It’s early days into the basically-L-train-shutdown and some of the best shows this weekend may test your patience in that regard, but we’ll all be experts at this by about the time things get back to normal. Oh yeah, happy mother’s day!
5) Ex Hex, Versus, Thick at Elsewhere
Making their second appearance in the last month, Ex Hex just released their second album, It’s Real, and you’ll struggle to find a better band cranking out classic rock riffs. Thursday 8pm
4) Guerilla Toss, Godcaster at Gran Torino
This is the re-opening of what was Diviera Drive, now to be known as Gran Torino. The venue are celebrating with a free show headlined by Guerilla Toss, and an open bar from 8-9pm as well, make sure to RSVP if you want to go. Friday 8pm
3) Lee Fields & The Expressions, !!!, Holy Hive at Brooklyn Steel
Soul artist Lee Fields just released It Rains Love and it ticks all the classic soul marks. That shouldn’t surprise anyone since he has been doing this for 50 years now. Support comes from dance-punks !!! and fellow label mates and kinda smoother-soul act Holy Hive. Saturday 8pm
2) Bad Bad Hats, Thin Lips at Mercury Lounge
I saw Minneapolis’ Bad Bad Hats supporting The Beths in March and it was hard not to love their equal parts melancholy/pop formula a complete win. Singer Kerry Alexander is also hilarious between songs which seems to be a forgotten art. Mercury Lounge might just be the perfect venue to see them. Sunday 8pm
1) Meat Puppets, Sumo Princess, Stephen Maglio at Brooklyn Bowl
The big Meat Puppets news is that original drummer Derrick Bostrom rejoined the band last year and the band’s fifteenth album, Dusty Notes was released was released in March (their first with Bostrom since 1995’s No Joke!). The record is a solid effort, that tends to lean more towards their psych-country moments than the alt-rock of their heyday (proto alt-rock might be a more fitting term), but it’s exciting to have the band back together, not many acts can claim as strong a discography. To celebrate all the good news, the band will hit up Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday (after having played a much smaller show at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday). The band also plays at Asbury Lanes on Saturday if you’re more of a Jersey person. Thursday 8pm
