Leeway, Merauder, Brick by Brick

Northern Lights, Friday

Northern Lights has not hereto-fore had a reputation as a temple of all things tough guy. Sure, some of us remember that really savage Staind show like five years back, and we all know the ferocity that will be loosed inside the club’s walls by Lifehouse. But seriously, a show featuring New York hardcore thrash monsters Leeway and Merauder is something you would expect to find housed in, let’s say, the Hudson Duster, if not in the toughest club in Brooklyn. Thankfully, the 518 hardcore crew may feel just a little bit more at home thanks to Duster owner Mike Valente, who will be leading hometown hardcore heroes Brick by Brick into the fray. (June 2, 7 PM, $12, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park)

Doc Scanlon’s All Star Jumpin’ Jam

WAMC Performing Arts Studio, Friday

It can’t be—Doc Scanlon’s Rhythm Boys have been making toes tap all across the Capital Region for 28 years? You bet. And most folks think they’re better than ever. Tomorrow (Friday), Doc Scanlon and posse will celebrate the release of their latest CD with a host of friends, including Colleen Pratt, Jill Hughes, Johnny Rabb, Jay Traynor (you know, ex-Jay and the Americans), Franklin Micare, guitar-slinger John Tichy, Reggie’s Red Hot Feetwarmers and many (we are promised), many more. So if you like jazz, swing, rock & roll, old-school R&B and Dixieland—in others words, if you have even a passing interest in American popular music—get thee to the WAMC Performing Arts Studio tomorrow night. (June 2, 8 PM, $15, 339 Central Ave., Albany, 465-5233 ext. 4)

The Northeast Blues Society’s Annual Colossal Contenders Contest

Revolution Hall, Saturday

The Northeast Blues Society’s mission is to expose “regional, national and international blues talent to the largest possible audience” and to “increase public awareness of the cultural contributions blues has made as an art form.” That is what the society will do this weekend at Revolution Hall with the Annual Colossal Contenders Contest. Six Capital Region blues bands—Deep Blue Shag, the Nate Mills Band, Nite Train, the Rumble Kings, the Sizemore Band, and Walz to Walz—will compete to be one of the top three bands to go on to the next round. Who wins, ultimately, is up to the paying audience: If you buy a ticket, you may cast one vote for your favorite band. The top three bands will compete on July 7 in the Allstate Blues Fest at the Empire State Plaza for the win and a chance to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. (June 3, 7 PM, $10, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)

Dead-Lift CD-Release Party

Northern Lights, Saturday

Claiming to have been influenced by mainstream radio acts such as Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Filter, and the bastardly Limp Bizkit, Dead-Lift refer to themselves as a “melodic rap metal fusion band.” These four local guys from Schenectady are hoping to lift chants from the crowd on Saturday, promoting their long-awaited, unsigned, premiere album, The Struggle. The band say that their name came about because dead and lift were just two words that sounded good together, just as vocalist Scott Thompson and bassist Joe Reilly seemed to with the original aspirers, guitarist Paul and drummer Tony T-Bone, after several tryouts in 2003. Though they are still searching for a record label, Dead-Lift have been transformed from two creative minds to four “to complete the assault these young men plan to put on the music industry.” Also on Saturday night’s bill: Great Day for Up, Inverted, and A Trophy Heart. Drop by and pick up a CD—the cost is included in admission. (June 3, 7:30 PM, $19, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)

tim easton

Tim Easton

WAMC Performing Arts Studio, Saturday

Onetime Haynes Boys member Tim Easton has taken the troubadour’s route to increased notoriety, and that path weaves in and out of the 13 songs on his latest release, Ammunition (New West Records). He recorded the album in numerous studios in various cities, mostly while on the road, and largely without accompaniment. The result is an intimate (barring the omnipresent vocal reverb), casual collection that’s “easy to perform solo,” a suiting follow-up to 2003’s critically acclaimed Break Your Mother’s Heart. Ammunition features guest spots from alt-country heavyweights Gary Louris (Jayhawks), Lucinda Williams and Tift Merritt; this Saturday, however, Easton will take the WAMC stage with just a vintage Gibson acoustic and his rough-around-the-edges tenor. The Ramblin’ Jug Stompers open. (June 3, 8 PM, $10, 339 Central Ave., Albany, 465-5233 ext. 4)

The Love Drunks

Valentine’s, Monday

Rib magazine calls Bomp Records band the Love Drunks a cross between the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the Stooges, with Jerry Lee Lewis thrown in. The Love Drunks call themselves a “roaring tidalwave of old timey blues and rockabilly poured through the filter of Stooges garage-punk . . . a spectacle of Rickenbacker guitar riffs, upright bass, swing-worthy drum beats and the moaning and roaring of blues-punk singer Patrick A.” We’ll call them a more-decipherable Thee Headcoats and be done with it. If you’re in the mood to have your garage rocked, you’d better be at Valentine’s this Monday. Kingscastle, Zelazowa, and Skyway open the show. (June 5, 8 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)

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