SUMMER MUSIC

School is out, leaving unemployed music fans everywhere with nothing to blow off to go to a show. While live music is certainly less exciting when it’s not completely irresponsible for you to be there, it will still help curb the boredom of staring at your wall in the summer heat. Added bonus: Many of the venues are actually air-conditioned.

June 7
Young Lungs
Low Spirits
$7 – 21
I asked a hipster chick next door if she knew of any shows coming up. She said she knows these guys and they’re good and “sorta indie, I guess.” I tried to look them up on Youtube but there are way too many bands called “Young Lungs” to ever find the one you’re looking for. They’re playing with Seryn, who I don’t know anything about, other than that they’re from Denton, Texas.
So, the hipster chick next door to me says these guys are good, and they have a very common name. If that appeals to you, there are way worse places to see a show than Low Spirits. Don’t forget your fake IDs, kids.

June 8
Bat Wings for Lab Rats
Launchpad
$8 – 21
Loyal Lobo readers will remember a review of this band published almost a year ago in this fine rag, in which the band’s “stoner surf rhythmic drive” was judged as “solid.” You could definitely do worse than dropping a few dollars on this band.
The band is playing the Launchpad again on June 24th, this time for a CD release party. So if you’re itching for the chance to blow $10 on its LP, you should probably wait for that one. But on the eighth, the band is playing with somebody called Psychostick. Your call.

June 10
Meat Puppets
Launchpad
$12 – All Ages
The original country punks. The Meat Puppets sound like a peyote trip in the Arizona desert (not that I would know) and pass a lot of their songs singing about exactly that. Brothers and founders Cris and Curt Kirkwood have a rocky history of arrests and addiction, including one incident in which Cris beat a mall security guard with his own baton, got shot by the guard, and subsequently spent a year and a half in prison for his trouble.
The band was a big influence on Kurt Cobain and appeared on Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York album. It was in Albuquerque a couple years ago and played with Built to Spill. One of the Puppets chased one of the Built to Spill guys around the stage wearing rubber gloves. It was weird.

June 11
Tech N9ne
Sunshine
$33 – 16
Wasn’t this guy here last month?

June 12
Motley Crue
The Pavilion
$39-$515 – All Ages
Aren’t these guys dead by now? It’s a cruel fact of the universe that their tickets go for three times as much as Meat Puppets tickets. And, apparently, you can pay about 15 times that if you want the really good seats.

June 14
Good Charlotte/Yellowcard
Sunshine
$20 – All Ages
It’s amazing that Good Charlotte is still a thing, given that it’s more a caricature than a band. Seriously, how more stereotypical could a shitty emo/pop-punk band get? It has an album called “Cardiology” with a cover featuring a human heart with an eye on it. It has a single called “Misery.”
It’s like these guys decided that My Chemical Romance wasn’t whining hard enough, and formed a band based on that concept. Hopefully they will suffer a similar fate to My Chemical Romance, whose lead singer was hit in the head with a bottle mid-performance at Warped Tour in Las Cruces a few years ago.
Speaking of which, I had the misfortune of seeing second act, Yellowcard, at Warped Tour. I left after one song to watch the paramedics revive a fat guy who had passed out from dehydration. It was much more entertaining and infinitely less pathetic than Yellowcard’s set.

June 24
Yo Momma’s Big Fat Booty Band
El Rey
$12(advance)/$17(door) – 21
How could I not write about a band with this name? I highly recommend the show based on that alone. The description of the band on the El Rey’s website describes its sound as “toe-tapping funk beats like only yo mama would believe.” Which is definitely a plus.
The band also has live video on the website in which they are revealed to actually be pretty good. It looks like a fun show — everyone at the concert in the video is clearly having a good time. Then again, how could you not be, listening to Yo Momma’s Big Fat Booty Band?

June 25
Kid Cudi
The Pavilion
$53-$515 – All Ages
This guy’s only good song is only good because of MGMT. Albuquerque should bring them back instead. I can only assume the ticket listing for $515 is a tasteless joke, but maybe it’s some kind of VIP package where Kid Cudi throws a champagne bottle at you and whines about having nightmares. It would make a good Youtube video, I suppose.

June 27
Okkervil River/Titus Andronicus
Sunshine
$18 – All Ages
I was specifically instructed by my editor to write about these bands. Apparently they’re “like Arcade Fire but less famous.” This is quite similar to taking a recommendation from the hipster girl next door, but if that sounds like your thing, more power to ya.