DIY Venue Spotlight: The Dayton Dirt Collective

Dayton, Ohio’s Third Street: home to the local porn store, church supply outlet and The Dayton Dirt Collective. If horror make-up workshops, intimate musical performances and community service opportunities are not reason enough to visit the collective, then the neighboring establishments might be.

What We’re Doing This Weekend: Sunday

Why bother going to bed at a respectable hour? Stay up late with some of us on Sunday as we head to the Hungry Brain, a local bar that hosts a weekly avant-jazz series.

This week’s installment features a makeshift ensemble that includes Tortoise drummer John Herndon, members of jazzy post-rockers Algernon, the trombonist from jazz quintet Herculaneum, the bassist from experimental indie-jazz outfit Isotope 217, and more.

What We’re Doing This Weekend: Saturday

Our plans for Saturday night include seeing the seemingly ELO-inspired pop epics of Everthus the Deadbeats and the frenetic Afrobeat of the Chicago Afrobeat Project. Check out the lowdown and audio/video below.

Zu: Modern Genius or Noisy Rubbish?

We’ve had a bit of that debate in the office of late, with online editor Scott Morrow weighing in on the side of genius. For those unfamiliar, Zu is an experimental Italian trio that combines sludgy alt-metal with complex rhythms and free-jazz freakouts.

What We’re Doing This Weekend: Friday

Looking for some high-brow entertainment and low-brow debauchery this Friday? For the former, we recommend seeing the Lyric Opera of Chicago performing George Gershwin‘s classic opera Porgy and Bess. And if that scene is a bit too stuffy for your tastes, then maybe you’d enjoy the booze-praising Celtic punk of The Tossers.

What We’re Doing This Weekend: Thursday

Whether or not one has off on Friday, Thursday night is the official start of the weekend — if only because there are too many good shows to see. One of those includes Chicago quintet Algernon, a psychedelic, jazz-tinged post-rock outfit that hits hard.