Jam With These Funk, Punk and Death Rock Bands This Weekend
Here are the local shows you didn’t know about for the weekend of Aug. 23th in Detroit, from punk to Americana and death rock.
Welcome to “Milo Minute,” the 60 seconds (or thereabouts) you need to find a local show or fest to attend this weekend. And we mean ‘local.’
Longtime Detroit music journalist Jeff Milo has been plugging ears into the Detroit scene for years with his prolific Deep Cutz blog and his YouTube series, The Milo Show. Here, he gives us his rundown for what music to catch this weekend that isn’t your typical fare.
Click on the player above to hear Jeff Milo’s recommendations for the weekend.
Friday August 23
Desmond Jones at Otus Supply
Who’s playing: Desmond Jones is a fusion band bridging funk-rock to a kind of jazz sensibility — one might even say they’re a jam band, a term that used to be stigmatized in the late 90’s for its connotations with the band Phish. The five members are top notch players who have solid chemistry not only on stage but in a sort of telepathic read-each-other way when they’re charting out their arrangements.
Sounds like: It can be an amalgam of funky-ness, with some country-twang, rollicking rock and some progressive tendencies that make everything feel very alive and adventurous.
Sample track: Desmond Jones, “Instructional Dance Song”
Joe Strummer Tribute Fest at PJ’s Lager House
Who’s playing: Joe Strummer was the leader of the revolutionary punk band, The Clash, who not only redefined what punk could be, but supported a lot of social causes, including music education. The Joe Strummer Foundation provides instruments and lessons to children who are learning music all around the world. “Strummer Jam” is a tribute fundraiser for the organization with a lineup that includes Jeremy Porter, who leads the Tucos, The Gashounds, Jeff German, The Lowcocks and Pancho Villa’s Skull.
Sample track: Pancho Villa’s Skull, “Mira Alrededor”
Saturday, August 24
Patio Concert Series at City Bird with Lac La Belle
Who’s playing: It’s the North Cass Neighborhood Summer Sidewalk Sale going on this Saturday and we’re going to listen to a band called Lac La Belle, led by the versatile Nick Shillace and Jennie Knaggs.
Sounds like: They tap into roots, Americana, and a range of styles of North American folk from Dixie to Appalachia.
Sample track: Lac La Belle, “The Way I Run”
Primitiv Parts, The Philter, Cynecide and Immaculate Conception at the Old Miami
Who’s playing: Primitiv Parts tagline is ‘death rock from the midwest,’ and then you’ve got groups like Immaculate Conception and Cinecyde, vociferous, hard-driving rock. Then there’s The Philter who tap into one of my favorite sub-genres of guitar-based music, and that’s surf rock.
Sample track: The Philter, “No More Love”
