WHAT: Atomic Age Cocktail Party with Bossa Nuevo Quintet and Carnival Debauche
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($10)
WHEN: Thursday, June 24th at 9 p.m.
If you’ve ever turned into the wonderfully weird Bachelor Pad on WEFT (or really, any of their programming), you won’t have any reservations about ponying up ten bucks for this benefit. Bossa Nuevo Quintet with guest trumpeter Nick Schroeder will perform “classics from the golden age of Bossa Nova” and feature several familiar faces from the local jazz scene, including Karim Yengsep (bass) and Lara Driscoll (piano). Select acts from Carnival Debauche will also perform, and two for one coupons can be found at Wind Water & Light and Exile on Main St. Check back later this week for more coverage on the show, including an interview with Bachelor Pad head-honcho Jason Croft.
WHAT: Withershins, The Non
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, June 24th at 9 p.m.
Withershins are always a treat live, and this show should be no different. Coming in on the front end of a month long tour, Oklahoma City’s The Non kick things off with a sound that comes in halfway between the mathy minimalism of Turing Machine and the noodly-post rock of Tortoise, while Withershins will tear things down as usual with their unmistakable atmospherics, melodies and punchy distortion. In short, each band should provide a perfect counterpoint for the other. And for a five dollar cover in the best venue in town, there’s really no reason not to go to this.
WHAT: Urbana Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival
WHERE: Downtown Urbana (various venues)
WHEN: Friday, June 25th and Saturday, June 26th
While the idea of filling a lineup with famous blues musicians’ kids may seem a little suspect at first, the fact that the festival is free helps it go down a lot easier. And as it turns out, plenty of the artists have legitimate careers and bodies of work that go far beyond their more-famous parents, notably Devon Allman’s Honeytribe and John Lee Hooker Jr. And if you’re not feeling it, at least you won’t be out any cash.
WHAT: Yard Dogs Road Show
WHERE: Canopy Club ($8 advance)
WHEN: Friday, June 25th at 8 p.m.
If you haven’t been able to get enough of the recent spate of burlesque in town lately, you’ll want to hit this one as well. The group’s stage show goes far beyond merely burlesque however, incorporating elements of magic, carnival sideshows and beat poetry. And eight dollars is more than worth it for a group that’s successfully toured the US more times than you can count and collaborated with They Might Be Giants and Ken Kesey.
WHAT: Dubstep Massacre with DJ Solo, DJ Belly, Lincoln Jones, Otacon
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($3)
WHEN: Saturday, June 26th at 11 p.m.
Dubstep Massacre is a guaranteed good time, and this one shouldn’t disappoint. Chicago’s DJ Solo brings a hip-hop based approach to the decks, with support from local stalwarts DJ Belly and Lincoln Jones, as well as new-comer Otacon. Plus, there’s an acoustic early show at 9 p.m. with Trash City Rockers and Verdict.