Nov. 9De La Soul23rd Floor of the Wells Fargo Building (299 S. Main Street)7 p.m.$40
The influence of this seminal hip-hop group can be witnessed everywhere from the rock ‘n’ roll sampling on a Trick Daddy song, to a vignette-heavy Eminem album. Its debut record, 3 Feet High and Rising, fundamentally changed the nature of hip-hop after its release. With the Long Island quartet’s sportive, offbeat lyricism and eclectic sampling, the group’s first foray into the untested waters of rap experimentalism would forever leave its mark on alternative hip-hop. The recent collaboration with the Gorillaz on the song “Feel Good, Inc.,” reiterates in 2007 the relevancy of a group that’s been shaping the hip-hop genre since 1989.
Nov. 10 Dr. ManhattanIn The Venue (579 W. 200 South) 6:30 p.m.$20
Comic book aficionados will recognize the name Dr. Manhattan as that of the detached character from Alan Moore’s deconstruction of traditional superhero mythology, the Watchmen series. The alternative punk band of the same name employs similar dissemination of the status quo, but instead of reversing superhero archetypes with realistic interiority, it employs spastic drum and guitar coupled with keyboard and synth to eschew the boundaries between alternative, punk and electro music. Members of Vagrant Records, the avatar of post-hardcore and shared home of Dashboard Confessional, The Hold Steady and Saves the Day, Dr. Manhattan sounds like the latter but radiates with paranormal electronic superpowers.
Nov. 13Say Hi To Your MomKilby Court (741 S. 330 West) 7 p.m.$5
Say Hi To Your Mom is the mellow pop brainchild of Eric Elbogen (Eric Elbow in German). Mr. Elbogen is the mastermind of the group’s lo-fi rock sound, but on tour Say Hi becomes a raging four-piece. Euphobia Records was created by the industrious indie cult figure to release the band’s prolific discography of enamored releases, the latest of which is The Wishes and the Glitch.
Nov. 13The Velvet TeenKilby Court (741 S. 330 West) 7 p.m.$5
With enough “indie” bands in existence to bank roll the eponymous Kilby Court until civilization crumbles from the imminent oil crisis, the probability that all of them are good or even worth listening to is small — even smaller than the amount of space between your local indie king’s hip girl pants and his shapely, tattooed legs. The Velvet Teen more than most deserves distinction from its numerous contemporaries by a unique sound, fine tuned on its debut, Out of the Fierce Parade, by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. Determined to rise from its relative anonymity, The Velvet Teen’s determined tour ethic is paying off in jaunts with indie luminaries a la Cursive, Death Cab for Cutie and Minus the Bear.
Nov. 16CelebrationKilby Court (741 S. 330 West) 7:30 p.m.$5
Formed after husband and wife Sean Antanaitis and Katrina Ford retired violent no-wave experiment, the Jaks, Celebration leaves the Jaks boisterous punk aesthetics behind for a more melodic route, merging the soul with the psychedelic. After releasing its first self-titled LP, the group caught the attention of regaled British independent record label 4AD. Its debut full-length, The Modern Tribe, was produced by devotee David Sitek, of TV on the Radio, and aims to solve the world’s problems via Antanaitis’ eclectic instrumental barrage, David Bergander’s fierce human drums, and Ford’s Aretha Franklin croon.