Kitsap softcore: Vicci Martinez back at the Clearwater, Alligators in Bremerton, gypsy jazz at the Island Gallery.
THURSDAY
VICCI MARTINEZ RETURNS for a Performance on the Passage, 7 p.m. July 10 at the Clearwater Casino Resort off Highway 305 in Suquamish. All ages, free show.
Vicci Martinez has been putting herself out there through song for years.
As soon as she was able to put together a 10-song set she went out, just she and her guitar, and scored her first gig around the age of 14. For quite some time she’d play the rooms that she wasn’t even old enough to be in.
Now, at 23, the Tacoma native has got management, an agent and a backing band, and she has opened for the aging prestige of cats like Sting and Annie Lennox while appearing regularly around town at places like Jazzbones and the Tractor Tavern. Later this summer she’s got a spot on the Mural Stage at Bumbershoot, and she’s also been working with a hot shot producer out of New York on a new record, the fifth of her career, which she’s calling “that next step.”
But first, she’ll be marking another milestone of her bohemian career with a free show — her third consecutive performance on the passage at the Clearwater Casino — Thursday.
The sultry, wandering songbird is one of the few performers on the Performances at the Passage docket who has played all three years since the concert series began in 2005.
Also check Martinez out at Art on the Ave in Tacoma July 13 and the Bite of Seattle July 18. And next week at the Clearwater, check out the Freddie Pink Band.
Info: www.viccimartinez.com, www.clearwatercasino.com or call the Clearwater at (360) 598-8700
FRIDAY
ALLIGATORS at Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. 21+, $5 cover.
That Bremerton/Annapolis band Alligators have the whole infectious thing going on. But not in any sort of contagious disease sense.
I don’t know whether it’s the barrage of harmony the five-piece employs, or perhaps the Beatles-like sound of falsetto vocals over a very lightly distorted, electric guitar, or maybe it’s in the name — not The Alligators, just Alligators. Whatever it is, there’s something about their songs that will stick in your head for days.
Fittingly in that regard, Alligators opened up for the legendary Posies when they came to town earlier this spring, and they’ve set the stage for David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion) twice. Now it’s their turn.
See them headline at Winterland this weekend, before the release of their debut album (due out sometime this summer), and someday you might be able to say “I knew that band when … .”
Info: www.myspace.com/alligatorpocketbook, myspace.com/winterlandrocks or call the bar at (360) 479-5686.
SATURDAY
RANGER AND THE REARRANGERS at the Summer Jazz Series, 7:30 p.m. July 12 at the Island Gallery, 100 Madison Ave. N on Bainbridge. All ages, tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students/seniors.
If ever there was a reason to pay $20 admission to a low-key concert at an art gallery on Bainbridge Island, this would be it — Ranger and the Rearrangers.
Ranger Sciacca, the 20-something, whirling-dervish-like violinist from Bainbridge Island, and a seasoned crew bring their Django-inspired gypsy jazz to the Island Gallery’s summer concert series — which also features the Geordie Kelly Quartet.
The Rearrangers are slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and one more gig to close down the gallery’s jazz series Aug. 30. But even if you can’t pay the ticket on the island, make your way to see these cats for the price of a cup of coffee at the Global Bean in Silverdale Friday night. If you’re a fan of gypsy jazz, violin or cool hats, you won’t regret it.
Info: www.rangerswings.com, www.theislandgallery.net or call the gallery at (206) 780-9500.
