Death Cab for Cutie with City & Colour // Meadow Brook Music Festival / July 4

by Treasure Groh

Combing two of today’s most heartfelt, lyric driven and emotional musical acts could be a deadly mix – think hundreds of female’s hearts melting as they look on with a loving gaze. It’s a scene that will most for sure be played out when City & Colour meets Death Cab for Cutie at Meadow Brook Music Festival.

Death Cab for Cutie is still riding the wave of their 2011 release, “Codes and Keys,” an album fraught with allusions to transition, mobility and progression. With the soft, nostalgic voice of lead singer Ben Gibbard projecting his personal life onto the audience (much of the album speaks to his relationship with ex-wife Zooey Deschanel), it’s easy to see how fans of Death Cab endear them so. Operating as a mostly independent band in their early years, Death Cab eventually signed with Atlantic records – a move that prompted some fans to claim the band “sold out,” though still maintaining their introspective, melodic and sometimes experimental sound.

City & Colour, the moniker used for singer/songwriter Dallas Green, presents a slightly stripped down version of what Death Cab has to offer. Green’s early work tended more towards an acoustic sentiment, with notable songs like “Save Your Scissors” and “Sleeping Sickness” taking center stage. While Green may take longer to release City & Colour albums (he doubles as a guitarist/vocalist for post-hardcore band Alexisonfire), fans stick around and wait with bated breath for his next release. Green’s latest album, “Little Hell,” often exhibits a full band, providing a larger, and louder, sound. The first single from the album, “Fragile Bird,” has a funkier sound that most City & Colour tunes with a more tamed vocal range.

Come check out both bands when they hit Rochester for Riverfest 2012. Doors are at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

Tenacious D // The Fillmore / July 6

by David Nassar

Photo Credit: Michael Elins

Strap on your best air-guitar and bang your heads with mock-rock gods, Tenacious D, as they blow the roof off The Fillmore. Jack Black and his shredding sidekick, Kyle Gass, emerge from the ashes with their latest album, the phonetically indulgent “Rize of the Fenix.” While I’ve never seen them live, one would think that expectations should be clear. You pretty much know what you’re gonna get with a Tenacious D show. Satirical, self-indulgent, over-the-top showmanship and a whole lot of rockin’ out. While their hey-day may be long behind them, Jack and Kyle still have that intangible quality to connect with an audience and bring out that inner rock star fantasy in all of us. Catch Tenacious D performing with special guest The Sights at The Fillmore in Detroit on Friday, July 6.  Tickets are still available starting at $25. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Fiona Apple // The Fillmore / July 7

by Treasure Groh

Everyone’s favorite 90s angst-riddled teen Fiona Apple is all grown up and ready to present her latest work at the Fillmore Detroit. Her first album in seven years, “The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do” (or you can just say “The Idler Wheel”), presents a more self-assured Apple, proving that she’s a grown woman and far removed from her days of a teenage minx a la “Criminal.”

Her debut album, “Tidal,” fueled by pointed lyrics and a devil-may-care attitude, is something of legend among the indie/hipster crowd of today. Apple was quickly marked as a sassy, independent, outspoken female singer/songwriter (mostly due in part to her dramatic acceptance speech at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards). Her sophomore effort, “When The Pawn” (a 400 character poem as a title that first exhibited Apple’s fondness for lengthy titles), was critically successful but received far less radio play than “Tidal”’s singles. After taking a six-year hiatus, Apple released “Extraordinary Machine,” which was also highly lauded as one of the best albums of 2005.

And now, “The Idler Wheel,” released in early June, presents a slightly cabaret-esque sound, with strong vocals and a thick skin and backbone that hadn’t been present before. With plenty of piano work, as typical of Apple albums, “The Idler Wheel” is poised to be Apple’s greatest work to date. Don’t miss this chance to see Apple perform live at the Fillmore Detroit. Doors are at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at livenation.com.

Elvisfest // Depot Town / July 13 – 14

by Amanda Slater

The Michigan Elvisfest is one of those quirky, unique things that makes Ypsi …well, Ypsi. If you’ve never experienced the Elvisfest, you’re missing out. Just imagine Depot Town swarming with Elvis impersonators and thousands of adoring fans, eager to hear them perform The King’s hits.

Named one of the best music festivals in the Midwest by the Chicago Tribune and one of the ten festivals in Michigan that you’d hate to miss by MiLife MiTimes, the Elvisfest began 12 years ago and has been growing ever since. As with all good festivals, there will be ample music, food and drink – and a whole lot of Elvi (at least, that’s what I’m assuming the plural form of “Elvis” is).  Tickets can be purchased online at mielvisfest.org. Friday tickets are $12.50, Saturday tickets are $22.50 and a two-day pass is $30.

Phantasmagoria// The Loving Touch / July 13

by Paul Kitti

Minimalism, spirituality, meditation and nature top the list of this Detroit duo’s interests, which they bundle into a musical entity called Phantasmagoria. Combining rock and soul with the softer, more ambient tones of electronica, Lianna Vanicelli and Christopher Jarvis have created an intriguing breed of music that wears influences like MGMT and Tycho, while floating off in its own mysterious direction. They’ll be joined by Ghostly International’s Shigeto at The Loving Touch in Ferndale for a special performance celebrating the release of their debut album, “Currents.” Tickets are $5 at the door, which opens at 9 p.m. Ages 18 and up.

Purity Ring // Pike Room / July 17

by Paul Kitti

This Canadian singer/programmer duo formed in late 2010 when Megan James sang over Corin Roddick’s jumpy synth and ghostly vocal samples for the track “Ungirthed.” Certainly more fitting for hip clubs or late drives than abstinence seminars, Purity Ring makes sublime electronic pop with entrancing melodies and dark edges – the kind of music that seems to peacefully lull you into a nightmare. “I’ve been unruly in my dreams and in my speech/drill holes in my eyelids so I can see you when I sleep,” sings James on single “Belispeak,” her childlike vocals manipulated to a haunting effect. The band puts as much effort instilling that alluring imagery in their live presence as they do in their songs, elevating their shows above those of most electronic acts. They’ll perform at the Pike Room one week before their debut album drops. Doors are at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance from ticketweb.com or $15 at the door.

Bombay Bicycle Club // The Magic Stick / July 25

by Paul Kitti

This UK four-piece, named after a chain of Indian restaurants, got their one shot to prove themselves when they won a spot on stage at the annual V Festival in 2006. They must have nailed it because, a year later, they released two EPs and began amassing a rowdy following. It’s easy to toss them in the gang of mid-00s post-punk revivalists, but their folk leanings and more artistic approach puts them in a slightly different class. Now three albums into their career, they’re still bringing buckets of ready-to-party energy to their shows. Bombay Bicycle Club will stop by the Magic Stick on July 25. Doors open at 8 p.m. and tickets are $16 in advance or $18 at the door.

Mayer Hawthorne // LIVE / July 26

Mayer Hawthorne is everyone’s favorite soul-singing sensation (and local foodie) – but he also has a lot of other talents that may not be as well known to some of his newer fans. Prior to emerging as Mayer Hawthorne, Hawthorne was known as Haircut who DJed for the Athletic Mic League. Now Hawthorne is getting the chance to put some of those skills back to work. After his performance at Sonic Lunch in downtown Ann Arbor earlier in the day, he will be heading over to LIVE at 9 p.m. where he will be DJing alongside Charles Trees for what is bound to be the coolest dance party of the year. For more information, visit livea2.com.

Electric Ocean Strip Search // Community Records / July 26

by David Nassar

Poets, storytellers, musicians and performers unite in an exciting new monthly performance series staged at Community Records in Ypsilanti.  Started by the EMU Student Creative Writing Group and sponsored by St. Luke’s Church, Electric Ocean Strip Search provides a venue for local writers and performance artists to share their work with the community. An eclectic mix of Ypsi-area talent spanning the traditional to the wildly absurd, EOSS celebrates creativity in all its forms.  Upcoming shows will be held June 27, July 26 and August 23.  All shows begin with an open-mic at 7 p.m., followed by scheduled performers starting at 7:30 p.m.  All are welcomed to attend free of charge (though donations are appreciated), and all are welcome to sign up to perform.  Community Records.org at St. Luke’s Church is located at 120 North Huron in Ypsilanti.  For more information or to sign up, check out the Electric Ocean Strip Search page on Facebook.

Florence + the Machine // Fox Theater / July 31

by Mary Simkins

British Indie pop sensation Florence + the Machine will be coming to Detroit after a busy European tour.  Florence Welch and her talented group of backup musicians released their second studio album “Ceremonials” last fall after topping the charts with their debut album, “Lungs.” Florence + the Machine was nominated for the Best New Artist Award at the 2011 Grammy’s and was a huge crowd pleaser at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

Says Welch of her band’s sound: “I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree or off a tall building, as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe. It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it or you’re just going to disappear.”

Florence + the Machine will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on July 31 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Tickets range from $40 to $80. For more information about tickets, visit ticketmaster.com. To hear the latest single from Florence, visit florenceandthemachine.net.