June 9-15, 2005

musicpicks

Laura Love Duo

rock/pop

Her father played alto sax; her mother sang with his band. But Laura Love didn't grow up in a cozy home filled with jazz and affection. Preston Love lived on the road with his wife and family, while Winifred Mae Jones raised her two daughters in Nebraska and told them their dad was dead. When Laura was 3, her mother was hospitalized with mental illness, and she and her sister, Lisa, started their voyage through orphanages and foster homes. If you're looking for confessions, you're not going to find them in Love's funky folk. Her lyrics give few hints, but the liner notes of her nine albums have been a running commentary, detailing her search for her mother and their eventual reunion. Last year's You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes (Koch) alludes to a childhood spent dodging authorities and mean white kids, but Love's memoir of the same title spells it all out. In this First Person Festival show, she'll sing her songs and tell her stories in one exceptionally expressive voice.

Sat., June 11, 7:30 p.m., $23-$28, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

—M.J. Fine