SFR Picks—Week of August 7

Loops and Such

Josh Glenn's mad experimentation 

"For the first year of experimenting, it was really just me in my room playing around with ideas," Josh Glenn tells SFR. "I'd take all these ideas, put my favorites onto one piece of paper, what I call my 'one sheet,' and I would jam out for an hour or two; sometimes one progression, one idea, and gradually I came to realize I needed to consolidate these ideas."

That consolidation is today known as the John Glenn Experiment, a one-man band of singer-songwriter-style lyrics meets experimental folky looping project from San Antonio, Texas. Looping, for those not in the know, is the process of playing and recording snippets and pieces of music and slowly adding more and sections to create layered, repeated sounds that might otherwise never exist. Glenn's brand of looping makes use of a single acoustic guitar—riffs, chords, beats and solos, all blending into one fascinating melange of melodic sounds at the intersection of folk, electronica and indie rock.

"The initial reason was to be a better solo guitarist," Glenn explains. "I could just rip two chords then solo on top of [them], but I ended up developing. …I don't know what to call it, but it's my way of playing folky electronic sounds without using electronics."

Indeed, some of Glenn's best work, such as his 2016 album Orange Moon, has sounds that might easily be mistaken for synths or effects, but everything was recorded live with one guitar.

Glenn did perform with the short-lived band Nat'l Parks for a time, but solo success has been more within grasp. He tours often, usually alone, and camps out during his sojourns to leave more room for music making—a far cry from his
pop-punk roots and early love of electric guitar.

And though he's tightened his style over more than a year of development, he says he still likes to bring as many improvisational elements into live sets as possible, so you never quite know what version of a Josh Glenn Experiment song you're going to get, but you know it'll be phenomenal. Next comes more touring, a better website (jgexperiment.com) and as many songs as he can put together
between the stacks and layers and sounds Glenn crafts.

Josh Glenn Experiment
7 pm Thursday August 8. Free.
Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery,
225-1600

Sing, Sing

We'd like to address the people who haven't visited the opera this year: Why haven't you visited the Santa Fe Opera this year? Your time is running short. It's a good season, too, according to our reviewer, anyway (read more at SFReporter.com), and the five mainline productions vary from charmingly gorgeous to endearingly flawed. Did we mention those sunsets? The special one-off events? The world-class talent on loan from some of the best opera houses and companies around the world? Get the cheapest tickets you can. Try standing room. Just do it before the season fades and you have to wait another year. We understand it's expensive and not for everyone, but if you've ever had the inkling, just do it. It's far more beautiful than you know.

Santa Fe Opera 2019 Season
Various times through August 24. $15-$320.
Santa Fe Opera,
301 Opera Drive, 986-5900.

Dogged

Let us re-welcome psych-ish indie-rock wunderkinds Dr. Dog—who previously appeared in New Mexico at Meow Wolf's Taos Vortex festival last year—for their bazillionth local show. It's good to have 'em back, too, particularly since the release of Live 2 earlier this year (a limited edition run, folks—sorry if you missed it) was so damn good, it's almost criminal. See, Dr. Dog exists in this strange vacuum niche that no other band has managed to find nearly as well. Think of the tunes like a strange and wonderful merging of Lennon-style lyrical and melodic sensibilities merged with Dylan-level poetry and Nilsson-y weirdness. And the vocal harmonies? Chills. Dr. Dog would have been at home in the 1970s easily but, lucky for us, they belong to now, today, when one can still catch them live and wonder why they haven't loved the band since always. We sure have.

Dr. Dog
8 pm Sunday August 11. $36-$39.
Meow Wolf,
1352 Rufina Circle, 395-6369.

Mr. Romero

Earlier this year, master ceramicist Diego Romero collaborated with his brother, the painter Mateo Romero, for an exhibit at the Museum of Indian Art and Culture, but we're highlighting his solo efforts this week because Romero's works come together some place between pop culture phenomena and age-old ceramics tradition, and we love them. Certain design and thematic elements are instantly recognizable (Pueblo life and colonization), while others are more subtle, slyly humorous or tricky to unearth. Getting lost in a Romero is easy, and he is, without question, one of our favorite artists in the state. In the lead-up to Indian Market, Romero shows at Shiprock Santa Fe for the first time ever after 30 years working with the Robert F Nichols Gallery (Nichols, sadly, passed away recently), and word on the street is that the show's incredible. We don't doubt that for a moment.

Diego Romero, Ceramacist
2-4 pm Tuesday August 13. Free.
Shiprock Santa Fe,
53 Old Santa Fe Trail, 982-8478.