Blue Oyster Cult — still led by longtime members Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and Eric Bloom on vocals and guitars — appears at the Academy of Music in Northampton on Thursday, April 11, at 8 p.m.
Recent generations know BOCfrom the celebrated Saturday Night Live skit involving their hit “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” and a producer who needs “more cowbell,” but I was a ’70s kid who got creeped out by the hard rock band’s mysterious album covers and ominous “hook and cross” logo. (Though now it’s easy to find out that the symbol relates to the Greek god Kronos and the alchemical symbol for lead (“one of the heaviest of metals,” very appropriate).
The swirling, mesmerizing “Reaper” and stomping, tongue-in-cheek rocker “Godzilla” were FM radio staples during my preteen years, and with the early-MTV-era “Burnin’ For You,” the group created a perfect pop song — dual-guitar-harmonies, cool drum fills, a fantastic bass line and vocal hooks all over the place.
Blue Oyster Cult’s current set stretches all the way back to their 1972 self-titled debut, including fan faves like “Cities On Flame With Rock and Roll,” “Hot Rails To Hell” and “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence),” and the band is letting the music do the talking, with a no-nonsense show that focuses on the tunes.
Buck Dharma recently said in an interview that the band plans to record and release a new album this year, its first in almost two decades.
John Sheldon and Annie Guthrie (daughter of Arlo) team up for a gig at the Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m.
Local funk band Soul Magnets celebrate springtime with a show at the Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton on Friday, April 5, at 9:30 p.m.
YouTube sensations Scary Pockets are a funk-happy collective led by Jack Conte (Pomplamoose, Patreon founder) and they’ll be at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke on Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m.
Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and his International All-Stars appear at the Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst on Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m.
The Suitcase Junket just released a new album, “Mean Dog, Trampoline” (on the Signature Sounds label), and to celebrate, Matt Lorenz’s one-man band takes the stage at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls on Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m. Aubrey Haddard is the opening act. All ages.
Owen Manure, Grey Matter, and Izzy Hagerup appear at The Root Cellar in Greenfield on Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m.
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn take the stage at the Academy of Music on Sunday, April 7, at 7 p.m.
DakhaBrakha, (top right) world music quartet from Kiev, Ukraine, plays Gateway City Arts on Tuesday, April 9, at 8 p.m. Their name means “give/take,” but you don’t need to understand the language to connect emotionally — they’re unlike any band you’ve ever seen or heard.
Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Karla Bonoff (center right) had her biggest chart hit with a tune she didn’t write (the catchy “Personally” in 1982), but she penned lots of great songs in the ‘70s and ‘80s, some of which were covered by Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt. Bonoff performs at the Iron Horse on Thursday, April 11, at 7 p.m.
Colleen Green (bottom right), Ben Katzman’s DeGreaser, Taxidermists and Jesus Vio play the Root Cellar on Thursday, April 11, at 8 p.m. All ages.
Ken Maiuri can be reached at tunedincolumn@gmail.com.