FRIDAY, JULY 17
Neon Trees
The Utah outfit Neon Trees has been on the scene for a bit now, landing on the Billboard Hot 100 with several singles over the course of a 10-year career. Notable for bringing handclaps back into fashion with 2011’s “Animal” and setting the pace for LGBT musicians everywhere, the band has strived to revolutionize the way listeners think about mainstream radio hits. Now a year since frontman Tyler Glenn came out as gay in Rolling Stone, the group of childhood friends are all in their 30s and looking to grow up, personally and musically. The current “An Intimate Night with Neon Trees” tour represents a pretty big departure from riding on their float ride in the Macy’s Day Parade or their sold out Times Square performances last year. Instead, Bradley says the band’s looking to reconnect with the fans that first supported them. With changes to the venue and the scale of their performances, Neon Trees are also changing up their sound. Their newest single “Songs I Can’t Listen To” surprised newer fans of the group with its rock instrumentals. The guitar-heavy track departs majorly from their jaunty, keyboard-driven singles. Sophisticated but still danceable, this fresh taste of the band’s new sound has shown that maybe, just maybe, there’s finally hope for rock to get back on the radio. (Brittany Rees), 8 p.m., $22.50 ADV, $25 DOS. House of Blues.
New Wave Rave
If you wanted to hear cutting-edge electronic music in the ‘80s, you had to hit up a rave, the underground parties where DJs would spin and bands would sometimes play too. Party Sweat (local DJ Dave P. who hosts club nights around town at various venues) will throw a New Wave Rave with the help of fellow DJs D-Rock and Himiko GO-GO. The synth pop duo Home Body will perform. They reportedly have “pretty sweet video projections.” Looped video courtesy of local artist Kory Gasser is also on the docket and WOBC DJ Junky B will spin. “Per usual, we're pumped to be blastin some new harder-to-find dance floor dynamite ranging from New Wave, No-Wave, Post-Punk, Italo Disco, Geighties P0P, HI-NRG, Synth POP, early Techno and Minimal Electronic Muzak,” says Dave P. “Plus a few HITZ! This is our 15th New Wave Rave party and we'll also have some fun video eye candy to share.” (Jeff Niesel) 9 p.m., $6 ADV, $8 DOS. Mahall's 20 Lanes.
P.O.D.
P.O.D.’s roots go back to 1991 when the group emerged out of San Ysidro, a lower-middle-class San Diego suburb that's spitting distance from the Mexican border. Singer Sonny Sandoval, who grew up in a young family of "teenagers having kids," says he was weaned on AC/DC and Led Zeppelin when he was a kid but then later discovered punk and reggae. And when he found out that “guys of color” were doing punk rock, that opened up a whole new world to him. Internal tensions led the band to splinter and in 2008 the band went on hiatus after a South American tour. But while on break, Sandoval kept in touch with longtime producer and friend Howard Benson (Daughtry, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson) and when the band reconvened in 2011, it recruited him to produce the album. He’s again at the helm for the band’s forthcoming album, The Awakening. The album’s not out until August, but the band’s on tour to play some of the new songs, including the catchy single, “The Goes Out to You,” an anthemic song that sounds like a cross between 311 and Rage Against the Machine. (Niesel), 7 p.m., $15. Odeon.
SATURDAY, JULY 18
Cleveland Calling: A Joe Strummer Tribute
The Clash’s Joe Strummer wasn’t just a great singer and guitarist. He was also an activist. In the wake of his death in 2002, the Joe Strummer Foundation has sought to give “opportunities to aspiring musicians and support to projects around the world that create social mobility through music.” That’s the mission statement you’ll find on the organization’s website. At tonight's concert, local bands the Boys from the County Hell and All Dinosaurs will play sets of Clash covers as part of a benefit dubbed Cleveland’s Calling. Local graphic artist Derek Hess has done the poster for the show and the concert’s promoters planned to have signed copies available for purchase at the event. Proceeds go to the Joe Strummer Foundation. Note that the club will not sell tickets on the night of the gig; tickets must be purchased in advance at brownpapertickets.com. (Niesel), 9 p.m., $18. The Euclid Tavern.
KC & the Sunshine Band
Touring the release of their new covers album, Feeling You! The 60s, KC and the Sunshine band are back to play their new songs as well as the hits that everyone knows and loves. Expect to hear tunes such as “Get Down Tonight” and “That’s The Way I Like It.” Their new album, which debuted earlier this year in March, features covers of many groundbreaking artists from the ’60s like the Kinks, Sam Cooke, and the Supremes. The band just recently played live for a PBS Fourth of July celebration at the U.S. Capitol, which was seen by millions and in particular, American troops serving around the world through the American Forces Network. The performance celebrated the 35th anniversary of their biggest hits and was meant to bring people back to the dance craze of the ’70s. Their new tour features two original members of the band, lead singer, Harry (KC) Wayne Casey and percussionist, Fermin Goytisolo for a trip down memory lane to the music of one of the most iconic American bands. (Elizabeth Manno), 8 p.m., $39.50-$59.50. Hard Rock Rocksino.
SUNDAY, JULY 19
Sage Francis
Acrobatic and capable of flipping metaphor with deft lyrical stylings, rapper Sage Francis has spent his career painting a massive verbal mural. Last year’s Copper Game pushed his aggressive, reflective songwriting forward and continued his knack for high-speed autobiographical raps. Songs like “Pressure Cooker” further expound on his deeply etched perspectives on life — “The bookie collects, don’t play the victim when it happens / Lower the stakes before you try to burn the witches at ‘em” — the sort of poetic preaching that Sage first developed years ago. By the time 2005’s A Healthy Distrust came out, his talents were cemented in modern hip-hop lore. That album holds up really well (dig “Sea Lion”), as does the whole of this guy’s dynamic musical arc. (Eric Sandy), 9 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Grog Shop.
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Helmed by guitarists Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, TTB carries a hefty badge of honor in the blues and soul communities. The band has been around long enough to become a must-see staple for those who enjoy good music, and their talents back that up onstage. (Trucks’ lead work, for those not yet in the know, is just astounding in a live setting.) Following the band’s last show in Cleveland, in 2013, we wrote: “With songs like ‘Misunderstood’ and ‘Bound for Glory’ rounding out the set, it was clear that what brought everyone together for the show was a love of good music and a total lack of airs.” Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the openers for this tour, have been coming out and joining TTB onstage for medleys of blues classics during the encore. Tonight should be a fine trip through soulful American music on the shores of the Cuyahoga. (Sandy), 6:30 p.m., $35-$75. Jacobs Pavilion.
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