Minus the Bear, Portugal. The Man, the Big Sleep
(Showbox at the Market) It took a laser show to make me realize how much I like Minus the Bear’s latest album, Planet of Ice. Upon first listening to their 2007 release, I was too critical of the songs, which are more psychedelic and stoner-rock inspired than anything the local quintet have done before. Songs like “Throwin’ Shapes” and “Ice Monster” still boast the band’s token technical, cinematic mellow rock, but tracks like “Knights” are driven by fluid, wah-wah guitar solos that shoot off into space. It might not sound as intriguing when listened to at a desk lit up with soul-sucking fluorescents, but once you’re in a laser-lit room filled with fog and the subtle waft of weed from your neighbors’ preshow high, their sonic voyages come together fantastically. MEGAN SELING

Listen to Minus the Bear:
“Throwin’ Shapes”

“Drilling”

Listen to Portugal. The Man:
“Stables and Chairs”

The Rippingtons
(Jazz Alley) The contemporary (read: rockingly smooth) jazz outfit the Rippingtons, led by guitarist/nominal frontman Russ Freeman, have proven to be one of the most enduring and successful bands to span the gap from the dog days of jazz fusion to the full-blown smooth jazz of the late ’80s and beyond. While their overall aesthetic is generally quite objectionable (every one of their record covers for the last two decades has featured their bebop-shaded cartoon-cat mascot), I have found great personal gratification in their 1994 record, Sahara (technically credited to “Russ Freeman & the Rippingtons,” but why split hairs?). There is really no better antidote for early-morning, beginning-work doldrums than Sahara’s earnest, NBA-on-NBC-style exultancy and occasionally laugh-out-loud musical turns. Plus, the cover has the cartoon cat face superimposed on the sphinx. Tadow! SAM MICKENS

Click to listen to the Rippingtons via www.rippingtons.com.

Also tonight is one of Larry Mizell’s faves, Royce da 5’9”. From this week’s My Philosophy:

Hold the fuckin’ phone! One of my favorite MCs of all time, Royce da 5’9”, is actually coming to Studio Seven on Thursday, May 8, (with Alpha P, Mind Movers, and another Detroit legend, Esham)! I’m a veterano Royce stan, fool—from the Slim Shady LP to his Game 12-inch singles to his mixtapes—I think the first thing I ever wrote was a review of Death Is Certain for Tablet some five years ago…

And hey! There’s even more to be found in our online listings! Take a look.