Mark Lanegan. You know this voice whether or not you know his name (which you should). His velvety baritone vocals are the signature and his resume is impeccable. Witness for yourself as we’ve got tickets for his DC appearance.
Friday night is something you should have on your calendar. Two acts that have separately contributed a good deal to the foundation of a scene you love oh-so dearly play the 9:30 Club to kickstart your weekend. The bluegrass, folk, pop hybrid duo of Sean Wheeler (Throw Rag) and Zander Schloss (Joe Strummer, Circle Jerks) opens the night in gritty style.
Mark Lanegan’s contribution as one of Screaming Trees to an emerging grunge scene in Seattle during the early 1990s is legendary. Aside from the occasional collaboration with Belle & Sebastian’s Isobel Campbell, Lanegan’s solo career has been in stealth mode since the 2004 release of Bubblegum. But, his newest album Blues Funeral should draw some major attention for the caliber of musicality he’s bringing back to the table this year.
Lanegan’s most recent single, “Gravedigger’s Song” sets the somber tone for much of the new album with a few unexpected twists—without any weak M. Night Shyamalan surprises. All twelve songs on Blues Funeral reek with Lanegan’s cognac-soaked vocals, reminiscent of a modern day Johnny Cash or classic Tom Waits. The pain within the lyrics on Funeral reveal a lifetime of hardship with transcendent glimmers of hope, often just one drink away.
Enter to win a pair of tickets to Friday night’s show (which you should definitely be paying to see) by telling us your favorite grunge album in the comments below. And to make this a little more challenging, I’m picking Nirvana’s Bleach.
We’ll choose one winner for the pair of tickets this Thursday, 5/10 at noon.
