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Mar 19th, 2008 - 07:43:02 |
subbacultcha
by Keith N. Dusenberry
Fourth of July — hmm, stay away from fireworks, friends. Viewing will not get you into anyone’s pants regardless of how “romantic” people claim they are, and lighting them means you’re either gonna be bored (legal fireworks) or too close to burning off those hard-earned guitar calluses (illegal fireworks). So, why don’t you just stick to what you do best: drinking and going to shows. Combine that with the open air of outdoor concerts and wallet-friendly free admission, and CityFest is a truly great Detroit summer week.
Here’s my plan: See Spoon on July 4 at 8:30 p.m. on the Main Stage.
The rest is a bonus. I’ll probably catch Femi Kuti (Weds., 5:30 p.m.) with all the bearded record store clerks set on pretending that their knowledge of Afrobeat extends beyond NOMO. I’m sure those same kids will be at Friday’s 8:30 p.m. Main Stage performance by Lupe Fiasco (“Hey, he skateboards!”). And again at Yo La Tengo’s Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Main Stage show. Real's stage offers a nice variety — just like this paper, thank you very much (The Fondas, Serenity Court, The Hentchmen, Carjack, The Satin Peaches, Exchange Bureau, The High Strung, The Hard Lessons and this week’s cover story: The Silent Years). See you there!
More info: comericacityfest.com. | RDW
kill your radio
by Aaron Rajala
The Muldoons are a family band that has been together for about two years. When I say family band, suppress your intuition and don’t think of the Partridge family. Combined, I am older than two of the members of The Muldoons. They consist of Brian (drums) and his two sons: 13-year-old Hunter (guitar, vocals) and 10-year-old Shane (guitar, vocals). “We write songs about what interests us. Some of the titles of our songs include ‘Tall,’ ‘Zombies,’ ‘Chubby Bunny,’ ‘Destruction Boy’ and ‘Epic Battles,’” Hunter says. “We’d rather sing about things like action figures, comic books, monsters and being ten feet tall, than singing about girls and relationships.”
That’s hilarious. At and between those ages, I was breaking Transformers and Nintendo controllers. The only talent I possessed involved knowing the order to vanquish the bosses in Mega Man III (Magnet Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man, Needle Man). I swear you won’t even be able to tell how young these musicians are, it’s good old fashioned punk rock. It thrills me that there are people who will carry on the legacy of supporting the hell out of local music when I either die of lung cancer or get canned. Crap gets too real, too dramatic and too pragmatic when you get older. Remind yourself of the time when you dreamt of being ten feet tall and battles between G.I. Joe and Cobra were the only ones that mattered. | RDW
dope
by Tom Matich
The Orphic aka Lord Corny isn’t a cornball, despite his name. In fact, the man is mega talented, amusing and hilarious, like Aries Spears on MADtv. If you haven’t seen Spears do his impressions of Jay-Z, LL Cool J and DMX, take yo’ stankin’ ass to YouTube and watch that shit, son. If Spears were to rap as Steve Urkel and the music was an ill crossbreed of Rawkus and Native Tongues, then you would have The Orphic. Corny can switch flows from Poindexter to Pharoahe Monch at the drop of a pocket protector. And if you recall, Urkel always prevailed in the end, plus he transformed into the suave playa Stefan Urquelle and macked major honeydipp Laura Winslow. When you got a bunch of Waldos buffooning around “partyin’ like rock stars” and hollering, “Totally dude!” then I’m all for injecting some Einstein swagger into the game, son. “I chose Lord Corny because it’s OK to be yourself,” The Orphic says. “I had to say to myself sometime ago, ‘Look, no matter how much you try, you won’t fit in.’ In fact, I was at Northern Lights one evening and it was amazing. I was the only dude wit’ a smile on my face. I’m like, life ain’t that hard if you’re sportin’ bling and rollin’ on 20-inch rims — loosen up, people.” Myspace.com/theorphic. | RDW
electrophile
by Jean Johnson
For those suffering Liz Copeland withdrawal, check out the CityFest’s Pure Detroit stage on Saturday. Not only is she performing, but she curated the acts, too. “The Alternate Take Radio stage will represent some of my favorites over the years — from solid standbys to relatively recent forward-thinking acts and discoveries,” Liz said. “Most of the acts reside in Detroit. Fortunately for me and for Detroit, this has been extremely fertile music development ground. I was also asked to share some tunes, which somehow always seem to lead back to this city.”
What does Liz think of some of the performers? Anthony “Shake” Shakir — “is on the A-Team of DJs, yet somehow remains one of Detroit’s hidden gems." Heartthrob — “magically balancing melody with minimal electronic sounds, he’s been hard at work with new material which he promises to share as he closes out the Alternate Take Radio stage.” After the Fest, head to Northern Lights Lounge for more antics. Performances include Liz, Freer and some surprises. “People should expect to have one heck of a good time centered, of course, around music.” If that’s still not enough Liz, she’s in the Motown edition of Our Generation, a documentary series on The History Channel on July 13. Hit alternatetakeradio.com for more info. | RDW
british hype watch
by Keith N. Dusenberry
“Led Zeppelin to reunite? Band are rumoured to be in talks for memorial gig.” — NME.com
OMG. Must. Change. Pants. (It’s Page, Plant AND Jones, with Bonham’s son Jason on drums.) | RDW
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