Run the Jewels, Lydia Loveless, Gaelynn Lea lead your concert week
Run the Jewels
Hip-hop is young enough that plenty of the genre’s godfathers are still kicking. Some are even still creating — quite a feat, considering how hip-hop has evolved since the 1970s. Take, for example, El-P and Killer Mike, two rappers who saw a fair share of success during hip-hop’s late-’90s golden age. Today, these two over-40 MCs make up the critically successful Run the Jewels. Some old-school values shine through on the duo’s latest album, Run the Jewels 3, replete with dizzying wordplay and complex rhymes. The lyrics are cynical and smart; you find yourself licking deep wounds long after the verses are over. Don’t miss these two vets Monday at the Midland. Gaslamp Killer, Gangsta Boo, Nick Hook and Cuz are also on deck for the evening.
8 p.m. Monday, February 13, at the Midland, 1228 Main
Gaelynn Lea
Gaelynn Lea possesses a surreal talent for the violin, coaxing from it, with haunting precision, the saddest melody or the most joyful chords. She uses a looping pedal to layer sounds atop one another — a technique she picked up from fellow Duluth, Minnesota, native Alan Sparhawk of Low. But that’s not her only unusual application of the instrument. Lea has a congenital disorder known as brittle-bone disease, which impairs sight and height and causes loose joints; her body is slight, and she plays the violin as an average-sized person would play the cello. Lea’s story gained a national audience last year when she was announced as the winner of the NPR Tiny Desk Contest, for which she played an aching love song called “Someday We’ll Linger in the Sun.” This weekend, Lea stops in both Kansas City and Lawrence. Folk singer Bella Hardy opens both shows.
7 p.m. Saturday, February 11, at the Tank Room, 1813 Grand
5 p.m. Sunday, February 12, at the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Lydia Loveless
There’s something that rings true about Lydia Loveless. Maybe it’s the huskiness of her voice, which always seems to suggest that she’s just chased a big gulp of bourbon with a long drag of a cigarette. Maybe it’s that, at 26 years old and four albums into her career, she somehow seems unaffected by the pressures of the industry. Her latest release, 2016’s Real, finds her sticking to what she does best — which, fortunately, is a mixed bag. Spirited, punk-tinged rock songs (“Midwestern Guys”) come interspersed with twangy, sad-eyed ballads (“European”), adding up to an album full of pleasant surprises. Loveless often garners comparisons to Stevie Nicks, and the sonic similarities are easy enough to hear. But she also shares with the Fleetwood Mac goddess a knack for tapping into a nearly universal appeal. Real might not have taken her from indie darling to the Billboard Top 10, but the day doesn’t seem far off. Find Miss Loveless at the Bottleneck on the eve of Valentine’s Day, with Angelica Garcia opening the night.
8 p.m. Monday, February 13, at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
John Paul’s Flying Circus
7:30 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Young Bull, Le Grand, Godzillionaire, Feast of Fools
8 p.m., Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence
Big Smo
7 p.m., Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Guitar Elation
6 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Cartwright, Clark & Strait
10:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Cash O’Riley
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Blood Tide, Some Kind of Nightmare, King Slug
10 p.m., Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Soft Leather with mikeQ
7 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
DC Bellamy Band
9 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Leopold and His Fiction, High Up, Til Willis and Erratic Cowboy
8 p.m., Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence
Leering Heathens, Drew Black and the Dirty Electric, Vehicles
8 p.m., Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club, 3402 Main
Vibe Street
7 p.m., Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Fondren & Cartwright
2 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Tim Whitmer Quartet
5:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Molly Hammer Quartet
8:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Boogaloo 7
10 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Wonderfuzz
10 p.m., Kelly’s, 500 Westport
Davy Knowles and Anthony Gomes
8:30 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Kelley Hunt
7 p.m., Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Bad Ideas (above), Faultfinder, Lovergurl
9 p.m., MiniBar, 3810 Broadway
Afentra’s VD Party with K.Flay, LOLO and more
8 p.m., Midland, 1228 Main
Sound Machine Series, Jaenki, Pink Royal
7 p.m., RecordBar, 1520 Grand
The Ovaries-eez, Philosophy of Lions
6 p.m., Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Arc Flash, Karen Meat, Anthony, Grim Repeater
10 p.m., Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Mayhem
8 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
Mime Game, Champagne Campaign, more
7 p.m., Tank Room, 1813 Grand
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Mama Ray’s Jazz Meets Blues Jam
2 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Shannon and the Rhythm King
9 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
MidCoast Takeover Fundraiser with Me Like Bees, Verbose, Something and the Whatevers, Nicholas St. James
9 p.m., the Brick, 1727 McGee
Thunderkat
6 p.m., Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence
Split Lip Rayfield, County Graves, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, more
6 p.m., Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club, 3402 Main
The Schwag
7 p.m., Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Pieces of a Dream
8 p.m., Gem Theater, 1615 E. 18th St.
Bowman, Wilder, Kizilarmut, Villinger & Otto
2:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
OJT
6 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Alex Abramovitz Quintet
9 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Twice on Sunday
10 p.m., Kelly’s, 500 Westport Rd.
Candy Coburn
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Tracy Nelson & the Belairs
8:30 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
The New Riddim, Page 7
9 p.m., MiniBar, 3810 Broadway
Susto, Cereus Bright, Spencer MacKenzie Brown
8 p.m., RecordBar, 1520 Grand
Vigil & Thieves, Left E. Grove, more
10 p.m., Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Marduk
7:30 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
Avant & Tank
8 p.m., Uptown, 3700 Broadway
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
The Confessors
6 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Kathleen Holeman Trio
6 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Steve Lambert Quintet
10:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Wayne Hancock with the Chicago Farmer
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
InVogue Records: Unplugged Tour
7 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
Shawn Maxwell
7 p.m., Tank Room, 1813 Grand
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Rod Fleeman and Sophia Motta
Noon, Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Matt Hopper Trio
6 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Steve Martin Trio
10:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Soul Sessions
7 p.m., RecordBar, 1520 Grand
Brandon Estelle
6 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Brandon Hudspeth, Jaisson Taylor
7 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Brothers Gow, Gravy
8 p.m., Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence
Chris Hazelton Trio
7 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Perkins, Spaits & Strait
11:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Robbie Fulks
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Mike Doughty
7 p.m., RecordBar, 1520 Grand
Heartbreakers Ball
6 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Shinetop Jr.
7 p.m., B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, 1205 E. 85th St.
Schwervon, the Fem Doms, Blondi Brunetti
9 p.m., the Brick, 1727 McGee
OJT
6 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Ernest Melton Quartet
10:30 p.m., Green Lady Lounge, 1809 Grand
Eric Johnson
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Gravy
8 p.m., Knuckleheads, 2517 Rochester
Bob Walkenhorst & Friends
6 p.m., RecordBar, 1520 Grand
Wink Burcham, Playing for Horses
10 p.m., Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Dorothy
7 p.m., Riot Room, 4048 Broadway
Mutlu, with Jessica Paige
7 p.m., Tank Room, 1813 Grand
