Live music highlights for the week of Nov. 14, 2018.
WEDNESDAY 11/14
COUNTRY
TISH HINOJOSA
Country singer Tish Hinojosa sings about healing. At least that’s the case for her gentle new album West, her first record in five years. The 62-year-old singer has been releasing country and Americana albums since the ’80s, with songs in English and Spanish. Leading up to this album, she returned to her home in Austin, Texas after a decade in Germany. She’s been recovering from a failed marriage and a couple of surgeries. She pours this spirit of mending and rebirth into West, which is at once rich with sadness and incredibly hopeful for the future. AARON CARNES
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $15. 479-9777.
PSYCHEDELIC
SUGAR CANDY MOUNTAIN
Sugar Candy Mountain offers some seriously classic psychedelic vibes, slowed down and awash in lulling vocals and meandering guitar riffs. Archetypal synths team up with warm vintage drums to create a what-decade-is-it time loop effect; it would be easy to put Sugar Candy Mountain on repeat and drive off into the unknown for an indeterminable amount of time. Maybe you’ll end up in the future. Or maybe the past. Either way, it will be in amazing technicolor, and you will leave Sugar Candy Mountain feeling fabulous and wonderfully worry-free. AMY BEE
INFO: 9 p.m., Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10/adv, $12/door. 429-6994.
THURSDAY 11/15
AMERICANA
TAYLOR RAE
Santa Cruz has a small town vibe, but tucked away are some of Northern California’s finest talents. Moe’s Alley highlights these local treasures with a Songwriters Showcase that features the soulful Taylor Rae, Moshe Vilozny, and David Jeremy. Last year, Rae won the Santa Cruz NEXTies “Musician of the Year” award, a glowing acknowledgment of her “Soul and Roll” sound (part R&B, part jazz, part Americana). Rae is still an up-and-coming voice in the Santa Cruz scene, but she’s already shown herself to be adept at captivating audiences. MIKE HUGUENOR
INFO: 8:30 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Drive, Santa Cruz. $10. 479-1854.
GYPSY-JAZZ
BARRIO MANOUCHE
Considering that the Bay Area has nurtured and supported thriving flamenco and Gypsy jazz scenes for decades, it’s not surprising that Barrio Manouche took root here. Launched about five years ago by Madrid-born composer and master guitarist Javier Jiménez, the band has honed a virtuosic, emotionally charged sound that draws on two distinct but kindred Roma musical traditions, leavened by a love of jazz improvisation and Afro-Brazilian rhythms. A joyous collusion between the Old and New Worlds, Barrio Manouche reveals hidden currents flowing between familiar sounds. ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $21/adv, $26.25/door. 427-2227.
FRIDAY 11/16
R&B
RICKY MONTIJO
Ricky Montijo is a multi-instrumentalist and a multi-genre tinkerer. He can, and does, play the guitar, percussion and keys. As far as genre, there are elements of Latin, pop, R&B, reggae, funk and blues, but it all boils down to an infectious, sassy dance-pop. Montijo is comfortable going full on with whatever genre he’s performing at the moment, whether it’s dirty, funky grooves, or a bit of ’90s electro-R&B. The California native has been dazzling the West Coast dance floors with his tunes and is currently pushing single “Toxic Tongue,” a rare example of a song that seems like it could be spun by a DJ. AC
INFO: 9 p.m. Flynn’s Cabaret and Steakhouse, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10. 335-2800.
HEAVY METAL
AK//47
AK//47 is not for the faint of heart. This Indonesian grindcore trio’s music is as abrasive as it is meticulously constructed, with blast beats, fast time-changes and brutal vocals. They are currently finishing the second half of their first U.S. tour, on the heels of their third LP release Loncati Pagar Berduri (Jump the Barbed Wire), and the Blue Lagoon is lucky enough to host the headbangers. They will be joined by Oakland grinders Violent Opposition, and local heshers Zombie Ritual for an evening of hell-raising fun. MAT WEIR
INFO: 9 p.m. Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, $5. 423-7117.
SATURDAY 11/17
BLACK METAL
DEAFHEAVEN
It’s not often that one record spawns an entire subgenre of music, but that’s exactly what Deafheaven’s 2013 album Sunbather did. It fused the punishing brutality of black metal with the dreamy atmospherics of shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. Since then, Deafheaven has never settled, pushing themselves on each release to bring metal to new sonic locales. The recent Ordinary Corrupt Human Love finds the band again flirting with a melodicism previously alien to black metal, this time bringing piano and post-rock into the equation. MH
INFO: 8 p.m. The Catalyst Atrium, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $25. 429-4135.
SUNDAY 11/18
FOLK
WILLIE WATSON
On his latest album, Folksinger Vol. 2, Willie Watson pays tribute to the deep Americana roots in folk music by sharing his musical interpretations of traditional folk canon tunes. From railroad songs to Appalachian music, Watson adds his gravelly voice to the legions of storytellers that have gone before him, paying homage without claiming ownership. Staying true to the essence of the tunes rather than seeking self-aggrandizement, Watson seeks out and then simply dwells in the joy of roots music, keeping the old stories alive for the folks who will come after. AB
INFO: 8 p.m., Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $15/adv, $18/door. 423-1338.
MONDAY 11/19
PUNK
GYMSHORTS
OK, maybe Gymshorts would traditionally be called garage rock or lo-fi, but their Facebook page self-proclaims the “stoner punk” status and you just got to love that. After all, what better moniker is there for punk tunes about getting high, sucky parents and eating burritos? This Rhode Island quartet hit the scene in 2013 and released their second EP, Wet Willy, on the holy grail of garage rock labels, Burger Records. Local teen rockers Crispy Bits complete the line-up for a show that will leave you talking about burning down the establishment. MW
INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $7. 429-6994.
