Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, House of Blues, August 1: "[Cudi has] tapped John Goldstein, Kanye's famed stage light guy, to help him create an actual feel to his show. Hipster rappers get derided a lot as not being "real rappers," but they put on a hell of a show. The crowd is already his."
Shea Serrano
Thee Armada, Warehouse Live, August 1: "The time spent in their rooms practicing over the years showed during both their original songs and especially on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town," a tribute to all the parents in attendance."
Kim Douglass
Jimmy Webb, Dosey Doe Coffee House, August 2: "To be sure, there's a lot of lyrical silliness in Webb's work - cakes left in the rain, moons that are harsh mistresses - but they're redeemed by striking melodies and inventive arrangements. He broke the rules (after learning them) like Bacharach or Sondheim."
Rich Connelly
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, August 2: "To the audience at last night's nearly sold-out Houston stop on the 'Bob Dylan Show' tour, new music from any of these legends, or hell, just reworked old stuff, was shunned and thrashed."
Craig Hlavaty
Katy Perry, Verizon Wireless Theater, August 2: "Perry gets the usual all-hooks-no-heft brushoff from most critics, but she's an engaging performer (to put it mildly) with real pop smarts who knows her history. She chose the Beach Boys' 'California Girls' for her entrance music Sunday - kudos for not using the more age-appropriate David Lee Roth remake, girl."
Chris Gray
De La Soul, House of Blues, August 2: "In a time when hip hop is coming out of its protracted adolescence and struggling to find itself, De La Soul's dedication to remaining both steady and prominent on the daily grind shows the new boys how it should be."
Kim Douglass
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Rudyard's, August 4: "Burning through songs at Rudyard's Tuesday like a writer on deadline burns through cigarettes, the Nashville quartet brought forth images of cars with huge tailfins, high-school sock hops gone horribly awry and sharecroppers' sons setting out for the big city to seek their fortunes."
Chris Gray
Atmosphere, Warehouse Live, August 4: "Focusing less on machismo and how much more ballin' he is than the next guy, MC Slug comes at his fans with full force and honesty."
Kim Douglass