Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock ’n’ roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there will always be something to check out.
Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of July 28:
The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer — Friday at The Keswick Theatre
The sole surviving member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carl Palmer, in association with the estates of his bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, is back with another round of shows paying tribute to the band. The tour continues the successful run of dates which began in November of last year. After exploring the idea of a hologram tour in detail, Palmer opted for what he felt was a more honest approach, using live footage of Emerson and Lake on massive video walls alongside himself and his band playing live on stage. The result is the voice and instrumentation of Greg Lake and the unmistakable keyboard mastery of Keith Emerson mixed with Palmer’s onstage live drumming to virtually reunite ELP.
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo — Friday at Mohegan Pennsylvania
Having weathered a pop culture world defined by its continued changes, the partnership of singer-songwriter Pat Benatar and producer/musician Neil Giraldo has been a potent and steadfast union that has soared to the top of the charts and into fans’ hearts on their own terms. Her staggering vocals and take-no-prisoners attitude, along with his trailblazing artistry as a guitarist, producer and songwriter, forged the undeniable chemistry and unique sound that created eternal rock hits including “We Belong,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Promises in the Dark,” “Heartbreaker” and “Hell Is for Children.” The pair are spending the summer headlining and opening for Pink, and this Wilkes-Barre show is just the two of them and a whole lot of hits.
Altın Gün — Saturday at Union Transfer
Grammy-nominated Turkish psych-folk innovators have returned to the States to perform at some of the biggest venues they’ve ever played behind this year’s celebrated LP, “Aşk.” Hailing from Amsterdam but coming from various backgrounds — specifically Turkish, Indonesian and Dutch — the group have captured the world’s imagination with their indelible fusion of psychedelic rock, deep funk, synthpop, cosmic reggae and more with the rich and incredibly diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music and received a Grammy nomination for Best World Album with their 2019 sophomore LP, “Gece.”
Sparta — Tuesday at Underground Arts
When it comes to his long and fruitful career in music, Jim Ward has no ulterior motives. He’s not guided by vanity or money or some grand narrative in which he’s the central player. It’s all about the song, the melody and the lyric; it’s all he needs to tell him where he’s headed. Ward is also not above looking in the rearview, as this tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of the album “Wiretap Scars.” Featuring fan-favorites “Air” and “Cut Your Ribbon,” the LP was released in August 2002 and at the time the unit was made up of Ward, Matt Miller, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar, having formed following the breakup of their former band, the post-hardcore At the Drive-In.
The National — Tuesday and next Wednesday, Aug. 2, at The Met
For more than two decades, indie-rock darlings The National have offered up songs that mine immense beauty from damage and pain, a direct reflection of their shared belief in music’s capacity to catalyze transcendence. The band’s latest effort, “First Two Pages of Frankenstein,” channels a revitalized chemistry into a body of work that beautifully balances elegant musicality with more idiosyncratic impulses. The LP finds frontman Matt Berninger drawing lyrical inspiration from the once-tenuous state of the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Cincinnati outfit and delving into the complex themes of fractured relationships.
Pantera — Wednesday, Aug. 2, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
If you can get past the fact that this tour probably should’ve been called something more along the lines of “Pantera Tribute,” seeing original members of the iconic metal unit Phil Anselmo on vocals and bassist Rex Brown along with guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante makes for a can’t-miss show. While Metallica had begun to explore a bluesier side in the early ’90s, Pantera picked up the slack for metalheads everywhere with anthems like “Walk,” “Becoming” and “Five Minutes Alone.” Personal differences destroyed them, and the tragic deaths of guitarist Dimebag Darrell and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, are irreplaceable, but this is close as fans will ever get to a reunion, so they might as well embrace it. And if you miss the Camden show on Wednesday, the group will be performing in Hershey on Aug. 5 and Scranton on Aug. 6.
Regina Spektor — Wednesday, Aug. 2, at The Keswick Theatre
Regina Spektor is synonymous with New York City. The Russian-Jewish-American singer, songwriter and pianist got her own sign on the Bronx Walk of Fame, as well as “Regina Spektor Day” proclaimed in June 2019 by Mayor Bill DeBlasio. A Grammy Award nominee, she first saw commercial success with the RIAA Gold-certified LP, “Begin To Hope,” featuring the singles “On the Radio,” “Better” and “Samson,” as well as “Fidelity,” which climbed the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Spektor last year released her eighth LP, “Home, Before and After,” to widespread critical acclaim. Along the way to album number eight, she’s performed at The White House as well as on Broadway, “Saturday Night Live” and contributed to many projects spanning film, television and music.
Soundcheck
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer: “Lucky Man”
• Pat Benatar: “Promises in the Dark”
• Altın Gün: “Doktor Civanim”
• Sparta: “Cut Your Ribbon”
• The National: “Eucalyptus”
• Pantera: “Mouth for War”
• Regina Spektor: “Up the Mountain”
Source: Berkshire mont
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