Things ramp up this weekend with riveting national tours and local shows: Bimini Brothers’ 30th anniversary, Bruce & Becca Ling benefit, Go Rounds, plus tickets to Meijer Gardens concerts go on sale to the general public.
Save this Bucket List image on your smartphone and take it with you wherever you go this weekend.
Nearly Sold Out: Grace Potter
Amid the flurry of national and local concerts from which to choose this weekend, tickets to the 29-concert summer series at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park go on sale to the general public at 9 a.m. Saturday.
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The two-week pre-sale period for Meijer Gardens members has resulted in five sellouts thus far (the same number as last year): Sheryl Crow, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers (with Edie Brickell), Harry Connick Jr., Steve Miller Band and The Beach Boys. But Meijer Gardens reports the following are very close to selling out, so folks might want to jump aboard early for tickets to B.B. King (June 3 opening concert), Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (July 21), Peter Frampton’s Guitar Circus with Robert Cray (June 17), Old Crow Medicine Show (July 11), Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” (Aug. 5), Owl City (Aug. 11), Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (Aug. 24). Buy tickets online here or purchase them at Meijer Gardens. Details here.
Now onto The Big List for the weekend …
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
7 p.m. Friday
$29.50
The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids
This uber-popular, rap-styled nu metal band led by Fred Durst is touring in advance of an upcoming new album, “Stampede of the Disco Elephants,” but recent set lists show Limp Bizkit is still likely to trot out some of its older big hits, such as “Nookie,” “Re-Arranged” and “My Way.”
Get ticket information and details at The Orbit Room website.
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The Go Rounds
The Go Rounds, Lasso, Elk Welcome
8 p.m. Friday
$5
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids
Consider this a sweet showcase for the Double Phelix collective out of Kalamazoo: inventive and engaging indie-folk, led by Graham Parsons & The Go Rounds, with Elk Welcome’s nearly indescribable, experimental, texturally inviting rock.
Get more details at the Tip Top Facebook page, then get down to this West Side watering hole.
Deal’s Gone Bad
Deal’s Gone Bad, Cabildo, The Sleeves
9 p.m. Friday
$8
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Chicago reggae/rock/ska band Deal’s Gone Bad is certainly familiar to Grand Rapids audiences, playing here regularly over the years (and managed by Mustard Plug’s David Kirchgessner). The energetic, seven-piece band plays The Pyramid Scheme with Grand Rapids’ Latin American-driven rock band Cabildo and The Sleeves.
Get ticket information at The Pyramid Scheme website.
The Bimini Brothers
The Bimini Brothers 30th Anniversary Show
8 p.m. Saturday
$10 advance, $12 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Who’d a thunk it? Incredible as it seems, West Michigan’s Dennie Middleton and Nick Lewis have put in three decades as The Bimini Brothers parody rock band: Middleton estimates that since 6th grade in Sparta, the duo has played their “stupid songs” 4,000 times. “Hell, we’ve been at this as long as WLAV and AC/DC,” he quips.
So, to celebrate, the Biminis are staging a musical bash to end all bashes, long before they have to use walkers and compression support hose to manage their irreverent revelry on stage. Drummer B-Rad will join the fun, with Denise Brown & Last Train Out and Two Dudes in Flip-Flops/Sons of Beaches also playing. Get ticket information at The Intersection website. And email Dennie at denmid@comcast.net for table reservations.
Bullet for My Valentine, Stars in Stereo
8 p.m. Saturday (doors at 7 p.m.)
$20 advance, $25 day of show
The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids
U.K. heavy metal outfit Bullet for My Valentine is touring behind its new album, “Temper Temper,” part of an extensive swing through North America. Hard to believe, but the band’s been around for 15 years already.
Michael McDermott
Michael McDermott
8 p.m. Saturday
$18 advance, $20 day of show
Seven Steps Up, 116 S. Jackson St., Spring Lake
Chicago’s Michael McDermott last year released a new album, “Hit Me Back,” and soon after played Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up. He returns for a headline engagement this time around, part of a Midwest tour that also takes him to Wisconsin, Georgia and New Jersey.
You can learn more about his music at his official website: http://www.michael-mcdermott.com/fr_home.cfm. And buy tickets to the show at pindropconcerts.com.
The Main Squeeze
Main Squeeze, Hannah Rose & Groove or Die
9:30 p.m. Saturday
$5
Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
An interesting combination to say the least. The Main Squeeze is a Bloomington, Ind.-born funk outfit that currently calls Chicago home. The band has risen quickly through the funk ranks, playing Bonnaroo, releasing its self-titled debut album last year and touring extensively. In fact, the band makes three West Michigan appearances this week: Thursday at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Friday in the Bier Tent at Holland’s Tulip Time, and Saturday in Grand Rapids.
Opening will be up-and-coming Grand Rapids singer Hannah Rose, whose soulful retro-flavored vocals recall the likes of Janis Joplin and other classic singers of yore. Keep an eye out for her debut album later this year.
Hawks and Owls
Bruce and Becca Ling Benefit Show
Various Local Artists
2-7 p.m. Sunday
$10 (suggested donation)
The Stache inside The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Never underestimate the response from West Michigan’s music community. When well-known folk musicians Bruce and Becca Ling’s house along the Grand River was literally destroyed and vandalized amid recent flooding, it took mere minutes for fellow musicians to jump in and volunteer to help out.
Organized by Mick Lane (with help from many others, including WYCE-FM, Michael Packer, Delilah DeWylde and Mary Ann Sabo), Sunday’s benefit will feature performances by the Conklin Ceili Band, Nobody’s Darlin’, Max and Ruth Bloomquist, Oat Bran Boys, David Molinari, Ralston Bowles, Drew Howard, The Billies, Blue Water Ramblers, Susan Picking, Celtic Woodwinds, Lake Effect and, of course, the Lings’ Hawks & Owls. And there will be raffles and silent auctions for CDs and house concerts. Hope to see you all there. Read more about the Lings in this Spins on Music story.
UPDATE: Bruce and Becca Ling were working with volunteers on Monday to clear out their riverfront home when Bruce collapsed and was taken for treatment to the hospital. He was evaluated and determined to be suffering from exhaustion, according to Lane, and was released late Monday. Ling told Local Spins on Thursday that he was diagnosed with “extreme exhaustion due to overwork,” but that he’s feeling better and still plans to play a set with Hawks & Owls at the end of Sunday’s show.
Cracker
Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven
7 p.m. Sunday
$18 in advance, $20 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
Some folks attending the benefit, above, can just stick around for this right afterward. David Lowery recently reunited with his Camper Van Beethoven comrades and they’ve been touring with his much-beloved alt-rock band Cracker (an all-time fave around here), which was formed with guitarist Johnny Hickman around 1990 when CVB disbanded.
CVB, in fact, released a new album, “La Costa Perdida,” earlier this year, proving that this outfit really does have a econd life. And no one has quite the twists and tongue-in-cheek writing talent of Lowery, which makes his performances superbly entertaining. Get tickets online here.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Deadwood Stone
Mustache Masquerade benefit with Deadwood Stone, Hex Bombs, F.O.C.K.S., Karisa Wilson and Brendan Devlin at 6 p.m. Friday, The Stache inside The Intersection, $10 advance, $12 day of show – This hard-rocking fund-raiser for Making Smiles for Hope also will feature a mustache competition, of the real and “pseudo-stache” variety. Details online here.
Fat Garden Party fundraiser with The Crane Wives and Mux Rec at 6 p.m. Friday, Watermark 920 in Muskegon, $6-$10 — Not only is the West Michigan-bred music terrific, but this event will feature auctions, prizes, sandwiches and merchandise, all raising money to create a public green space/garden neaer Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack and the Watermark Center at 920 Washington Ave. Ticket details online here.
The Cavern Beat playing Park Theatre, 248 S. River Ave. in Holland, 8 p.m. Saturday, $15 advance, $18 day of show — The Cavern Beat from the Chicago area comes awfully close to emulating the real Fab Four with vintage instruments, amplifiers and authentic suits, playing everything from “A Hard Day’s Night” to “Hey Jude” in the tribute band’s return to Holland for Tulip Time.
Nobody’s Darlin’ playing at 7 p.m. Sunday, Salt of the Earth, 114 E. Main St. in Fennville, $10 – Here’s another great way to celebrate Mother’s Day: With a performance by a bracing, all-female string band from Grand Rapids, with influences ranging from The Carter Family to Johnny Cash.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
