Tag: Minglewood Hall

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Local Beer Brewed for Lucero Family Picnic

Memphis Made’s All Sewn Up English Pale Ale, brewed in honor of Lucero.

Memphis Made has done it again. After brewing the Guitar Attack IPA for Goner Fest 11, the folks at Memphis Made honor another Memphis music institution with the All Sewn Up English Pale Ale. Named after a song on Lucero’s debut album, All Sewn Up will be available at the Lucero Family Picnic, The Madison Avenue Growler Shop in Cash Saver, The Young Avenue Deli, and the Memphis Made Tap Room in Cooper Young. It won’t be around forever, so act fast.

According to Memphis Made’s Andy Ashby, All Sewn Up is an English Pale Ale (5.7 percent ABV) brewed with Target hops (a UK variety) and has a restrained bitterness with a bit of earthiness and spiciness. Sounds good to me! Check out “All Sewn Up” below, then get to the Lucero Family Picnic by 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18th. 

Local Beer Brewed for Lucero Family Picnic

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Music Music Features

Lucero at Minglewood Hall

CREDIT: Amurica.com

The Lucero Family Picnic comes to Memphis for the first time ever this Saturday at Minglewood Hall. The venue will host the event outside, and Willet will be blocked off as well as the entire Minglewood Hall parking lot. Lucero has been throwing a picnic for more than five years now, but the event has frequently taken place at Riverside Park in Batesville, Arkansas. Central BBQ and Pabst Blue Ribbon are sponsoring the picnic, but there will also be food trucks, beer vendors, and local merchandise retailers on site. The FBM BMX crew will also be doing a routine on skate ramps an hour before the music starts.

Amurica.com

Lucero

BMX Stunts and beer and barbecue are all pretty cool, but the main attraction at the picnic is obviously the music. While the past Lucero Family Picnics have featured groups that fit within the alt-country genre, this Saturday’s lineup features a diverse group of local talent. The North Mississippi Allstars join Lucero as the special guests, and locals Marcella & Her Lovers, Clay Otis, and Robby Grant are all joining in to rock the Minglewood Hall parking lot. While the set times for the Lucero Family Picnic haven’t been announced yet, each act at Saturday’s show deserves to be checked out.

Grant recently released Let The Little Things Go, his last album under the Vending Machine moniker, and there’s really no telling what evil genius Otis has planned for his performance. Marcella & Her Lovers have a whole slew of April shows planned, and the Dickinson brothers are also staying busy with a Sons of Mudboy appearance on Sunday, April 19th, at Shangri-La Records. One can only hope the Lucero Family Picnic leads to more outdoor shows at Minglewood Hall during the spring and summer.

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Music Music Features

Modest Mouse Sell Out Minglewood

On the surface, Modest Mouse’s 22-year narrative might seem similar to the band’s still-active contemporaries who also originated in American first- and second-generation post hardcore or indie rock. A gross oversimplification of the playbook would be as follows: a breakthrough album released on the cusp of Y2K or shortly thereafter that coincided nicely with the above-grounding of indie rock, NPR’s embracement, and the Coachella or Bonnaroo-initiated “festivalization” of indie rock. Unlike some of their contemporaries, Modest Mouse reached real fame, and it came a decade and four albums into the band’s career.

The early-’90s grunge/alt/indie explosion was a massive cultural hangover by mid-decade, especially in the Pacific Northwest, and Modest Mouse was part of the same reactionary scene that gave the world Sleater Kinney, Karp, Built to Spill, Elliott Smith (and his band Heatmiser), and Unwound, among other lesser known but no less interesting bands. Modest Mouse formed in 1993 and debuted the following year with a 7″ on the venerable K Records label (founded by Beat Happening’s Calvin Johnson). The band gelled into a more powerful and stylistically pioneering reboot of their chosen form through a succession of EPs and albums released between 1996 and 1998. This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996, originally on Up! Records) is one of the great first records in the modern history of American underground rock.

The band introduced a sound that came out of combining influences (Polvo, Unwound, the Pixies, Minutemen, Beat Happening, Built to Spill and Doug Martsch’s pre-BTS band Treepeople, Fugazi, Bob Dylan, Lync, Sonic Youth, early Talking Heads, Rites of Spring, the Wipers, Mission of Burma) into a signature style that had no real musical precedent. A proverbial “next level” was achieved with 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West. The feral desperation and unpredictable dynamic chaos of the debut – very positive characteristics in this writer’s opinion – were not so much dialed down as they were honed by the tighter playing of a band that went straight into the studio from the road and knew exactly what it wanted. This era of Modest Mouse, especially the game-changing second album, was met with much critical love, though it was always with the “if you can get past the singer’s voice” caveat. This is funny considering the ultra-dramatic “Black Francis-meets-David Byrne” vocal style of guitarist and front man Isaac Brock would become such a massive influence on later acts like Animal Collective and Yeasayer that for a while, it seemed like a mandatory musical element if a band was to get post-millennial indie-huge.

The Lonesome Crowded West featured enough expansion of the Modest Mouse palate over the less subtle, more feral debut album that it initiated the band’s crossover to an audience outside of the indie underground confines, and Modest Mouse’s incessant schedule of road-dogging it around the country certainly didn’t hurt, either. Though there’s a huge radio hit in Modest Mouse’s future, the band’s body of work doesn’t just have one “tipping point” album, it has three, and each was a breakthrough in its own way. The Lonesome Crowded West was the first.

The idiotic cries of “sell out!” came before there was even a third record to evaluate, but that’s what happened when the band announced its inevitable move to a major label for their third album. And that brings us to Modest Mouse’s only other Memphis performance – a stop in 2000 at the ill-fated Last Place on Earth during the long-touring cycle in support of The Moon & Antarctica. Retroactively celebrated as a seminal classic long before The Lonesome Crowded West would finally get such treatment, Modest Mouse’s third album was a weird but not really all that challenging wide-screen work and was more like an American answer to Radiohead.

The band returned to the area to record their fourth album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, at Easley/McCain Recording Studios, but ended up finishing it in Oxford, Mississippi, at Sweet Tea Studios. If The Moon & Antarctica followed a more accessible musical agenda (aka “maturing”) that exponentially increased the band’s fan base, then Good News for People Who Love Bad News is where the band’s fluke-ish Talking Heads-informed hit “Float On” got stuck in your mom’s head because she heard it playing at Walgreens. Album number five, 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was a post-millennial Modest Mouse album just like its predecessor, but thematically based around – you guessed it – sudden fame.

For the past 15 years there has been a very “Gawkerized” side to the Modest Mouse story, and it can be easily accessed by perusing approximately 95 percent of what’s been written about the band, including the write-ups on their sixth studio album. Titled Strangers to Ourselves and released on March 3rd of this year, it’s another all-over-the-map Modest Mouse record (as in not all that different from the last three) rather than what Rolling Stone called “alternative rock’s Chinese Democracy.”

Some facts should be noted: Modest Mouse never broke up or went on hiatus, yet many media outlets have treated their return like some sort of reunion or reformation situation. Only in 2015 would music journalism allow the causal factors of an album’s “eight year delay” to get more coverage than any assessments of the record itself, but that certainly didn’t hurt the band’s ability to swiftly sell out Minglewood Hall shortly after next Wednesday’s show was announced.

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Music Music Features

The War on Drugs at Minglewood Hall

The War on Drugs play Minglewood Hall this Saturday night, so prepare for the second coming of dad rock packaged as something cooler. The band has also been described as “beer commercial rock” and the heir to the throne held by blue-jean rockers like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. If your favorite era of American rock-n-roll involves either one of the aforementioned artists, then The War On Drugs is probably already on your radar. The band broke away from the pack on last year’s Lost in the Dream, an album that mostly sees front man and chief songwriter Adam Granduciel dealing with depression, anxiety, and lost love. Granduciel’s definitely not the first sad guy to ever pick up a guitar, but that didn’t stop multiple critics from calling The War on Drugs things like “band of the year” and Lost in the Dream one of the best albums to come out this decade. 2014 definitely belonged to The War on Drugs, and after touring almost non-stop, the band is picking up right where they left off.

The War on Drugs

Joining The War on Drugs on a short stint of tour dates is fellow Philadelphians Hop Along. The indie-folk/pop-punk band has been around for more than a decade, but recently signed to Omaha, Nebraska-label Saddle Creek. Saddle Creek has introduced the world to bands like Cursive, Bright Eyes and Azure Ray, but Hop Along are more on the pop punk side of the roster (along with Pujol) rather than the “I hate myself and I want to die” side. Painted Shut, the first Hop Along album with their new label, will be released on May 5th while the band is on tour. The show is all ages.

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Calling the Bluff Music

Jeezy Talks “Seen It All” Album, Tour

CREDIT: 13th Witness

13th Witness

“Me and Goldmouth in his jeep, we on the road/All I seen was red and blue lights, I thought he told/ Butterflies as we going through this roadblock/Ask yourself questions like, ‘Is this where my road stops?’”

On the track “How I Did It (Perfection)” off his latest album, Seen It All: The Autobiography, Jeezy reflects on a highway drug run that almost earned him football numbers in prison. This is just one of many life stories the Platinum-selling artist shares on his seventh solo album.

Jeezy is currently embarked on a two-month, 35-city “Seen It All” tour to promote the project. And Memphis is among the cities he’s making a stop in. On Wednesday, November 12th, the Snowman will perform Seen It All live at Minglewood Hall.

Jeezy took time out to talk about his latest album and tour, Bishop T.D. Jakes’ issue with his “Holy Ghost (remix),” growing both musically and as a man, and why he prefers Avión over other brands of tequila.

Follow Jeezy on Twitter and Instgram
For tickets to his show at Minglewood, click here

You’ve been on tour for almost a month now. How has everything been so far?

It’s crazy, man. It’s real personable and it’s real intimate. It’s an experience more so than a concert or a show. Just telling the story and watching the way records relate to different individuals. It’s almost like being in a small church, honestly.

Would you say this tour is more monumental than previous ones you’ve embarked on?

It’s more for them. You know, when I get on stage, I tell them, ‘This is y’all night. Whatever y’all want me to do up here, I’m going to do it and some more.’ But it’s more so, like, it’s really having a good time. It’s almost like being a pastor at one of those churches that holds 10,000, and then you just say, ‘You know what, I’m going to go back to my roots. I’m going to go to the local neighborhood churches, and I’m going to talk to the people and give them the same Sunday but better.’ I’ve been on tour with Jay-Z. I’ve been on tour with [Lil] Wayne, with Wiz Khalifa. I’ve been on great tours, but at the same time, it’s like this is touching people.

Prior to undertaking your latest journey, you co-headlined Wiz Khalifa’s “Under the Influence of Music” tour. How was that experience?

It was a great tour. This one is personal, but that was a real tour. That was probably one of the best tours I’ve been on. There were a lot of different types of people that I had never heard and seen live. It’s crazy because almost every night I got a standing ovation.

I would like to congratulate you on Seen It All. I thought it was one of the best projects I’ve heard from you. Explain how you think this project differs from your previous efforts.

What I did differently, I was just more honest, more personable about it, and more straightforward about how I felt. And the G’s, we don’t really get into that. We heard Jay-Z write, ‘I can’t see it coming down my eyes, so I gotta make the song cry.’ It was his way of saying, ‘I know that I could never do it, but if this song feels that way to you, then go ahead.’ With me, when I say, ‘Seen it all,’ that’s what I seen — the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I still stood the test of time, but when you get into records like “Holy Ghost” and “No Tears,” those are really records that are real sincere. And I don’t think I would sit down and have that conversation with anybody, but through my music I can tell that story. But at the same time, I never made songs that was that vulnerable or honest like that. With Seen It All, I was real honest about everything. Even with the title track, I never really talked about exactly how I did it and how I pulled up at Magic City and what my view was like. At the same time, you take records like “1/4 Block,” that’s how I really felt my first day when I got on the block and I was hustling. I felt like I couldn’t be stopped. Those are real records. They weren’t made for the radio. They weren’t made for the clubs, necessarily. They were made for this tour because I wanted to go out and perform the record to people who really understand and know what it means to struggle and to hustle and to go through adversity.

  

So you actually created this album with the tour in mind?

Yep. I start it from the top, and I go all the way through it. That’s what I wanted. I didn’t do it for the radio and the clubs. I’ve done that so much, it’s like … you hear so many things on the radio and in the clubs, it’s not a place for real message music. And it’s just like, I’ve got radio hits, I’ve got club smashes, and it’s like, ‘You know what, let me take it back to the basics and go in these venues where I know these people really love me in and love this. And I’m going to do these records, and they’re going to sing along.’ They sing all the records word-for-word.

If nothing else, what do you hope listeners take away from the album?

I just hope they understand what it really means when somebody says, ‘I’ve seen it ll.’ It’s someone out there that’s seen the world, but when it comes to what we do and how we live, I think I’ve seen more than the average cat. I just hope they walk away with some type of gems, some type of jewels, understanding that, ‘Okay, when you get in situations in life, you can put this on and listen to it.’ I listen to Makaveli all the time. I listen to All Eyez on Me all the time because [2Pac is] pretty much the only person that understands where I came from. And he was ahead of his time when he was making those records. And I was just riding around listening to them. It was just cool, and I loved them because it sounded good. But now, I find myself picking up jewels and hymns out of his words, like, every other day. It’s like, ‘Damn, I just went through that. That just happened to me.’ So he was going through those things way before I was, but he was putting them in music form. So I hope that people can take what I’m saying and put them in music form, because it’s a different type of game out there now, a different type of hustle, and it’s a different type of world from when we came up, but the same rules always apply. That love and loyalty and that honor code, that G code. It don’t really apply because ain’t nobody really stressing it in their music and in their lifestyle.

You linked back up with Jay-Z on this project. Is it intimidating to go toe-to-toe on a song with one of the best to do it?

With me and Jay, it’s always been good. But I’ll tell you this, though, I feel like I’ve scrimmaged with him enough to be ready for that. Me and Jay got more songs than him and B.I.G. got. We’ve burned so many records and [rhymed] back-and-forth so many times, I feel like when it came around this time, I was ready for it. But it was perfect, though. We just performed it for the first time together in the Barclays for [Power 105.1’s Powerhouse 2014]. And to see that response, in front of 20,000, it was unreal. It was worth every minute of writing the record and waiting to perform it. 

Bishop T.D. Jakes recently expressed his disapproval of you placing an excerpt of a sermon he presented at the beginning of your “Holy Ghost” remix. What are your thoughts on the situation?

In all actuality, it wasn’t meant for that version of the record to come out, but I was actually incarcerated at the time, so I think it was a mistake on my engineer’s and my team’s part but nothing that was blatant. But I understand his position, so I wasn’t really tripping on it. I spoke to [Minister Louis] Farrakhan about it, and we both agreed that it is what it is. And we kind of let it go, but at the same time I can see him trying to separate hisself from what I do. But at the same time, it is what it is. I always say, ‘Give glory to God.’ And I really wanted him to know that his words reach people in all walks of life, too. And I really wanted them to hear that speech, because when I heard it, it touched me.

Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 served as your official introduction to the world. From that album up to this point, how would you say you’ve changed as an artist and as a person?

Thug Motivation, I feel like I’ve got that under my belt, so I would never try to recreate my first album, but I just think that’s a big platform to stand on. So with everything I do now, I just try to keep my message going. And I think now, I’m a lot wiser, I’m a lot smarter, I’m definitely a lot more calculated, and I’m evolving. If anything, I just feel like I’m evolving. When you think about B.I.G. and Pac, they weren’t in the position that they were five albums in and 10 years into the game, and they had to figure the dos and don’ts from a whole other perspective, because you’ve got to keep going with the times. I’m riding those waves and those currents and figuring it out as I go, and I just think that’s new. The only other person I ever saw do that was Jay. People don’t last 10 to 12 years in this game. It’s just like being on your shit and making sure you’re staying true to yourself and to the people that ride with you. But a lot of the people that was listening to me when Thug Motivation was out, they’re grown now, so they don’t wanna hear no ignorant shit. You gotta come with something with some sense.

In a recent interview, T.I. talked about you guys doing a joint-album titled Dope Boy Academy. What’s the current status of the project?

Right now, we’re just in conversation about it. We haven’t went farther than that. It’s just been some conversation back and forth, but we’re just going to see where that goes.

You’re the multicultural advisor for Avión tequila? How did that come about?

I’m sipping some right now. I’m at my favorite restaurant Spondivits sipping some right now. I’m a big tequila drinker. Right now, I’m drinking a margarita. That’s my favorite drink. But what it was, I was drinking Don Julio 1942, and one of my partners put me on Avión. And when I went over to Avión, I just talked to them about making my own version of 1942, and they were with it. And it just kind of started from there. And I really switched over brands. Instead of me drinking Don Julio, I just started drinking Avión tequila. And it went on to be a business venture. I met the owner, and we became friends. It just made sense for who I am, because that’s what I drink. Anybody [who] knows me, knows that I’m shots or some margaritas. Plus it’s good. It’s better than a lot of the other tequila brands that I’ve tasted.

What’s next for Jeezy?

I’m going to finish up this tour, and I’m going to get ready to hit these folks again. I’m ready for it.

A new album?

A new everything. A whole new look and everything. I’m ready.

Check out my website: ahumblesoul.com
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Sing All Kinds We Recommend

Photo Recap: Run The Jewels Live at Minglewood

CREDIT: Josh Miller

Hip-Hop super group Run The Jewels have been on a tear lately, touring in support of their critically acclaimed second album Run The Jewels 2 that was officially released this week. Red Bull brought the duo consisting of El-P and Killer Mike to Minglewood Hall last week for a free show, and Flyer contributor Josh Miller got some amazing photos. Check them out below.

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  • Josh Miller

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  • Josh Miller

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  • Josh Miller

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Sing All Kinds We Recommend

Spaceface at Minglewood Friday Night

CREDIT: Erika Mugglin

Erika Mugglin

Spaceface

Jake Ingalls is a jet setter. When he isn’t touring the world with The Flaming Lips, he’s hitting the road in a short, yellow school-turned-tour bus with his own band Spaceface. Last week, the band embarked on a seven-day tour that ends this Friday with a hometown show at Minglewood Hall, where they will open for dream pop New York natives Phantogram. Spaceface formed in 2012 and has since been touring extensively to build a regional fan base. They even made their way to this year’s Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and were put on stage by The Lips to play an unexpected set.

Spaceface at Minglewood Friday Night

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In the digital age, there is a new band on the radar every week, and it’s hard to find anything that stands out. But in a pool of up-and-coming bands that blend together, Spaceface has fused psychedelic rock ‘n roll with pop in a way that makes them – dare it be said – unique.

But it isn’t just bassist Matt Strong and drummer Victor Quin “Caveman” Hill’s groovy rhythm section, Eric Martin’s washed out guitars, Ingalls’ trippy vocals or Peter Armstrong’s spacey keyboards that will pull you in. When Spaceface loads in for a show, they don’t just bring their gear. The band carries an extravagant light show to every gig, and when they take the stage, the guitarists have lasers attached to the necks of their instruments. A sixth member, Daniel “Big Red” Quinlan, operates hundreds of multi-colored bulbs, lasers, LED rope lights and whatever else the band can get their hands on from side stage. A Spaceface show is as much a production as it is a performance. The band has stolen the light show typical of an arena rock act and made it their own in hopes that they can give showgoers the most for their money.

Phantogram and Spaceface have more common ground than just playing the same show in the same city on the same night. Recently, The Flaming Lips announced that they would be releasing a full-album cover of The Beatles’ iconic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band titled With a Little Help From My Fwends. The Lennon-McCartney classic “She’s Leaving Home” will be a collaboration featuring Spaceface, Phantogram, and Julianna Barwick.

The last time they were inside of Minglewood Hall, Spaceface played a show at The 1884 Lounge. On Friday, they will play the main stage for the first time. Every venue has different standards when it comes to Spaceface’s expansive light show, and it will be interesting to see if they will use all, or any, of it in the midst of Minglewood’s already stacked LED light system. 

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Sing All Kinds We Recommend

10 for 10: October Sound Advice

CREDIT: Aviana Monasterio

Aviana Monasterio

Neev

1. Neev with Aviator, Rescuer and Gone Yard

Crosstown Arts, Oct. 5. $5. 7:00 p.m.

For those looking for something heavier than Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour, post-hardcore local NEEV will be opening for Aviator and Rescuer as they make their way through Memphis on their “Death-to-False Music” tour. While both touring bands have recently released records on No Sleep Records, NEEV put out their first full-length album Those Things We Tomorrowed on cassette in May through Ireland based ndependent label Little League Records. The post hardcore outfit combines melodic math rock with chaos, and while no song meets the three-minute mark – they are each packed with unpredictable twists and turns that keep you on your toes. This is not a band to ignore.

10 for 10: October Sound Advice

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2. Hea Head and the Heart

d and the Heart with Rayland Baxter

Minglewood Hall, Oct. 6. $30. 8:00 p.m.

On The Head and the Heart’s sophomore release Let’s Be Still, they managed to capture a sense of sincerity that is often lost in the now saturated indie folk genre that has grown popular over the last few years. This is serious, heartfelt songwriting. Perhaps it’s the band’s humble beginnings playing on street corners that separates them from the rest of the crowd. Without a doubt, their live show is less of a concert and more of an experience that will pull your mind away from Memphis for the evening and take you somewhere special.

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3. Berkano CD Release with Ugly Girls and Hair Party


The Hi-Tone, Oct. 7. $7. 9:00 p.m.

Berkano is everything that is right about garage rock. The guitars blend distortion and reverb while the vocals lazily echo their way into the mix. It’s beer-drinkin’-head-bobbin’ rock ‘n roll, and you’d be silly not to come pick up a copy of Santa Sleeping. Ugly Girls are also not to be missed. The three-piece punkers are unapologetic. They sing songs about hating “frat boys” and being gifted cancer from God. You can find more of that on their EP Bad Personalities that they released in February. 

10 for 10: October Sound Advice (2)

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4. Juicy J with Project Pat

Juicy J and Project Pat


Minglewood Hall, Oct 8. 8:00 p.m.

Juicy J has risen far beyond Three 6 Mafia fame, making his way to the soundtrack of the latest reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, he’s rapping alongside Miley Cyrus and is an active member of Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang. His third studio release Stay Trippy featured the radio favorite “Bandz a Make Her Dance,” and landed at 29 on the Billboard Top 100. J and his older brother Project Pat will be returning
to Memphis with some new, and, fingers crossed, hopefully some of the old iconic sounds that defined Memphis rap from the ‘90s to late 2000’s. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll get to hear some classic Three 6 Mafia tracks. 

Footnote: Juggalos gather and spray your Faygo. Da Mafia 6ix, a new project formed in 2013 featuring six original members of Three 6 Mafia, will be joining Insane Clown Posse and Mushroomhead at The New Daisy Oct. 11.

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5. Interpol with Rey Pila

Interpol


Minglewood Hall, Oct. 9. $25 advance / $30 day of show. 8:00 p.m.

Interpol didn’t reinvent the wheel with their nearly brand new release El Pintor, but after four years, it breathes life into their tired, old routine. It’s reminiscent of Turn On The Bright Lights, the album that launched them into the spotlight, and is arguably the best thing the band has released since Antics. With bassist Carlos Dengler having the left the band, the former four piece is now made of three, which is not at all a bad thing. Interpol is playing like a band in their prime again, and the energy of their live show may very well be the best that it has been in quite some time.

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6. Slugz with Gimp Teeth and DJ Wasted Life
 Josh Miller

Gimp Teeth


Murphy’s, Oct. 12. $5. 9:00 p.m.

Richmond, Virginia’s Slugz plays raw, punk music that gives show goers a reason to thrash their bodies against each other. Local punkers Gimp Teeth merge power violence with surf rock to create a sound that belongs in a Harmony Korine film. They recently played Gonerfest 11 and released an EP titled Naked City earlier this year.

10 for 10: October Sound Advice (3)

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7. The Jack Oblivian and Monsieur Jeffrey Evans Revue

Josh Miller

Jack Oblivian

The Hi-Tone, Oct. 18. 9:00.

Jack Oblivian and Monsieur Jeffrey Evans have spent decades creating and cultivating a sound derivative of blues and punk that has forever left a stamp on Memphis music. On Oct. 18, the two will share the stage with a batch of Southern musicians. If you can make it to only one show during October, this is it.

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8. City and Colour with Clear Plastic Masks

City and Colour


Minglewood Hall, Oct. 30. $25 advance / $30 day of show. 7:00 p.m.

Dallas Green’s distinguishable tenor and stripped down, acoustic structure coupled with his sentimental lyrics and catchy melodies have carried City and Colour from a small, independent band with a cult following to a household name, selling out venues all over the country. His latest release, The Hurry And The Harm, sees
Green moving into the mainstream with additional musicians and even poppier sensibilities. More recently, Green released the single “You and Me” with Pink, and the two have formed a duo under the same name with plans to release an album titled Rose Ave. While Green’s place in the indie music world seems to be ever growing, he hasn’t lost sight of the intimate performances that define City and Colour’s live show, and you shouldn’t miss out on it, either.

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9. Dead Soldiers with Clay Otis and James & The Ultrasounds
 Jamie Harmon

Dead Soldiers


The Hi-Tone, Oct. 31. $10. 9:00.

Dead Soldiers are one of the most hardworking bands out there – playing a brand of alternative-country that is similar to no one else in Memphis. The Soldiers are packing out every show they book, and for good reason. For a relatively new band, 2013’s LP All The Things You Lose and follow up EP High Anxiety are impressive, to say the least. On Halloween night, they will play alongside local pop singer Clay Otis as well as James & The Ultrasounds, whose first full-length Bad To Be Here is due out through Madjack Records in December. The Hi-Tone will also hold their annual costume party, where they will choose the best dressed male and female who participate. The winners get free admission to The Hi-Tone for a full calendar year.

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10. Manchester Orchestra with Chris Staples

Manchester Orchestra


The New Daisy Theatre, Oct. 31. $18. 7:00 p.m.

The last time Manchester Orchestra came to Memphis, it was a cold February evening in 2010 at The New Daisy Theatre. The Atlanta-based rock quintet was touring heavily on their sophomore release Mean Everything To Nothing, and they were just on the cusp of the success that would carry them through 2011’s Simple Math. After releasing 2013’s COPE, an 11-track album that capitalized on the huge guitars and roaring vocals of Frontman Andy Hull that have come to define Manchester Orchestra’s sound, the band later released a stripped-down album entitled HOPE featuring alternative versions of all 11 songs accompanied with a string of stripped-down tour dates. When Manchester Orchestra comes back to The Daisy, it may be the first and last time we get to see the band abandon their amps and tone down their songs.

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We Recommend We Recommend

Old School vs. New School 3, New Ballet Ensemble’s FreeFall

Dance fans — both street and classical — have a special opportunity this week to explore both the origins and the future of Memphis-style bucking and jookin’. The “Old School vs. New School 3” dance competition at Minglewood Hall pits Memphis’ first generation Gangsta Walkers against younger dancers looking to see if their bucking and chopping measures up against the original masters.

“This is the first time in a long time that people will have an opportunity to see the original Gangsta Walkers,” says instructor, artist, and event organizer Jaquency Ford, who has hand-picked the dance partners who’ll be squaring off against one another at Minglewood. Gangsta Walking is the direct antecedent of jookin’, the Memphis-born dance style that New York Times dance writer Alastair Macaulay recently described as, “the single most exciting young dance genre of our day, featuring, in particular, the most sensationally diverse use of footwork.”

Pretty Tony will be in the house to perform his seminal club hit “Get Buck.” Original Gangsta Walkers include Wolf and Romeo, two-thirds of the G-Style, the ’80s-era rap and dance team that first began to mix breakdancing moves with “buck jumps.”

A stone’s throw to the east, at the new Hattiloo Theatre in Overton Square, FreeFall finds New Ballet Ensemble (NBE) presenting a concert showcasing the company’s critically acclaimed hybrid of ballet, Memphis jookin’, and world dance styles. NBE’s program includes a revival of Noelia Garcia Carmona’s Dos, a vibrant mashup of jookin’ and flamenco set to original music by Roy Brewer and showcasing the talents of Shamar Rooks. The New Ballet Youth Company presents Doin’ It Right choreographed by NBE alum and Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark dancer Maxx Reed.

NBE is also premiering “Three Dream Portraits” based on poetry by Langston Hughes with music by Margaret Bonds and choreography by General McArthur Hambrick.

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Hank III at Minglewood on Wednesday

Hank III brings the intergenerational talent mess to Minglewood Hall Wednesday, July 16th. His live show reflects his unwillingness to be pigeon-holed. There is usually a country set followed by a descent into metal. Having put his feud with label mogul Mike Curb behind him, III issued three albums on his own. Those records reflect his multiple musical personality disorder revolving around country, hellbilly, and metal. Works for me. Tickets are $18.