by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
We’re fully into fall and with it one’s inability to decide whether to dress warmly or not. My go to solution is always layers, where I either end up with a couple items tied around my waist, or they’re forgotten and left behind on the back of a chair. It’s never easy deciding how to dress for live music when the stage is outdoors such as at Margarita Villa and Tony’s Pizzeria, but luckily, they do provide those heat lamps where you’ll typically find me basking in their warmth.
Mid November tends to be a little slower with no large events (indoors or out), as people start to gear up for the holidays. One unofficial holiday is Friendsgiving where you celebrate with friends rather than family. Around town several venues provide live music the Wednesday before Thanksgiving giving you a chance to preemptively decompress so you’re ready to face the family the next day. A number of venues already provide live music on Wednesdays but a few are stepping up such as Tony’s Pizzeria with Johnny Knows No One, Duke’s with Erik Lemaire and TD Lind & the Aviators will play Ojai Valley Brewery. You find more in the next issue of the Breeze.
Meanwhile, the Rubicon Theater helps to ring in the holidays on Saturday, November 16, with a concert featuring Golden Globe Award winner Amanda McBroom (The Rose) as she celebrates her first ever holiday album Wintersong. You’ll enjoy such holiday favorites as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” Dan Fogelberg’s “Just Auld Lang Syne” and a number of originals. You can find out more and secure your tickets at RubiconTheatre.org.
If you love to dance, and by dance, I mean real dancing such as the foxtrot, waltz, swing, salsa, etc…, then I hope you’re aware of a little gem here in Ventura called the House of Dance located on Bunsen Avenue (off Victoria by the Buenaventura Golf Course). Not only do they provide classes, but the Channel Cities Jazz Club holds a monthly Sunday afternoon session with a live band. This month they’re featuring The Groovin’ Easy Big Band on Sunday afternoon, November 17 (Donations $15 non-members; $10 for members). For more information about House of Dance go to pmhouseofdance.com.
Quick Notes: Leonid & Friends perform a tribute to the band Chicago at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 15; Kimberly Ford returns to the Grape featuring the music of Joni Mitchell in Dreamland on Saturday, November 16; Ventura Theater has Caifances for two nights on Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17; Sitting on Stacy opens for the Expendables at the Ventura Music Hall on Friday, November 22; and Fido plays Bombay’s on Saturday, November 23.
Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to [email protected], and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
