Boom shaka laka laka!

Last year, Mike Balma had one of his periodic blues barbecues at the Horsemen’s Club. “Get there early,” he said—and not just because the food at his shindigs tends to get eaten before the headliner takes the stage, but because a Los Angeles-based soul revue called Café R&B was slated to go on. And that, the band did; its singer Roach, a diminutive ball of fire, pretty much tore the joint up with an incendiary set of late-1960s-style Tina Turner sass. Café R&B returns to town, specifically around 9:30 p.m. Friday, October 1, at the Torch Club, 904 15th Street. The cover for the 21-and-over show is $12. And if you’re in the middle of a budget crunch and you don’t mind waiting a few days, you can see Richard March and Scott McChane doing “Nashville Nights” at the Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, at 9 p.m. Monday, October 4. The show is, of course, free.