The fourth will have come and gone, but Deerhoof will bring their own kind of invigorating fireworks to the Green River Festival Kick Off Party at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Thursday, July 11, at 8 p.m. Opening the show are Blank Spell, plus locals Carinae, Hot Dirt and Tundrastomper.
Deerhoof is vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez, and drummer/force of nature Greg Saunier, and their joyful noise sounds like no one else. They’re dynamic and playful, a rambunctious high-wire act balancing sharp focus and total abandon.
One of their set’s usual highlights is a twisting tune called “We Do Parties,” for which Matsuzaki dumps her Beatle bass to play cowbell, and then throws away the cowbell to add some hand motions — part interpretive dance, part instruction-giving cabin attendant — while she sings: “I / am coming to you / from a speaker deep inside.” Then the lyrics themselves get jettisoned as she hops away from the microphone, freed up to do an aerobic routine, spinning and high-kicking and chopping the air while the band goes nuts around her in shifting time signatures. It’s like catchy prog-rock new-wave.
Deerhoof’s lineup has been solid for over a decade. Little things have changed over that time (John grew a beard; Ed grew out his hair), but their “ecstatic and unruly” energy is as life-changing as ever. Their short sharp songs burst with color and creativity, played with the raw power of the early Who, the unpredictable improvisational spirit of Tony Williams, and the breathless fun of a wild amusement park ride. Highly recommended!
Drums and Drones (the solo project of Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase), Wendy Eisenberg (improviser, composer, songwriter), and Vic Rawlings (Easthampton-based musician, instrument builder, sound installation artist, filmmaker and teacher) team up for an experimental night at Flywheel in Easthampton on Friday, July 5, at 8 p.m.
Brazil-born singer/songwriter Sessa has a debut album, “Grandeza,” that’s highly recommended by Aquarium Drunkard and the great Light In the Attic record label. The latter compared his folk-pop music to the best of Jobim, Veloso and Verocai, and called the record “gorgeous and captivating.” For his minimalist live shows, he sings in Portuguese, accompanied only by percussion and female backing singers. Sessa appears as part of the Parsons Lawn Concert Series at Historic Northampton on Saturday, July 6 at 7 p.m. Bring a chair or blanket. Free show.
Alice Howe (a Smith College graduate) celebrates the release of her new album “Visions” (produced by Freebo) with a show at the Montague Bookmill on Saturday, July 6, at 7:30 p.m. Dave Dersham starts off the night.
Ra Ra Riot were a young new band when they first traveled from their Syracuse home base to do a Valley gig at Flywheel back in 2006. They played for 12 people — with wild gusto as if the place was packed, and I still remember it to this day. Now with a decade of acclaimed records behind them (including some collaborations with Rostam Batmanglij), Ra Ra Riot returns to the Valley for a show at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke on Sunday, July 7, at 8 p.m. Fire Letters open.
Aimee Mann, left, (who won a Grammy for Best Folk Album of 2018 for her record “Mental Illness”) takes the stage at the beautiful Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton (where popcorn is served!) on Sunday, July 7, at 8p.m. The opening act is singer/songwriter and geek culture trailblazer Jonathan Coulton.
Ignite Jupiter, The Shirts and Shoes, and Groundskeeper make up the triple-bill at the latest Reanimate the Bay State concert at the Sierra Grille in Northampton on Thursday, July 11, at 10 p.m.