The Siss Boom Bang Come To the Van Wezel 10/9

On Sun. Oct. 9, 2011 @ 7:00 PM k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang with special guest Teddy Thompson come to the Van Wezel.

k.d. lang's bravura singing and playful-punk attitude practically put the "alt" in alt-country. Along the way k.d. has won four GRAMMYs and eight JUNOs. But it's all about that voice! Her understatedly stunning interpretation of Leonard Cohen's oft-covered "Hallelujah" is and has become, along with her breathtaking cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying," an in-concert showstopper. k.d. has appeared alongside such musical luminaries as Orbison, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Loretta Lynn, and Tony Bennett. "She's the best singer of her generation," observed Bennett, who has frequently toured with lang. She appears on his highly publicized new album Duets II.

k.d.'s most recent Sing It Loud (with new band The Siss Boom Bang) is a return to the more raucous, dramatic side of her range. "I love going where I'm not supposed to go...I love feeling like I'm starting at square zero again. I thrive on it," says k.d. lang, talking about touring with her new band, The Siss Boom Bang, and the prospect of playing in some fresh settings. The sentiment could just as well describe the making of Sing it Loud, her first record made entirely with a band of her own since the pair of albums with the Reclines that launched her career. "It was like being given wings," she says, "I could go from an extraordinarily soft, vulnerable sounding vocal technique to really loud, almost shouting. To have a vocal situation that can handle that sort of dynamic is rare." The collection kicks off with "I Confess," which is the lead single. "I'd been feeling a big connection to my Roy Orbison days. Roy's music left an indelible mark on me and I really wanted to write a song that had that kind of Orbison swagger, but take it a bit more to the contemporary side," explains lang. From the lighthearted "Sugar Buzz," which likens a lover to the rush that comes from consuming too much sugar, to the wordplay of "Habit of Mind" to the striking version of Talking Heads' "Heaven," Sing it Loud is infused with warmth and humor. "It's just music. I think I took it so seriously at certain points in my life that it took away the joy and the spontaneity. I always felt like there was a huge portion of k.d. lang that was based in humor and somehow I kind of forgot that truckload. Now I've found it again...I would have to say that Sing it Loud is actually probably the pinnacle of my creative life because it happened so fast, so naturally, and with so much joy."

For more information and to buy tickets, contact the Van Wezel Box office at (941) 953-3368 or log onto www.vanwezel.org.

k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang: Sun. Oct. 9, 2011 @ 7:00 PM; Part of the AT&T Star Series

Ticket Prices: $30-$85