Spring Concert Watch (by Bob Short)

After a great fall concert schedule, things aren't looking too good for the spring. Oh well, here are some events to fill up your schedule while you wait for Lupe Fiasco and the rest of the (so-far secret) Spring Weekend lineup.

2/15/08
Six bands for six bucks at 6pm? Only at AS220, and only for the Post Valentine's Day Punk Rock Prom. Put on your finest semi-formal attire (seriously) and enjoy a night of up and coming local punk.

3/8/08
Local alt-rock with fiddle favorites Zox were big at my high school. At the time I didn't get it, but here's the secret to their appeal: they are the most accessible local band to form in Providence in a long while. By balancing their edgy textures with competent songcraft, they have maintained a broad fanbase which will undoubtedly snatch their upcoming third album off the shelves of Newbury Comics. Check out what you're missing when they visit Lupo's.
The Fleshtones are the only band from the mid-70s CBGB's scene to keep on playing shows and releasing albums without any mention of hiatus or retirement, and they’re still in the running for the best live band in the world. Jake's Bar and Grill is not the friendliest of venues, but The Fleshtones sound like a band half their age and will be worth the trek.

3/26/08
After releasing two albums in 2007, the gold selling Strength and Loyalty and the outtakes collection T.H.U.G.S., Bone Thugs N Harmony bring their unique melodic rapping style to Lupo's. Their five year silence had seen a sea change in everything from Hip Hop aesthetics to sales, but the Cleveland trio acted like they didn't miss a day. The quality of their singing made the Akon and Mariah Carey hooks on their last album besides the point, and the varied rhythms of their verses make up for even the most tired beats.

4/6/08
When Texan post-rockers Explosions in the Sky aren't writing evocative soundtracks to football movies and bringing instrumental rock back to the Billboard Charts, they tour. A lot. People describing their music often act like they returned from a funeral to find that their high rise has been leveled by a giant swan. Soaring!, they say. Emotional! Poignant! Sprawling! Cathartic! They have a point, though- see them when they pass through Lupo's.

4/18/08
Before there were Limp Bizkit and Eminem to listen to while you got drunk wearing a backwards baseball hat and scratched at your new tattoo, there was Sublime. Brad Nowell deserves acclaim for successfully figuring out how to dumb down dub enough so it wouldn’t scare the shit out of stoned kids, but he died before he could get rich off it. Enter Badfish. If you ever wished you could've seen Sublime live, you don't need to practice Santeria-you just need to show up to Lupo's to watch the only tribute band ever to get a write-up in Spin.