It’s a big weekend coming up. A certain holiday for a certain great nation means most of us will be having an extra day off, and of course there will be the prerequisite grilling hot dogs and fireworks (check out our AMG’s 4th of July Weekend Preview for a more comprehensive list of our recommendations), but there is still a bunch of other great shows up for grabs between the pomp and circumstance.
Thursday, July 1 – Dwele at Center Stage
Smooth neo-soul singer Dwele has come a long way since his collaborations with Slum Village. He’s been working on his own new record, W.W.W. (W.ants. W.orld. W.omen), which just dropped, and also features on the first single from headline-fodder-rapper Kanye West’s new record.
Thursday, July 1 – Phantom of the Opera at The Fabulous Fox Theatre
Sorry Mary J. Blige, sometimes we actually do need some drama in our lives. And Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary rock opera delivers in spades. It still stands as an over-the-top epic and will always have a heart in every drama geek’s heart. The show will be at the Fox for a while, so if you don’t catch it this weekend you still have some time to don your bustier, cape, mask or what have you another night.
Friday, July 2 – Dave Daniels and the PTA at The EARL
Local lad Dave Daniels has been gaining in favor through the city and beyond, and his team known as the PTA (members of Beautiful Mess, Soft Targets, Damion Suomi & The Minor Prophets, and Blueground Undergrass) bolster his stage presence in a stellar way. You’ll do yourself a favor and catch them at The EARL at this intimate point of a sure-to-be-long career.
Friday, July 2 – Liza Minnelli and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Chastain Park Amphitheatre
We might be used to seeing the likes of Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse giving unpredictable performances, but Liza Minnelli pretty much invented the tortured diva (well, after her mother and a few others, but she’s the one who is still around and anyway, who’s counting, right?). We’ve seen a lot of very mixed reviews from this tour, which sees the legend performing with local orchestras. Hopefully Ms. Minnelli will pull through and shine.
Saturday, July 3 and 4 – Phish at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
All you jam fans get ready for the ultimate jammy experience – Phish plays two shows at Verizon this weekend. The latest in a pretty darn successful run of reunion shows for Trey and the boys is sure to make many a hippie very happy.
Sunday, July 4 – Lightning Bolt at Eyedrum
Finally, if you want to celebrate America with more noise than a thousand fireworks could possibly ensure, then you’ll be wanting to catch Lightning Bolt, whose style of noise rock is, well, very noisy, and chaotic and pure madness and all those other things your family barbecue is likely to be.
