If I recall correctly, my first show as a 21-year-old was at Neumos—well, it was at Moe's to be exact—Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, and the Beat Junkies. Great show, and I only saw one other person wearing the same Black Star shirt I was wearing. Damn near 15 years later—yikes—this very same lineup is coming to the Showbox at the Market on Wednesday, July 9. It's also presented by KUBE, which is pretty funny considering how much airplay they've given those artists (Sunday Night Sound Session being the well-known exception, of course). And yes, this show is also 21+... I mean, how many 15-year-olds are trying to see J5 who aren't related to any of them? (Which reminds me, big ups to Snubnose Frankenstein from the ATL collective Two-9, whose dad is actually J5's Akil.)

The all-ages program for those heads would be up the road in Belltown—as Ryan Caraveo plays the Crocodile's Back Bar the same night. Slightly brotastic but not egregiously so, Caraveo puts words together in a fashion that sounds confident and cool—his cut "Schlager," for a song titled after a frat-ass liquor, is pretty fun.

Continue reading »

And here's all our recommended music events—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, and beyond!