Karaoke Gong Show
MUSIC/FUN FOR ALL
Showbiz impresario Chuck Barris might have perfected the American tradition of schlock TV with the aggressively ridiculous Gong Show, but if you make your way to the Belmont in Hamtramck, you might find the torch has been passed. Hosted by Mr. Eccentricity himself — local artist Jeremy Harvey — the Karaoke Gong Show is not your garden-variety songfest. While it’s free to enter and free to sing, audience members must pay a nominal fee to “gong” inept performers. Let the embarrassment commence. 10215 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck; 313-871-1966.
Thursday • 19
U R DJ Dance Party
MUSIC
DJ elitism is out. DJ democracy is in. That’s the message being sent by party people like Detroit’s Les Infants Terribles, whose Dorkwave events have brought the standards down to a DIY level and helped make the good times roll again. The concept isn’t lost on Pas/Cal’s Richard Panic and Nathan Burgundy IV, and Betty Marie Barnes of Saturday Looks Good to Me, as the pop-glam trio brings the hops back into the rock scene with U R DJ (nothing to do with Detroit Techno legends Underground Resistance). This free party only asks that you bring along your favorite dance record, take a number and spin it when you’re called up to the decks. Sound simple? It is. Now the hard part: Aloof rock ’n’ rollers need to commit to expressing themselves on the dance floor. 21 and over only. At Oslo, 1456 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-963-0300.
Friday • 20
Dan DeMaggio’s “21st Century Whore”
ART/MUSIC
You might recognize his byline or his face, but spoken-word artist Dan DeMaggio doesn’t want you to tell him he’s great. In fact, don’t say anything to him at all. This week, the diatribe disher performs his latest spoken-word piece, “21st Century Whore” — a humorous and sometimes vitriolic take on how we as human beings sell out. Tenderhearts beware: There’ll be a heavy concentration on male-female relationships. Agitation has never been so funny — or true. With the City Chicken Orchestra at 2500 Club, Park Avenue at Henry, Detroit; 313-962-9077.
Friday • 20
David Clements Book Signing
ART/LITERATURE
It’s a trifecta of artist receptions at the River’s Edge Gallery in Wyandotte this week. Carl Lundgren (whose one-man show, Fractured Accomplishments, is currently hanging in the downriver gallery) will be there to meet his fans; sculptor Keith Coleman will also be on hand (you must check out his latest sculpture — a life-size bull); and author-photographer David Clements will be there to sign copies of his latest photo book, Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art. 7 p.m. at 3024 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte; 734-246-9880.
Friday • 20
LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A. with DJ Diplo
MUSIC
Talk about some very hot hormonal shit. This tour combines two of the world’s sexiest people of the moment — LCD Soundsystem producer James Murphy and gorgeous Londoner Maya Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.) — back-to-back on the same stage. This is the crossover dream-team rock and electro kids have been looking for since Electroclash went out with a whimper two years ago. LCD Soundsystem delivers tough, smart, funky disco-punk that’ll get you dancing and laughing at the same time. M.I.A. has fashioned an aggressive but fun dance-pop style by fusing the fierce revolutionary passion inherited from her father, who was active in the Tamil rebellion in her parents’ native Sri Lanka, with the power of pussy gleaned from her contacts with Peaches and Elastica’s Justine Frischmann. This testosterone vs. estrogen, wild-style, all-ages show is for immature audiences only. Doors 8 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre, 4120 Woodward Ave.; 313-833-9700.
Saturday • 21
The Bamboo Kids
MUSIC
It’s simple enough for the adept listener to flesh out what’s great about rock ’n’ roll, but when all three members of a rock band manage to pinpoint that greatness and make it their own, you’ve got something. The Bamboo Kids dish picture-perfect rock swagger and four-chord genius. To wit: Their songs smack strongly of the old school punk heroes the Dead Boys, Richard Hell & the Voidoids and the Real Kids. With hometown badasses the Hentchmen at the Corktown Tavern, 1716 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-964-5103.
Saturday • May 21
Kill Memory Crash Record Release Party
MUSIC
When you go out to see a band that calls itself Kill Memory Crash you expect to get pushed and shoved around the dance floor. What you expect is what you get from this Chicago-based industrial-strength electro duo. And how perfect is it that the group’s Ann Arbor label, the global powerhouse Ghostly International, decided to throw a release party for the new full-length, American Automatic, at the Labyrinth, the shittiest goth hole in town? The party will include performances by Atlanta tech-nut Richard Devine (Schematic Records) and Windsor audiovisual experimentalist, Kero (Detroit Underground/ Shitkatapult). Doors 10 p.m. at the Labyrinth, in the basement of Ramada Inn, 1701 Cass Ave., Detroit. 313-962-2300.
Saturday • May 21
Beaver Shoot
MUSIC
Top 40 artists, the Bloodhound Gang, might have stolen a bit of thunder from hometown rap-rockers Beaver Shoot when they released their hilariously badass single “The Bad Touch” in 2000. But that doesn’t mean Detroit-based BS has lost its deviant street cred. Fronted by debauchee John Davies, publisher of Superbitch Magazine (Suicidegirls.com-meets-Penthouse), Beaver Shoot is back in the saddle and ready to quirt anyone who gets in the way. At the Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-3830.
Sunday • 22
Heat on the Street Festival
MUSIC/FUNDRAISER
After only two short years, the Tenny Street Roadhouse is in danger of closing. It’s not because the Dearborn blues venue isn’t appealing to the crowds — quite the opposite. Because of an unexpected issue with the building’s ventilation system, they must come up with serious funds. While sources tell us that the situation is rife with litigious complications, we do know that to stay open, owners must raise about $50,000 — fast. Enter Heat on the Street Festival, a last-minute fundraiser featuring performances by Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds; Doug Deming & The Jeweltones, featuring Fingers Taylor; Lady Sunshine & The X Band of Denial; The Saints; Blue Bang Theory, featuring Three Dog Night’s Paul Kingery; Sunny Girl; and Detroit blues original Sweet Claudette. Doors 6 p.m. at 22361 W. Village Drive, Dearborn; 313-278-3677. $25.
Sunday • 22
Yiddishland Meets Jazz World
MUSIC
“When I hear Adrienne Cooper sing, I feel as though I’m floating, hypnotized, in a time and culture warp,” wrote one Toronto reviewer about the performer whose forte is singing in Yiddish and slipping in English translations like footnotes. Backed by pianist Marilyn Lerner, Cooper shares a bill with the team of guitarist Spencer Barefield and Toronto bassist Dave Young in Yiddishland meets Jazz World. The benefit for the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring (dedicated to the Jewish community, Yiddish culture and social justice) will honor Arlene J. Frank, director of the Oakland Community College Womencenter; writer-activist Rich Feldman; and social worker Janice Fialka. Roeper Upper School, 1051 Oakland Ave., Birmingham; 248-545-0985.
