Nightspots
Blind Pig
208 S. First St. [map]
996-8555
blindpigmusic.com
This local music club features live music 5 nights a week, with a varied assortment of local and out-of-town rock 'n' roll, blues, reggae, and dance bands, 10:30 p.m.:30 a.m. (unless otherwise noted). Also, occasional early shows, usually 7-10 p.m. Karaoke on Mon.; closed most Sun. If there's an opening act, the headliner usually goes on stage between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Cover (except "Showcase Night"), dancing. If advance tickets are sold, they are available at the 8-Ball Salloon (below the club) and at etix.com.
May 1: The Old Adage
Monroe acoustic Christian alternative-rock trio fronted by siblings Mimi and Nino Chavez. Opening acts are the local surf-rock garage trio Ten Bellow, the Holly (MI) rock ’n’ roll quintet The Heard, and The Blue Squares, a Detroit quartet that plays gritty garage rock.
May 2: Wednesday in May
Local rock trio. Opening acts are the Columbus indie rock singer- songwriter Daniel Drouhard, the Flint country-rock quartet The Marietta, the Flint punk-rock quartet As a Lark, the Detroit indie rock quartet The Mackinac Peaches, and the Toledo punk—rock quartet The Fight Within.
May 3: Ann Arbor Soul Club
Classic soul music by the local DJ duo of Brad Hales and Robert Wells.
May 4: The Kickstand Band
Detroit rock 'n' roll trio. Opening acts are the local big-beat rock trio The Deadbeat Beat, the local punk band K9 Sniffies, and the Detroit pop-punk trio Growwing Pains.
May 6: Black Pus
The stage name of the drummer-vocalist Brian Chippendale of the Providence (RI) noise-rock band Lightning Bolt. Opening acts are Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa, an Olympia (WA) trance-punk ensemble whose trademark wild vocals and grounded in multi-harmonic symphonic throat-singing, and Mounds. Also, in the 8 Ball Saloon, 1876, a rock ’n’ roll party thrash quartet from Flint.
May 7: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
May 8: Tyler Hilton
L.A.-based pop-rock singer-songwriter with an engagingly husky voice who’s most widely known for his role as Elvis in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. Opening act is Ryan Cabrera, a pop-rock singer-songwriter from Dallas who scored a top-10 hit with his debut single “On the Way Down” in 2004, and actor Teddy Geiger, a raspy-voiced young singer-songwriter from Rochester (NY) known for his lyrically sophisticated pop-rock. Advance tickets: $15 ($18 at the door). 7-11 p.m.
May 9: Captured! by Robots
San Francisco electro-metal band made up of robots and their human “slave.” Opening act is Sros Lords, a Detroit punk quartet.
May 10: Dead in 5
Detroit outlaw rock band featuring Mansfield Park lead singer Robert Libres and former members of 60 Second Crush. Opening acts are A.S.S., a Toronto postpunk rock band, and Gepetto Files postpunk musical comedy marionette troupe founder Ted Talvitie. Also, Lucky Monkey Tattoo artists are on hand. Giveaways.
May 11: The Bang!
Dance party with this local DJ collective that plays garage and 70s rock.
May 14: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
May 15: Willie the Kid
Grand Rapids hip-hop MC who is featured on DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz CDs and 2 of Lil’ Wayne’s Dedication mixtapes. Opening acts are Flint hip-hop MC Jon Connor, Detroit-area hip-hop MC Tekh Togo, and Grand Rapids hip-hop MC Rick Chyme.
May 16: Vietnam
California band whose music blends blues, rock, and soul. Opening acts are <>Radiant Marks, a local pop-punk garage band, and The Skis, the Chicago-based jam-oriented folk-rock duo of Tom Shemanski & Josh Grablowski. Advance tickets: $8 ($10 at the door).
May 17: Colin Stetson
Avant-jazz ensemble led by this Ann Arbor-bred, Montreal-based saxophonist, a former member of the local ensemble Transmission who has recorded with everyone from Tom Waits and Anthony Braxton to Jolie Holland. Opening act is Justin Walter, a jazz ensemble led by this Ann Arbor-bred, Brooklyn-based trumpeter. Advance tickets: $8 ($10 at the door).
May 18: Kaleido
Detroit pop-rock quintet fronted by vocalist Christina Chriss. Opening acts are Nine Years Away, a Detroit punk-rock quartet, and Motel Model, a local alternative pop-rock quartet that recently released its debut EP, Jukebox Moon. Advance tickets: $8 ($10 at the door).
May 21: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
May 22:
TBA.
May 23: Boldy James
Detroit hip-hop MC with a blue-collar point of view. Opening acts are P.L., a Detroit R&B-inflected hip-hop MC, and Prhyme Rhyme Boss, a local hip-hop MC.
May 24: 3rd Annual Nirvana Tribute
Several local bands perform Nirvana songs, including Detroit experimental alternative rock trio My Pal Val, the local stoner doom metal trio Wizard Union, the Detroit garage rock quartet The Secret Weapons, the Detroit punk-rock garage band Grind Scheme, the suburban Detroit postpunk trio Fucking Swords & Fire, the local punk-rock band Black Jack on Pluto, the Detroit rock ’n’ roll quartet Hit Society, the noise-punk garage trio Nameless, and the Ypsilanti garage rock band Hobo Train Wreck Suicide. Advance tickets: $8 ($10 at the door).
May 25: Super Happy Funtime Burlesque
Grand Rapids-based musical comedy burlesque troupe. With local burlesque clown Mabel Syrup.
May 28: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
May 29:
TBA.
May 30: The Alcoholic Oracles
Concord (MI) country-based blues-rock duo. Opening acts are the Flint alternative rock quintet Mistaken for Satellites, the country-rock quartet Sandhill String Band, and the math- rock duo HealthyTail.
May 31: The Smiths United
A Detroit Smiths/Morrissey tribute band. Opening acts are Playground Twist, a Detroit Siouxsie & the Banshees tribute band, and DJ Josh Burge.
June 1: Jukebox the Ghost
All ages admitted. Very popular Brooklyn-based trio that plays a buoyant, melodically sophisticated brand of indie pop-rock that allmusic.com writer Mark Deming says “suggest[s] some missing link between Ben Folds and OK Go.” Advance tickets: $16. 6:30- 9:30 p.m.
June 1: Nickie P.
Popular soul-inflected hip-hop singer and rapper from Milford. Opening acts are local hip-hop MCs Kolorblind, Messi J, Codini, Stereotype, and The Friar.
June 4: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
June 5: Pole Barn Rebels
Flushing (MI) outlaw country-rock quartet. Opening acts are Cash O’Riley, a veteran Jackson rockabilly and cowpunk singer-songwriter, and Bullhonky Deluxe, a Flint country- hard rock quartet.
June 6:
Closed.
June 7: Ann Arbor Soul Club
Classic soul music by the local DJ duo of Brad Hales and Robert Wells.
June 8: “Ypsiarboroo 2013”
With several top local bands, including the Detroit postpunk rock ’n’ roll quartet All the Wild Children, the Ypsilanti Detroit-style rock ’n’ roll trio Disinformants, the Ypsilanti rock ’n’ roll trio Thunderbuck Ram, the Flint alt-country-rock band Hadley Street, the Ypsilanti electro-pop garage sextet Booty Shakin’ Rhythm Beats (B.S.R.B.), the local self-styled “cosmic pop-rock” band Supercollider, the Brooklyn (MI) rock quartet White Pineapple, local alt-pop singer-songwriter Jennae Raynes, and local blues- and funk-influenced folk-rock singer-songwriter Deondre Charelle Richmond.
June 9: Josh Krajcik
Blues-rock singer-songwriter from Columbus who was the runner- up in the first season of The X Factor USA in 2011. Opening act is Dan Henig, a local introspective folk-rock singer-songwriter. Advance tickets: $15.
June 11: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
June 12: 5th Wall Concept
Livonia rock ’n’ roll band. Opening acts are the Westland-area arena rock band Algernon, the Detroit acoustic alt-country quartet Native Signal, and the local alternative pop-rock quintet Simple Machine.
June 13:
TBA.
June 14: Sproton Layer
Legendary local psychedelic proto-punk band, formed in 1969 by 3 brothers at Pioneer High, that Our Band Could Be Your Life author Michael Azerrad dubbed “an amazing band that sounded like Syd Barrett fronting Cream.” Led by singer- songwriter and bass guitarist Roger Miller, a cofounder of the seminal early-80s postpunk band Mission of Burma, the lineup includes his 2 brothers (and later Destroy All Monsters members) Ben Miller on guitar and Larry Miller on drums, and a trumpeter TBA. Tonight’s show showcases material from the band’s 1970 debut recording, With Magnetic Fields Disrupted, which was recently re-released on the German psychedelic and progressive rock label World in Sound, and from its planned follow-up, Press Your Hand and the Whole Room Fluctuates, which is scheduled to be released early next year. Opening act is Blue Snaggletooth, a local hard-rock band that includes members of Mazinga and other area bands. Advance tickets: $10.
June 15: The Bang!
Dance party with this local DJ collective that plays garage and 70s rock.
June 18: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
June 19:
TBA.
June 20: Corporate Sellout
Local industrial-rock quartet led by singer-songwriter Jason Kefalas. Opening acts are Who’s This We?, a Detroit powerpop band, and Fires in Japan, a Detroit punk-rock trio.
June 21:
TBA.
June 22:
TBA.
June 25: “Showcase Night”
With 4 different young local bands TBA.
June 27: Hung Up
Livingston County pop-punk quartet. Opening acts are The Signals, a Brighton alternative pop-rock quintet, and The Threads, a Brighton hardcore trio.
June 28: Mac DeMarco
Acclaimed young Canadian pop-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his raunchy onstage behavior.
June 29:
TBA.
