11 Labor Day Festival Acts to See This Weekend

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(8/31 South Stage Hamtramck Labo rday Fest) Dennis Coffey (8 p.m.) Dennis Coffey was one of the Funk Brothers (meaning, for those of you of tender years, that he was a member of the Motown Records house band). Can you imagine the incredible people he has performed with? And now you get to see him in the street in Hamtramck. Lucky bastards. Click here for more info

Amy Gore & Her Valentines (9/1 8 p.m. Arts Beats & Eats) Rock chicks singing about cars and partying, power-pop style? Count us in. Mind you, Gore can write a sweet ballad too. Click here for more info

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(9/1; North Stage Hamtramck Labor Day Fest Danny Kroha (3:30 p.m.) Danny Kroha seems to be dividing his time between his solo material and his Danny & the Darleans project. Whichever you get, Kroha is always captivating, spacey and genuinely enthralling. His slight frame moves like a damn cobra. Quitcha hypnotizin’, Kroha! Click here for more info

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(8/31; Chiipss Skate Shop, Panic in Hamtramck) Stale Fish, Party Plates, Drunk Dom & the Roaches (6-9 p.m.) An early evening, free show, takes over the half-pipe in the back of Chiipss, the skate shop that touched down in Hamtramck a year ago. The “ramp jam” bill includes Detroit skate-rockers Stale Fish, heavy stoner punk from Party Plates and “Detroit scum country” from Drunk Dom & the Roaches. Click here for more info

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(8/31; Budweiser Rock Stage, Arts Beats & Eats) Howling Diablos (9:45 p.m.) With Tino Gross’ Howling Diablos, you know exactly what you’re going to get — smooth blues and Gross’ likeable, gruff vocals. It’ll get funky, so wear your dance pants. Click here for more info

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(Hamtramck Labor Day Festival, 8/31; North Stage) The Ill Itches (4:30 p.m.) Stooges riffs and MC5 evangelical vocals are given a deft contemporary spit n’ polish before being re-unleashed by a set of rowdy youths with dirty mouths. Click here for more info

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(Michigan State Fair, Novi 8/31; Entertainment Tent) Marshall Crenshaw and the Bottle Rockets (8:45 p.m.) Without a doubt, it’s worth journeying to Novi for the State Fair just to see Marshall Crenshaw. The man could fart a pop-rock classic if he were so inclined — so talented is every inch of his existence. Seriously, there are few better songwriters alive. If you haven’t seen him yet, you should. Click here for more info

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(Detroit Jazz Festival) Ravi Coltrane Quartet Ravi’s dad, John Coltrane, would be proud of the career his son has built. In a 2007 profile, Ravi told Metro Times he didn’t want to make his mark playing his dad’s music, and has turned down offers to record some of his dad’s work. Ravi has a wonderful discography. In 2012, he made his first album for Blue Note Records, a release titled Spirit Fiction. He’ll have to explain the title, but the compositions on it are mind-blowing good, representing his defining moment as a leader. Click here for more info

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(Arts Beats and Eats, 9/2; Main Stage) Sponge (6:45 p.m.) Vinnie Dombroski’s Sponge was up there with Detroit’s biggest exports in the ’90s. The sales might not be as grand nowadays, but the most recent songs are just as powerful — the perfect festival band. Click here for more info

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The Octopus (8/31 8:30 p.m. Hamtramck Labor Day Fest North stage) The Octopus seems to delight in disappearing for a while, then re-emerging triumphantly. It’s a smart ploy — every show is a reunion. Plus, they’ve got killer stoner rock ’n’ roll tunes and an awesome front-woman. Click here for more info

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(Hamtramck Labor Day Fest, 8/31; South Stage) Tunde Olaniran (7 p.m.) Flint’s Olaniran describes himself as a cultural warrior with a four-octave range and a penchant for dirty synths. He balances precariously at the dead center of crossroads separating R&B, pop, dance and rap; every now and again he falls off, but never gets hurt.Click here for more info

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