NYC Afrobeat | Underground System
Wed. June 22
10 p.m.
$8
Pour House
The 10-piece band Underground System formed in 2010 around a mutual interest in ferociously rhythmic Afrobeat music. Not that a band that big fell into place immediately. “It took a couple of years after we started the group to get it solidified with the core group we have now,” says co-founder, singer, and guitarist Peter Matson. The band’s initial sound was straight-ahead, percussion-heavy African music, inspired by a wave of renewed interest in that genre that was floating around the Big Apple, but they’ve since moved into a more exploratory, stretched-out style that blends in rock and electronic dance music. “The thing that’s interesting about this style is that it can be misinterpreted as ‘jam music,'” Matson says. “But essentially all the parts are written. Every part has to interlock with the rest of the band. There’s a lot of rehearsal over time that makes you able to play well as an ensemble.” Folks with a Dead on the Deck (6:30 p.m., Pour House) or Rebelution (6:20 p.m., North Charleston Riverfront Park) wristband will receive $3 off at the door.
—Vincent Harris WEDNESDAY
Sly and the Family Stone Tribute | Dance to the Music
w/ Mike Quinn, Charlton Singleton, Dave Grimm, Corey Stephens, Stuart White, Manny Houston, Zandrina Dunning, Aisha Frazier, and Aaron Lebos Reality
Fri. June 24
9:30 p.m.
$12/adv., $15/door
Pour House
Local saxophonist Mike Quinn, known for his funk performances around town, is bringing back the classic grooves of soul with his upcoming Dance to the Music, a Sly and the Family Stone tribute show. Quinn will be joined by local musicians such as Charlton Singleton, Dave Grimm, Zandrina Dunning, and Aisha Frazier to create a night of funkadelic fun, complete with an opening set by South Florida jazz-rock outfit Aaron Lebos Reality. Quinn also teamed up with Jenny Broe of Dance Lab to include a crew of go-go dancers in the performance to honor a great. “Sly is an artist that has informed so many of the musicians I love from across the board,” says Quinn. “I feel that when we perform this music, we are not trying to impersonate Sly and the Family Stone, but instead we are able to actually assume their personalities.” Quinn also assures us that this timeless experience is just as much being facilitated by the crowd as it is by the musicians. “I think part of this whole thing is to blur the lines between the audience and the performers,” he says. “The energy goes both ways … They can expect a whole lot of funk, huge, emotive solos, a very improvisational and spontaneous tone to the evening, and a certain element of freedom in terms of expression that they might not find anywhere else.” —Graham Crolley FRIDAY
Cosmic Hip-Hop | Sounds from the Space Laboratory
Insomnia Movement: Kairo Myth, Contour, DJ En Publik
Tues. June 28
9:30 p.m.
Free
Tattooed Moose Downtown
Local artist Kairo Myth is an emcee and an instrumentalist. “As an emcee, I practice metaphysical poetry,” he says. “As an instrumentalist, I translate the universe through unorthodox boom-bap beat patterns under textured melodies and ambient sounds.” Judging from his album entitled Verbal Magik, Myth’s overall sound is indeed an ethereal hip-hop, cosmic boom-bap experience. Myth has been at it in the South Carolina underground scene for at least seven years and recently helped start up local collective, Insomnia Movement. “The model is we stay up late and turn out positive vibes,” Myth says. He and fellow member Mazz Mosis came together and decided to bridge the gap between digital and analog, implementing a drum machine, MPCs, a piano, and second-hand records from former Charleston spots like 52.5 and Millennium Music. Tuesday’s Insomnia Movement showcase, entitled Sounds from the Space Laboratory, will be hosted by local artist Pitch RX and will feature performances by Myth in addition to local DJ En Publik and electro hip-hop artist, Contour. Myth says, “People who go to this show are promised to witness the birth of a new hip-hop sound.” —Kelly Rae Smith TUESDAY
Punk | Soda City Riot w/ Glass Lashes and Hale Bopp Astronauts
Sat. June 25
9 p.m.
Free
The Mill
Columbia trio Soda City Riot’s just-out first EP, helpfully titled The First EP, will warm the heart of any early ’80s punk fan. The album consists of three songs in less than eight minutes, soccer-chant style choruses, guitars cranked through the ceiling, high-speed tempos, and some pretty withering social commentary involving everything from the recent South Carolina flooding to televangelism. It’s reminiscent of early Bad Religion but more ragged and raw. And singer/guitarist Roger Dale Hawkins, Jr. says the band is proud of their throwback punk roots. “We’re all in our late 30s, so our stuff is heavily influenced by what we grew up listening to,” he says. “And that’s the usual suspects like the Ramones and the more obscure, less popular stuff that we skateboarded to or sprayed graffiti to, and it’s been a big part of all of our lives. Our sound is a by-product of what we love about punk rock. It’s part of our roots.” —Vincent Harris SATURDAY
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