Each week, the team at We Are Memphis Music brings you our picks for the best upcoming live music events hitting the M Town. Here are our selections for the week beginning on June 19th.
Jivebomb, Mexican Coke, Die
8PM, Tuesday, June 20th
The Hi-Tone (Small Room)
$12
Memphis may fancy itself (with some justification) the headwaters of thrashy, ragey garage-punk in these Untied States, but Baltimore, another blue-collar dystopia well-acquainted with ennui and a questionable relationship with history, certainly has produced its fair share of talent, especially on the almost-metal hXc end of the spectrum. People’s Exhibit A: Jivebomb are a feral lava-stream of disaffected growling hardcore that sometimes traipses gaily into the muscular territory of crossover sociopaths like Unsane (‘sociopaths’ is a compliment when used here). Their Houstonian tour buddies Mexican Coke tote along a blistering, yowling template of deepest black of their own, and the awesomely-named Chicagoans Die, who round out the three-ring catharsis party at Hi Tone this Tuesday, have a real Fugazi-era aggro thing goin’ on, which is a-okay in my book. There’s much to be outraged about lately – go spread that hate around at the Small Room and leave all the better for it.
Dwight Yoakam with ‘special guest’ Aaron Lewis
7PM, Friday, June 23rd
Bank Plus Amphitheater
$49+
Dwight Yoakam is a fascinating figure to consider in the context of country’s successful invasion of mainstream pop charts starting way back in the 80s. As he’s shifted through chameleonic phases dabbling in all manner of Nashville sub-genres (honky-tonk, Bakersfield, bluegrass, rockabilly, country-rock, he’s tried his hand at all of it somewhere along the line), Dwight’s been careful to offer a little bit of something for everyone, and that durability and willingness to tinker with the traditional bylaws of country’s hierarchy is why he’s still slugging it out on the road today, even hopping off the bus long enough to do compelling character work in an indie film now and again. But I don’t need to sell y’all on Dwight Yoakam, and truth is, my aim in picking this show for this week has more to do with the baffling presence of former Staind yarl-dork Aaron Lewis as opener, having repurposed himself in Darius Rucker fashion as some kind of outlaw country solo type, now that post-grunge’s sun has blessedly set. A side note in this respect: Staind were from western Massachusetts and Aaron Lewis is no hayseed, no matter how he carries himself lately (trust this fellow western Mass native with a few ties to that band’s members). This is pure marketing savvy at its best, a swapping of a tribal tattoo for hunting camo and Skoal .Thus it seems Dwight isn’t the only one keen to follow the winds of pop music change wherever they may lead. So I stand by my recommendation wholeheartedly: come for the car crash-like yokel-appropriation of the opener, stick around for Dwight.
Glockianna
10pm, Saturday June 24
Hi-Tone
$30
Glockianna is only 16 years old, but you wouldn’t know it from her music. She raps with a confidence and hunger more commonly found among peers twice her age. It’s this undeniable talent that caught the attention of fellow Memphis artist Duke Deuce, who quickly signed her to his label last year. Since then Glockkii has been steadily dropping new music and freestyles, showcasing how she expertly switches up her flow to handle any and all types of beats. This weekend she’ll be part of the first Women In Memphis Music festival, where she’ll perform what is sure to be an explosive set. Catch her in this setting now, (and for a good cause) because I have a feeling Glockianna is about to take over.
Live at the Garden: Matchbox Twenty
6pm, Saturday June 24
Radians Amphitheater
$65+
Memphis Botanic Garden kicked off their Live at the Garden summer concert series earlier this month and the line-up they have planned is a good one. Their amphitheater will host Brothers Osborne, The Doobie Brothers with Michael McDonald, and Train over the next few months, but this weekend their featured performance comes from 90s alt-rock staples Matchbox Twenty. Yea, the same band that essentially dominated mainstream radio in the late 90s with hits like “Push”, “3AM”, and “Unwell.” Live at the Garden concerts are always a big party, but sprinkle in a dash of nostalgia and Rob Thomas’ smooth vocals, and this show is guaranteed to be a great time. Plus, if you don’t think “3AM” is an absolute banger, you’re lying to yourself.
