Awaiting Ween, loving Lorde, spicing it up with the Currys

Random downloads from the echoing canyons of my mind:

• Ween’s album “The Mollusk” turns 20 this year and that makes me feel a bit ancient, because it’s one of my favorite Ween releases and I remember playing the heck out of it back in the day. Gave it a little spin this week and it still sounds as fresh and weird and completely unclassifiable as it did in 1997. Ween is one of the headliners for this fall’s Suwannee Hulaween, which will be staged Oct. 27-29 at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. The fest is a grab-bag of groove, electronica and jam-oriented bands, with some outliers like Ween thrown in for spice. Other headliners include Run The Jewels, The String Cheese Incident, Portugal.The Man, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Kamasi Washington, the Jerry Douglas Band and Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Check it out at www.suwanneehulaween.com.

• My favorite thing on the interwebs this week was the video clip making the rounds on YouTube showing actor Andy Serkis (Gollum, Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” series) reading Donald Trump tweets in the voice of Gollum at the behest of “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert. “What is covfefe, Precious?” Google it.

From the Late to the Party archives:

• For a week or so now, I have been twitching in my office chair to the fuzzed out guitars and crashing cymbals of Ron Gallo’s “Young Lady You’re Scaring Me” from his 2017 album “Heavy Meta.” I had never heard of the dude – who used to front Philly band Toy Soldiers — until very recently, when my friend Carrie Henriquez tagged me in a Facebook post of a video for the song. It’s juicy, fun stuff, with Gallo yipping and yowling his way through the skewed, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The YouTube video is awfully fun, too.

• I loved Lorde’s “Royals” when it came out in 2013 but didn’t really pay any attention to anything else Lorde-related until I stumbled across the video for “Green Light” from her latest release “Melodrama.” It’s an insanely listenable song and in the video, Lorde is SO INTENSE! I mean, like, so really, really intense it’s almost scary, except you know just how she feels. You know how you go a little crazy and wild after a bad breakup and you drink too much wine and crank the music up too loud and dance around the house, slamming into the walls and bouncing off the bathroom sink, wearing your ex-boyfriend’s boxer shorts and a too-big T-shirt that still smells like him, and you’re crying but you’re dancing, too, and you’re sad but mostly you’re kind of pissed off, man. That’s how Lorde is in this video, and she dances like no one’s watching – or, actually, like she doesn’t give a flying you-know-what if anyone is watching. After watching this video about 10 times in a row, I promptly downloaded the whole album, which is thorny and hard to pigeonhole and downright brilliant in places. Love it.

Now that I’ve cleared some of the clutter out of my noggin, I have room for some of the tuneful business of the week ahead. Here we go:

Savor the Currys

The finely meshed harmonies and musical mind-meld of The Currys is a family thang. The trio is comprised of brothers Jimmy and Tommy Curry and cousin Galen Curry, who all started singing together when they were teens at family reunions in Port St. Joe, where the brothers grew up (Galen was raised in upstate New York). The Currys burned up the blacktop promoting their debut album “Follow” with a two-year tour that took them all over the U.S. The follow-up, “West of Here,” finds the trio more simpatico than ever, weaving their voices together on gentle love songs, yearning lost-love songs and muscular Americana stomps. Expect to hear tunes from both albums, along with a few tasty covers (such as “No Diggity,” “Atlantic City,” “Waterfalls” and “Purple Rain”) when The Currys brings the full band for a show with opener Devil’s Kin at 8 p.m. Friday at Fifth & Thomas, 1122 Thomasville Road. Day of show tickets are $18. Visit www.fifthandthomas.com.

Roll out for Margolin

Legendary blues guitarist Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin earned his stripes playing in Muddy Waters’ band for eight years in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. That’s where he honed the choogling, simmering old-school blues he brings to every barn-burning show he plays. Margolin is a favorite at Tallahassee’s little juke joint under the oaks, and he’ll be there on the corner stage to pitch a wang-dang-doodle at 9 p.m. Friday at Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Day of show tickets are $25. Call 850-906-0766 or visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

A miracle, with paella!

Celebrate Bastille Day in the traditional Tallahassee way, by watching the short historic dramedy “Miracle of Ice” — which chronicles (in a condensed way) a Bastille Day bash in Apalachicola in 1850, when Dr. John Gorrie provided man-made ice for the punch — at 8 p.m. Friday at Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Road. Real Paella will be cooking up duck and rabbit, seafood and vegetarian paellas on the patio (OK, so it’s not French, but it’s very delicious). It’s free to see the play; a plate of paella is $14 and includes a side salad. Ole, and vive la France! Call 850-224-1887 or visit www.waterworkstally.com.

Look on the Brightside

The Los Angeles-based quartet Sleeptalk wraps all the angst of contemporary youth in pulsing electro-pop for a show with Tallahassee’s Brightside and DBMK from Tampa, along with Echo Electric and Hit By Cars at 7:30 p.m. Friday at The Wilbury, 513 Gaines St. Day of show tickets are $13. It’s an all-ages show; there’s a $2 under-21 fee charged at the door. Visit www.thewilburytallahassee.com or call 850-320-6353.

Keys to the kingdom

It takes a special double-bill to fill the late Col. Bruce Hampton’s shoes. Hampton was scheduled for the July slot in the Sundown Series of summer concerts, but he left this earthly plane May 1 onstage at his birthday concert in Atlanta. Local supergroup Dead Keys — which includes Avis Berry, Brian Burgess, Brian Durham, Danny and Kelly Goddard and more — will step into the spotlight along with The Midtowners to pay tribute to Col. Bruce and to departed bandmate Scott Campbell from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Capital City Amphitheater in Cascades Park. It’s free; bring the kiddos, a cooler and a blanket to spread under the stars.

Feelin’ the blues

Grammy-nominated blues unit Bryan Lee & Six String Therapy brings some swampy New Orleans hoodoo to the mix for a show at 9 p.m. Saturday at Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Lee, who’s been blind since the age of 8, is known as the Braille Blues Daddy and his fingers know how to make a guitar sing and swing. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 day of show. Call 850-906-0766 or visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

The doctor is in

For years, ethnomusicologist, educator, blues historian and performer Dr. David Evans has made regular stops in Tallahassee, where he hooked up with like-minded antique blues practitioners Belmont & Jones. Evans rolls in for a show with his pals at 8 p.m. Saturday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. He will host a workshop on country blues from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday before the show. The workshop is $30; call 850-264-6916 to save a space. Admission to the evening performance is $5, free for workshop participants. Call 850-212-5204.

Southern charm, Detroit grit

Husband-and-wife musical duo S.G. and Rachel Wood were born and raised in Detroit, but now they hang their hats in Tampa. As The Hummingbirds, the pair meshes limber, easy harmonies as fresh and airy as a river breeze in songs that fuse their influences into their own unique brand of Americana. They’re twangy, they’re soulful, they’re a little bit country and a whole lot harmonious. Catch The Hummingbirds, with opener Rick Ott, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at From the Heart Recording Studio in Sopchoppy. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door; seating is limited, so call 850-962-5282 or email fromtheheartrecordingstudio@gmail.com to save your spot.

How now, Tao Z. Jonz

It has been a very long time since Taomeister Larry McCraw gathered his forces in the band Tao Z. Jonz to perform a typically wild, weird and wonderful show. So it’s a very special occasion for Tao Z. Jonz to assemble with the vocal and visual support of the Peach Diamond Symphony to amaze and entertain at 8 p.m. Thursday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. Admission is $2. Call 850-212-5204.

And the beat goes on . . .

Shake, shake, shake your booty to the righteous groove of Crooked Shooz at 8 p.m. Friday at the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella. Admission is $8 for a singlet, $15 for a couple. Call 850-222-3382. . . . Hot Tamale plays at the opening reception for the “Florida’s First Highwaymen” exhibit from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Gadsden Arts Center in Quincy. It’s free. Call 850-875-4866. . . . Hang 10 with surf-twang tunes by The Intoxicators from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Road. Cover is $5. Call 850-224-1887 or visit www.waterworkstally.com. . . . Dress up in your best biker gear and be part of a live video shoot when Tobacco Road Band turns up the amps Saturday night at Corner Pocket Bar N Grill, 2475 Apalachee Pkwy. Public Address plays from 8 to 10 p.m., and Tobacco Road roars from 10 p.m. to midnight. Admission is $10. Call 850-574-2724. . . . Jazz drummer Leon Anderson brings his ensemble to play a mid-summer concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at B Sharp’s Jazz Cafe, 648 W. Brevard St. Cover is $10 and there’s a $10 minimum. Visit www.b-sharps.com or call 850-766-00972. . . . Enjoy loping, sunny jangle with Brit-pop overtones when Kansas City band Rev Gusto joins singer-songwriter Lazarus Wilde and Dylan “Ragpicker” Allen for a dance party at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Wilbury, 513 W. Gaines St. It’s free. Visit www.thewilburytallahassee.com. . . . Jazz on the Square presents the Jason Faust Sextet from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Black Dog on the Square in Railroad Square Art Park. Admission is $5 at the door. Call 850-841-7778. . . . The inaugural Tallahassee City Limits: Songwriter Sessions evening is hosted by Keal Franklin and features Boo Radley at 7 p.m. Sunday at The Junction at Monroe, 2011 S. Monroe St. It’s free. Visit www.junctionatmonroe.com. . . . The Tony Young Trio plays a sunset jam from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Harry A’s on St. George Island. It’s free. Call 850-927-3400. . . . Tallahassee Swing celebrates 28 years of tripping the light fantastic at Tuesday night dances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella. Admission is $6. Call 850-222-3382. . . . Get good and irie when Resinated, The Ries Brothers, Sway Jah Vu and Yamadeo team up for a show at 9 p.m. Wednesday at 926 Bar & Grill, 926 W. Tharpe St. Tickets are $8 advance, $10 day of show. Visit www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1501885. . . . Jeff Henry joins his former music students Ryan and Henry Mondak for a jazz concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St. Admission is $2. Call 850-212-5204.