Friday, June 22, 2012

This week's hot concerts

Under the Stars Charlotte Uptown Jazz Fest
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 22 and 23. Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. $45.35-$72.50. www.livenation.com
In its third year the two-night smooth jazz festival features Pieces of a Dream, Innertwyned, and Soul of Summer with Jonathan Butler, Maysa, and Warren Hill Friday and Boney James and Incognito featuring Maysa and Joey Sommerville Saturday.

Earth Wind & Fire
8 p.m. Friday, Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd. $51.30-$105.20. www.ticketmaster.com
Coming off its 40th Anniversary tour in 2011, Philip Bailey and Verdine White lead the funk and jazz-pop staple in a theater setting that promises to be more intimate than the outdoor amphitheater concerts it’s done with Chicago in recent years.

Tim Barry
8 p.m. Saturday, June 23, Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. $10-$12. www.etix.com
The former Avail frontman, who led a catalog of charged working class anthems as singer for the Richmond punk band, brings that same blue collar storytelling aesthetic to his country tinged songs.

Tony Furtado
8 p.m. Saturday, June 23, Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. $10-$12. 704-376-3737.
Alternating between intricate finger picking and tasteful slide work, this acclaimed string player subtly weaves his dexterous guitar and banjo skills into country and blues-tinged acoustic songs that stand on their own even without flashy soloing.

Matrimony
8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23, Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. $12. 704-358-9298.
While Charlotte waits for the recent Columbia Records signee’s major label debut (which the band starts working on in July), this family band exhibits just what all the fuss is about with its joyful mix of Americana and Celtic and roots rock. With Ancient Cities.

White Lung
8 p.m. Sunday, June 24, Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. $7-$9. www.etix.com
Under a layer of noisy breakneck punk, this Vancouver-based female dominated quartet combines a `70s garage punk feel with smart hooks, busily frantic guitar workouts reminiscent of post-hardcore bands from the `90s and beyond, and wall scaling Deborah Harry vocals spliced with that of more obscure defunct female punk bands like the Red Aunts or Free Verse.

Porter Robinson
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. $25-$28. 704-358-9298.
Since opening for Skrillex, who signed Robinson to his label last summer after discovering him on YouTube, this still teenage Chapel Hill DJ has risen in the EDM world with mentors like Tiesto and a #1 iTunes Dance Track, “Language.” 

Lost in the Trees
8 p.m. Thursday, June 28, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $10-$12. 704-358-9200.
Classically-trained songwriter Ari Picker and his coed Chapel Hill-based band explore a wealth of emotion surrounding his mother’s suicide, while paying tribute to her with an experimental and beautiful orchestral folk record that surprisingly doesn’t fall into despair.