Columnist Spencer Patterson: Romantic songs cross all musical boundaries

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.

Saturday is Valentine's Day, and love is in the air.

For some, it's a time to trade greeting cards, flowers or tiny, chalky heart candies.

Here at Feedback, however, our thoughts turn in another direction, toward another aspect of the Valentine's Day tradition: the love song.

From Marvin Gaye to Norah Jones, musicians have created the soundtrack to the romantic side of our lives for decades. They're the tunes that remind us of people and places from our past, the type we packed onto mix tapes for would-be sweethearts back in high school.

But what exactly is it that gives the best love songs their legs, the endurance to maintain a special appeal long after their position on the charts has vanished?

In search of that answer, we called Garth Weaver, owner of local DJ service GW Sound & Video. Weaver knows a bit about romantic music, having worked weddings and other such events for more than 20 years.

And what, after all, is more romantic an occasion than a wedding on Valentine's Day?

We're in luck. Weaver's company has four wedding receptions on its Saturday docket, each of which will kick off with a traditional "first dance" for the wedding couple.

The four selections might come as a surprise to most folks, though. You won't find wedding standards such as the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" or Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" among them.

Rather, the chosen songs are: Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," Diamond Rio's "One More Day," Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" and K-Ci and Jo-Jo's "All My Life."

What does that strange foursome prove? That love is in the ear of the beholder, so to speak.

"You can cross over into any type of music -- country, rock 'n' roll, R&B, even hip-hop -- and find songs that certain people consider love songs," Weaver said.

"If a guy walks in who's a construction worker who listens to a lot of rock 'n' roll, he'll probably want a slow rock song for his first dance. If he's into country, it'll probably be something like Garth Brooks' "The Dance" or Lonestar's "Amazed."

By Weaver's observation, a successful love song is simply one that tugs on our heartstrings or stokes our romantic desires, regardless of its specific melody or lyrical content.

In other words, finding a good love song is a bit like finding love, a matter of making the right personal connection.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt if you can dance to them, either.

"The best love songs get everybody out on the dance floor," Weaver said. "You use those love songs to get everybody going, and it's easy to keep them out there after that."

Music notes

Killers on the road: Las Vegas' own retro-new wave quartet, the Killers, will be among more than 80 acts at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., event organizers confirmed this week.

Along with the Killers, who are slated to play on May 2 -- day two of the two-day festival -- Radiohead, the Pixies, the Cure, Kraftwerk, Wilco, Paul Van Dyk, the Flaming Lips, Air, Basement Jaxx, Belle & Sebastian, Stereolab, the Rapture, Hieroglyphics and the (International) Noise Conspiracy are scheduled to perform.

Another act with local ties, the Crystal Method, is also on the May 2 Coachella bill. Both members of the electronica duo, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, originally hail from Las Vegas.

Tickets for this year's Coachella Festival go on sale Saturday at noon through TicketMaster. Prices are $140 for two-day passes or $75 for individual day tickets.

Phishing trip: Popular jam band Phish stops at the Thomas & Mack Center for a three-night run April 15-17. The shows will be the band's only dates before its upcoming summer tour.

A limited number of tickets to the Vegas concerts will be available through website phishtickets.rlc.net for six days beginning today, with general sales beginning March 6 through UNLVtickets.

Ladies night: Pop diva Beyonce, rapper Missy Elliott and soul singer Alicia Keys bring their "Ladies First" tour to the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 16. Ticket information had not been released at press time.

Warp speed: After a one-year absence, the "Vans Warped Tour" returns to Las Vegas for a July 4 concert at Desert Breeze Park.

On the bill for the show: Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, Atmosphere, Bad Religion, Bouncing Souls, Coheen and Cambria, Flogging Molly, Hazen Street, IMA Robot, Juliette & The Licks, Letter Kills, Lillix, Mae, My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, Rise Against, Senses Fail, Story of the Year, Taking Back Sunday, the Casualties, the Early November, the Eyeliners, the F#*k Ups, the God Awfuls, the Red West, the Sounds, the Vandals, Thursday and Yellowcard.

A limited number of presale tickets are available at website www.vanswarpedtour.com. General ticket on-sale information had not been released at press time.

Quick hits

A look at a few of the shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:

Still searching for a romantic Valentine's Day destination? Search no further than the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, where R&B vocalist Erykah Badu and opening act Floetry team for an 8 p.m. show Saturday night.

Badu as been a mainstay on the scene since dropping her superb 1997 debut, "Baduizm," following it up with consistently strong work such as 2000's "Mama Gun" and last year's "Worldwide Underground."

Floetry, which consists of British vocalists Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart, debuted with "Floetic" in 2002, then released the live "Floacism" last year.

Tickets are $37-$60 for the 21-and-over concert.

Also on Saturday night, veteran singer Bette Midler brings her "Kiss My Brass" tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 8 p.m. Tickets are $78.75-$262.50.

Midler has met with success in both her 32-year recording career and her acting career, starring in such blockbuster films as "The First Wives Club," "Ruthless People" and "Beaches." She has released more than 15 albums.

For those looking for some post-Valentine's rock, Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy share a Sunday night bill at the House of Blues. Tickets are $40-$50 for the Britain-meets-Ireland classic rockfest. Doors open at 7.

And on Thursday night, metallic indie-rockers Coheed and Cambria stop at the Huntridge Theatre with opening acts the Jealous Sound and Letter Kills. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show.

On sale

Alejandro Sanz plays The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on May 19. Tickets are $33-$53 and go on sale Saturday at noon at the Hard Rock box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Luis Miguel lands at the Aladdin's Theatre for the Performing Arts on March 6. Tickets were to go on sale this morning through TicketMaster.