Now that the heat outside is finally worthy of the seasonal fervor, it's time to shake out your accumulating sweat glands and get wild at some local shows during the first week of August. We've got everything you could possibly be interested in on our music calendar, and you'll find all of our critics' picksâranging from Canadian indie kings to a human-shaped metaphor for Detroit's downfall, to the offspring of a posthumous dorm poster iconâbelow.
AUGUST 1
Flogging Molly, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Chuck Ragan
For the past two-plus decades, Flogging Molly have been waving the flag of Celtic punk proudly, touring the world and providing thousands of devoted fans with a night of drunken, sweaty, sing-alongs. The seven-piece LA-based band is truly a spectacle, as they play a wide range of instruments, including the bodhran, mandolin, accordion, banjo, and tin whistle. Opener Frank Turner is a British punk rocker turned singer-songwriter with more in common with Billy Bragg than Dropkick Murphys. The common thread between both artists is their ability to draw upon their punk roots while pushing boundaries and defining their own sound. KEVIN DIERS
AUGUST 2
HĂLOS and Guests
London trio HĂLOS begin their debut album, Full Circle, with a sample of British philosopher Alan Watts speaking about âthe spectrum of loveâ over a poignant ambient piece. They let you know instantly that you may need a hanky or two as you progress through their collection of emotionally fraught, dancing-while-choked-up-on-remorse tunes. The prevailing mood is despondent, but buoyed by rhythmsâincluding a sample or blatant facsimile of James Brown/Clyde Stubblefieldâs âFunky Drummerââthat insist you bounce out of the doldrums, despite your setbacks. Lotti Benardoutâs sullenly pretty voice dominates the songs, which will appeal to fans of Portishead, Massive Attack, and Lamb. With Full Circle, the inevitable triphop revival has yet another rallying point. Letâs pout, but funkily. DAVE SEGAL
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
Jazz vocalist Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. may be a big name thanks to America's Got Talent, but manages to stay on top courtesy of smooth as silk performances every time he hits the stage.
Ziggy Marley with Steel Pulse
Itâs difficult, as Americans, to get a good bead on the cultural importance of Bob Marley in his native Jamaica and to reggae and dub as musical institutions. On the one hand, he was the genreâs great popularizer. On the other hand, âposthumous dorm poster iconâ is a dubious legacy. Look, then, to his children, musicians and performers in their fatherâs vein, for a less historically tainted view of his musicâs power. And while personally I prefer the hiphop consciousness of his youngest offspring, Damian, it is eldest son, Ziggy, who most definitely carries his fatherâs torch. With 18 records (one unreleased) to his name, Ziggy is as prolific as Bob, and one day may be as beloved. JOSEPH SCHAFER
AUGUST 3
AlunaGeorge with Kari Faux
AlunaGeorge consist of Aluna Francis on singing and songwriting, George Reid on everything else. They win awards in their native UK, but theyâre just starting to boil up over here. Against Reidâs lively, sometimes arch, musical backgrounds, Francis sounds little-girl breathy most of the time, but hints, especially over repeated listenings, at things deeper, more sinister, the accidental pains of trawling memories for what you hoped was happiness. Kari Faux, a low-budget rapper, lives online and likes that just fine; life wouldnât exist for her without social media, without screens, without electricity. Have fun with that as far as her foul mouth goes, but donât expect what Lester Bangs called a down-to-rudimentals turn. ANDREW HAMLIN
Thee Sgt Major III, The Fucking Eagles, The Beltholes
Thee Sgt. Major III find longtime Fastbacks leader Kurt Bloch throwing down with a former Posie, a former Young Fresh Fellow, and vocalist/frontwoman Leslie Beattie (Cantona, Flatpack), who helps them to get a Lesley Gore groove on. The Fucking Eagles you gotta love just for their name, but the one song I found on the web clicked up darn tasty garage rock, sand-in-the-dishwater guitar, cymbal splashes, two riffs menacing each other, very much the spirit of 1966 down to what sounds like congas in the simmer-down. The Beltholes, assuming itâs the same band of that name I found online: A surprisingly young trio with surprisingly soulful vocals. ANDREW HAMLIN
AUGUST 4
clipping., Porter Ray, Cakes Da Killa
Bizarrely, Sub Pop has become home to some of the most avant-garde hiphop of the 2010s. After issuing adventurous records by Shabazz Palaces and THEESatisfaction (RIP), the Seattle indie signed LA trio clipping., who combine askew, puzzling flows with a production approach that pushes noise and distortion to 11. Thus far, MC Daveed Diggsâs lyrical content has proved to be not quite as advanced as bandmates Jonathan Snipes and William Hutsonâs frame-shattering production, but clipping. are still relatively new and thereâs time to grow. Their radical debut album, midcity, sounds like Antipop Consortium crossbreeding with Merzbow and Scorn, while on their Sub Pop debut full-length, CLPPNG, Diggsâs horndog and streetwise-cynic personas are rampant, but the music busts out of all trad hiphop boxes with rancorous inventiveness. Clipping.âs new EP, Wriggle, boasts some rapid-fire, extreme-noise party jams designed to get weirdo IDM heads amped, as well as some slightly more accessible tracks that use gunfire as percussion. Does radio have the guts to play this? Do you? DAVE SEGAL
Doe Bay Fest 2016
For the ninth year running, Doe Bay Fest does what it knows best, secluding all the people who like camping in a charmingly exclusive cove for several days of music, food, and dancing. This year's line-up includes regional notables like The Flavr Blue, Kris Orlowski, Thunderpussy, and many, many more. (Through Aug 8)
Flume with Mura Masa
Australian producer and wunderkind Flume hits the Paramount with three whole days of masterwork soundscapes, with guest opener Mura Masa. (Through Aug 6)
Pizza Fest 2016
Leaning more toward the crusty and saucy than the cheesy, Pizza Fest enters its seventh year in rude health. For three nights, you can gorge on the sounds of underground rockâs rawest and rowdiest miscreants from Seattle and around this scary country. Organizers Pete Capponi (drummer for Stooge-ian roughnecks Steal Shit Do Drugs, who play Friday), Jen Knight, and the Funhouse/El Corazon staff have stacked the bills with some smashing out-of-towners, including Atlanta post-Beefheart lovelies OMNI, bracingly negative, Flipper-esque punks Life Stinks, and scathing screamers Violence Creeps. Local standouts include malevolent post-punks VHS, queercore provocateurs Sashay, and power-pop charmers Bread & Butter. Best believe youâll sweat out your anchovies. The final night includes a pizza-eating contest. No, itâs not glutton-free [sic]. DAVE SEGAL (Through Aug 6)
AUGUST 5
Come to Grief, Bell Witch, Hissing
Doom: Itâs not the name of the Fantastic Fourâs archnemesis, itâs a style of heavy metal, one so low and slow that when itâs done right, it sounds like a hypo full of bad dope. And when itâs done wrong? Think Black Sabbath minus all the fun bits. Thankfully, Bostonâs Grief did it right. They helped keep the genre alive during the â90s when it was at its nadir of popularity. Hell, they still do it right, even though they havenât released an album in 16 years, rarely tour, and officially changed their name to Come to Grief (the title of their cult-classic 1994 album). Abandon all hope, ye who step unto the Highline for down-tuned guitars and massive decibels. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Nepal Peace Home Orphanage Benefit Show
The Fremont Abbey crew hosts a benefit show for the Nepal Peace Home Orphanage, featuring the musical talents of Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver, Bryan John Appleby, Zach Bolen, and Shay Carlucci of Pretty Broken Things.
The Phantom Four, The Boos Martians, Marieke & The Go Get Em Boys
Finks and femmes, the time has come; for the first time EVER, the famed Dutch surf/instrumental group the Phantom Four are touring the US. Theyâre a big deal, as they have conjured some of the most inventive and rather mental instrumental jams of the past decade. Oh, I should bump the rest of tonightâs excellent a-go-go action, too: the local surf rats the Boss Martians and a cool, lady-fronted, heavily reverbed rockabilly group who play true to the style as it nodded into the early â60s called Marieke and the Go Get âEm Boys. AND between bands, Mr. Stevie Dee is DJing. Yâall, his record boxes are so full of greasy heat, he hasta use oven mitts to keep from burning his hands! Cowabunga, motherfuckers! MIKE NIPPER
Protomartyr with Lithics
Post-punk is the most effete permutation of all rock music. No other style is so tightly bolted to the LondonâNew YorkâLA music industry access, while seeming resistant to being sold as a product. Its musical strategies mimic the affectations of former Soviet Bloc pop. They are un-American. And yet in 2016, one of Americaâs most excellent post-punk acts hails from Detroit. In a way, it makes sense. Punk celebrates the glory of apocalypse and Detroit is already wrecked. It is literally post-punk. Hence Protomartyr, who weld now-global Joy Divisionâisms to erudite and hyperlocal ideas. Case in point, one of their best songs is called âYpsilanti,â named for the bohemian satellite town orbiting Ann Arbor. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Secondnature: Nick Höppner, Alala.One, Guests
When a resident DJ from Berlinâs Berghain/Panorama Bar comes to your city, you shelve all obligations and go see them. Ergo, it would behoove you to catch Nick Höppner tonight. (Rest assured, Protomartyrâwho play Neumos tonight, as wellâwill be back.) Besides managing the crucial Ostgut Ton label, Höppner is a producer and DJ of subliminal, slinky techno and house, with an unerring ear for the trippier end of the spectrum. His aesthetic is not so much about the bangers and hand-raising anthems as it is about rhythmic complexity and strange atmospheres. This is an artist au fait with the effects of drugs on the mind and who caters to enhance that experience. Ja! DAVE SEGAL
AUGUST 6
10,000 Maniacs
Things Iâm betting you donât know about 10,000 Maniacs: Itâs now 23 years since Natalie Merchant left, and theyâre doing fine. They cut a cover of Roxy Musicâs âMore Than Thisâ back in 1997 and they shot the video at the mind-boggling House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where they got to ride the worldâs largest carousel (get a Wisconsin native to explain the rest). âNewâ singer Mary Ramsey also plays violin, viola, and cello; sheâs considered one of rock and rollâs best violinists. The latest studio album is called Twice Told Tales, and itâs a collection of traditional folk songs. It would break my heart, had I a heart to break. (Still looking for it though.) ANDREW HAMLIN
Chrisette Michelle
From church pews to concert venues, Chrisette Michele brings an otherworldly power to her music, imbuing pop sensibilities with the soul of gospel and the romance of R&B.
Emily King with David Ryan Harris
Emerging chart queen Emily King layers electronic riffs with soft yet strong vocal harmonies for a lush glimpse into the future of pop music.
Pop. 1280, Vice Device, Ian Hicks
Although still one of the most chilling acts around, New Yorkâbased synth punks Pop. 1280 took a slight departure from their ghoulishly postapocalyptic cyberpunk, embracing a subtler creepiness on the recently released Paradise (Sacred Bones). Now more evil than confrontational, Pop. 1280 write songs like âPyramids on Marsâ that stealthily insinuate themselves, rather than their âtwo dogs fuckingâ bludgeoning approach on 2012âs aptly titled The Horror. Portlandâs Vice Device rank among this countryâs best post-punk revivalists, churning out mid-tempo analog-synth-heavy, sax-championing jams falling somewhere between saxy Swiss Grauzone and icy-cool romantic UK legends Sad Lovers & Giants. Also managing to pay homage without being overly derivative, Ian Hicksâs pulsating synth majesty summons the darkest and most entrancing early-â80s EBM/minimal-wave vibes. BRITTNIE FULLER
AUGUST 7
Lucy Dacus, Valley Maker, Guests
Charming in her disarming nature, Lucy Dacus writes songs that treat each feeling like a reason to speak, with an open and honest indie rock style and a true knack for stark acoustic directness cushioned by soft dream pop notions.
Wolf Parade with Darto and Deep Sea Diver
High school was a weird time for everybody, right? Thankfully, I had a cool best friend who later went to art school (she really had her shit down early), and she was the one to play Apologies to the Queen Mary for me back in 2005. It felt rare to listen to and enjoy âindie rockâ without wanting to fling myself off the nearest structureâfinger noise on steel frets that didnât sound like a forcibly acoustic winky-face, white-dude voices that werenât nauseatingly cloying in their earnestness to sound disaffected, thumping percussion that felt foundational and leading without minimizing the power of a simple kick-drum-laden banger. Following that album, Wolf Parade expanded to At Mount Zoomer, and to my favorite, Expo 86, with an eventual hiatus declared in 2011. After five years split among three additional bands (Divine Fits, Handsome Furs, Operators), frontman Dan Boeckner is back for a two-night set at the Neptune. Letâs hope Wolf Parade can relocate how to pound skin and lash synth from their â00s glory and make me proud. KIM SELLING (Through Aug 8)
An Evening with Yo La Tengo
For 30 years, Yo La Tengo have been one of the most reliable purveyors of moving, melodic rock with roots in the Velvet Underground and the Modern Lovers. Yes, thatâs familiar territory, but few do it more sagely than Yo La Tengo. Beyond that, though, Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew have shown inquisitiveness about country, electronic music, krautrock, astral jazz (have you heard their incendiary cover of Sun Raâs âNuclear Warâ?), and other styles, adapting them to their charmingly low-key MO. At this late date, a YLT show probably will cover a lot of discographical ground and offer a smattering of lovable and unexpected coversâand it will all surely be delightful. DAVE SEGAL