Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: The Pharcyde + Nosaprise + The Get Up Kids + Metal Mayhem + More

Yep, y’all — it’s Friday, January 21st, and although this weekend’s shaping up to be pretty insane, tonight’s actually relatively low-key, at least compared to tomorrow’s madness. There’re only a handful of cool-ass shows to pick from tonight, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, here’re my picks for tonight:

The Pharcyde/Ozeal/Nosaprise/BBC/Karina Nistal/Dayta/DJ Madsounds/DJ Fred Castillo @ Groundhall
Ah, yeah. I’ve got a soft spot for The Pharcyde, primarily because they were honestly one of the first “light” hip-hop groups I ever listened to that didn’t, well, suck. Before I stumbled across 1992’s Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, I was listening mostly to hard-ass gangsta/political rap and turning my nose up at the more lightweight stuff that came across the airwaves; most of it couldn’t hold a candle to Public Enemy or N.W.A., not in a million years.

With that cassette(!), though, I finally heard a crew that could be silly and fun, yet still not sound hackneyed or lame; it was a revelation, and it got me listening to other stuff like it and (finally) relaxing a bit. The tracks were loopy and heavy-lidded, like a bunch of supremely talented friends trading verses over somebody’s miles-deep collection of soul records (which, yeah, is pretty much what they were/are).

Anyway, I’m glad to see ’em still around. And plus, tonight’s show also features {Nosaprise}, who I like quite a bit (that session he did in Joe Mathlete‘s living room was pretty great), with able hosting by BBC & {Karina Nistal}, so that’s an added bonus…

The Get Up Kids/Steel Train/River City Extension @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Talked a fair amount about this one already — see on over here for that — but I’m still pretty psyched about this show (and no, I’m sorry, the tickets we had to give away are gone, gone, gone). Been listening to The Get Up Kids‘ “I’m a Loner Dottie, a Rebel…” on infinite repeat the past few days.

A Night of Metal Mayhem, featuring Dissent, Termination Force, Turbid North, Assassinator, Sculpting Atrocity, & Vaste Burai @ The White Swan ($10; 8PM)
Mëtäl, mëtäl, mëtäl. Just the names of these bands are badass (bonus points for use of the word “turbid,” and for the totally confusing “{Sculpting Atrocity}“). Besides, I’ve heard {Dissent} are pretty damn good…

Runners-Up:
Carlos Johnson: Tribute to Life, Love & Music, featuring D.R.U.M., Bigga Starr, Patrice Pike, Guy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies with Dane Sonnier, & community open jam @ Last Concert Cafe (8:30PM-2AM; $10 donation suggested)
Fistful of Soul @ The Mink
Michael Claytor/Lauris Vidal/Ricky Kendall/Clory Martin @ Super Happy Fun Land