Tim’s Picks: A 420 edition (it’s not what you think)
Tim’s Picks: A 420 edition (it’s not what you think)
Five choice ideas for your Greater Lafayette Saturday, this time.
No need for introduction, it’s time for …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
Indiana is not very 4-20-friendly, but Greater Lafayette sure is with a slew of happenings Saturday, April 20, that appeal to cool cats and squares alike. These joints will be smoking with live music, DJ beats and even some howling wolves:
Wolf Park’s Birthday Party!, 4-8 p.m., Wolf Park, 4004 E. County Road 800 North, Battle Ground — Wish a howling happy birthday to Wolf Park as the local gem turns 52 this weekend. That’s like 364 in human park years! To celebrate, Wolf Park will party with live music, food trucks and games for the pups, er, kids. Of course, tours showcasing Wolf Park’s adorable residents will take place early and the evening will close out with a hearty birthday wolf howl. $25, $20 for children ages 6-13. Tickets.
Banana Day with DJ Circle T, Cap’n Dangerous and friends, 4:20 p.m., Spot Tavern, 409 S. Fourth St., Lafayette — National Banana Day falls on the third Wednesday of April. If you were unaware of this holiday and did not celebrate this past Wednesday, April 17, you can still honor the fruit this weekend. A bunch of DJs from Greater Lafayette and Indianapolis will bust out their stacks of wax to spin grooves that will put the yum in your potassium. Why the banana buzz? Back in 2022, Banana Day fell on 4-20, which inspired DJ Circle T and the Spot to hold a banana themed night of live music, beats and banana treats. Since then, the local DJ supreme’s banana powers have allowed him to manipulate the calendar and bring Banana Day to 4-20 again. After all, the two pseudo-holidays won’t officially coincide until 2039. That’s much too long to wait, so dance the night away to tunes tasty and weird, just like most banana dishes and drinks, which will be on hand to help pump you full of vitamins B6 and C for ultimate dance floor performance.
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420 Live, 7 p.m., Knickerbocker Saloon, 113 N. Fifth St., Lafayette — A rarity for the ’Bocker these days, three live music acts will serve as the soundtrack for this big party night. Opening the festivities will be the country-leaning duo of Cory Brooks and Chad Mossack, followed by Indianapolis’ Josh Gillespie and the Nomad Collective, which draws influences from Foo Fighters, R.E.M. and Rush (!). The night will be closed out by Lafayette’s own Slight Detour.
The Circle City Deacons and Skaaholics with Glazy Boys and The Velocity District, 7 p.m., Eleventh House, 116 N. Third St., Lafayette — Our Doom Room friends might have been celebrating 4-20 early when booking this all-ages bash: two seasoned ska bands from Indianapolis (The Circle City Deacons and Skaaholics) plus a new, borderline Bad Brains hardcore punk band also from Indy (Glazy Boys), and a Lafayette jazz-funk band (The Velocity District) together on one bill. Well, why not!? This live mix tape should be a hit in the amazing Eleventh House, a space that truly welcomes all — even multiple ska bands. $10.
RIPS from the Pub, 8:30 p.m., North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — How does a metalhead celebrate 4-20? They mosh and headbang, of course, just like every other day. Five Indiana metal acts will fill North End Pub with riffage so dank that it will send you to Valhalla. In on the fun are Purdue University heavies Feed the Flame, Indianapolis metalcore band Chromarama, the return of Fort Wayne trio The Holy Nothing, and Greater Lafayette’s own King’s Gambit and Quick Flower. $10.
And be sure to visit Black Wax Records, JL Records and Von’s Records Saturday for Record Store Day 2024!
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
BONUS CUT, A THROWBACK, NOT ON SATURDAY: With Robert Cray heading back to the Long Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, check this Q&A with the blues guitarist from 2021 – when this reporting project was just as baby and when venues were just getting back to rescheduling shows postponed by the pandemic. Cray talked about getting back into the swing of things post-COVID, his MTV moment in the ‘80s and being on stage with legend Stevie Ray Vaughan just before the blues guitarist was killed in a tragic crash. Here’s that interview. For tickets for Tuesday’s show in downtown Lafayette, go to www.longpac.org.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.