KMUZ 88.5 FM Benefit Show
Saturday, June 2
Clockworks Cafe, 241 Commercial St. NE
7 p.m., $5 advance, $7 door, all-ages
Local community radio station KMUZ is throwing a party to raise funds for its operations, and you’re so invited. The event’s music portion is slated to take on a soul, funk and reggae tone with headliner and local soul and hip hop musician Rich McCloud, Eugene reggae outfit Sol Seed, Portland neo-funk masters Max Ribner Band and Jamaica-by-way-of-New York’s Faraji scheduled to perform. There’s also tribal belly dancing, live painting, and hula hooping performances, as well as licensed massage therapists to help you relax from all of the awesomeness. Pre-sale tickets are available at BrownPaperTickets.com. For more information, visit www.KMUZ.org.
Ash Reiter
Saturday, June 2
Gilgamesh Lounge, 210 Liberty St. SE
8 p.m., free, 21+
Sleepy, cartoonishly-western-themed Sebastopol in Sonoma County, California is the home of Les Claypool, Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead and Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate. It’s also where Jerry Garcia and Johnny Otis resided in their later days, and where bay-area singer/songwriter Ash Reiter spent her formative years, developing a brand of slightly psychedelic, slightly spaghetti-western summery alt-pop that seems best suited for long drives out to the north bay coast (Sebastopol is directly en route from Santa Rosa to the coast). Reiter now kicks it around San Fran, but its hard not to wonder if Sebastopol shaped her sound. To check out her tunes, visit AshReiter.Bandcamp.com.
The History of Hope, Forty Fathoms
Sunday, June 3
The A Frame, 5775 Gaffin Rd. SE
7 p.m., $5, all-ages
Wasteland Productions has put together another brutal lineup of head-bangers, headlined by Casper, Wyoming melodic hardcore combo The History of Hope, and Denver metal-core act Forty Fathoms. The latter mixes radio-friendly hard rock vocal melodies with Cookie Monster vocals, heavy metal breakdowns, sampling, guitar harmonics, dual riffs and screamo. They sound like a Frankenstein monster of the last 15 years of hard rock, metal and hardcore. I believe it’s a calculated effort to appease dwindling attention spans of teenagers. Portland’s Subverse and Salem’s Tetramorphic will support.
“Teachers, Florida,” Kissdodger
Thursday, June 7
Christo’s Lounge, 1108 Broadway St. NE
8 p.m., $5, 21+
The nearly impossible-to-Google “Teachers, Florida” is a folk duo from France. Despite the location of their home base, the duo sounds very American, right down to the wavering and overly-emotional Northwest indie-rock wail. They also know how to tour the U.S. as an indie-folk pop band — start in San Francisco and head north, then fly to New York. Check them out at TeachersFlorida.Bandcamp.com. “Teachers, Florida” will be joined by local songstress Tonya Gilmore’s new project Kissdodger, which should be enough to pull you off the couch in itself.
Comedians from Chelsea Lately
Friday, June 8
Historic Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. SE
7 p.m., $31.50, all-ages
Regular panel members and writers from E!’s late-night comedic talk show, Chelsea Lately, are visiting Salem Historic Elsinore Theatre for a night of stand-up comedy. The standout of the night may be writer and comedian Jen Kirkman, who was also a semi-regular on HBO’s Drunk History and Adult Swim’s Home Movies, and was a writer for the now-defunct NBC sitcom Perfect Couples. Chelsea Lately panel regulars Brad Wollack and Josh Wolf will round out the night. For more information and tickets, visit ElsinoreTheatre.com.
Brian Flannery
Friday, June 8
Venti’s TapHouse, 2840 Commercial St. SE
9 p.m., free, 21+
The Brian Flannery Band made waves in the Rose City in the late oughts, gaining notice from deejays at KGON and KINK, and rave reviews from local industry insiders. But alas, as is the case with the vast majority of bands shopping for a big break, they went unsigned (at least up until this point). The singer-songwriter will visit Venti’s TapHouse for an acoustic showcase with Vancouver, Washington’s Lauren Abraham and local rock band Groove Thief, which has become one of the more popular acts around town recently.
Manic Mechanics
Saturday, June 9
The Roxxy Northwest, 1230 State St. SE
9 p.m., free, 21+
If you’re going to be in a tribute band, being in a ZZ Top one has got to be one of the best options. First, the beards. Second, the choreographed guitar moves. Third, the furry guitars. Has anyone seen “ZZ Top Sharp Dressed Man (Crazy Drummer)” on Youtube.com? That’s what it feels like to cover the classic jams of the bearded Texans. Local ZZ Top tribute Manic Mechanics will make an appearance at The Roxxy Northwest, which has easily cemented itself as the go-to destination in the mid-Willamette Valley for patrons seeking entertainment of the arena-rock tribute variety.
Ty Curtis (acoustic)
Tuesday, June 12
The Triangle, 3215 Liberty Rd. S
8 p.m., free, 21+
Local blues rock guitar virtuoso Ty Curtis released his new album digitally May 24 exclusively at TyCurtis.net, and though this acoustic gig at local watering hole The Triangle isn’t any sort of release party, it will be the next chance for mid-Willamette Valley residents to check him out. For those who are fans of The Ty Curtis Band, checking out Curtis “unplugged” could be a novel and rare treat. visit his new Web site (listed above). If you need extra incentive to head on down to the Triangle, I also hear it’s Taco Tuesday that night.
Ray Hardiman Trio
Wednesday, June 13
Christo’s Lounge, 1108 Broadway St.
6 p.m., $5, all-ages
Christo’s popular Wednesday-evening jazz series has booked Portland’s Ray Hardiman and his critically acclaimed band for its next event. The lounge-y beatnik-era-inspired jazz combo features Hardiman on piano, local musician Mike Dyer on stand-up bass and Portland journeyman drummer Mark Aalto. I can’t help but be reminded of Roger Corman’s 1959 comedy-horror film “Bucket of Blood” when hearing the samples of Hardiman’s tunes online. So cool. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Christo’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria next door to the lounge and reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at (503) 371-2892.
