We certainly hope that you aren't against seeing outdoor shows this week, considering that three out of the four that we are recommending are going to get you back to nature. Well, that is if you consider "nature" a couple urban parks and a polluted theme park beach. Oh, and the other show is in Jersey! I apologize in advance...
SPOON & JAY REATARD AT PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL
TUESDAY 7/15 5:30PM $35
The fact that Spoon are critics' darlings should not put you off from their music. Sure, they haven't put out a consistently amazing album since 2001's Girls Can Tell, but those three or four amazing songs on each LP since makes for a hell of a live show. On top of that, Jay Reatard, noise-garage god and former leader of The Reatards, is opening the show, touring in support of his forthcoming split 45 with Deerhunter. With Jay you never know what kind of show you are getting, and the much mellower Spoon fans might spur him into a violent episode. Surely worth checking out.
TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS AT CASTLE CLINTON
THURSDAY 7/17 7PM FREE
If Ted Leo was a pair of skinny jeans, we would buy him. And that is certainly saying something, as skinny jeans are not our style and would look horrible on us. In fact, if Ted Leo as skinny jeans were only being sold at American Apparel for $75, we would line up like tech-geeks did for the iPhone just to be the first to give our money to the despicable pervert that owns that company. Luckily, Ted Leo is not a pair of American Apparel skinny jeans, so we can go see him for free this Thursday at Castle Clinton as part of the NYC River to River concert series, and watch him play his unique brand of utterly amazing emotionally-charged rock 'n roll, and you should too. Whew.
TIMES NEW VIKING & THE A-BONES AT MAXWELL'S
FRIDAY 7/18 9:30PM $10
Matador Records' Times New Viking are a psychedelic rock band, kind of like a friendlier version of The Black Lips. They are better than any band named after a font on Microsoft Word has any right to be. Quite frankly, they make us want to hug people coming out of church. Opening for them are the absolutely amazing A-Bones. Fronted by Billy and Miriam, who own Brooklyn's Norton Records, the band plays rock 'n roll, R&B, and rockabilly in a way that makes you want to dance like an extra from Hairspray. You know what? Forget that we said that....Hairspray is horrible and the A-Bones are not. In fact, if they were a pair of $200 creepers for sale at Trash & Vaudeville we would....oh nevermind.
SIREN FESTIVAL 2008 AT CONEY ISLAND
SATURDAY 7/19 12PM FREE
Is it just us, or is the lineup for Siren Festival not as good as it used to be? Of course, we've been saying that since the year after the Guided By Voices/Dirtbombs lineup, which was the first year! But really, do you care about any of these bands? Well, at least we care about Broken Social Scene and Stephen Malkmus. Broken Social Scene are consistently fun to watch, as any group with that many members should be. Before Stephen Malkmus' last album, we thought it was impossible to get WORSE after adding a member of Sleater Kinney to your band (drummer Janet Weiss), but he managed to put out one of the most boring, uninspired records this year with Real Emotional Trash. Still, we're sure that he'll play some old stuff, and if not, it'll at least be fun to see if he snaps like Ian MacKaye at a Fugazi show if you do enough drunken yelling for Pavement songs.
So stock up on your sunscreen, your straw hats, and your Sparks energy drink/alcoholic urinal cakes, because you're going outside this week. And we promise we'll let you back inside next week...
