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Sound and the Fury You Can Call Him Al Al Green's visit to Sunset Station on Friday, April 30 was revelatory on a number of fronts. For one thing, prior to this performance, I had no clue that the Rev. was such a Gatorade connoisseur. In what what had the appearance of a quirky contract-rider stipulation, a good 15-20 Gatorade bottles of every imaginable flavor were displayed on top of the stage's piano during Green's performance. Green hit the thirst quencher hard, reaching for new bottles almost as frequently as he grabbed red roses to hand out to the faithful in the front rows (a Green concert tradition since his '70s heyday). Decked out in a blinding, three-piece white suit, Green opened with the title song of his latest album, I Can't Stop, and offered a generous sampling of his vintage hits ("Let's Stay Together, "Tired of Being Alone"), gospel touchstones ("Everything's Gonna Be Alright"), and new material ("Rainin' In My Heart"). Even with no encore, and the obvious omission of "Take Me To The River," Green adeptly spread the love with his time-tested mix of sexy bump-and-grind and earnest shoutouts to his savior. Local favorites the Macedonia Mass Gospel Choir delivered an explosive opening set, which climaxed with an affirmation by one of the group's singers that "we love the Lord more than we love the Spurs." The highly sauced twentysomething male next to me - whose name I might have caught if he hadn't vacated his seat every 30 seconds to get another beer - responded: "I don't know, dude. Not the Spurs." D&B Blowout Long-suffering drum & bass enthusiasts have cause to celebrate with word that the 5th annual Planet of the Drums tour hits San Antonio on Friday, May 28. Planet of the Drums was launched in 2000 with the intention of spreading the word about drum & bass music, and has since grown into one of the electronic genre's biggest traveling showcases. This year's lineup features Planet of the Drums regulars such as vaunted DJ/producer Dieselboy, Dara, AK 1200, and J-Messinian. The turntable extravaganza will be held at Party Plex (9202 FM 78), with tickets selling in advance for $15, and on the day of the show for $20. Tickets are available locally at Hogwild Records. • Compiled by Gilbert Garcia
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