Music Forecast 5.14-5.20: Making Movies, Beck and Willie Nelson, Spoon, New Kids on the Block, TLC, and more

Making Movies
Making Movies hardly needs a gimmick at this point. The much-loved local four-piece, fronted by Panamanian-American brothers Enrique and Diego Chi, makes a mix of heady Latin rhythms and smart alternative rock, with lyrics in both Spanish and English. But there’s an added enticement Friday at the VooDoo Lounge, when the band pays tribute to Farnia Records and 1970s New York City salsa music (complete with ’70s costumes and a 10-piece band). If you’ve never seen Making Movies live, here’s an excellent introduction. Maria the Mexican, Son Venezuela, Mark Lowrey and others join the lineup. Bonus: The show is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so you can have fun for a good cause.

Friday, May 15, VooDoo Lounge (Harrah’s Casino, 1 Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City, 816-472-7777)

Diarrhea Planet
Diarrhea Planet might make you sick — sick with jealousy over the band’s insane, four-lead-guitarists attack. On last year’s Aliens in the Outfield EP, the six-piece delivered a blitz of pop punk disguised as extra-loud metal. And that release was but a snack compared with its full-length predecessor, 2013’s I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Diarrhea Planet is preparing to release another full-length later this year, so you’ll likely get a taste of that Saturday at the Riot Room. This is not a tame band, so don’t expect a tame show: When that third beer gets spilled on you, just go with it, man.

Saturday, May 16, the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Spoon
With the August 2014 release of They Want My Soul, it seemed that Spoon had finally rejoined the land of the living after a four-year hiatus, following the (somewhat shocking) commercial success of 2010’s Transference. Now on tour in support of that record, the Austin band appears committed to its cause once more — and with an additional member, guitarist Alex Fischel. The album is a solid achievement, full of energetic rock and some of the hookiest Spoon songs yet. Frontman Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno are at their best when left to their own devices, and if a four-year cooling period is what the band needed to get its rock legs back, well, some things are worth the wait.

Monday, May 18, the Midland (1228 Main, 816-283-9921)

New Kids on the Block, TLC, Nelly
Anyone who was dramatically slamming doors and escaping (or reveling in) teenage angst with a Discman in the ’90s will appreciate the triple bill taking over the Sprint Center Tuesday night. If you were the girl who carefully taped the Bop magazine poster of Joey McIntyre to your bedroom wall, New Kids on the Block may appeal to you most. TLC is a two-piece since the 2002 death of rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes (her parts are played over the speakers), but the opportunity to hear the live version of cuts from the band’s seminal CrazySexyCool (now 21 years old) is worth the ticket cost alone. (“No Scrubs” was perhaps the most important feminist song of the decade.) And though NKOTB fans might not have the same appreciation for Nelly’s Country Grammar, it will be hard for anyone to repress the body swaying brought on by “Hot in Herre.”

Tuesday, May 19, Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

Beck and Willie Nelson
It’s not that Beck and Willie Nelson aren’t well-suited to each other — their fan groups undoubtedly overlap. It’s just that seeing the two share a bill isn’t what we expected. And no one else can expect it, either: This is the only U.S. show featuring both Beck and Nelson. For whatever reason, Kansas City lucked out. Whether you turn up at Starlight on Friday night to bask in the presence of one of the country’s elder statesmen or to be soothed by the sounds of Beck’s Grammy Award-winning Morning Phase, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Friday, May 15, Starlight Theatre (4600 Starlight Road, 816-363-7827)