Mark Seliger
Audio By Carbonatix
In the mood to see a show this weekend? You’ve got plenty of options at your disposal, including artists and acts like alternative band Slothrust, foul-mouthed country musician Koe Wetzel, DJ/producer Zedd, and legendary singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. They’re all scheduled to perform at metro Phoenix music venues during the three-night span from June 16 to 18.
Details about each of their gigs are available below. And for even more live music happening in the Valley this weekend and beyond, visit Phoenix New Times’ concert calendar.
Slothrust
Friday at Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. 2nd Ave.”I learned that hunger is a symptom of adopting bad behavior,” Leah Wellbaum sings on “Horseshoe Crab,” the single off their 2016 album “Everyone Else.” Singing about blood-stained pillows and returning to the sea, it’s a song that powerfully evokes the difficulty of connecting with other people and how seductive retreating can seem. Who doesn’t sympathize with the desire to scuttle away from an awkward situation and disappear beneath the waves? Inertia is a subject that Wellbaum and her musical partner Will Gorin understand intimately. It’s in their band name: a portmanteau of sloth and rust. Laziness corrodes, it grinds us down into nothing if we let it overstay its welcome. Slothrust understands the appeal of vegging out: you can hear it in their low-key yet compelling guitar licks and sprightly drums. Slothrust songs get under your skin, taking you over like a hermit crab finding a home in your heart. The “smallness” of their music makes the heaviness of their subjects all the more crushing and affecting. With Weakened Friends; 7 p.m., $20-$35 via ticketweb.com. Ashley Naftule
Koe Wetzel
Saturday at Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., MesaKoe Wetzel owes a debt of gratitude to David Allan Coe, and not just because he was partially named after the outlaw country music legend. Borrowing liberally from DAC’s foul-mouthed hillbilly hell-raiser shtick, Wetzel’s spins profane yarns about hooking up with cheating wives, popping drugs, or fleeing from cops in his rowdy country-grunge tunes (sample lyrics: “Imma love her and spank her like a backup man/She says, ‘My husband can’t do the stuff my Sancho can’). Admittedly, it comes off a bit more dudebro than outlaw and has earned the Texas-born singer-songwriter plenty of scorn in country music circles. Not that he cares in the slightest, as evidenced by his DGAF attitude on “Cheers,” a track from last year’s “Hell Paso,” where Wetzel drinks a toast to his fans and tells off his detractors. We’re guessing he’ll do the same when he rides into Mesa Amphitheatre on Saturday night. With Pecos & the Rooftops and Dylan Wheeler; 6:30 p.m., $45-$175 via mesaamp.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Anton Zaslavski, better known to the EDM world as Zedd.
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Zedd
Sunday at Talking Stick Resort, 9800 E. Talking Stick Way, ScottsdaleAnton Zaslavski isn’t what you’d call an ordinary DJ. Far from it. Yes, the Russian-German beatsmith is a gifted producer who has rocked unforgettable sets inside numerous nightclubs and at many of the world’s top festivals (including Ultra, Nocturnal, and Electric Zoo). But during his musical career, the artist known as Zedd has followed a somewhat curious journey. Zaslavski was classically trained on both the piano and drums as a lad, spent time as a percussionist in a post-hardcore/metal band, and has drawn inspiration from everything from electronic acts like Justice to chamber music when creating his punchy EDM soundscapes. This weekend, his journey brings him to Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, where he’ll headline the latest “Wave by Release” pool party. With Alvin Risk, Hook N Sling, Pr!ce and MLBX; 1 p.m., $50 via ticketmaster.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Elvis Costello and the Imposters
Sunday at Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W. Washington St.Elvis Costello, like all true nerds, will never be in style. People may wear his glasses but his music is too fussy, too erudite, too ramshackle and hard to categorize to keep him in the zeitgeist. A man who knows his Bacharach like the back of his hand, the one-time punk poet who got banned from “Saturday Night Live” for more than a decade has had a long and distinguished career. Working with orchestras, soul legends and small band outfits, Costello’s reedy voice and razor-sharp wit remain intact after all these years. With Los Straight Jackets and Nick Lowe; 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$125 via livenation.com. Ashley Naftule
Loveless
Sunday at Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second AvenueDon’t let the name fool you: Loveless aren’t a shoegaze band. Though they share the same name as My Bloody Valentine’s landmark, record label-crippling 1991 album, the duo of Julian Comeau and Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail are mining a different vein of guitar rock: emo. Drawing on the hearts-on-sleeve emotional expressiveness of emo and the candy-coated hooks of pop-punk, Loveless write songs about mental health, love, and giving up tempting vices with guitar licks and atmospherics drawn from influences like All Time Low and Sleeping With Sirens. Comeau gained attention on TikTok over the last few years covering Bille Eilish and Lizzo tunes and giving them a pop-punk makeover. His willingness to take requests for his covers and cover songs far outside his sonic wheelhouse drew Loveless a loyal following, one that helped make their 2021 album “Loveless I” a success. 8 p.m., tickets are available on the secondary market. Ashley Naftule
