Upcoming: Big Head Todd & The Monsters with Toots & The Maytals @ Knitting Factory

Big Head Todd & The Monsters with Toots & The Maytals @ Knitting Factory 2011-06-14

The year is 1986.  The place, Colorado.  Todd Park Mohr and band mates begin forming what, in 1987, would be known as the rock band Big Head Todd & The Monsters.

They’ve come a long way since the late 80’s, including the platinum selling 1993 album, Sister Sweetly, and collaborations with David Z. (Prince), Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads), John Lee Hooker, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk) and more.  Heck, they’ve even created music per request of Space Shuttle Discovery and have had their song, “Blue Sky” used as Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign song.

The long and short is that Big Head Todd & The Monsters are back with a new album, Rocksteady, which captures a more Caribbean/Roots/Jamaican vibe … and lends itself quite well to touring with legendary reggae group, Toots & The Maytals; a group which formed in the early 60’s, has been reincarnated at least three times, have taken home a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2005 (True Love) and have rubbed elbows with early reggae/ska legends, C.S. Dodd (Studio One), The Skatalites, The Wailers, Prince Buster as well as more contemporary stars such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Trey Anastasio, No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots and Shaggy.

Tuesday, June 14th 2011 at Knitting Factory Concert House

$28.50-$50.  All Ages.  Get tickets.

Check out Big Head Todd & The Monsters on Amazon: Live Monsters, Midnight Radio

Check out Toots & The Maytals on Amazon: Very Best Of, Funky Kingston/In The Dark, Flip & Twist

Pharoahe Monch, NoBody Really @ The Underground [June 5]

Pharoahe Monch, Nobody Really @ The Underground 2011-06-05

Pharoahe Monch: Hip Hop.  Legend.  Reno.  These three words pretty much sum it up.  Wait, no…  We forgot two VERY important words in that list:  NoBody Really.  You don’t know?  CLICK HERE for the skinny.

NoBody Really is comprised of a very real, Reno ‘renaissance man’, Tony Walker (aka Locus aka Talik aka doodles aka Poppa Fro) and along with fellow band mates Tsuyoshi “Yosh” Curtis and Joel “JBird” Cowell, NoBody Really is sure to satisfy any craving our readers may have for that perfect blend of homegrown Reno hip hop.

$10-$15.  18+.  Get tickets.

Check out Pharoahe Monch on Amazon: W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), Desire, The Awakening