Mike D’s Top 5 Can’t Miss Shows of August

1. Monday, August 18: “Tunes on the Dunes” with Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds; Free!; 6 to 8pm; All ages; Westerly Town Beach. Here we are in August and once again summer is almost over. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I accomplished very little. I know nothing about this music series, but I know it’s very to close to the beach. Beach, outdoor music, one last chance at redeeming summer. Sister Sparrow are an eight-piece funk / soul act hailing from Brooklyn and seem like they would be perfect in at sunset. So where should one get dinner in Westerly? As a true Rhode Islander, I’ve never been — too far to not have a casino.

2. Tuesday, August 19: Arcade Fire, Antibalas, Dan Deacon; $40 and up?; 7pm; All ages; XFinity Center (GREAT WOODS), Mansfield, Mass. What price were tickets set at? No clue. Clicking on the venue’s site directs you to the Ticket Liquidator. Thanks for everything, Ticketmaster. Anyway, being a fan of Arcade Fire is much like being a fan of Kanye West in that you have to consistently be an apologist for their actions and words. And this tour has ruffled some feathers with the band’s instructions that patrons should wear formal attire or costume. I will be wearing my iron-on tuxedo t-shirt to the 15,000 plus Mansfield costume ball. The huge crowd should be an excellent contrast in high concept art piece meets suburb culture. Maybe I will dress up my red Solo cup for the parking lot as well.

3. Sunday, August 24: Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, The Raskins; Xfinity Center (GREAT WOODS), Mansfield, Mass. Finally, a farewell tour to Motley Crue. I have never been to a Crue show, and I most likely did myself a disservice by not seeing them in the heyday. Not entirely sure I recommend the show, but here’s notice to all those who, like me, did want to see them at some point. Regardless of it being 2014, Crue and Alice Cooper should deliver some fantastic circus-type atmosphere. And for all those who wish they had and still refuse to see them in 2014, I recommend reading The Dirt, the band’s first-person tell-all of their sordid and almost ludicrous adventures from humble beginning to the furthest thing from and on top of the rock world. It is the best autobiography of a rock band I have ever read hands down, and enjoyable regardless of whether you like the band or not.

4. Wednesday, September 3: DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist; $32; 7pm; All ages; House Of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston, Mass. The two best hip-hop turntablists of the ’90s/early 2000s are touring together for the first time since 2008. DJ Shadow broke into the mainstream with his 1996 debut full-length record Endtroducing, a masterpiece in samples and made Time Magazine‘s Top 100 All Time Albums (and my top 10 all time records as well). Cut Chemist came to popularity working with funk act Ozomatli and hip-hop act Jurassic 5 in the ’90s. The two collaborated on the 1999 self released Brainfreeze and 2001’s Product Placement. Both showcase not only the depth of their collective record collection with samples of obscure soul and hip-hop, but stand as the benchmark for the flux of mix artists to come. Do yourself a favor and pay the large cover for this one.

5. Sunday September 7th; Wavves; $16.50 advance / $20 day of; 6:30pm doors / 7:30pm show; All ages; The Met, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket. Psych surf punk stoner favorites Wavves return to Rhode Island for the first time in almost four years. They are playing a few dates on what seem to be warm-ups on their way out to Riot Fest in Chicago. Since their last time into town, they released Afraid Of Heights in 2013, a record that shows great leaps forward in song writing and recording, but still doesn’t entirely take itself seriously. The record grows on you with each additional play and spent the entire summer in my car player last year. Not only are Wavves one of my favorite bands of this decade, they are at their best live.