SPRING SPRANG SPRUNG: What an active season we find ourselves in, so vitalizing and freeing. And fleeting though the flowers are, there feels something permanent about a spring every time it hits, as it strikes a resplendent chord of singing beauty so strong that other seasons seem imitative of these immortal moments. And spring, I’d say, is the spirit season of so many songs. Like the outdoors’ continual house band of birds, frogs, and insects, we are all musicians and listeners, heralding springs and springs-to-be, be we folkies, indie rockers, hip-hoppers, EDM dancers, or classically inclined.
POTLUCK POWER: This month starts with a wildflower carpet of delightful all-ages shows. Tonight, Thursday, April 7, the folks at the Funzone present a Potluck Show at I.V.'s Dashain Haus, featuring Washington’s Briana Marela, Lilac, Ings, Philadelphia's Cricket Joe, and Santa Barbara’s very own Katie Murray, a spring baby herself. So bring your own food and some kindness to spare as the giving spirit of spring makes itself felt in this fine feast of folk and feminine wisdom. Marela’s music is perfect for the times, day-dreamy, drifting, whisperingly quiet compositions that coo and croon like a rippling sea of crocuses.
THIRD EYE TIME: Seven being a lucky number, the seventh day of April is also the first Thursday of the month, and a day of many shows. While the Funzone fosters the new growth of spring in its celebration of new acts, other venues announce the returning of some flowers you thought were dormant. The Arlington Theatre, for example, welcomes to town the folks of Third Eye Blind, who play tonight, as well. Few bands remind this ’90s child of fountaining youth as do Third Eye Blind, whose hits like “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Never Let You Go” can put an intelligently and earnestly rocking pep into any step. The band's newest album, 2015’s Dopamine, shows singer Stephan Jenkins continuing to further his skills for catchy hooks and literate, heartfelt lyrics.