Concert Calendar: The Cure, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Tyler the Creator and more

The Cure
The Cure isn’t touring on new material, and longtime fans may be grateful. It’s going to allow Wednesday’s Starlight show to focus on the hits, well-loved deep-dive cuts — and maybe a few new songs. The Cure hasn’t released an album since 2008’s 4:13 the Dream, but you can expect a revitalized concert experience, especially considering Roger O’Donnell, from 1989’s Disintegration, is back onboard, along with David Bowie’s longtime guitarist Reeves Gabrels. And, of course, Robert Smith, the greatest person who ever lived, will be there, too. This show will not be short, so plan accordingly.
Wednesday, June 8
Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight Road

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
You gotta feel a little bad for Ben Haggerty (aka Macklemore, half of the Seattle rap duo with Ryan Lewis). On the February-released This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, the rapper is so self-conscious it’s cringe-worthy. At a certain point — and maybe that point is when you’ve won an Album of the Year Grammy, as Macklemore and Lewis did in 2012, for their breakthrough, The Heist — the overly self-critical threads of doubt and deprecation (see “Let’s Eat”) aren’t cute. They’re sad. (We can’t all be Drake, who at least manages to make sensitivity sexy.) Still, where This Unruly Mess falters, it’s occasionally redeemed by the (rather sophisticated) commitment to melody and hooks. Tuesday at the Midland, see how far that redemption goes.
Tuesday, June 7
The Midland, 3810 Broadway

Tyler, the Creator
When 25-year-old rapper Tyler Okonma — Tyler, the Creator, to his fans — released Cherry Bomb last year, the album read like a schizophrenic opus. Okonma’s soundscapes are unique: Crowded, boisterous and far-left, they often tread the line between clunky and brilliant — a line the artist seems only too comfortable tiptoeing down. He grapples with identity on the moody “Pilot” (I’m in first class, but I feel like coach); he swags with Kanye West and Lil Wayne on “Smuckers.” Cherry Bomb feels purposely divisive — caught between Okonma’s own obnoxious leanings and the ambition of his brilliance. Friday at the Midland, we’ll see which side wins. Taco opens.
Friday, June 3
The Midland, 3810 Broadway

Thursday 6.2

Keith Urban
Providence Medical Center Amphitheater, 633 N. 130th St., Bonner Springs

Kevin Mahogany
The Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St.

Thieves of Sunrise, Outlaw Jake
Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence

Center of the City Fest, Day 1
Davey’s Uptown, 3402 Main

Brett Jackson Quartet
Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand

The International Rolling Stones Show
Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester

CS Luxem, Paglins, Macemouth
Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Berner, Kool John, Anonymous That Dude
Riot Room, 4048 Broadway

Friday 6.3
Roy Ayers
The Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St.

Melting Point of Bronze, Hyperbor,
Horned Wolf, Demonic Plague
Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence

Center of the City Fest, Day 2
Davey’s Uptown, 3402 Main
Lacuna Coil
Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Tim Whitmer
Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand

Split Lip Rayfield with Darrin Bradbury
Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester

I Love the ’90s featuring Salt n Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, Coolio, Young MC, Rob Base
Providence Medical Center Amphitheater, 633 N. 130th St., Bonner Springs

Tornado Rose, JT Perez
Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence

The Foreign Exchange
Riot Room, 4048 Broadway

Katy Guillen and the Girls
B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.

Crossroads Flock Party, with Be/Non, the Conquerors, Duncan Burnett & the Outer Limit and more
West 19th Street and Wyandotte

Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest
Oak Grove Park, Gladstone

Tyler, the Creator
The Midland, 3810 Broadway

Saturday 6.4
Doug Talley with Kathleen Holeman
The Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St.

Rev Gusto, Tambourine Club,
Andrew Foshee
The Brick, 1727 McGee

The Hornitz, Mangosteen
Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence

Center of the City Fest, Day 3
Davey’s Uptown, 3402 Main

Luciano
Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Max Groove
Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand

Jefferson Starship
Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester

Barenaked Ladies
Starlight, 4600 Starlight

Sunday 6.5
Poetic Notes Neo-Soul Lounge
The Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St.

Sky Smeed, Bayley Kate & the Running Late
Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Here Comes the Kraken, So This Is Suffering, Feed Her to the Sharks
Riot Room, 4048 Broadway

Boston, Foghat, Night Ranger
Starlight, 4600 Starlight

Monday 6.6
Everette Devan
The Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St.

Danny Embrey
Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand

Marley Young, DJ Atom Marquette, So 4o
Riot Room, 4048 Broadway

Tuesday 6.7
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
The Midland, 3810 Broadway

Insane Clown Posse
Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Goya
Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Wednesday 6.8

The Cure
Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight

DCA Good Music Showcase
Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence

Trampled by Turtles, David Wax Museum
Crossroads KC, 417 E 18th

Pierce the Veil
Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence

OJT
Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand

Rupaul’s Drag Race
Midland, 3810 Broadway

Summer Cannibals
Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence

Moving Units, the Coyote, Various Blonde, Hmph
Riot Room, 4048 Broadway