Mike D’s Top Five: The Can’t Miss Shows of May

#1 Thursday, May 2: Tallahassee (CD release show) with Smith & Weeden and Coyote Kolb. $10. 8pm. All ages. The Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway, Providence. Boston’s (by way of Providence) roots rock band Tallahassee are putting out Old Ways and this is the party. While I haven’t heard it yet, I can tell you that I look forward to it. Singer Brian Barthelmes might be the nicest guy in music. Providence’s Smith & Weeden and Boston’s Coyote Kolb round out the bill.  

#2 Thursday, May 9: 95.5 WBRU presents an Earth Day Show with Silversun Pickups and Bad Books. $27.50 advance, $30 day of. 6pm doors, 7pm show. All ages. Lupo’s, 79 Washington Street, Providence. By now, you should know about and have made up your mind on Silversun Pickups. Bad Books are new to the Providence market, fronted by Kevin Devine and Andy Hull (singer of Manchester Orchestra), and their single “Forest Whitaker” is fire. YouTube it – it’s my favorite song of 2012, hands down. While you’re at it, Netflix the masterpiece Ghost Dog and have a Forest Whitaker Day.

#3 Saturday, May 11: Ghostface Killah, Jahpan and Sour City. $20 advance, $25 day of. 8pm. All ages. The Met, 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. Wu Tang’s Ironman Ghostface Killah with a live band? Sounds pretty good. Expect a mix of classics and cuts off his new album 12 Reasons To Die, which is also available on cassette for those of you who have still not made the turn over to CD format… or are still driving 1997 Oldsmobiles.

#4 Monday, May 13: The Darkness and Free Energy. $25 advance, $28 day of. 8pm. All ages. Lupo’s, 79 Washington Street, Providence. Do you believe in a thing called love? No? Me neither. If you believe in a thing called alcohol – and drinking to the point where you don’t know whether or not you live in the ‘70s – then this is the concert for you. The Darkness are a blast live, and opener Free Energy is nice mix of all things T Rex and Big Star with some additional snarl.  Check out their James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem) produced Stuck On Nothing album.

#5 Tuesday May 28: Futurebirds, Burlapen and Milk. $10. 8pm. All ages. The Met, 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. Baba Yaga is getting Athens, Georgia-based country rock band Futurebirds a lot of attention and critical acclaim. When Pitchfork and Paste kiss your butt on the second record – that’s usually the fast road to success. I like what I’ve heard and it reminds me a lot of what’s been going on recently up here in the Northeast scene. Burlapen’s debut show marks the overdue return of veteran Providence indie song writer Rachel Jorgensen. Boston’s Milk round out the bill.

— Mike D