You have to suck the hardwood reed, get it hot and wet, before you can hit those high notes on your alto. And the spit valve on a trombone gets so thick with juices that you have to clean the pipe regularly. Wanna play the flute? Gotta finger the right holes. Wanna play the trumpet? It’s all about the lips and the tongue. Don’t even get us started on the vibraphone.
There’s a whole world of perversion devoted to sex with musical instruments, but when Ed Kowalczyk performs his intimate acoustic set Sunday at midtown’s Ricochet Lounge, he won’t be banging his guitar. He’ll be stroking fast, strumming slowly, and maybe even showing off some finger work. The whole shebang is sure to please those who grew up watching the former Live frontman’s rope-necked howling like a Polish Mick Jagger on MTV in the ’90s. He has dropped his whiny bunch of former bandmates and now is doing it all himself.
Sun., Jan. 1, 8 p.m., 2012