Music

Seven Days, Seven Shows

What concerts to see from July 5-11

by Josh Kurp   |   Jul 5, 2010

Seven Days, Seven Shows

Questlove’s had it up to here with that painting of the dogs playing poker (Photo: MySpace.com/TheRoots)

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Monday, July 5
Beirut
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 8 p.m.
How 2005 of you if you still think of the capital of Lebanon when you see the word “Beirut.” It’s tough to describe exactly what the band sounds like (on 2007’s The Flying Club Cup, they used a “bouzouki,” an instrument I didn’t know even existed until reading the album’s Wikipedia page), so here’s a song of theirs instead: “Cliquot.” Also, Beirut, could you please a new album soon? Thanks. $25

Tuesday, July 6
Lady Gaga
Madison Square Garden (4 Penn Plaza), 8 p.m.
Let’s say you split MSG into two sections. On one side would be the teen girl attendees of tonight’s show, just as Gaga starts to sing “Bad Romance,” while the other side would be filled with men who just heard that Lebron James signed with the Knicks (not that he will or anything). Which side do you think would scream louder? I’ll tell you who won’t win: Jay-Z. Or Jerry Seinfeld. $54-$179.50

Wednesday, July 7
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band
Radio City Music Hall (1260 Avenue of the Americas), 8 p.m.
Think the former-Richard Starkey, who will celebrate his 70th birthday tonight, will play “It Don’t Come Easy”? I hope so because, with all due respect to “Octupus’s Garden” and “With a Little Help from My Friends,” that’s definitely Ringo’s best song on lead vocals. Sorry, “Act Naturally.” $44.50-$84.50

Thursday, July 8
Phosphorescent
Pier 54 (West Street and 13th Street), 8 p.m.
Fronted by lead singer Matthew Houck (well, the band is Houck in the same way Dashboard Confessional is Chris Carraba, if you’ll pardon the awful band namedropping), Phosphorescent play a form alt-country that would make Neil Young and Crazy Horse smile. Plus, Houck looks badass on a motorcycle. Free

Friday, July 9
Bear in Heaven
South Street Seaport at Pier 17, 6 p.m.
I fear Bear in Heaven suffers the same fate as Guided by Voices and the Pains of Being Pure Heart, i.e. quality bands with awful names. For years, I didn’t listen to GbV because I thought they were some Christian group with weird song titles like “Kicker of Elves.” Instead, they’re a great bar band with weird song titles like “Kicker of Elves.” Ditto with Bear in Heaven, which I assumed was some musical spin-off of All Dogs Go to Heaven. Turns out, they’re a four-member group who play electronic music with a psychedelic sound, and play it well. Also performing is Zola Jesus, another band with a less-than-amazing name. Free

Saturday, July 10
Delorean
Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St.), 9:30 p.m.
If I owned the Bowery Ballroom, I’d find a real Delorean (well, not “real,” but Back to the Future-real) and go back to the day someone agreed to let the venue be used in Coyote Ugly and punch them in the face. And if it turned out that I, the owner of the Bowery Ballroom, was actually the one who did it, I wouldn’t be able to do the punching because of the space-time continuum. Can’t hurt yourself or the whole world will explode, or something like that. Time travel, man. Time travel. Anyways, to the music! The band Delorean hail from Zaratuaz in Northern Spain, and play a unique form of “disco punk.” Why unique? Well, besides LCD Soundsystem, how many other talented disco punk bands can you name? $15

Sunday, July 11
The Roots
Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park West and 9th Street), 5 p.m.
What a career. The Roots got together in 1987, but didn’t have a hit album until 1999’s Things Fall Apart. It’s not that they were slouching over those 12 years, either; it’s just that the world hadn’t caught up to their fascinating blend of hip-hop and jazz. Since then, though, they’ve backed Jay-Z on MTV Unplugged; released five albums, including the now-classic Phrenology; appeared in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party; and became the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tonight’s performance, along with Talib Kweli and many others, is part of the OkayAfrica World Cup 2010 Finals party. Free