It's Friday! That means we've finally made it to the weekend, and boy do we have one crazy weekend ahead of us. There's certainly a lot to choose from - whether you want to catch some kick-ass rock tonight at City Hall, hear one of your favorite local bands cover one of your favorite albums tomorrow night at the Basement, or watch some insane people jump off a giant ramp into the river tomorrow afternoon at Riverfront Park. So nap at your desk this afternoon if you have to, because the fun and the drinking won't stop until late, late Sunday night.
Friday
The Black Keys and Dinosaur Jr. @ City Hall. I'm sorry, but you're SOL if you don't already have tickets to this one. Wondering why the show sold out so quickly? I'm pretty sure it's mostly because The Black Keys kick so much ass (can't vouch for Dinosaur Jr. yet since this'll be my first time seeing them, but I have a feeling they won't disappoint). Though the fact that it's a show sponsored by Camel probably has something to do with it as well - I think they saved most of the tickets to give away themselves.
The Black Keys - "Girl Is On My Mind" (from Rubber Factory)
Dinosaur Jr. - "Almost Ready" (from Beyond)
Fear not if you're not headed to the Gulch though, because there are a few other things going on tonight:
Dixie Dirt, The Bubblegum Complex & Left Lane Cruiser @ The Basement. 9 p.m., $7, 21+
Jeremy Lister presents The Show @ Belcourt Theatre. With LOTS of guests. 8 p.m., $12
The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker @ Mercy Lounge. 9:30 p.m., $12
Saturday
This is where yesterday's nap comes in, because tomorrow afternoon Red Bull's Flugtag comes to Nashville's Riverfront Park. If you're not familiar with the event, it's an amateur flying competition of sorts, where the goal isn't necessarily to fly well, but to build a crazy flying machine and launch it off a ramp, trying to get a little distance but mostly trying to put on a great show. Twenty-seven teams will be competing, coming from all over the country to launch their creations into the oh-so-sparkling-clean Cumberland River. You'll see a walrus of mass destruction, a flying Stephen Colbert, a banjo/mountain "rocky top" combination, a pterodactyl and even a yellow submarine (sponsored by Lightning 100/Team Green, and pictured above) go soaring (or more likely, toppling) into the river. The first flight is at 1 p.m., but the gates open at 11 a.m., which means we'll be pre-gaming at my house around 10 in the morning and leaving to get a great spot. You can't take a cooler with you, unfortunately, but there will be food vendors and a beer garden. It's going to be a loooong Saturday.
Once you cool off, sober up and maybe take another nap, there are a few things to do Saturday evening/night:
The Ettes @ Grimey's. 5 p.m., free in-store performance
Hotpipes, Lone Official and All We Seabees @ The Basement. This one's going to rock. If you caught this week's show, guest-DJed by Hotpipes, you already know that the band is planning on covering The Modern Lovers first, self-titled album. Plus I'm pretty excited about Lone Official and All We Seabees; I think I've only seen the former once and this will be my first time seeing the latter. The show starts at 9 p.m., it's only $5, and it's 21+, like all shows at the Basement.
Hotpipes - "If... Don't"
Sunday
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Donkeys and Casio Casanova @ Local Honey. You'll probably want to spend most of Sunday recovering, but make sure you've done by 8 p.m., because Local Honey is having another BYOB musical event over at 1207 Linden Ave. Not only are the three bands playing, but they'll also be "accompanied by the early cinematic works of Roman Polanski" - aka you'll get to see Knife in the Water, Chinatown and Repulsion. Hopefully it's a little bit more pleasant than that time Dios Malos showed Scarface during their Exit/In show and scarred me for life.
ps - Have I mentioned how much I love Rubber Factory? Pulling it out to find an mp3 for this post made me remember how ridiculously good it is. Here's a bonus:
The Black Keys - "Grown So Ugly"
