Concerts and music films are here to help you fade into fall

From the exact moment the clock strikes midnight on October 1st, it feels like everyone is suddenly in the mood for brown leaves, spiced pumpkins, and all things spooky.

And that goes for live music as well.

October is that special time of the year when you can expect every concert to have a little dash of autumn dropped in, whether that be clever costumes, unexpected surprises, or even just a healthy helping of atmosphere that screams “fall.”

So get ready to rake up all the leaves and then jump boots-first into them, because autumn is finally here and it’s bringing a selection of seasonally spectacular shows along with it.

Johnny Bell w/ Bird Drugs + Winnowing – Resonator Institute – Tuesday, October 1st

It’s difficult to think of a sound more rustic and autumnal than the humble banjo.

But even as that plucky, Southern sound of ages can already conjure any number of traditional harvest hymns, New Mexico’s Johnny Bell imbues the banjo with an entirely new life as an ambient, droning, experimentalist machine, wringing even more autumntime atmosphere from the instrument.

It’s safe to assume you’ve probably never heard anything quite like it.

“One common thread throughout all of my work, whether solo or ensemble, ambient or more composed pieces, is a desire to push the banjo out of its comfort zone and evolve it beyond its traditional roots,” Bell told Free Press via email ahead of the tour that will bring him to Norman’s Resonator Institute on October 1st.

“This approach inherently makes it experimental in that you aren’t going to hear me doing what you might expect given the instrument’s long-running history in traditional music styles,” he said. “My approach to the instrument pushes these expectations and invites more adventurous listeners to enjoy the instrument.”

Those “adventurous listeners” should take note, as Bell will be joined at Resonator by the combined forces of ambient experimenter Bird Drugs and dark, textural guitar-slinger Winnowing, who will be collaborating on a one-of-a-kind, largely improvisational joint set.

For more information, visit resonator.space.

Photocopy – album release show – Resonant Head – Saturday, October 5th 

OKC power-poppers Photocopy tend to straddle the line between warm, breezy melodies and something a bit darker and more mysteriously earthen.

Which of course makes them the perfect indie act to help see out the summer and welcome in the fall in earnest when they take the Resonant Head stage to officially drop their debut full-length album “Weakness Beyond Control.”

The quintet’s issued a trio of singles in advance of the album (including the wonderfully seasonally appropriate “Temperate Weather,”) each adding to the record’s promise of dark, densely layered pop-rock brushing up against goth and post-punk.

To help them celebrate, Photocopy will be joined by the pleading emo of Sunfo, the blessed out bops of Lust Online, and the somber, dark shoegaze of Mad Honey, all sounds that no doubt filter into the songs on “Weakness Beyond Control.”

For more information, visit resonanthead.com.

‘Eno’ screening – Opolis – Tuesday, October 8th 

For a documentary film to pay adequate respect to Brian Eno – one of the most groundbreaking musical artists of all time and the arguable father of the ambient music genre – it absolutely must be different.

So director Gary Hustwit didn’t just make a film that’s different from other documentaries, he made a film that’s different from itself every single time you see it.

In keeping with Eno’s ethos of randomized, self-actualizing music and the welcoming of unforeseen connections and happy accidents, Hustwit created this documentary look at the musician’s life to be randomly edited on the fly by a generative algorithm that results in an entirely different edit at each screening.

Every time you see the film, you won’t just see a newly rearranged version of the scenes, showing Eno’s life and musical works in his own words and sounds, you’ll be given some entirely different scenes. The generative edit actually pulls from a wide bank of footage to create a different hour and twenty-five minutes each time.

When Norman’s Opolis screens one such iteration of the film on October 8th, the night will be accompanied by the ambient sounds of Dylan Nagode and (once again) the inescapable Bird Drugs.

For showtime, tickets, and more information, visit opolis.org.

The Odyssey’s Thriller Night – 51st Street Speakeasy – Friday, October 18th 

It’s become an annual tradition for Tulsa-native rockers The Odyssey to headline a blistering Halloween-themed blowout every October as “The Odyssey’s Thriller Night,” and they’re not about to stop now.

As always, you can expect all manner of wild costumes and cover songs at the month’s midpoint, perfect for diving headlong into the quick transition from cozy autumn relaxation to full-on Halloween horror.

And as an added bonus, the night will be supported by Keathley and the Burning Bras and the irresistibly effervescent Burl. Will they all be sporting wild costumes and horror-themed holiday antics as well? There’s only one way to find out.

For ticket links and more information, follow @the_speak and @theodysseymusic on Instagram.

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You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.

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