Offbeat, quirky, and straight-up strange gigs pop in August

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If you think that all music sounds the same these days, then you’re just not trying hard enough.

Sure, a lot of the most mainstream pop and the trendiest of trending tracks might all share a sheen and an endlessly rehashed, reel-ready formula, but look right beneath the surface of the modern music world and you’ll find some seriously strange and creative artists doing their own things.

And in August in OKC, “beneath the surface” actually means “on stages all over town.”

Our city’s local stages are hosting a handful of artists this month that cover a lot of decidedly strange and offbeat ground, from harsh, dark experimentalism to quirky, goofy soundtrack songs, along the way hitting some hyper-modern psych-pop and even some power metal from a galaxy far, far away.

So leave all your expectations and mainstream sensibilities at the door, because we’re getting weird in August.

Glass Beams – Tower Theatre – August 5th 

One of the most aesthetically unique and visually striking acts to break onto the global indie scene in some years, Australia’s Glass Beams are known for wearing elaborately decorated masks, heavily adorned with beads and glasswork, that entirely obscure the members’ faces.

But lest you think that they’re all flash and no substance, Glass Beams’ music is arguably just as unique, blending the traditionalist Indian folk music and instrumentation of leader Rajan Silva’s cultural home with modern indie-rock and dream-pop sounds.

It’s a sonic combo as otherworldly and mesmerizing as their facewear, and it should make for a particularly psychedelic evening at the Tower.

For times, tickets, and more, visit towertheatreokc.com.

Galactic Empire – 89th Street – August 8th 

Speaking of masks, why wear meticulously crafted, bejeweled adornments when you can suit up head to toe in the sleek Imperial armor of “Star Wars?”

That’s right, instrumental epic-metal gatecrashers Galactic Empire didn’t just adopt their space fantasy moniker as a fun reference. It’s their whole thing.

Blending post-modern power-metal with the timeless orchestrations of John Williams, Galactic Empire don full Imperial garb and blast through some muscular metal versions of classic “Star Wars” scores (as well as a few surprises from some other classic films.)

 Is it goofy? Sure. Is it rousing and powerful and awesome? You bet.

Plus, local ska heroes Fair Weather Enemies will be on hand to open things up, and that’s guaranteed to only add to the evening’s fun.

For times, tickets, and more, visit 89thstreetokc.com.

OKC Bands do the ‘Juno’ Soundtrack – Factory Obscura – August 23rd 

Normally I don’t do a lot of spotlighting of the city’s virtually endless string of cover gigs and tribute shows, but Factory Obscura’s semi-regular Uncovered showcase feels different.

Curated and composed by stepmom’s Lindsey Cox, it’s an opportunity to bring together a slew of OKC locals from across the city’s sprawl to put their own signature spins on songs from a game-changing band or album.

For the next installment coming up this month, Cox has compiled a collection of artists to pay tribute to an album that helped spawn an entire generation of quirky, fast-talking weird kids: the “Juno” soundtrack.

2007’s “Juno” became an immediate lynchpin in the development of Millennial hipster counterculture, and its soundtrack – constructed primarily around anti-folk legend Kimya Dawson and The Moldy Peaches, and featuring The Kinks, Cat Power, The Velvet Underground, and more – was a seismic force for the indie generation then coming of age.

Local notables like Keathley, Berta B, The Ugly Cowboys, and Jarvix will all make appearances to try their hands at tracks from the album that sold a million ukuleles. And as a bonus, we’ll even be getting our first look at The Best of Ronnie & Delta, a retro glam-country power couple throwback (that may in fact be Cox and Blue Morrison leader Bradly Morris dolled up in rhinestones and fringe.)

For times, tickets, and more, visit factoryobscura.com.

Dissociation presents: Plague of Carcosa, Electrogong, Ut Mutem, & Sifr – Bookish – August 23rd 

If kooky folk soundtracks aren’t quite your thing, how’s this for counterprogramming?

Noise/electro/experimental organizers Dissociation are back at it with an evening of darkness and disturbances tailor-made to unnerve and unsettle you while also potentially rattling your brain out of your ears.

Leading the pack this time around is Chicago’s Plague of Carcosa, a cavernously deep, sludgey, downtuned offering of subterranean doom metal inspired by Lovecraftian psycho-horror.

Next up is Kansas City’s Electrogong, harnessing the odd reverberating power of gong speaker technology to create uniquely metallic soundscapes through modular synthesis and straight-up strangeness.

And rounding out the night is the debut of noise-rockers Sifr and stalwart co-captain of the Dissociation ship, drone-looper Ut Mutem.

If “weird” is what you want, and glass-masked Indo-rock, space-fantasy metal, and quirk-pop soundtrack covers are all still too “been there, done that” for you, then you’ll want to be in the back room at Bookish for this one.

For more, visit shop-bookish.com and follow @dissociationoklahoma on Instagram.

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You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.

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