The Dick Solomons,
The Squirmin Hermans
Saturday, July 28
The Blacklight Bar, 610 Marion St. NE
8 p.m., free, 21+
Do-it-yourself pop-punkin’ rock band The Squirmin Hermans are one of the Cherry City’s best-kept secrets. The members are silly, quirky, and (I’m guessing) do not care what you think of them. They’re in it for the love of … well, whatever it is they’re actually doing (check out some of their ridiculous but charming videos on YouTube.com to get an idea). If I had to pick one band that epitomized what Salem music is (or what it should be) about, it would be The Squirmin Hermans. At the same time, if I was trying to sell a friend on the local music scene, I may wait a bit to show them the Hermans.
Rockabilly Round-Up
Saturday, July 28
Stars Cabaret, 1550 Western Ct. NE
1 p.m., $10 (advance), 21+
Despite all the white collar jobs the State of Oregon brings, Salem’s got a blue collar edge, and with that comes a special appreciation for all things rockabilly. Stars Cabaret is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Rockabilly Round-Up, which features music by The Back Alley Barbers, The Gusto Bros., John Pounds and many others, a “cruise-in” car show, a handful of vendors, and of course, burlesque performances (by Lucky Lucy O’rebel, Miss Alex Kennedy, and Fleur De Sel). There’s also a psychobilly pin-up contest judged by Jake The Alligator Man, a cash drawing and a people’s choice award for the cruise-in.
Ninja Turtle Ninja Tiger
Saturday, July 28
Christo’s Lounge, 1108 Broadway St. NE
9 p.m., free, 21+
Formed by Salem ex-pats, Ninja Turtle Ninja Tiger plays atmospheric dance rock that manages to be both pro-slick and youthfully expressive. In an age when spacey dance pop has become king of the airwaves, the Dustin Brown-fronted project has wittingly concocted a success-friendly elixir. Luckily, the boys of NTNT are pretty great at writing a hook and producing a song, so its latest release “I’ll Find You in the Colors” should be a worthy adversary for air-time on personal playlists that include “Passion Pit,” “MGMT,” and “Starf*****.” It also appears it’s well on its way to a similar level of notoriety with the aforementioned acts, with its song “The Climb” earning playtime on MTV’s “Awkward,” and a cold and well-organized electronic press kit to match.
Joe Manis Trio
Wednesday, August 1
Christo’s Lounge, 1108 Broadway St. NE
7 p.m., $9 ($7 advance), all-ages
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies saxophonist Joe Manis will return to Christo’s to kick off the venue and Italian restaurant’s Summer Jazz Series with his band on Wednesday, August 1st. Bassist Dave Captein and drummer Kevin Congleton will fill out Manis’ trio. The series includes a Western Oregon University faculty jazz jam at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, August 10th, Renato Caranto and Sweet Baby James at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15th, and Gordon Lee with bassist Essie Essiet and drummer Sylvia Cuenca at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22nd. Tickets for the four-concert series are $30 and can be purchased at the restaurant.
A Parking Lot Summer Party
Saturday, August 4
The Triangle, 3215 Liberty Rd. S
3 p.m., free, 21+
The Triangle and its neighbor to the very-near-east, The Can Can, are putting on an old-fashioned parking lot party with summer-time water games, a “cruise-in” style car show, outside drinkin’ and reggae and ska jams by The Skunky Bunch. There’s also rumors of a dunk tank or a blow-up slide. Sounds like a summertime block party for grown-ups! The outdoor festivities will run until 9 p.m., with live music kicking in about 4 p.m. For more information, call (503) 375-3191.
Tango Alpha Tango
Saturday, August 4
Boon’s Treasury, 888 Liberty St. NE
9 p.m., free, 21+
Still not sold on the Great Idea at Enchanted Forest? Come check out one of its headliners the weekend before the festival for free. Salem seems to be wrapping its tentacles around Tango Alpha Tango with the amount of visits to the Cherry City the popular Portland alternative rock band has been notching lately. Besides the two aforementioned gigs, T.A.T. (they probably don’t call themselves that, by the way), opened the summer with an open-invite birthday party/concert at the Reed Opera House’s Trinity Ballroom. But that’s a good thing for Salemites, because Tango Alpha Tango crafts great jams and puts on an energetic show that even cynics have a hard time shrugging off.
Gurdas Maan
Sunday, August 5
Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. SE
8 p.m., $50-100, all-ages
Never heard of Gurdas Maan? Suprised at the ticket price? Well, in the region of Punjab — that straddles Northwestern India and Eastern Pakistan — Maan is like Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen rolled into one. The entertainer broke into the Indian pop-culture conscious with the 1980 Punjabi folk-pop number “Dil Da Mamla Hai” and eventually parlayed his musical exploits into an impressive film career. In the last decade-plus, Maan has become the face of Punjabi folk music, winning awards both inside and out of his native region. For tickets and info, visit ElsinoreTheatre.com and GurdasMaan.com.
Greg Proops
Thursday, August 9
Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. SE
7 p.m., $15-35, all-ages
Former “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” star Greg Proops will visit Salem’s Historic Elsinore Theatre as part of the Superstars of Stand-Up series brought to Salem (and Eugene) by a joint venture between Ravens Flight Creative and Hennepin Studios. Since the end of the Drew Carey vehicle, Proops has been guest-starring on television shows like “Flight of The Conchords” and providing voice work for various animated projects. Tickets start at $15, and can be purchased at TicketsWest.com. The series also announced its next two performances: Former “Last Comic Standing” runner-up Ralphie May on Thursday, September 13 and actor and angry hobbit Patton Oswalt on Sunday, October 14. For more information visit RavensFlightCreative.com.
