BOW DOWN Falside and Juan Deuce will headline the Church of Providence show. |
While the Renaissance City and parts beyond prep for another jam-packed run of summertime shows and festivals, the weeks leading in typically are quiet on the live circuit. Not so for Lil Rhody’s flourishing rap sect, though, as the next two weekends in particular provide plenty of reasons to get out and support local hip-hop.
Sean Rosch, aka Big Rush, may have relocated to Meriden, CT, for greener employment pastures, but that hasn’t stopped him from revisiting PVD and keeping busy in the booth following his late 2012 release, Alford Plea. Rush will return to Dusk for a headlining gig with an assortment of musicians from Albany, NY (his hometown), including indie-rock outfit the Racer, along with RI rap crew Reziztanze and pop singer DuBBz. Big Rush is currently hosting a beat contest (via Nokia and Talenthouse.com) where fans can vote on entries, and Rush will select a beat to use on his upcoming fall mixtape. Hit up bigrushmusic.com for details.
BIG RUSH +THE RACER + REZIZTANZE + DUBBZ | Friday, June 21 @ 9 pm | Dusk, 301 Harris Ave, Providence | 401.714.0444 | duskprovidence.com | bigrushmusic.com
“Bless the mic for the gods,” indeed. The final Thursday of each month now belongs to Strange Famous Records, which is set to kick off its “Church of Providence” series at Fête on the 27th. SFR’s bearded co-conspirators B. Dolan and Sage Francis plan to turn the typical live concert experience into an ungodly sonic circus, modeled after their original run of SFR “Church of Love & Ruin” shows. This premiere installment will include Juan Deuce & Falside (currently working on their SFR full-length debut), Olneyville Sound System, DJ Born Casual and, of course, B. Dolan. There will be Toilet Paper Dodgeball, live wrestling (ring and all), Francis will host a rap battle, and NYC’s Brown Girl Burlesque will have drag queens on hand, “sure to balance the rapper/wrestler testosterone in the room with a lot of sexy, weird, queerness,” B. said earlier this week.
“When I got back to this city from NYC in 2002, one of the first shows I saw was Lightning Bolt, Mahi Mahi, White Mice and Chinese Stars at the Living Room,” Dolan said. “Groups like Arab on Radar and Barnacled were the non-rap music that was inspiring me when I first started figuring out what my own stuff would sound like back then, and those shows I caught in the warehouses of Olneyville had a level of energy that I’m always trying to push for in a live format.
“Strange Famous has a collective presence within and respect for Providence’s music scene that is deep,” he continued. “I think Providence knows that about us and has come to expect quality, eclectic, batshit shows from us. The Church shows are a way of wilding out and engaging multiple scenes to make something new, and Fête has been cool enough to give us a blank canvas to bodyslam people on. This is an utterly unique show that promises to draw the best of Providence’s underground to its congregation.”
