Music Forecast 6.19-6.25: Phox, Missouri Chainsaw Grassacre, Ray LaMontagne, and more

Neon Trees

I kind of feel bad for Neon Trees. The Utah band has been around for nearly a decade. It toured with the Killers and had a string of successful dance-pop radio hits (“Animal,””Everybody Talks”). Yet, all anyone wants to talk about is how lead singer Tyler Glenn came out as a gay Mormon. Do the band — and yourself — a favor, and listen to Neon Trees’ latest full-length, Pop Psychology. Its upbeat energy and slick songwriting deserve better than the half-dozen Buzzfeed articles about Glenn’s sexual orientation.

Friday, June 20, KC Live Block (14th Street and Grand, powerandlight.com)

King Khan and the Shrines

King Khan comes back to town with his funk-rock band, the Shrines, and their Thursday show at RecordBar shouldn’t leave you wanting for entertainment. The self–proclaimed Maharaja of Soul is a skilled graduate of the James Brown school, and he has no qualms about releasing a barrage of fierce energy in his live performances. Expect to dance and be merry, for all is good when the King sings.

Thursday, June 19, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

The Lonely Biscuits

The Lonely Biscuits last came through Kansas City in December, likely on winter break from Belmont University in Nashville, where the four members are enrolled. Officially released for the summer, the group is back on the road and bringing an unlikely musical mash-up of hip-hop, soul and dirty Southern blues with them; rapper Grady Wenrich has a grainy, steady flow. And over the last year, the Lonely Biscuits has noticeably tightened its sound.

Thursday, June 19, Czar (1531 Grand, 816-421-0300)

Ha Ha Tonka, Making Movies

The more I listen to Ha Ha Tonka’s Lessons, the more I like it. There’s something very easy about Brian Roberts’ voice: His tone is grainy and leathery and fits perfectly with the band’s open-road Americana. It shares Friday’s bill at Knuckleheads with Making Movies, another heavyweight local talent whose joyful, Latin-flavored sound will get attendees dancing.

Friday, June 20, Knuckleheads Saloon (2715 Rochester, 816-483-1456)

Phox

I met Monica Martin in the upstairs band lounge of Austin, Texas’ Mohawk during SXSW. As we talked about her band’s unlikely starting point (Baraboo, Wisconsin, of all places) and her unexpected role as a frontwoman, Martin admired my footwear — monstrous Danskos that, while hideous, proved to be the smartest packing decision I’d made — and we briefly swapped shoes. It was a precious moment, watching this statuesque chanteuse strut around the venue’s makeshift greenroom in boat shoes a few minutes before she was scheduled to woo a packed crowd. Later, as I watched this six-piece joyously carouse around the stage, I noticed audience members’ enchanted faces. Even if you aren’t looking to be moved, it’s likely that Phox will give you butterflies.

Wednesday, June 25, Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Missouri Chainsaw Grassacre

A Saturday spent in the sun, sipping cold beers and listening to family-friendly roots music? Sounds like summer and the Missouri Chainsaw Grassacre, which features hillbilly greats Mountain Sprout, Wichita’s dark-folk rocking Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy, Lawrence’s bluegrass-and-blues outfit Deadman Flats, and KC favorite the Grisly Hand. Doors open early, so dig out your cowboy hat and pray the weather cooperates.

Saturday, June 21, Crossroads KC at Grinders (417 East 18th Street, 785-749-3434)

Civil Twilight

Civil Twilight’s latest album, Holy Weather, has an undeniable U2 feel. The trio fed off whatever British and American sounds they could get while growing up in a sheltered Cape Town, South Africa, suburb during apartheid. It makes for a big, expressive, arena-ready sound — so it’ll be interesting to hear it filtered through Czar’s club speakers.

Friday, June 20, Czar (1531 Grand, 816-421-0300)

Deafheaven

It doesn’t matter if “black metal” isn’t your jam. San Francisco’s Deafheaven brings something to the table that most rock fans can appreciate, even if they aren’t going to get obsessed with the band’s excellent album Sunbather. Lead screamer George Clarke lays down his aggressive, unforgiving vocals over explosive prog-rock jams, and the record flows rather melodiously and artfully. Hear it reproduced live Tuesday at the Granada.

Tuesday, June 24, the Granada (1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-842-1390)

Ray LaMontagne
I’ve never cared much for Ray LaMontagne. Yes, he’s very talented, but something about his tender-stringed songs and his full-throated delivery is just so earnest. But I take it all back. LaMontagne’s latest release, Supernova, produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, is more psych-folk than sentimental, designed to challenge the genre-box that LaMontagne was stuck in.

Tuesday, June 24, Starlight Theatre (4600 Starlight Road, 816-363-7827)