WHAT: Hank 3
WHERE: Canopy Club ($15 advance/$18 door)
WHEN: Wednesday, May 9th at 8 p.m.
Any act that has something on their website called a “CUSSIN'” message board automatically gets my attention. Whether it’s “GeNeRaL CuSSiN” or talking about your tattoos in “HeLLBiLLy iNK,” it’s probably worth your time to go read some of this stuff. Son of Hank Williams, Jr. (who has has seen better days) and grandson of the great Hank Williams, so this one will probably be an interesting sight to see.
Listen: “Trooper’s Hollar”
WHAT: Easter, Coed Pageant, Comfort Food, Schwervon
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, May 10th at 9 p.m.
Easter has been pretty quiet the last few months outside of posting a few mysterious a capella videos called “Night With A Friend,” as well as some of the material on their Bandcamp around the Easter holiday (very clever). We really dug their album from last year, so hopefully there’s more in store from Easter camp. Coed Pageant just released their second installment in their seasons EPs, and Comfort Food just put out another EP as well.
WHAT: Cowboy Indian Bear, Withershins, 
Shy Guy Says
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, May 10th at 10 p.m.
Cowboy Indian Bear call Kansas home and have been sharing the stage with some pretty big bands lately, including Florence + The Machine, School of Seven Bells, and Real Estate. Pretty good company right there. This time around they’re sharing the stage with some locals that we consider pretty good company as well.
Listen: “Saline”
WHAT: The Krank Daddies, The Heavies
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Friday, May 11th at 9 p.m.
Some rockabilly music comes to town as WPGU’s Surfabilly Freakout is celebrating their sixth birthday bash. In what is being called “Hot Rod & Surf Rippfest,” you can expect a pretty racuous time for this one. They are celebrating with some of the staples to their show, and if surf rock is your thing this is probably something you’re going to want to catch.
Listen: “Evil Baby”
WHAT: Coheed & Cambria, Moving Mountains, 
Pianos Become The Teeth
WHERE: Canopy Club ($25)
WHEN: Friday, May 11th at 8 p.m.
This is one of those bands that you either hate or love. A lot of people love them, and Canopy Club is already sold out for this show, so if you were looking for tickets, you might be out of luck. I can see the appeal of this band, but at some points I just shake my head when I see things like them covering Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” something I think everyone has done. Even Glee covered it. For what it’s worth, they have a bunch of solid material, so hopefully they stick to that.
Listen: “Welcome Home”
EDITOR’S PICK: SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME, WILD MOCCASINS, ANNA KARENINA/ANNA KARINA
Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5) — Saturday, May 12th at 10 p.m.
The week has finally come for the debut of our show series, featuring a band that fits the bill in a pretty great way. There are plenty of puns and ways to play on words with this band, including the fact that they are playing on a Saturday for this show, but we’ll let everything else about them do the talking. Saturday Looks Good To Me hail from the great rival town of the Michigan Wolverines, but are most definitely being welcomed with open arms in C-U.
They’ll be playing at Mike ‘N Molly’s, an establishment that is merely blocks away from a place they used to call home in Polyvinyl Records. A standout album like All Your Summer Songs fits perfectly into the atmosphere of a show like this, and the general theme as this season is blossoming: summer is beginning, the sun has been plentiful, and perhaps most importantly, Mike ‘N Molly’s beer garden is open. We’re hitting on all cylinders at this point.
Touring partner Wild Moccasins and locals Anna Karenina/Anna Karina round out the bill (they’re releasing their new album this night as well). Lots of great things happening, and much more to come in the Smile Politely Show Series in future months. But for now, we have this to offer, and it’s pretty great. More news about this show to come later in the week, but we’re hoping that some of our readers come out and talk to us as we’ll be posted up for this show.