Best Fest Bets: The Underground Music Showcase

Overbooked band lineups, baking in the sun, bottled water rationed among ourselves as if we were living in some post-apocalyptic dystopia that’s been dried up of natural resources—why, oh why, in spite of all this, are summer festivals so popular? Four words: We bleed for music. Let Decider help you ease the bloodletting (and sort through all the crappy opening bands) with our festival picks. In this edition: The Underground Music Showcase, which takes over South Broadway starting tonight and through the weekend.

Bad Weather California, appearing 11:55 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at the Hi-Dive
Before Denver's rootsy indie-rock champ Bad Weather California grew into the stable, formidable, four-piece lineup it now is, it was the solo acoustic project of Grand Junction's Chris Adolf, who used to pack up his battered guitar and cross the state on any given weekend to rock assorted warehouses and DIY venues. Which, actually, he still does, but now he’s got three others in tow with him. The band’s latest, Young Punks, is punk only in attitude and ferocity; its live show is a folk-rock projection of that, tenfold.

Bowerbirds, appearing 10 p.m. Sunday, July 26 at the Hi-Dive
North Carolina’s Bowerbirds make the kind of cool acid-folk that might have been practiced at forest combines in the ’60s. Their music evokes a summer day in the wilderness, with bright, straightforward sounds that beam like the sun’s rays mixed with soft, mellow songs that recall the breezy quiet of dusk in the mountains. Their latest, Upper Air, was released earlier this month. Expect to hear tracks from it here, as well as from their 2007 debut Hymns For A Dark Horse.

Git Some, appearing 8:45 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at 3 Kings Tavern
A few summers back, thanks in part to now-defunct Denver band Planes Mistaken For Stars, there seemed to be a mass migration of Chicagoans to Colorado. This included the guys in Git Some: Guitarist Chuck French moved here originally to join Planes, and the rest of the group followed for no better reason than to get out of town. Since its relocation—and due, also, to a couple of lineup changes, swapping transplants for locals—the band has come to embody an exact amalgam of Midwest hardcore and Queen City punk rock. Its live shows have evolved from frenetic energy to thundering self-destruction—it's a wonder Illinois ever let these boys go.

Ideal Fathers, appearing 8:45 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at the Skylark Lounge
If you think post-punk automatically means tight pants, asymmetrical haircuts, and ice-cool pretension, you might have your prejudices delightfully scrambled by Ideal Fathers. As heard on its 2009 self-titled debut EP, the Denver band spikes the jerky, contorted funkiness of post-punk with a little grungy angst and the sloppy, smart-ass rage of vintage hardcore. If you like to chase your Gang Of Four with a shot of Dead Kennedys, this ought to do it.

Langhorne Slim, appearing 11:55 p.m. tonight, July 23 at the Hi-Dive
Langhorne Slim must have been excited three years ago when he signed to V2 Records. He was stepping into the big leagues from the small indie Narnack, and his 2006 EP Engine was situated to be the opening salvo in his next march. Unfortunately, V2 announced the following year that it was closing down, but Slim didn’t have much trouble finding another home: Kemado put out 2008’s self-titled full-length, a disc of catchy, authentic Americana strapped to a catchy thump on tracks such as “Rebel Side Of Heaven.”

Mark Mallman, appearing 8 p.m. Friday, July 24 at the Skylark Lounge and 6 p.m. Saturday, July 25 on the CarToys outdoor stage
Between creating electronica remixes of Fleet Foxes with his band Ruby Isle and composing for motion-picture trailers, Twin Citian Mark Mallman somehow found time to record Invincible Criminal, his first solo record since 2006’s Between The Devil And Middle C. (Hold Steady frontman and longtime friend Craig Finn guests on “You’re Never Alone In New York.”) Invincible Criminal doesn’t officially drop until Aug. 11, but “The Fastest Piano In The Midwest” is doing a series of summer shows, including here at the UMS, to build anticipation for the record. Mallman also made his recent Loneliness In America (Best Of 1998-2008) collection available as a free download from his official site, giving fans and future converts a budget-friendly summary of his finest work to date.