From Hip-Hop to 80’s Rock
1. Friday, June 6: Scott Bradlee & Post Modern Jukebox (An Alternative History of Pop Music); $17 advance / $20 day of; 8pm doors / 9pm show; All ages; The Met, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket. Internet sensation Scott Bradlee & Post Modern Jukebox are taking their act off the web and into the clubs and are hitting The Met in their inaugural run. The band takes modern songs ranging from all sorts of pop cultural charts and shows and revises them with styles of jazz, ragtime and swing. Unlike other recent cover gimmicks like Pizza Underground, these guys have the chops to not only hang with the original versions, but in some cases surpass them. My favorites include their Edith Piaf-inspired version of “Sweater Weather” by the Neighbourhood and “Ducktails theme.”
2. Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7: Roadhouse the Musical; $5; 10:30pm; The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad St., Providence. This is the most important musical moment in Rhode Island this month, if not in history. Finally, someone had the common sense to put the second greatest movie of all time (Point Break is number 1, duh) to score. That someone is mastermind and running enthusiast Brien Lang who wrote and directed this piece. Who will play John Doe? What will a torn-out heart look like in person? How drunk will I already be at 10:30? Will “The Polar Bear Fell On Me” be a song in itself??! So many questions, only two performances to find out. Cancel all plans.
3. Sunday, June 8: Atmosphere performing with Damian Marley; $39 to $55; 7pm; All ages; Blue Hlls Bank Pavillion, Boston. Hip-hop partners Slug and Ant, better know as Atmosphere, finally return with a brand new, back-to-triumphant-form record. Southsiders, their first record in three years, is a great album from start to finish. Many of rapper Slug’s common themes, such as hyper self-awareness and relationships, are present, as well as what seems to finally be contentment with marriage. Check out standout tracks “Camera Their” and front runner for my favorite song of the year so far, the bonus track “Idiot.”
4. Friday, June 20: Littlefoot, Dr Jones and the Shiners, See Through Dresses, Free Pizza; ~$6; 9pm; All ages; As220, 115 Empire St., Providence. Littlefoot and Dr Jones and the Shiners are two of the finest local bands Providence has to offer. If you haven’t seen either of them yet, you are doing it wrong. The openers are both new to me and the names intrigued me. Omaha’s See Through Dresses sound like they are part of the early to mid ’90s RI music scene and would fit in on a small factory show. They’re a perfect blend of ’80s dark post rock and indie pop. Boston’s Free Pizza have a lot going against them before the first listen. I hate the band name. It should be a 311-frat-dude-never-left-Attleboro band. The first song reminds me of Dead Milkmen / Ween and the next song sounds entirely different — early Against Me! vocals with Modern Lovers. It’s all over the place, but doesn’t sound like Bad Head or Dirty Fish, so better than I thought the name would bring. Get there early.
5. Friday, July 4: Sage Francis, B Dolan; $15; 8pm; All ages; Fete, 103 Dyke St., Providence. Did anyone really think Sage was done touring and recording? Five years after announcing a hiatus, Sage is back with his fifth studio album, Copper Gone. I haven’t soaked in the new record yet, but the track “Vonnegut Busy” has been on constant rotation in my playlist and it sounds like vintage Sage. The Sage Francis Copper Gone press conference on YouTube answers all pressing Facebook questions. Fortunately for you, he has love for Providence.