Kneebody isn't lacking in credibility, not with the L.A.-based, instrumental jazz-rock fusion quintet's collective résumé that sports gigs with Ani DiFranco, Snoop Dogg, and jazz trumpet luminary Dave Douglas. Yet even with academic credentials from New York's prestigious Eastman School of Music for four of Kneebody's five members (the fifth, drummer Nate Wood, graduated from the California Institute of the Arts), it's the band's signing to Douglas' Greenleaf Music label that gives the band's self-titled debut CD its pedigree. While critics have had a difficult time pegging Kneebody's style and sound -- which mixes funky, off-tempo beats with the bouncing melodies of saxophones, trombones, keyboards and sonic bass lines -- it might be just as hard for Kneebody's burgeoning fan base to squeeze into Modified Arts, 407 East Roosevelt, for the band's gig at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29. Admission to the show is $7. Call 602-462-5514 or see www.modified.org. -- Joe Watson
Bait and Trapp
The hills -- and the gene pool -- are alive
SAT 5/28
Hi, you've reached the von Trapp family. We can't come to the phone right now -- we're out on tour, performing songs from The Sound of Music and portraying our famous grandparents. You may remember our grandfather, Werner von Trapp -- he was Kurt in the famous screen musical. Thank you, grandpa Werner, for encouraging us to sing after we performed for the very first time at your 50th wedding anniversary. Anyway, we'll be performing with the Phoenix Symphony at the Dodge Theatre, 400 West Washington, on Saturday, May 28, with shows at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $18 to $40, a pretty good deal considering you get to hear Rodgers and Hammerstein hits like "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," and "So Long, Farewell." So come out and see us. Don't bother leaving a message at the tone. Just call 480-784-4444 for tickets. And have a great day. -- Niki D'Andrea
Diamond in the Fluff
You are the words, he is the tune
5/27-7/10
Hungry? How about Neil Diamond with a side of cheese? Copperstate Dinner Theater serves up early hot August audio bites like "Cherry Cherry," "Porcupine Pie," and "Rosemary's Wine" in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Songbook, opening at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 27. The revue promises to feed you full of songs that skip through your thoughts all day like a broken record: "Song Sung Blue," "Play Me," and, of course, "Sweet Caroline." Copperstate Dinner Theater is located at Phoenix Greyhound Park, 3801 East Washington. Admission, $32.95, includes dinner. Call 602-279-3129. -- Niki D'Andrea