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

1. Saturday, June 4: PVD Fest, various locations around downtown Providence; Free; All ages. There are a ton of good shows in June in the Providence area, so I hope your liver is prepared for the punishment. PVDFest will be everywhere downtown on June 4. Live music, food vendors, outdoor drinking, art installations and Kennedy Plaza denizens who are displaced and confused by the madness pretty much sums it up. Regardless of what you are into, it’s a good time and worth checking out the madness and fun.  Musical highlights from out-of-towners include Rough Francis, Screaming Females and Doomriders. And some locals to look forward to include Chachi, Last Good Tooth, Black Pus, Math The Band, Arc Iris and Churchburn. Check out pvdfest.com to try to make an agenda, or just go and find fun.

2. Sunday, June 5: Vinnie Caruana, Brandon Reilly, Josh Cournoyer (Northern Lands); 6:30pm doors / 7:30pm show, $12 advance / $15 day of, All ages, The Met, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket. Long time pop punk troubadour Vinnie Caruana has been releasing albums for almost two decades with his bands I Am The Avlaanche and The Movielife, but this year he’s going out on his own with his first solo full-length, Survivor’s Guilt.  Vinnie mostly writes about his encounters with love, whether it be love and its tribulations or the love that comes with the journeys of traveling and friendship. The honesty and fervency that he has within his songwriting has made him a cult pop punk underground icon. While it’s his solo record tour, Vinnie is traveling with some familiar faces. His band includes Steve Choi (from Rx Bandits and a side project Vinnie is in called Peace’d Out), and his bandmates from his other bands Brett Romnes (IATA) and Brandon Reilly (The Movielife). Brandon is pulling double duty while performing some of his songs from The Movielife and also Nightmare Of You. And opening the show is my buddy and Nashville castaway Josh Cournoyer, if he survives his bachelor party the night before.

3. Wednesday, June 8: DIIV, The Paranoyds, Tapestries; 8pm doors / 9pm show; $15; All ages; The Met, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket OR Anderson .Paak;$25 advance / $30 day of; All ages; Lupo’s, 79 Washington St, Providence. In a month with so many good shows comes a night with two Providence debuts. Brooklyn’s DIIV comes to The Met in support of their second record Is The Is Are and California’s Anderson .Paak comes to Lupo’s in support of his second record Malibu. Both of their albums are critically acclaimed and both artists are known for tremendous live performances. So I guess it comes down to what mood you are in that day. Are you up for fantastic indie shoegaze or very good R&B hip-hop? Can’t lose either way. Go to the ‘tube and check out Diiv’s “Under The Sun” and .Paak’s “Am I Wrong” and try to make up your mind, or mine while you’re at it.

4. Tuesday, June 14: John Doe, Jesse Dayton, Bob Kendall; The Parlor Newport, 200 Broadway, Newport. It’s finally warm out and if its warm out, I would rather be by the water. This is the best south of Providence show I could find this month in RI, featuring punk legend John Doe (X, Roadhouse). His solo performances span rock, country and folk. The Parlor is a very intimate place to see an artist like John, and June 14 is before tourist season, so hopefully the hotels aren’t $300+ yet. When did that happen?  Anyway, opening are Austin Texas’ Jesse Dayton and Aquidneck Island’s own Bob Kendall. Go to Bob’s bandcamp to check out his self titled full-length.

5. Date: At The Drive-In; 6pm; $40; House O’ Blues Boston; 15 Lansdowne St, Boston. If you ever wanted to catch At The Drive-In, you should get on Stub Hub and bite the bullet. A tremendously talented band that doesn’t seem to get along with each other for extended periods. They have already this year parted ways with founding member and guitarist Jim Ward. I saw them back in the day when they played Lupo’s (II) with Murder City Devils. That show was amazing and At The Drive-In outplayed my favorite band MCD. 2000’s Relationship of Command has held up and is still fantastic. But nothing could touch seeing it played live. I don’t think I will go as I can’t imagine it being better than the Relationship of Command tour, but if you haven’t seen them, do yourself the favor and pay the double the ticket price and have an amazing night.

Also worth checking out: June 3 — The Felice Brothers & Happiness @ The Met; June 4 — Murphys Law @ Firehouse 13; June 10 — The Slackers & The Copacetics @ The Met; June 11 — The Blue Album (Weezer tribute) @ The Met; June 14 — The Neighborhoud @ Lupo’s; June 18 — Kristin Kontrol @ The Met; June 18 — The Low Anthem (album release) @ Columbus Theatre; June 23 — Windhand @ AS220; June 23 — Bonnie Prince Billy at Columbus Theatre; June 24 — Michael Christmas @ The Met; June 24 — AWOLNATION & Death From Above 1979 @ Lupo’s; June 27 — Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness @ Fete; June 28 — We Were Promised Jetpacks @ The Met; June 28 — Colleen Green @ Aurora