WHAT: Daft Punk Day
WHERE: Exile On Main Street (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, May 21st at 6 p.m.
Daft Punk is releasing their excellent new record, Random Access Memories, to the world on Tuesday. Exile on Main Street is hosting another one of their release-inspired shows this week to pay tribute to the band’s first release since 2005’s Human After All. DJ Mertz will be spinning Daft Punk-inspired tunes. They’ll have copies of the new record on sale all day, so go pick one up and see Mertz spin, as he notes, “some of my favorite (and rarest) records from my favorite era of house music.”
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WHAT: Jeff Arrigo, Joe Asselin, Cody Sokolski
WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, May 21st at 7 p.m.
Another trio of singer-songwriters lined up at the Clark Bar this week. Some familiar faces in Jeff Arrigo and Cody Sokolski (you might know Sokolski from Cody & The Gateway Drugs), with the addition of Joe Asselin.
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WHAT: Enta, Strangers Now, Cage Match, Hank., Gula Gila, Woodie
WHERE: Error Records ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, May 23rd at 7:30 p.m.
Local post-hardcore band Enta and St. Louis hardcore outfit Strangers Now are putting out a split EP on Skeletal Lightning Records (run by Sean Hermann of Enta) this Thursday night. They’ll be performing alongside one another to celebrate, and they’ve invited some friends to help them fill the bill. Chicago’s bands Cage Match and Gula Gila support with local punk/math rock dudes Hank. and psych band Woodie as well. We’ll be discussing Hank.’s upcoming tour later in the week on the site, so be on the lookout for that.
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EDITOR’S PICK: PLANET FARM, SHITZO, BILL TUCKER, APORTIA, BOREALIS
Error Records ($5) — Friday, May 24th at 7:30 p.m.
There have been some interesting shows happening recently that have combined music with other art forms. A few weeks ago, there was a show at the Art Theater combining music and film. This time, Error Records is hosting a showcase of noise, drone, and ambient performances to go alongside poetry and spoken word readings.
Five bands are set to perform, headlined by local drone outfit Planet Farm. The readings between sets will feature JR Jill, Fergus Lynch, Kaitlyn Bradshaw, and Jake Lee. Multi-dimensional show all around at Error Records, which has become increasingly dynamic since it opened up.
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WHAT: Shadows on a River, Broken Light, Lonely Trailer, Stirrup
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Friday, May 24th at 9 p.m.
Local alt-indie outfit Shadows on a River headline this solid show over at Cowboy Monkey this weekend. Opening act Stirrup is on a short tour as they’re stopping through C-U. Shadows had a pretty good year last year, releasing their short but sweet Droughts EP, which Cody had some good words to say about. They’ll be joined by Indiana’s Broken Light and locals Lonely Trailer.
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WHAT: Bob Dylan’s Birthday Bash
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Saturday, May 25th at 6 p.m.
The Champaign-Urbana Singer-Songwriter Collective has compiled a pretty huge list of people performing for Bob Dylan’s birthday this upcoming Saturday at Mike ‘N Molly’s. It’s tough to single anyone out because there is a lot of talent performing and celebrating their favorites of Dylan’s insanely huge catalog.
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WHAT: Need, Bailout, Unnerve
WHERE: Error Records ($5)
WHEN: Saturday, May 25th at 7:30 p.m.
Another cool show going down at Error Records this week as hardcore outfits unite. Local hardcore outfit Need performs their first show since last September as they’re set to go on tour soon. Bailout is consisting of some past/present C-U dudes that just moved to Chicago in Greg Clow (Laughboy, Diamond Stretch) and Ryan McCoy (Midstress). Local thrash/hardcore band Unnerve is performing as well, which is made up of some members of We Must Dismantle All This! There’s another band to be added to this show after Fumes dropped from the bill. Tons of rock all around.
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WHAT: Dave Pirner, The Self-Righteous Brothers & Friends
WHERE: The Highdive ($20)
WHEN: Saturday, May 25th at 8 p.m.
Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum is back through C-U after performing for Play or Pose around downtown Champaign back in 2009. This show and the next show listed kind of go hand in hand, stringing together a whole weekend of performances. Pirner will be joined by the Self-Righteous Brothers, which consists of Champaign Mayor Don Gerard and Withershins’ Isaac Arms.
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WHAT: Sixteen Tons, Breeders (IL), Lonely Trailer
WHERE: The Highdive ($10)
WHEN: Sunday, May 26th at 8 p.m.
In conjunction with the show above, this one is happening on Sunday night to bookend the weekend in Downtown Champaign. Sixteen Tons headlines and is joined by Breeders (NOT Kim Deal’s The Breeders, but the “Illinois Zen Punks”), and the Lonely Trailer (who are having a busy week. Net proceeds from this show (and Saturday’s show) will be donated to the Josh Gottheil Memorial Fund For Lymphoma Research and the Jay Bennett Foundation.