Welcome to “Seven in Seven,” where each Friday we take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out in the coming days.
Here are seven of the best for the week beginning Aug. 6:
Switchfoot and Lifehouse – Aug. 6 at The Fillmore
It was in 2001 when the Los Angeles-based alt-rockers Lifehouse first broke through in a big way when “Hanging by a Moment,” from No Name Face, and spent 20 weeks in the Top 10. Since then, the band has released six more albums, three of which made the Billboard Top Ten, sold over 15 million records worldwide and spun off such hit singles as “You and Me” and “First Time.” Switchfoot released their 10th album, Where the Light Shines Through, in early July, and first broke through with such hits as “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move.”
Mew – Aug. 7 at The Foundry Twenty years into their career, Danish alt-rock outfit Mew still has the irrepressible enthusiasm of a band on their debut album. Their latest record, this spring’s Visuals, feels like the beginning of a new chapter, presenting the band at their most compact, their chemistry at its most potent. And with only one song over five minutes, it’s easily their most concise album. The music is emotive, lush and atmospheric all at once, and it’ll be fascinating to see what they do with it in a concert setting, especially with the – ahem – visuals.
Homeshake – Aug. 7 at Underground Arts
Born in the bleak isolation of the secluded prairie city of Edmonton, Canada, Homeshake’s Peter Sagar worked with friends in a number of local bands before picking up and moving to Montreal in 2011 to begin recording under the Homeshake moniker. Following two self-released cassettes and two acclaimed full lengths Sagar released his third album, Fresh Air, this past February. It continues his exploration of dreamy, downtempo bedroom R&B and draws inspiration from such disparate artists like Sade, The Band and Prince.
Yes – Aug. 8 at The Tower Theater
Legendary prog-rock outfit Yes is playing the Tower Theater Aug. 8. Yes is also playing in October at the Kimmel Center. It’s not the same Yes. So if you’re looking to go to the show at the Tower, it will be the version with Steve Howe and Alan White in the band. If you want to see the version with Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman, then you’ll have to wait until October. Scorecards will be provided at the door to both shows.
Leopold and His Fiction – Aug. 8 at World Cafe Live – Upstairs
Originally formed as an outlet for Daniel James Leopold to exercise his lessons from his formative years in Detroit, the seminal force of Leopold and his Fiction is the catalyst for soul-drenched, bare-bones rock ‘n’ roll that shakes with the power of ’73-era Stooges while seducing with the rhythm and blues of Motown. Darling Destroyer, his latest album, delivers a full pallet of artistry from America’s deep, dark underbelly and rootsy fabric to a revival of an R&B, backwoods charm. It goes back to the days when the Motown and Stax labels loaded singles with a shaking groove on the A-side with B-side ballads clearly as comfortable in the same skin.
Roger Waters – Aug. 8, 9 and 11 at Wells Fargo Center
Roger Waters will forever be best known as the creative force behind Pink Floyd, with the 1979 concept album by the band The Wall his baby. But after years of performing that live in full, he’s finally put out some new solo music, with his first album in 25 years, Is This the Life We Really Want? dropping this spring. Political as ever, the current climate has Waters outspoken and fiercely critical of not just the current administration in the United States, but worldwide injustices which he sees. His current Us + Them tour promises not only music from all eras of his career, but stark visual commentary on politics at large.
The Districts – Aug. 11 at Union Transfer
Pennsylvania’s own The Districts will see their third full-length effort, Popular Manipulations, released Aug. 11, and they’ll be celebrating in the best way possible, with a local show at Union Transfer. The indie rockers new material represents an exponential leap in sound and cohesion, an impressive and impassioned burn with a wide scope that threatens to swallow everything else surrounding it. The charging guitars, thunderous drumming, and Rob Grote’s searing vocals was brought on by a few cited influences, from shoegaze’s aggressive swirl to the Velvet Underground’s impeccable drone-rock sound.