Tim’s Picks: St. Patrick’s, on parade
Five prime ideas for your Greater Lafayette weekend, right here.
It’s Thursday, so it must be …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
Editor’s note: After getting schooled about the debate over the proper abbreviation of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve taken the safe route with a retooled headline. Thanks for your style book arguments on all things St. Paddy’s Day. Enjoy and be safe this weekend. Dave Bangert/Based in Lafayette.
Five of the best ideas heading into your weekend and beyond, starting with …
“Godspell Jr.,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 17, Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, 313 N. Fifth St., Lafayette — Take it “Day by Day” this weekend because Civic Youth Theatre is breathing fresh life into the hit 1971 rock musical “Godspell.” Directed by Julie Baumann and Monica Shaeffer, the young cast will be singing and dancing their way through the Book of Matthew’s stories and themes that still hit home. Tickets. $16.
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, March 16 and 17, Nine Irish Brothers — The Super Bowl for Indiana’s best Irish bar and grill is finally here. With St. Patrick’s Day itself falling on Sunday, both Nine Irish Brothers locations (3520 E. Indiana 38, Lafayette, and 119 Howard Ave., West Lafayette) will be jigging for joy with much Guinness and Jameson flowing. In West Lafayette, Irish breakfast will be served Saturday before the annual marching parade, the area’s only St. Patrick’s parade. The event that you are encouraged to walk with while displaying your Irish pride starts at 11 a.m. As always, live music will be a highlight to the festivities with longtime central Indiana favorites Highland Reign (Saturday only) being joined by local trio Lachlan, solo artist Shawn Fitzpatrick (Saturday only) and Traveler’s Dream (Sunday only).
St. Patty’s Day Throwdown with Quick Flower, Barrens and Total Loss, 9 p.m. Saturday, March 16, North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — The Lafayette metal scene continues to grow with new act Quick Flower. The vicious quintet will shamrock your blarney stones off as part of North End Pub’s St. Patrick’s Day party. Do check out the band’s single, “Clout Chaser,” which lyrically tears some unlucky individual a new craic. Vocals are handled with aplomb by Tim Neff. Also on tap this night are Ohio hardcore bands Barrens (Dayton) and Total Loss (Cincinnati). $10.
Protrusion with Master Hunter, SleepTight and Everything’s Dead, 9 p.m. Saturday, March 16, The Guac Box, 308 State St., West Lafayette — While St. Patrick’s Day might be enough excuse to have a beer or two, the day before, March 16, is always a Stunner. In honor of The Texas Rattlesnake himself, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Saturday is 3:16 Day — the best day to enthusiastically smash a couple “Steveweisers.” And what better place to celebrate than a heavy metal show? One of Lafayette’s most brutal (in a good way) is death metal band Protrusion. With lightning fast riffage and guttural vocals courtesy of guitarist Colin Foster, the band is comprised of current and former members of Kossuth, Dawn of Dementia, Gorgasm and Miaros. The band’s three-song demo is intense and recommended to only the most metal. SleepTight (Chicago area deathcore) and Everything’s Dead will add to the festivities as will Lafayette/Kokomo metal heroes Master Hunter, whose guitarist Tony Davis will be celebrating another circle pit around the sun. Mostly known in Lafayette as the bassist for The Enstrangers and Lucifist, Davis shredded the six-string for Master Hunter years ago and continues to do so in the band’s recent reboot. Please give him and the rest of these metal maniacs a “Hell yeah!” $10.
Bleu Django, 6 p.m. Tuesday, People’s Brewing Company, 2006 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — As the name alludes to, the hot jazz sounds of Django Reinhardt and other artists from the 1930s will reverberate People’s tap room thanks to Bleu Django, a longtime acoustic quartet (sometimes quintet or more) from Indianapolis. With its “gypsy swing” style, the core of the band consists of upright bassist Fred Withrow, violinist Carolyn Dutton, and guitarists Bob Foster and Daryl Jones as well as guests often joining in on the fun. The music is fast, infectious and still exciting 90 years after Parisian night clubs first popularized the sound from its American cousin. Bleu Django has performed in Lafayette numerous times and still gig all up and down our state. Great to see them back. Tickets. $10.
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.