John Egan The Big Easy, May 19
Solo bluesman John Egan sings in a tone that suggests someone is constantly walking over his grave, and his lyrics are loaded with bad mojo like nature gone haywire and apocalyptic visions. All he needs live is his National Resonator, one of those shiny silver guitars that sting and snarl, and has begun mastering the followup to 2012's spare and sinister Phantoms. Earlier this year Egan advanced to the semifinals of the International Blues Challenge's solo competition for the second year in a row, vying with bluesmen and women from all over the planet. CHRIS GRAY
Skid Row Scout Bar, May 20
When it comes to proper '80s hair bands, Skid Row is up there with the best of them. Thanks in part to enigmatic front man Sebastian Bach and songs like "18 and Life," they stood apart from the hairsprayed crowd. Both 1989's Skid Row and their heavier, more speed-metal followup, Slave to the Grind, were massive commercial beasts, but the band never quite made it back from an extended hiatus following the latter.
They sure tried, releasing a number of followups and EPs, but nothing took off the way that those first two did. Even still, Bach and company have continued making the concert rounds, and you can bet your skinny jeans there will be a sea of denim jackets in Clear Lake Tuesday. With Tame Fury, Skrewpipe and American X. ANGELICA LEICHT
DJ Flash Gordon Parks Alley Kat Lounge, May 21
If you see Flash Gordon Parks around a set of turntables -- which you can every Wednesday at the Big Top's tiny next-door neighbor, the Alley Kat Lounge -- it's better than even money you're in for a funky good time. Parks pours an encyclopedic knowledge of soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop and more into sets that will make you think as much as they make you sweat. That's no easy feat, but he makes it sound that way. CHRIS GRAY
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