Not older … better

You might not know it from reading music listings, but there really are many discerning music fans who cannot tell the difference between, say, Cat Power and Modest Mouse or between Thursday, Taking Back Sunday and Saves the Day.

These folks may have grown out of what radio’s rocket scientists call an “active demographic,” but they’re not ready to shuffle off to Las Vegas showrooms.

For them, a better fit might be a concert by Bay Area folk-prog fusion band Tempest, which will play what’s billed as a 15th-anniversary celebration and reunion show on Saturday, January 24, at the Veterans Memorial Theatre, located at 203 East 14th Street in Davis. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will feature four different lineups of Tempest—from the original to the current, which will make its performing debut on Saturday. The new lineup is featured on Tempest’s recent Magna Carta album Shapeshifter. Tickets are $18.

According to founding member Lief Sorbye, a native of Norway who was a longtime member of the popular Bay Area Celtic band Golden Bough, Tempest has a strong connection to this part of Northern California, having played 41 times at the old Palms Playhouse in Davis. The band likes Davis’ Veterans Memorial Theatre, a venue it discovered through a friend who used to run the place. For more information, check out www.tempestmusic.com. Be sure to wear your utilikilt.

Another heritage-music option the same Saturday night, for those who are inclined more toward the blues, is a Stoneground revival show at the Crest Theatre, located at 1013 K Street. Stoneground was a fine circa-1970 band, signed to Warner Bros. Records by San Francisco FM radio legend Tom Donahue. The band was built around guitarist Tim Barnes, a Concord native who’s been a longtime member of Mick Martin & the Blues Rockers, and singer Sal Valentino, formerly of the Beau Brummels. Valentino, who lives in Sacramento, isn’t part of this reunion. (He plays a 7 p.m. acoustic show Saturday at Karen’s Bakery & Cafe, 705 Gold Lake Drive in Folsom. Cover’s $12.) Barnes will be joined by drummer Steve Price, who joined Stoneground a little later before forming 1970s band Pablo Cruise; singers Claudia Knauer and Dana Moret; bassist Greg King; and keyboardist Kelly Joe Stephens. Also on the bill are Little Charlie & the Night Cats and 9-year-old guitar sensation Shane Tiller. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $25 (advance) and $30 (day of show).