Bangarang
Skrillex pounded the walls of the Masonic Temple until the wee hours last Wednesday night, banging the bass through the theater out into the street. In the home of electronic music just after Movement, he didn’t disappoint. Aboard his mother ship for the almost two-hour set, he called on the packed house to rage with him. Playing all his smash hits, along with new music from his album Recess, the assembled light show called for some mood-altering substances and, by the end of the night, there wasn’t a dry body in the house, mostly because security was spraying the sweaty teenagers with water.
You bedda werk
RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio, alongside fellow contestant Darienne Lake, gave an outrageous performance at the Andiamo Event Center last Thursday, delivering a wicked and un-ladylike sense of humor, as well as her self-proclaimed (however, can we say fucking fabulous?) “clown-realness.” Performing to a sold-out house, the insult comic opened her set to a standing ovation from the audience, followed by heckling of audience members (look out!) and a volunteer lip-sync challenge. With another stop in Detroit just announced for August, Hurricane Bianca is sure to come through and leave us laughing, and quite possibly crying.
I and Love and You
The Avett Brothers, alongside show-openers Old Crow Medicine Show, played to a packed pavilion and surrounding lawns at Meadow Brook Music Festival Friday night. The night was perfect, and we planted our toes in the green grass of the hill’s turf, enjoying the roots music tunes, the stars, and the company we kept. While Scott Avett was sporting a noticeably shorter ‘do, his brother Seth’s long locks swung to and fro as they sang crowd favorites like “Laundry Room,” “Live and Die,” and “I and Love and You.” The crowd swayed back and forth, danced a jig or two, and clapped their hands above their heads for most of the show, giving the neo-folk band lots of love. While they performed an extended set, filled with lots of fancy footwork from Seth, it wasn’t until the encore that things got extra exciting. Old Crow Medicine Show joined the band for a few songs to end the show, packing the stage with guitar players, stand-up bassists, fiddlers, singers, and percussionists. It was a true old-timey time, set in a venue that perfectly complemented the music, and we couldn’t have enjoyed ourselves more.
Tequila makes the party pop off
We’ve been to a few tasting events inside the Royal Oak Farmers Market, so we like to think we’re connoisseurs when it comes to these things. But Saturday night’s Tequila Mundo event proved we don’t know nothin’ about tequila tastings. We got there for VIP hour and enjoyed tasting samples from Sparkle Donkey, Gran Centenario, Cabresto, El Jimador, and more. Mike St. Louis of Firebird Tavern made his award-winning cocktail, El Maestro De Primavera, for a long line of patrons all night while Rojo’s Jennifer served up a spicy cocktail made from agave nectar, serrano peppers, and Gran Centenario. We spotted Zumba’s Tim Castaneda, along with the Storefront Gallery’s Derek John, among the many agave-loving patrons. DJ Escalade spun classic favorites and by the end of the night, the whole crowd was performing the “Wobble, Wobble.”
Rockery Roll
Though we’d probably had a touch too much tequila, DDAYS hit up the Rockery Saturday night for a nightcap (or two) and to catch a performance by local bands Adios Amigos, Pick Axe Preacher, Some Uncoordinated Bastards, and Soldier’s Last Breath. The music was loud and the vibe was friendly (as always) inside the Wyandotte venue. Justin Pullum and Ian Stephens were behind the bar (thank you for the amazing gin and tonic and Bloody Mary) and the evening raised nearly $1,000 to benefit local tattoo artist Corey Maxey, who was hit by a drunk driver in January. We also heard about a secret pool party, but we weren’t invited. …
