A little late, but your weekend planner is here to choose shows you would've probably missed otherwise.
we've got a whole slew of local acts to witness for the weekend. For a
better, more informed decision, listen to these bands after the jump.
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Friday, June 18
Tonight, Steve Soto and the Twisted Hearts will be putting in another local appearance at Alex's Bar in Long Beach. It's no secret that we're fans of Soto, the Adolescents/Joyride/Manic Hispanic veteran who possesses one of the best laughs and warmest, positive attitudes to life in music; the former kid of the Black Hole could be everyone's favorite uncle by now if they could clone the guy and share him around. The Twisted Hearts make for a crackerjack band in turn, with roots in acts like Royal Crown Revue and Brave Combo, so come on out for good times.
The Cool Kids will also be performing at the Glass House, along with Kidz in the Hall and Donnis. For the past five years, the hip-hop duo of Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks have been building up their own 21st century level of attention; still to officially release a full length album, their blizzard of mixtapes, collaborations and endless pop culture appearances and commercial soundtracks has kept them busy in the meantime. When Fish Ride Bicycles is supposed to finally come out this year, though, and doubtless they'll be showcasing plenty from it this night.
Saturday, June 19
Saturday brings Portugal. The Man to the House of Blues in Anaheim. Alaska's most notable (and, let's face it, most curiously named) contribution to rock is also one of our featured artists this week in the music section. Portugal. The Man have to deal with the further notoriety of being from Wasilla, Alaska in particular-but then again, given the fame of the town's other most famous export (Sarah Palin), it might be little surprise that the band members long ago decamped to Portland instead. They recently bit the major label bullet, so catch them now before the next blizzard of hype kicks in.
Also on Saturday, AJ Rafael, another featured artist this week via our story on YouTube celebrities, appears at the Glass House with Jesse Barrera of My American Heart opening. The young singer/songwriter is as classic an American success story as any so far–a guy who got accepted to Berklee, then decided to strike out on his own instead. (That's a move we always support when it comes to that institution, honestly.) He rode the social networking wave like crazy and let the YouTube clips drive the rest over time.
Sunday, June 20
Sunday night brings UK band Athlete to the Detroit Bar, touring in support of the American release of their fourth album Black Swan, which originally appeared a year ago. The quartet (not counting a touring guitarist recently added to the lineup) are in many ways ultimately a product of their time-young enough to count the Britpop years of the mid-'90s as well as late '90s Flaming Lips as their formative influences, yet aware enough of the modern world to name their album after Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book on philosophy and catastrophic events. So call them the new Supertramp if you like (one of many candidates, perhaps).
