1. Saturday, May 20: 2017 Hope Street Spring Block Party featuring Chachi and the International Players, The Curtis Mayflower, Eric & The Nothing, The Horse-Eyed Men, The Quahogs, Tall Teenagers; Noon to 6pm; Free; All Ages. Summer is almost here and this is one of the first great yearly outdoor parties. The Hope Street Spring Block party showcases great local bands and shuts down the streets so you can stroll around and check out local artists and vendors and drink while doing so. It’s a great event and last year I got to cross off a bucket list item, annoying people while wearing the Narragansett Can costume. Whatever time you show up, you will get to catch a great local band. Chachi and the International players are closing the day party.
2. Saturday, May 20: The Upper Crust; 7pm doors; $13; All ages; Pop, 219 W Park St, PVD. Pop recently relocated to Providence and now has a performance / art gallery to boot. Boston Elizabethan era bullies The Upper Crust are back in town and if you like riffs and snooty banter, you are in luck. The show is also a celebration of paintings and drawings of Dan Gosch. Make sure to take a stroll through the store, it’s packed with all sorts of amazing stuff. Hopefully you don’t purchase anything I am saving for.
3. Thursday, May 25: Future Islands, Zack Mexico; 8pm doors /9pm show; $18 advance / $20 day of; All ages; Lupo’s, 79 Washington St, PVD. Indie synthrockers Baltimore’s Future Islands are coming to PVD supporting their critically acclaimed 5th record The Far Field. I am new to the bandwagon on Future Islands, but I have been listening to the new record pretty much non-stop. I recommend starting with the second single off the record Cave and never looking back. North Carolina lounge indie minimalists Zack Mexico open up the bill.
4. Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28: Boston Calling; Gates open at 2:30 Friday / Noon Sat & Sun; $99 per day / $269 3-day pass; All ages; Harvard Athletic Complex, Allston, Mass. Boston Calling is back and has moved to a new and bigger location, and with the bigger capacity comes bigger bands. Breakout rapper Chance The Rapper (Grammys / Kit Kat commercials), Mumford & Sons (the band people who buy CDs in book stores like), and Tool (the band that kid wore the shirt of everyday in high school) are the headliners. There are some bands from the past like Weezer, Wolf Parade, Buffalo Tom and Piebald(!!!), but the strength of the line-up is the up-and-coming acts. Chicago indie rock but sorta ’70s revivalists Whitney, Canadian punks Pup, and garage / yacht rock enthusiast Mac DeMarco are my favorite of the crop, but there are plenty and this is the best line-up Boston Calling has had yet. And Run The Jewels!!!!
5. Saturday, May 27th: Scurvy Dog Parking Lot Mega Show; Free!; 21+ only (children are welcome if they aren’t the worst); 1718 Westminister St, PVD. Now that spring just started finally in the middle of May, the outdoor goings are coming up in PVD almost every weekend. The best part of the long weekend holidays in town is that it means you are getting a Scurvy Dog Parking Lot Show. This upcoming one is anchored by the Providence punk and/or rock and or rollers from town you would expect and hope to see such as OG noise terrors Onleyville Sound System, veteran rock punks The Worried, Pawtucket rockers Swan Point, Kitchen sink UHF spinoffs The Viennagrams, and Providence punks The Paraplegics (who have been at it from my estimations forever). There are a couple of out-of-towners such as NJ’s Nervous Triggers & NYC’s Nuclear Santa Claust. But the highlight of the night has to be late ’70s Boston Punks Unnatural Axe returning to town. Find the Facebook event page for updates of set times as it gets closer.
Also worth checking out: May 17: Jon Snodgrass & Lenny Lashley @ The Met; May 17: Wavves @ Brighton Music Hall; May 19: Zero Holds, Karis Owen @ News Cafe; May 19: The Morgana Phase, Forest Fires @ AS220; May 25: Future Islands @ Lupo’s; May 28: Coat Of Arms, That’ll Learn Ya @ The Met
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