Turn it down

A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

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Negative Approach at Macs Bar - Fri. Nov 29th

Detroit’s hardcore punk pioneers Negative Approach headlines a night of classic punk rock Nov. 29 at Mac’s Bar. Opening the show are Wartorn, Explicit Bombers and Banned & Burned. Starting in the early 1980s, Negative Approach, led by the legendary vocalist John Brannon, became a leading band in the emerging DIY hardcore scene after releasing its 1982 debut 7-inch single on Touch and Go Records. In 1992, Touch and Go released “Total Recall,” a compilation of the band’s no-frills discography. While Negative Approach originally called it quits in the mid-‘80s, Brannon reformed the band in 2006 and has since continued to play sporadic shows, in between gigs with Easy Action, his primary band.

Friday, Nov. 29 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. All ages, $18, $15 advance, 8 p.m.


Croatone CD release show - Fri. Nov 22nd

Croatone, a local instrumental hardcore punk band, holds a CD release show Friday at Mac’s Bar. Opening are Hordes and Wormfoot. Croatone plays instrumental “bluesy psychedelic hardcore punk rock.” This is the band’s debut disc on Silver Maple Kill Records, a local indie label operated by musician Todd Kerinen. Meanwhile Hordes is writing songs for a new album, which is interesting — for the last six years, the Lansing-based experimental band has only performed and recorded improvised material. Hordes’ chief members Jon Howard (bass, loops, samples) and Alex Hudson (guitar, vocals, effects) are known for their riff-heavy metal/noise hybrid that draws influence from Godflesh, The Cure and Killing Joke.

Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 18 , $8, 5 p.m.


X Ambassadors at The Loft - Fri. Nov 22nd

Rising indie stars X Ambassadors headline a night of alt-rock Friday at The Loft. The gig is sponsored by 94.1 The Edge and also features Dinner and a Suit, Flint Eastwood and Wayne Szalinski. After Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons caught an X Ambassadors show, he helped get the band signed to KIDinaKORNER Records, a subsidiary of Interscope Records. The Brooklynbased band’s major label debut EP, “Love Songs Drug Songs,” released last year, showcases its ability to write slick pop music, with a gloomy, fervent edge. The disc is receiving airplay on alternative radio stations across the country. The group was formed by singer/songwriter Sam Harris, Casey Harris (his brother and keyboardist), Noah Feldsuh (guitar) and drummer Adam Levin.

The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. All ages, $12, $9.41 adv., 7 p.m.


Oneo CD release show - Wed. Nov 27th

Oneo, a Lansing hardcore grunge band, releases its debut CD “The First Has Fallen” Nov. 27 at Uli’s Haus of Rock. Opening the show are Foxhound, Off The Ledge, Christy & The Professors, Tru-Burn and The Noise Birds. Oneo’s new, self-produced, disc features eight original songs that reflect the band’s influences, like Alice in Chains and Nirvana. The outfit includes John Monroe (bass), Craig Oze Wilson (drums), Rick Britton (guitar/vocals) and lead guitarist Brandon Onan. Off The Ledge, a Lansing-based “funky blues rock” band, is made up of former members of Monsters on Maple St. and 2nd Hand Band. The members cite Jack White and Dave Matthews as their chief influences.

Uli’s Haus of Rock, 4519 S. Martin Luther King, Lansing. 18 , $5 for 21 plus, $10 under 21, 7 p.m.


The Fencemen at Macs Bar - Wed. Nov 27th

The Fencemen (featuring members of Small Brown Bike, LaSalle, and Ettison Clio), are a local five-piece that formed in late 2010. The band has already self-released the “Times Are Alright” disc and are in the studio recording its new EP, tentatively titled “More More More Monuments”; the EP is planned to be completed over the winter. The Fencemen are influenced by post-punk, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. The band is made up of scene veterans Jared Nisch (bass), Mike Reed (guitar), Dan Jaquint (drummer) and Tyler Blakslee (vocals). Opening the raucous pre-Thanksgiving show (biggest bar night of the year!) are Flint-based Empty Orchestra and Ypsilanti-based Disinformants.

Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 18 , $7, 9 p.m.

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