, various artists from sculptors to painters will be creating and displaying art associated with the show. Not only will they bombard the audience with multimedia, but Analog is also planning to perform several numbers with a Middle Eastern theme as Anstrom dances.

High country sound in lowlands

Malcolm Holcombe

Date: Sunday, August 3, 8 p.m.

Venue: Callaghan’s Irish Social Club (916 Charleston St.) 433-9374

Tickets: $6 at the door

Mobile will get a healthy dose of the Carolinas from Malcolm Holcombe. Three years ago, this down-home artist made his presence known in the Port City with an impressive performance at Satori Coffee. Since then, he has added to his healthy fan base not only in the U.S. but also Europe.

The literary bent of his lyrics combined with an organic sound has made Holcombe quite a hit with fans of country, folk and blues. Critics compare him to such icons as John Prine and Tom Waits, earning him spots opening for Wilco, Shelby Lynne and Merle Haggard. His live shows are mentally intense as they easily conjure up haunting images of the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.

Holcombe released his latest album “Gamblin’ House” (his sixth full-length) in February 2008 and a few weeks after its release, it peaked at nine on the Americana Music Association chart.

With “Gamblin’ House,” Holcombe can soothe the listener into dream with songs like “My Ol’ Radio” or have feet stompin’ and hands clappin’ with songs like “Goodtime.”

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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