Turn it down

Abbey Road Lunatics at The Loft

The third installment of Fusion Shows’ Summer Sing-Along happens Friday at The Loft. The series showcases a number of local bands performing a full set of covers from a particular band. This time around, Elliot Street Lunatic performs as the Beatles, while Mike Mains & the Branches perform as pop-radio rockers Third Eye Blind. Other acts include Charlatan (as New Found Glory), Rival Summers (Dashboard Confessional), Happy Human (Postal Service), Wolves & Machines (Brand New), Shapes and Colors (Queen) and One Dance Left (Katy Perry).

Friday, Aug. 24 @ The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, all ages, $7, doors at 6:30 p.m.

Evolve with Ghoulie 

Ghoulie (a.k.a. Patrick Wenzel) has been writing, recording and performing experimental-oddball pop and smooth R&B tunes for some time in the Lansing area. Saturday he plays The Loft along with M.O., Dean Cue, The Scoops Houdini, Eklipx and Mista Mixa. The monthly event, named Evolve, is hosted by Jay Arthur of Fort Knox Entertainment, who describes the night as “monthly installments of dope electronic beats.” Admission is free before 10 p.m. Wenzel, who now performs as an electro one-man-band, is also known for his past groups, like Sex Ghost! and Public Pubes. He is getting set to release his upcoming album “Mango Juice” through Madlantis Records. So how does Wenzel describe Ghoulie? “It sounds like Billy Ocean and Barnes & Barnes smoked down with Esham and Devo.” 

Saturday, Aug. 25, The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over, free before 10 p.m., $5 for 21 and over, $8 for 18 and over.

Alligator Records´ Smokin´ Joe Kubek & Bnois King 

Smokin’ Joe Kubek started playing blues guitar in Dallas nightclubs at age 14, earning fans over the years such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. He’s played with Freddie King, Robert Whitfield, Al Braggs, Charlie Robinson, Big Ray Anderson, Ernie Johnson and Little Joe Blue, but wasn’t until he teamed up with Louisiana singer/guitarist Bnois King that he found his musical home. The two guitar slingers play Sunday at the Green Door. Kubek has also become known for his own extreme style. He pulls, bends, picks, and pushes his strings well beyond the norm. Guitar fans will notice his Hendrix-style crybaby wah-wah leads and his scorching Johnny Winter-meets-Elmore James slide work on songs – while King follows on his Gibson. Opening the show at the Green Door is Bad Gravy with Freddie Cunningham.  

Sunday, Aug. 26, The Green Door, 2005 E. Michigan Ave, Lansing, 21 and over, $10, doors at 6 p.m., Bad Gravy at 7 p.m., Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King at 8 p.m.

Pump It Up

The East Lansing-based venue, The Pump House, hosts prairie balladeer Scott Cook with special guest Mike Vial on Sunday. Cook, a Canadian-based songwriter, plays straight-talking tunes that weave together folk, roots, blues, reggae and soul. His sound is often topped off with some fingerpicked acoustic guitar, banjo, ukulele and a little foot percussion. Vial, meanwhile, is a Michigan songwriter who blends James Taylor lyricism with the musical style of John Mayer. Fun fact: In the spring of 2011, Vial left his teaching position of eight years to pursue music full-time. 

Sunday, Aug. 26, The Pump House, 368 Orchard St., East Lansing, suggested donation $15, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Raw R-n-R at The Loft

The People’s Temple, a Lansing-based shoegaze band, will hit the road this September for a tour that will stretch out to the West Coast. Before they leave, the band headlines a rock ‘n’ roll show Aug. 30 at The Loft. Last month, they were invited to play a live show at Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville. (Third Man plans to release a 7-inch from the show sometime this year.)  Also performing is an assortment of local bands, including the poppy local post-punk band Language and Grand Ledge-based pop punks Decades, which features former Jason Alarm front-man Matt Waterman. Also performing is the primitive-rock trio Racket Ghost. Fans of lo-fi rock, The Stooges, classic surf tunes might want to check them out.

Thursday, Aug. 30, The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over show, tickets are $7 for 18 and over, $5 for 21 and over, doors 8 p.m.