19 FRI • MUSIC: Kevin Boyer and the Noise — It’s been a good run for Kevin Boyer and the Noise, an Ann Arbor quartet who tears through Elvis Costellian pop with drunken exuberance and sweat-drenched energy that has resulted in some of the euphoric power pop anywhere. They've decided to give it one last beer-soaked hurrah at the Blind Pig (208 S. First St., Ann Arbor, 734-996-8555) before calling it quits. With Fred Thomas and Like the Southern, it's bound to be a night of inspired hooks and even more inspired drinking.
19 FRI • MUSIC: Waxwings CD Release — One of the two exciting aspects of sorting through the endless mountains of promotional turds at Metro Times is that occasionally we open a something that falls into the "highly anticipated sophomore record" category. Not so unlike throwing a steak in a shark tank, this situation usually gives rise to the other exciting activity — verbally obliterating the poor thing until the artists’ ears start to burn miles away. But when Shadows of the Waxwings, the follow-up to the Detroit pop quartet’s gleaming debut started playing nothing bad could be said. The record (to be officially released by Bobsled on June 11) has explosive, raw energy and is an impressive leap from an impressive debut. At least one out of two isn’t bad. At the Magic Stick (4120 Woodward, Detroit. Call 313-833-9700).
19 FRI • MUSIC: Mama Africa Tour — The Mama Africa tour is a musical lark that traverses a continent. The Mahotella Queens have been hit-makers in their native South Africa since the mid-’60s with their stir-it-up harmonies. Joining them are Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia, who met as children at a Malian school for the blind and have been making music together ever since. And from Ethiopia there’s Gigi, a performer of distinctly contemporary inclinations who has been collaborating with Herbie Hancock and Bill Laswell. At Wayne State University’s General Lectures Hall, corner of Warren and Anthony Wayne, at 8 p.m. Call 313-577-4479.
20 SAT • COMMUNITY — The Youth Healing Walk, sponsored by the American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeast Michigan, is an open invitation for people of all ages, races and religions to join together in a prayer walk lead by Native American youth and elders. It’s a rare cultural opportunity which offers prayers for healing for the city of Detroit and its residents. The event will begin at 9 a.m. with a water ceremony on the Detroit River at Historic Fort Wayne (West Jefferson and Livernois) and proceeding back to American Indian Health and Family Services, 4880 Lawndale (the first block south of Michigan Avenue between Wyoming and Lonyo).
20 SAT • MUSIC: Divas and Don Juans — Singer Dee Dee McNeil radiates a zillion watts of charm as the hostess of singer-friendly jams Tuesdays at the Comfort Zone (17321 W. McNichols) and Thursdays at Bert’s Market Place (2727 Russell). But rather than the laid-back club vibe, her blues revue shoots for the big-stage electricity of a 1950s rock ’n’ roll show at the Fox. Robert Penn, Robert Jones, Ramona Collins, Rene King Jackson, B.B. Queen and Jim Salerno, are just some of the singers she’s tapping as her Divas and Don Juans of Song and Poetry. At the Paul Robeson Theater (in the Northwest Activities Center), 18100 Meyers, Detroit, 4 p.m. Call 313-342-1000.
21 SUN • MUSIC: Hayden — It’s an oft-told tale: Brilliant cult artist is "discovered" and signed by major label, and the first recording on said label is dismissed for lacking the intimacy of previous, home-brewed works and becomes the last recording on that label. So what’s a boy to do? In singer-songwriter Hayden Desser’s case, he retreats to his hometown of Toronto and virtually disappears. Almost four years later, he’s got a new, self-released record (Skyscraper National Park, full of gorgeously spare, mostly acoustic melodies) and he’s cautiously venturing out to share it. He needn’t fear; inside the small, sweet-sounding space at the Magic Bag (22920 Woodward, Ferndale, 248-544-3030), Hayden’s songcraft is sure to cast a spell.
TUE • MUSIC: Mackstaller/Koltak/Phelps — It’s no overstatement to say that Ryan Mackstaller, Charlie Koltak and Derrick Phelps are three of the most progressive and broad-minded young jazz musicians in town. The combined improvisational power of this trio can ably oscillate from noisy bop to thick, disorienting soul and rock at the drop of a hat. At Urban Break, 10020 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck. Call 313-872-1210.
