is still that Latin performer, stuffed into a rock en espanol box that does precious little save limit people’s exposure to brilliant music.
The list of reasons to listen to her and see her live are so many: most music is pretty stinky right now; so what if you can’t speak Spanish; great music needs to be celebrated. You can even add your own. Tack it on while you’re driving to the concert, because Venegas is a must-hear. She defies category in the way she combines genres. In a world in which the proper definition of world music exists, the way in which Venegas couples various idioms — ranchero, salsa, son — with other pop elements. She has performed on an edition (in 2008) of ” MTV Unplugged,” and if you’re a fan of Cafe Tacuba, you’ll feel right at home with Venegas.
But it isn’t just the music that is compelling. Venegas sings. In a pop world in which everyone is either shouting or chirping, when you hear a voice with power, passion and character, it stands out. Like every great singer, she knows her range, and rarely strays unless fervor gets the better of her. Even then, it’s charming, those pipes that are smooth and dusky, with just a little hint of a rasp to fire things up. Yes, Venegas’ voice can also be pretty and elegant, but not quite as compelling at those times. Sorry.
Luckily, in the live setting, she comes to blow doors off. So get ready.
11 p.m. Thursday, V Live, 2047 N. Milwaukee Ave. $30;
ticketmaster.com
Pat Metheny
We’re never sure about
. He can be brilliant, and he can be insufferable. Any longtime watcher of this guitarist has seen both sides, from music that makes you smack your head because you can’t believe the sensitivity and ability, to the guitar geek nonsense that will put you to sleep.
Metheny’s latest project, however, is compelling. Called orchestrion, it takes the player piano notion and raises it to a new level. Metheny commissioned a number of mechanically controllable instruments from a number of creative minds, and has created compositions for this “ensemble.”
Now, as well all know, mechanical instruments can tend to sound a little stilted and devoid of the creativity that is present in the hands of a musician. Metheny asks the question, Have we come sufficiently far technologically, that this is no longer the case? If you listen to the sonic creation that is the result of the orchestrion project, it sounds like Pat Metheny. The music is dense and intricate, filled with his signature fast, fluid runs on guitar, notes echoed by an array of instruments.
But this is easy to do in a studio. On a stage, thanks to the precarious nature of live music, things should be interesting in the extreme. Will it all work? Will we care? What’s next?
8 p.m. Monday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. $20-$60; 312-294-3000 or
cso.org
