Multi-instrumentalist sensation Andrew Bird will grace the stage in Portsmouth on Wednesday, Oct. 8, as part of The Music Hall’s “Intimately Yours” series.

An indie favorite who has managed to playfully skirt the mainstream, Bird’s whimsical and evocative lyrics, combined with catchy and haunting rhythms, give him an unrivaled sound. A master of the violin and a tremendous whistler, as well as an accomplished guitarist and glockenspiel player, Bird samples bits of his instruments and layers them, making for a captivating live performance.

The Chicago-based artist grew up playing violin and graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in violin performance. In 1996, Bird released his debut album, “Music of Hair,” which showcased his violin skills and also dabbled in jazz and blues. Shortly after his first solo effort, Bird recorded with gypsy jazz favorites the Squirrel Nut Zippers and later formed his own band, Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, which has a heavy jazz and swing sound.

After six years and three albums, his band split up and Bird recorded his next solo album, “Weather Systems.” Released in 2003, the album contains the beginnings of Bird’s current innovative and folksy sound. Its follow-up, 2005’s “Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs,” is a novel production, full of plucky violin playing and amazing whistling. Bird’s latest release, “Armchair Apocrypha,” is filled with beautiful, bizarre lyrics and soothing melodies, solidifying his status as one of today’s most unique and talented musicians.

Opening the show for Bird will be post-rock, ambient musician Sandro Perri, of Toronto.

Bird will be at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St. in Portsmouth, on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 to $27 and can be purchased by calling 603-436-2400 or visiting www.themusichall.org. For more information on Andrew Bird, visit www.andrewbird.net.

blues bash at the Ioka

The blues will be blaring at Club Ioka in Exeter on Saturday, Oct. 4, when Stoney and The House Rockers take the spotlight.

New Hampshire-bred bluesman Barry Burnham is a harmonica player with years of experience under his belt. Known by his stage name of Stoney, Burnham has helmed a number of area blues bands since the 1980s. The former Exeter resident moved to Florida in 2002, where he sings and plays harp for Stoney and The House Rockers, which released “Cruisin’ for a Bluesin’” in December.

Stoney’s gig at the Ioka comes amid a short tour of the Seacoast in support of “Cruisin’,” with other shows at Daniel Street Tavern in Portsmouth on Friday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m.; Shooter’s Pub in Exeter on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.; The Blue Mermaid in Portsmouth on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.; and Bourbon’s in Portsmouth on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. Copies of "Cruisin' for a Bluesin'" will be available at the shows for $10.

The James Montgomery Band was expected to join Stoney at the Ioka but canceled at the last minute because of a scheduling conflict. Stoney and the House Rockers will play from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for the 21-and-over show are $15. Call 603-772-2222 or visit www.iokaentertainment.com.

Cheech and Chong to light up the Casino Ballroom

The chemistry between Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong is beautifully illustrated in a scene from the comic duo’s late 1970s pothead fiesta, “Up in Smoke.” Having just burned a joint the size of a football in Cheech’s shoddily pimped out Cadillac, the pair stare blankly through a dense haze of reefer smoke.

“Hey man, am I driving OK?” Cheech asks.

There’s a long pause as Chong gazes out the vehicle’s windows and assesses the situation.

“I think we’re parked, man,” he eventually responds in his patented stoner drawl.
When Cheech begins to panic, overwhelmed by the prodigious quantity of potent crop he so recently inhaled,

Chong inadvertently administers several tablets of LSD as medication. And then, inevitably, flashing red lights pull up behind the car.

The painfully sober police officer asks the hopelessly blitzed driver for his license, to which Cheech points to the rear of the car and confusedly replies, “It’s on the bumper, man, back there.”

Only Cheech and Chong could so innocuously and hilariously trample the drug laws that govern these United States, all with a dumb innocence that dimly sparkles in their glossy eyes. “Up in Smoke” would become the highest grossing comedy of 1978, topping $100 million at the box office.

When the two first met at a topless bar in Vancouver, they could not have had any inkling of the comic reverberations their partnership would inspire. Now, some 40 years later, Cheech and Chong are reprising their affiliation with the Light Up America tour, which will bring them to the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom for two nights on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 2 and 3.

Cheech and Chong followed “Up in Smoke” with five other films, co-writing all of them, and also collaborated on nine comedy albums. But this is their first national tour together in 25 years. Audiences in Hampton will see how well their irreverent sketch comedy routines hold up a quarter-century later.

The 18-and-over shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $33 to $65. Call 603-929-4100 or visit www.casinoballroom.com. 

Lucie Therrien unveils book and CD set

Singer-songwriter Lucie Therrien will launch her new book and CD with three shows this weekend at West End Studio Theater in Portsmouth. Therrien will offer a concert, reading and book signing at WEST on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5, at 2:30 p.m.

Titled “Dual Citizen—Deux Citoyennetés,” the book chronicles the life of a French-Canadian musician who has navigated numerous twists and turns on her road to international acclaim. The accompanying CD consists of 17 new songs and poems performed by the author.

Therrien moved to New Hampshire from Quebec as a young adult and was forced to cope with the cultural and linguistic duality of surviving in an English-speaking world. She has now performed in five continents and has made about 15 recordings, writing and playing music rooted in the traditions of her homeland. After a lifelong career in music, she started writing poetry about two years ago, adding the pen to her arsenal of instruments.
Written in flowing prose and rhythmic poetry, “Dual Citizen” serves as a memoir of Therrien’s travails as she crossed the border into the United States and encountered illnesses, crises, complicated relationships and other challenges. She also describes French Canadian traditions, revealing some of the recipes and dances she grew up with.

The 106-page book also includes 28 photos, as well as the lyrics and words of tracks on the CD. The disc alternate between songs and poems, including 12 originals and five covers. Like the book, the CD’s songs and poems are mostly in English, with French and Spanish on certain tracks.

West End Studio Theater is located at 959 Islington St. in Portsmouth. Admission to each show is $10 and can be reserved by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by calling 603-430-9524.

Therrien will also offer a book reading and signing at RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth on Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and she will recite some of her poems during Beat Night at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., with musical accompaniment from Larry Simon and Groove Bacteria. For other events related to the book and CD, visit www.LucieT.com.