Street Scene Offers Choices Among 40 Top-Notch Acts

If you’re planning to attend the Michelob Street Scene ’90 this weekend, you’ll be faced with some pretty hard choices.

More than 40 top-notch acts will be performing Friday and Saturday nights in a 12-block section of downtown, and since they’ll be spread out over eight stages, all going at once, you either have to do a lot of running around or be selective.

The latter approach is recommended, and here’s a handful of acts you most definitely will not want to miss:

* Vladimir Kuzmin and Dinamik, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Friday, 7th Avenue and L Street Stage: This compelling Soviet rock band’s San Diego debut was one of the high points of last fall’s Soviet Arts Festival, even though its six shows at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sherwood Auditorium were sadly underattended. Unlike the handful of other Soviet rock bands that have passed through town in recent years, Vladimir Kuzmin and Dinamik have yet to be Westernized; they sing in Russian and play mostly originals with catchy melodies and a rock-solid beat.

* Beausoleil, 8 to 8:45 and 9:45 to 10:45 p.m., Friday, East Cajun Stage at 6th Avenue and Island Avenue: One of Louisiana’s top cajun bands plays a zesty blend of bluegrass, country, French, and folk straight from the bayou country. Their festive, accordion-driven sound is guaranteed to get your toes a-tappin’ in no time at all.

* Eric Burdon and Robby Krieger, 9:30 to 11 p.m., Friday, Rock Stage at 3rd Avenue and J Street: Each was a significant contributor to 1960s rock ‘n’ roll: Burdon as lead singer of the Animals, the English R&B; group whose hits include “House of the Rising Sun” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” and Krieger as guitarist with the Doors, the celebrated American rock band led by the late Jim Morrison. They’ve been touring together for the better part of a year, reliving--and sharing--old memories.

* The Origin, 5:15 to 5:55 p.m., Saturday, Rock Stage, 3rd Avenue and K Street: These hot young local upstarts, with a spectacular debut album on Virgin Records, combine great pop melodies with a strong acoustic-rock base to come up with songs that are as hummable as they are memorable. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, from the invading Brits of the early 1960s to the acoustic rockers of the early 1970s--much like such other bands known for their clean, pure pop sound as U2 and the Smiths.

* Katie Webster, 6:30 to 7:15 and 9 to 9:45 p.m., Saturday, Blues/Jazz Stage at 5th Avenue and K: The “Swamp Boogie Queen” is a vivacious, two-fisted piano-pounding dynamo whose big break came in the mid-1960s when Otis Redding invited her to open for him on tour. Aside from her inventive piano style, she possesses a rich, deeply emotional voice, perfectly suited for her searing blend of blues, gospel, soul and boogie-woogie.

* Stan Ridgway, 7:45 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Rock Stage, 3rd and K: “Mexican Radio,” sung with his former band, Wall of Voodoo, was one of the biggest alternative radio hits of the early 1980s. Since then, Ridgway has continued to be a darling of the progressively minded.