Sounds Good: Fourth of July & ACBs@Replay, Fitz and the Tantrums@Crossroads, Red Bull Locally Thrown@Crossroads, Victor Wooten@Granada, Death Cab@Crossroads

So much going on this week and weekend…

Of course there are the various fireworks displays around the area – that’s a given.

There’s also the MLB All Star game and festivities that go along with it, including a 5K on Sunday. There’s a food festival in Lawrence’s Watson Park featuring local food and drinks. There’s a thing called Lawrence Field Day Fest that’s spanning a few nights at the Bottleneck featuring 20-some local and regional bands. There’s a Sporting KC game at LIVESTRONG on Saturday against the team that knocked them out in the semis last season, the Houston Dynamo.

Shall I go on?

If you have any time left at all, think about mixing in one of these killer shows…

Wednesday, July 4th

Fourth of July & the ACBs at the Replay in Lawrence

 These might be my two favorite bands at the moment.  At least in terms of local bands.  Band that play catchy indie pop and stuff.

Ever since Fourth of July decided to name their band Fourth of July, they’ve been forced to play on the 4th each year at the Replay to honor this great country of ours.  And to drink cheap PBR and Hamm’s as well.  With a new album rumored to be dropping sometime in the next few months you can count on hearing some newer material sprinkled in with a bunch of their classics, of course.

The ACBs caught my attention last year with the release of Stona Rosa, perhaps the best local effort of the last 18 months. Make that 19 months.  If you still haven’t given it a listen do it NOW!  I mean, it’s freaking free to listen to on Bandcamp and Spotify, I believe.  It has falsetto vocals, jangly guitars and a lo-fi production value that is actually rather hi-fi!  Just do it already. 

 If you live in Lawrence and have any thought that you may be a “LFK scenester” you better be at this show.  Otherwise, you are not a LFK scenester.  Just ask Nog dog.   

Thursday, July 5th

 Fitz and the Tantrums at Crossroads KC

Did you catch the interview I did with Noelle Scaggs, co-lead singer of this LA based indie soul outfit?  If not, shame on you.  (It’s down there somewhere, I swear).  She talked about why they aren’t trying to just re-hash the Motown thing, but instead are creating their own style of music with all the members’ influences melded together.  And also, they use no guitars, which is kind of crazy when you think about it.  I mean, who does that?

 This should be a high energy affair as is often the case when a band rolls through with some horns.  And I’ve heard that Hearne might be there and he promised to buy anyone who comes up to him a beer if you can prove you’re not smartman, harley, or that other guy that calls everyone gay.

Friday, July 6th

 Red Bull Locally Thrown –FREE! – at Crossroads KC

This is a unique event, the likes of which I don’t believe I’ve ever seen before.  Here’s the deal.

They get a bunch of local DJs and a bunch of local bands together for a big party, with all the artists collaborating together and feeding off each other to create an entirely new musical experience.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE?!!

Here’s who’s playing:
DJs: DJ Brent Tactic, DJ B-Stee, DJ Mike Scott, DJ Spinstyles, Barbaric Merits
 

Bands:  Making Movies, Diverse, Hearts of Darkness

Saturday, July 7th

 Victor Wooten at the Granada in Lawrence

Bass mad scientist Victor Wooten does a little bit of everything.  First and foremost, of course, he tears the crap out of the bass guitar and has done so with Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews and a ton of others.  But he also writes books, teaches at a college, holds music camps, and probably does a bunch of other freaky stuff as well judging from the interview with lawrence.com’s Mike Krings a couple days ago:

“[N]ature is the most natural thing on the planet. You don’t have to teach a tree how to grow. You don’t have to point a flower toward the sun. A bird doesn’t have to learn how to sing. A squirrel doesn’t have to learn how to build a nest; it’s just natural parts of them. Well, humans have natural abilities also, but a lot of the time we don’t access them.”

 Total mindblow, right? 

Sunday, July 8th

 Death Cab for Cutie at Crossroads KC

This one will be super packed, so I’d get your tickets ASAP if you’re into the whole indie-emo-northwest-rocker-guys-with-horned-rimmed-glasses thing.  How huge are these guys anyway?  Pretty damn huge. 

They were originally slated to play at Liberty Hall in Lawrence but switched it over because the band loves the outdoor venue at Crossroads.  And they can probably fit a bunch more people in there.