The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page 65

The Sun Thursday, June 5, 1997 Page 7 li tM JBL- Calendar Concerts JUNE Bibelot in Hmonium Crossing, 2080 York Road, 410-308-1888. June 6: Cold Spring Jazz Quartet. June 7: Virago Duo, featuring flutist Alison Potter and guitarist Rlsa Carlson. Borders Books Music, 415 York Road. 410-321-4265.

June 7: Lisa Moscatlello and Dave ChappeU. Borders Espresso Cafe, "Java and Jazz Series," 415 York Road. 410-296-0791. June 6: Guitarist Mark Mosley. Carron County Farm Museum, west-minster.

410-848-7775 or 410-876-2667. June 8: Annual North Bay Deer Creek Fiddlers' Convention. Capitol Ballroom, 1015 Washington. 410-481-SEAT. June 7: Psychotica, Hanzel und Getyl, Miss Guy and the Toilet Boys.

June 11: Blur. Centennial Park. -Giant Food sunset Serenade Series," Route 108, Elli-cott City. 410-313-PARK. Concert C5th All Aboard Railroad Museum, 901 W.

Pratt Street, call for times. Catch the newest exhibit, Treasures of Railroad Museum: 170 Years of Railroading in Maryland" highlighting old documents, books and unusual items as well as unique artifacts and objects, some the public has never seen. 1st Thursdays on Charles Street Charles Street Corridor, 300 -1200 blocks, 5:30 8 p.m. Don't miss an outdoor bar-b-que and a FREE concert by Jah Works on the parking lot next to Louie's The Bookstore Cafe from 6 -8 p.m. and a FREE acoustic performance by Niki Lee at the Washington Monument from 6 7:30 p.m.

Free admission to The Walters Art Gallery and extended hours at participating retailers along Charles Street. Come and enjoy the fun! 41 0-244-1 030. FREE 1 sc Strife VISA Ml mmm to Changs. Please can number provided to verity. Take a Tour Meet at the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place, 1 0 a.m.

Enjoy a two-hour walking tour of histoi ic Mount Vernon Place and its surrounding neighborhoods led by a local historian or architect. Rain or shine. 410-625-2585. Abracadabra Lexington Market, 400 W. Lexington Street, Noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.

Kids will enjoy a thrilling magic show featuring Myklar the Magnificent. 410-685-6169. FREE Groovin' to the Music Pier Six Concert Pavilion, President Street and Eastern Avenue, 8 p.m. Kick off the First Union Harbor Music Festival with rhythm and blues diva Gladys Knight as she performs some of her greatest hits. Purchase your lawn tickets at the Pier Six box office by using your Visa card and receive 50 off of your ticket price.

41 0-837-4636. Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover East-on. 410-822-0345. June 7: Sue Matthews.

Mer Park, West Second Street, Frederick. 301-663-8687. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are free. Concert-goers are asked to bring canned food items to benefit the Frederick County Food Bank.

June 8: Mary Ann Redmond. CB HCIBWO Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape (Capitol 55832) Although it was billed as a band effort, the first Foo Fighters (pictured) al- bum was really more of a Dave Grohl solo project, as he played most of the parts himself. That's hardly the case with the Foos' follow-up, The Pnlmirflnrf r.hp Rhnnp hnwever. Orohl still does double duty, play tag drums in addition to his usual role as singer and guitarist, but this time out his contributions are augmented by gui tarist Pat Smear and bassist Nate Mendel, and the difference is immediately audible. There's more fe rocity in the likes of "Enough Space," a gloss on the Who's "Pictures of lily" that starts at 10 and cranks the volume from there, and a wider dynamic range in "Everlong," which careens roller coaster-like between its smooth, easy-flowing verse and jagged, adrenalized chorus.

Yet even as the Foos outfit the arrangements with crunching guitars and surging percussion, they never quite cover up the Beatlesque charm of Qrohl's melodies. Granted, that influence is easier to hear in quiet numbers like "Walking After You" or the jaunty "See You," but that resolute tunefulness is central to the charm of such rockers as "My Hero" or the breakneck "Monkey Wrench." Steve Winwood Junction Seven (Virgin 44059) It's no surprise that Steve Winwood did so well in the '80s. Between his mannered, vocals and fondness for elegantly cool synth grooves, he was the perfect bridge between white soul and electropop. These days, though, that sound seems as dated as "Joanie Loves Chachi" reruns, which leaves "Junction lev the music. For one thing, the gentle melodies O'Connor works with here are close enough to the Celtic tradition to make them an easy fit for the lilting delivery and the lean, folk-oriented arrangements she favors.

For another, there's a gentleness to her soft, breathy voice that makes these performances genuinely soothing, from the motherly affection of "Petit Poulet" to the disarming affection of "This IS a Rebel Song." But the EFs greatest strength is the honesty and focus of her performances, a trait that was obvious in her early work but which has been lacking of late. Grace VI Could Fly (PertectoKlnetlcReprise 46369) Dance music fans may cherish their divas, but producers often don't, using their voices as little more than the fulcrum with which they can move a crowd. Luckily for us, that's not the way club vets Paul Oaken-fold and Steve Osborne treat Grace, which may be why "If I Could Fly" is one of the season's most satisfying dance releases. As usual with Oakenfold and Osborne, the music is tuneful and insistent, buoyed up by relentless beats but blessed with enough melodic content to keep both mind and body engaged. But rather than go for the usual house music contrast, with cool snyths surrounding superheated soul vocals, the two have tailored these arrangements to fit the airy appeal of Grace's voice.

So instead of riding the surging hook of "Down to Earth," her voice floats blithely atop it, swept away by the beat as completely as a dancer would be. That's not to say her performances seem passive; there's too much exuberance in "Hand in Hand," too much abandon in "Not Over Yet" for that to be the case. But rather than try to make the listener dance, as so many divas do, Grace would rather entice us and there's something wonderfully inviting about that. J.D.'Consldlne Seven" sounding uncomfortably like a throwback specifically, to his 1986 release, "Back in the High Life." Like that album, "Junction Seven" is built around stylized funk rhythms, but where Winwood's blend of live guitar and programmed drums seemed fresh back then, it now seems annoyingly robotic, sucking the energy from "Let Your Love Come Down" and rendering "Angel of Mercy" a mere shadow of what it could have been. Fortunately, Winwood and producer Narada Michael Walden aren't totally wedded to their drum machines, and up the live-instrument quotient for "Spy In the House of Love" and a smooth, affectionate remake of Sly Stone's "Family Affair" much to the music's advantage.

But Winwood truly comes to life only with the salsa-flavored "Gotta Get Back to My Baby," a track where the vocals are as lively as the rhythm section is live. Could there be a lesson in that? Sincad O'Connor Oospel Oak EP (Chrysalis 58651) Considering the angry young rebel she once was, it's somewhat surprising to find Sinead O'Connor taking the role of nurturer on her "Gospel Oak EP." But even those who might be tempted to snicker at titles like "This Is to Mother You" will find themselves moved by 111 I in (6ikV 1 iici I For more information on events in and around Downtown, call 410 -342 -SHOW. And don forget jour VISA card because Hound in Prefers Downtown Partnership of Baltimore wishes to thank the following sponsors: VISA U.SA. The City of Baltimore, Harborplace The Gallery, The House Company, Pepsi-Cola, Gray KirWVanSant, National Aquarium Baltimore, Lexington Market, Maryland Science Center, Mercy Medical Center, The Walters Art Gallery and Subway Sandwich Shops. Events, timet and locations ere subject ir..