Friday, July 31, 2015

This week's hot concerts

Kickoman/Bakalao Stars
Friday  10:30 p.m., Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St., $10, www.eveningmuse.com       
Charlotte’s original Latin party band, Bakalao Stars, team up with like-minded DC-based Spanglish rock act Kickoman. Both bands trade in reggae and ska with colorful Spanish hip-hop and bursts of rock guitar and both create a party atmosphere with bouncy tunes and pogoing sing-alongs.

Sealion
Saturday  10 p.m., Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St., $5-$7, www.snugrock.com
Dallas’ Sealion is an exercise in dichotomy, tying frustrated punk singing with bouncy feel-good indie-pop and channeling the Vaselines backing X or the Breeders and the Pixies with deliberate bass, languid vocals and surf guitar. It’s like they combined all your favorite old indie and alt-rock guitar bands in one concise package.
   

Nicki Minaj
Tuesday  7 p.m., PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd., $33.85-$147.26, www.livenation.com     
For the first time in ages a female rapper headlines the amphitheater and while the hip-hop diva provides plenty of hits and glitz, what would her set be without a little drama? Having put her VMAs-related Twitter beef with Taylor Swift to a quick end, she and fiancé Meek Mill (also on the bill) share the stage and stoke the flames of his recent feud with Drake.


Boz Scaggs
Wednesday  7:30 p.m., Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St., $20-$119.50, www.blumenthalarts.org
The seasoned crooner follows 2013’s “Memphis,” which featured talented local musicians, with the similarly conceptual “A Fool To Care.” Again working with producer Steve Jordan, Scaggs convened in Nashville and puts his stamp on songs by the Band, Al Green, and the Spinners with guests Ray Parker, Jr., Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt.


Authority Zero
Wednesday  8 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $12-$15, www.visulite.com    
Despite having its van robbed of $50,000 of equipment in San Antonio last week the veteran punk band soldiers on through the South with nary a beat. The group, whose sound combines the beachy ska and reggae-influenced spirit of Sublime with the urgency and speed of Bad Religion, is borrowing opener Counterpunch’s gear.

Machine Gun Kelly
Wednesday  8:30 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $33.58, www.livenation.com   
Sick of his label Bad Boy/Interscope holding up the release of his second album “General Admission” and continuing to play the same songs live on four consecutive tours, the Cleveland rapper dropped a new mix-tape. “F*** it” is his first release in two years (not counting singles) and you can bet he works his frustration out on the mic.

Flatland Tourists
Thursday  7 p.m., US National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy, Free ($5 Parking), www.usnwc.org   
The Union County outfit, which boasts folky picking and soulful singing, recently received the award for best Americana Band at the 8th annual Carolina Music Awards in Raleigh (which were co-founded by Randy Travis and Roberta Flack). The Waxhaw-based roots band will release its second record in a year in September.


Kamasi Washington
Thursday  8 p.m., Chop Shop, 399 E. 35th St., $22.50-$25; $30 reserved seating; www.chopshopnoda.com    
With equal footing performing and studying jazz and world music and working with hip-hop, R&B, and soul musicians like Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and Kendrick Lamar, as well as in his own bands the Young Jazz Giants and the Next Step, the eclectic L.A. sax player, like Robert Glasper, is conquering new musical frontiers and new jazz fans.