Zedd and Porter Robinson // Oct. 3 / Necto
Russian-born German-raised EDM producer/DJ/songwriter, Zedd, is set to release his full-length debut album, Clarity, on October 9 via Interscope Records. The album was recorded over an eight month period from January through August 2012, and features collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Ryan Tedder and Foxes.
Having already toured with Lady Gaga on her “Born This Way Ball” tour, Skrillex and Deadmau5 among others, Zedd will join fellow artist and friend, Porter Robinson for their Poseidon Tour which rolls through Ann Arbor’s Necto on Wednesday, Octboer 3. The Poseidon Tour features both Zedd and Porter playing back-to-back tracks, alternating throughout the night.
Says Zedd, “I am psyched to be playing the back-to-back shows with Porter on the Poseidon Tour. By playing with a great artist and friend, it allows us to bounce off of each other, creating this morphed set with crazy energy and highlighting both our styles.”
As a Rolling Stone “Artist to Watch” for 2012 as well as a Billboard 2012 Fall Preview “10 to watch”, Zedd is poised to become one of the biggest names in the music world. He has separated himself in a crowded field by drawing from a diverse musical training and background spanning from classical to post-hardcore/metal to electro house in order to make meticulously detailed and carefully produced compositions.
For more information on this rager and others hitting Necto in October, visit www.necto.com.
Joss Stone // Oct. 6 / Royal Oak Music Theatre
by Mary Simkins
Jocelyn Stoker (better known by her stage name, Joss Stone) released her multi-platinum debut album in 2003, marking the first of many successful ventures for the 25-year-old Brit. With 13 million record sales, a performance for the royal family of the UK and a huge fan base under her belt, Joss Stone hasn’t lost that same passion for her music that first caught our attention. The young soul sensation is bringing her latest album, “The Soul Sessions Volume 2,” to Michigan next month. The album features Stone’s covers of several somewhat obscure 70s and 80s songs, lending her own style to some unearthed gems.
Almost a decade since she first burst onto the scene, Stone is bringing her gravelly voice and barefoot performing to the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Saturday, October 6. The show starts at 8 p.m., with doors at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $27.50 and $49.50. For information about the venue and to purchase tickets, visit royaloakmusictheatre.com.
Crystal Castles // Oct. 9 / Royal Oak Music Theatre
by Paul Kitti
The “screw it, who cares” attitude that bands of yesteryear wore on their sleeves with unmistaken sincerity has gone mostly out of style, but don’t tell that to Crystal Castles. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath have built a reputation for being bratty electronic music masterminds. They once trashed a stage because the sound production wasn’t good enough, cancelled another show for the same reason, punched a security guard and, for a period of time, owned their image through a stolen drawing of Madonna with a black, oozing eye. It’s almost a little refreshing to see a band back up their aggressive music with actual aggressive behavior. Dark but not despairing, melodic but not poppy, their sound inhabits the mysterious area between dance and experimental electronica. Two elements tend to play into their live show: ferocity and strobe lights.
Regina Spektor // Oct. 13 / Fillmore
by Treasure Groh
Delightfully coy songbird Regina Spektor will be paying Detroit Rock City a visit, toting a new album featuring her trademark vocals and quirky melodies. “What We Saw From The Cheap Seats” is Russian-born Spektor’s sixth album and features a bonus track, “Call Them Brothers,” which she collaboration on with tour openers Only Son.
Spektor’s style stems from the anti-folk movement out of Brooklyn, NY that started in the mid-80s. Her classical, baroque-meets-pop tunes come off as enchanting, drawing the listener in with her smooth, bubbly vocals. Spektor is oftentimes compared to Ani DiFranco and Fiona Apple, though her style tends toward the classical end of the spectrum. Spreading her wings a bit, she’s collaborated with power pop superman Ben Folds on his latest album, “Way To Normal,” on the song “You Don’t Know Me.”
Spektor can be seen in all her glory at the Fillmore Detroit on October 13. Doors are at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at livenation.com and Ticketmaster for $25 to $49.50.
The Werks // Oct. 17 / Blind Pig
by Mary Simkins
The Werks are bringing their energetic performance style to Ann Arbor on Wednesday, October 17. The experimental jam band has chosen Ann Arbor’s Blind Pig as the venue for their CD release party to coincide with their “Funemployment Tour.”
Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, The Werks are known for both their improvisation and their seamless sampling of an array of musical genres. The band, founded in 2007, experienced a meteoric catapult onto the jam band scene and is a favorite of online jam magazine jambase.com.
After a summer of festival performances, including Wakarusa, Summer Camp and All Good festival, the band hosted the third annual Werk Out Festival on September 20 – 23 at Legend Valley.
Their album release show will take place at 9 p.m. at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. Tickets are $12. Ages 18 and up. For more information, visit blindpigmusic.com
Silversun Pickups // Oct. 23 / Royal Oak Music Theatre
by iSPY staff
From the moment most listeners heard the opening riffs of Silversun Pickups singles like “Panic Switch” and “Lazy Eye,” they were hooked. Their catchy tunes inhabit a uniquely dark, almost eerie yet upbeat space in the indie realm that we didn’t even know existed until they came around.
The Silversun Pickups (singer/guitarist/songwriter Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, keyboardist Joe Lester and drummer Christopher Guanlao) first emerged with 2005’s “Pikul” EP and soon caught the attention of the wider world with the following year’s “Carnavas.” The collection (featuring the breakthrough single, “Lazy Eye”) only barely prepared the way for the band’s blockbuster second album, 2009’s “Swoon.” Tracks such as “Panic Switch” and “The Royal We” established Silversun Pickups as a potent force in 21st Century Rock, further confirmed by an 18-month tour that included innumerable headline dates, festival sets and a 2009 Grammy Award nod for “Best New Artist.”
Come see the Silversun Pickups perform live at 7:30 p.m. on October 23 the Royal Oak Music Theatre. With special guests Cloud Nothings and Atlas Genius, it’s a show you won’t want to miss. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at royaloakmusictheatre.com.
Cat Power // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Oct. 27
by Jeff Milo
Singer/multi-instrumentalist Chan Marshall set loose a pair of striking singles this month to bolster “Sun,” her first original album in six years, showing no signs of her dark dynamism diluting. Her wispy wintry vocals, an eerie blend of sultry and stark, seemed to get a bit more sanguine this time around, with reviewers/rock-crits reverberating remarks upon her fragile/fractured persona appearing to have girded over the years into a new, fierce resolve (bad break-ups can do that, I guess). It’s a refresh, a wake-up call, a get-back out there and, hey, pick-up-some-synthesizers-while-you’re-out.
We, for one, are glad to see Marshall return – but we don’t seem to be the only ones, as “Sun” has already been widely praised in the indie circuit. To read the rest of our review, turn to page 28. And don’t miss the opportunity to witness a live Cat Power performance at 8 p.m. on October 27 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Tickets are $29.50 to $49.50 and can be purchased at royaloakmusictheatre.com.
Mason Jennings // Oct. 27 / The Ark
by David Nassar
Although his latest album, “Minnesota,” was released more than a year ago, folk singer/songwriter Mason Jennings is hitting the road for a tour of the Midwest that lands him at everyone’s favorite local folk venue, The Ark. While Jennings was able to create a loyal cult following early in his career, his star really started to shine after recording two Dylan covers for the 2007 soundtrack for “I’m Not There,” and signing with Jack Johnson’s label, Brushfire Records, in early 2008. Since then, Jennings has continued to tour extensively and record his own style of folk-pop that leans heavily on poetic reflections and first-person narratives.
Always a diverse and dynamic performer, Jennings draws on wide range of influences in his songwriting. At times his work is as intimate and stripped-down as a Woody Guthrie song, while other times he lets it all hang out incorporating his love of jazz and American roots music. Regardless, he always delivers with the excitement and passion of a true rock star. Mason Jennings will play The Ark in Ann Arbor Saturday, October 27. Tickets are $30 and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. For tickets and information, visit theark.org.
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