Photo via Trevor Naud
Welcome to “Milo Minute,” the 60 seconds (or thereabouts) you need to find a local show or fest to attend this weekend. And we mean ‘local.’
Longtime Detroit music journalist Jeff Milo has been plugging ears into the Detroit scene for years with his prolific Deep Cutz blog and his YouTube series, The Milo Show. Here, he gives us his rundown for what music to catch this weekend that isn’t… uh… playing Little Caesars Arena, if you catch our vibe.
This week: A late-night DJ party, punk rock barbecue and psychedelic album release party happening right in our backyards.
Who’s playing: Ladyship Warship are a Detroit-based duo welcoming Junglefowl, a Ypsilanti duo, into town at the Old Miami. Also playing are When Particles Colide from Maine.
Sounds like: Rock; guitars, drums, vocals, and all the dark, gnarly, mystical vibes. Think Nick Cave, PJ Harvey or The Gun Club.
Sample track: “Lost Our Minds” by Ladyship Warship
Who’s playing: SuperDre and techno DJ Rebecca Goldberg is doing an afterparty set following Matthew Dear’s live-set
Sounds like: It’s just a full and fantastic night of electronic music, starting at 7pm with Dear and going on past midnight
Sample track: “Mood Music” by SupreDre
Who’s playing: Need we say more? Who doesn’t want to attend a punk rock BBQ?
No, really, who’s playing?: This is the 3rd annual Punk Rock BBQ held in the backyard of Kelly’s Bar in Hamtramck. Dear Darkness, an aerodynamic post-punk duo, Spaceskull with a theatrical show, often with lots of props, as well as Idiot Kids, Sros Lords, Jimmy Ohio and the Ultimate Lovers, Bourbon Squirrel, and more.
Sounds like: Gritty and angular and voluminous… but also, darn it, some sweet melodies to brighten your day.
Sample track: “The Song” by Dear Darkness
Who’s playing: Saajtak are an ensemble of top-notch musicians with a penchant for adventurous, experimental arrangements that are magnificently trippy, but not in any conventionally psychedelic way. Their new album is called “If You Ask.” DUANE, another unforgettable live performer who fuses disparate genres, as well as Throwaway, a punk-inclined performance artist, are opening, along with a duo called Finkel, who are former Michiganders
Sounds like: This isn’t your typical weird. What they’re doing, more than anything, is finding new forms, new ways to layer phrases, new arcs with which to thread a melodic phrase, and interesting ways to splice unique percussive patterns and wavy rhythms to ambient guitars and cosmically-operatic vocals.
Sample track: “If You Ask” by Saajtak