November 2
Regina SpektorIn the Venue(579 W. 200 South)6 p.m.$20.50
Born in Moscow, Regina Spektor inherited from her photographer father and music professor mother an old Petrof piano, the Czech-made upright with which she would first begin crafting her own melodies at the age of 16. To escape the anti-Semitism of the former Soviet Union, the Spektors moved to New York, where Regina eventually received a formal education in music from Purchase College’s music conservatory. This degree was complimented by her connection with the anti-folk music scene, headquartered in New York’s Sidewalk Café, where groups such as The Moldy Peaches plied its amusing musical parodies.
A break came with inclusion on The Strokes’ 2003-2004 tour, announcing to the world her catchy pop songwriting grounded in the classical tradition but indelibly fused with rock, punk and hip-hop.
November 3
The Octopus ProjectUrban Lounge(241 S. 500 East)9 p.m.$7
Emerging from the same city as the below mentioned Old Crow Medicine Show, The Octopus Project is as different from its Texan-folk brethren as the Dixie Chicks are from George W. Blending digital and analogue, pop and experimental, the Austin quartet paints a psychedelic and frenetic soundscape. Its relative anonymity was shattered by an appearance at last year’s Coachella music festival, the result of a devoted fan submitting the band in a contest for an available slot.
The delighted crowd, fueled by The Octopus Project’s impromptu addictive attention-deficit-disorder, future-sound performance, dispersed into the warm California evening, heralding the Project’s imminent celebrity.
November 5
Del Tha Funkee HomosapienClub Suede(1612 Ute Blvd., Park City)9 p.m.$20
Few are aware that Oakland, Calif.-raised underground legend Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is a cousin of gangster rapper Ice Cube. Fewer still possess the formerly arcane (but now common, thanks to Wikipedia) hip-hop knowledge that this co-founder of the Hieroglyphics Imperium record label ghostwrote some of Ice Cube’s pre-NWA lyrics — employing his gifted writing ability for Da Lench Mob. If additional rumors of his suspected involvement in writing for NWA are true, it only adds one more star to the lapel of this prolific underground general.
From his dystopian vision of life in the future on Deltron 3030 to his acclaimed collaboration on the Gorillaz’ single, “Clint Eastwood,” Del’s career has seen as many creative twists and turns as Bob Dylan’s. With the slated 2008 release date of his fifth solo studio album, The Eleventh Hour, he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The newest Del endeavor will be released on underground heavyweight Def Jux, followed by an even more highly anticipated event, the release of the sequel to the groundbreaking Deltron 3030, Deltron Event II.
November 7
Old Crow Medicine ShowThe Depot(13 N. 400 West)8 p.m.$20
Old Crow Medicine Show is a 21st century anachronism. On first listen to its old-time folk music, one would think it came directly from Woody Guthrie’s dustbowl and not the alternative and hip music scene of Austin, Texas. Its 2004 release, O.C.M.S., was named by the country music station CMT as one of the top-10 bluegrass albums of that year — an unsurprising accolade after listening to the group’s appealing blend of traditional instrumentation of fiddle, mandolin, upright bass and banjo. Kick up your cowboy boots and let the Old Crow Medicine Show rock you to folk nirvana with bluegrass music fit for the soundtrack of “O Brother, Where Art Thou.”
Hip Hop Live Tour (Brother Ali)Harry O’s(427 Main Street, Park City)9 p.m.$30
The big bad brother man has come a long way since his 2000 underground debut, the self-released Rites of Passage. The album was put together by a then struggling head of household trying to provide for his family while successively pursuing a bleak future in the music industry. Things have changed for the old-school Ali since he opened for Atmosphere on its “God Loves Ugly” tour. His latest, The Undisputed Truth, is unequivocally one of the best hip-hop albums of 2007, and its success means the former king of the Number Five Line can now afford an upscale downtown Minneapolis apartment, furnished by the bourgeois accoutrements of Ikea. The truth is indeed here!