Illness forces Foxy Shazam to cancel Loft date

If seeing Foxy Shazam at The Loft was on your Thursday list of things to do, scratch it off: The show is being postponed. “A few of the guys have come down with a serious case of pneumonia and it needs to be treated immediately,” a representative of the band wrote on Foxy's Facebook page on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, due to the declining health of the band, we are going to be postponing our shows on the current tour up to the 11th of April. This means Rochester, Pittsburgh, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Omaha and Colorado Springs.” A rescheduled date for Lansing should be announced shortly. Illness aside, the Cincinnati-based band is on a roll with “I Like It,” the hit single from its new album “The Church of Rock and Roll” (IRS Records/EMI Group). 

New York head-bangers hit up Lansing

The Blackened Moon Concert Hall is stocked with East Coast death-metal acts on Thursday. Bands set to thrash through some black metal include HellCannon (from Buffalo) and New Jersey-based rockers Legionary and Death Sick. Representing Lansing are Genocya and Seraphim Burial. Genocya has been playing a mix of thrash, death, and black metal for a decade. The band, which recently released its first full-length album “Ever Descent,” includes Dane Brown (vocals), Brad van Satan (guitar), Matt Cunningham (guitar), Tim Sever (drums) and Jim Albrecht (bass). Genocya returns to Blackened Moon on April 28 to play its 10th anniversary show, which will include performances from openers Sauron, Dozic and more. 

Thursday, April 5 @ Blackened Moon Concert Hall, 3208 S. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lansing, 18 & up, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Converge at the Loft

Converge plays an all-ages show at The Loft on Saturday, along with openers Loma Prieta, Git Some, The Armed and Endeavors. Since forming in 1990, the grindcore veterans have continued to play a distinct brand of obnoxious punk-metal on six (going on seven) releases. Converge, a Boston-based band, is working on an upcoming LP, tentatively titled “All We Love We Leave Behind.”Over the years, members of Converge have also taken part in various side projects, including Kingdom of the Sun, Old Man Gloom and Kid Kilowatt (which also included members of Cave In).

Saturday, April 7 @ The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, all ages, $15 advance, $17 doors.Doors 6 p.m.

Hertler headlines Mac's Bar

Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers recently dropped the “On Being” LP, via Lower Peninsula Records. On Saturday, the band plays Mac’s Bar. Hertler, a growing figure in the Michigan indie-folk scene, has played alongside the likes of Frontier Ruckus, Chris Bathgate and Breathe Owl Breathe. Opening the show is Valentiger (Grand Rapids-based folk-pop), Alco (“ambient rock” from Holt), Redbird (Lansing-based indie), Red Pill (Blat! Pack rapper), Parent the Seas (Saginaw indie) and Aa. Also taking the stage is Skinny Black & Sloan Kettering, an indie-blues band from Lansing. The duo says it enjoys the “simpler, classic side of music.” Fans of the Soledad Brothers or the Black Keys may want to check out Skinny Black. 

Saturday, April 7 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, all ages until 9 p.m., then 18 and over. $10 advance, $12 door, 6:30 p.m.

Black Mass brings NYC sounds  to Mac's

Specializing in dark wave, industrial, witch haus and electro music, Black Mass Sunday has become a weekly fixture at Mac’s Bar. The series of shows serves as an avant-garde dance party and features classic and new-breed artists from the “dark spectrum of music.” This week’s event includes Le SphinxX, a Brooklyn-based electro-clash/dream-pop  trio. Also making some noise is Gluuuu, a New York-based “one-woman sound machine,” specializing in magically-textured soundscapes. Another New Yorker, Matt Struck, plays his brand of ghost pop and dream-wave. Opening the show at 9 p.m. are Owl Cave Records artists Ein Sof Goyle, Jaysen Craves and Skellie Bat Lefleur, playing a variety of styles of industrial. Organizers ask that attendees appear in “appropriately gothic/post-punk/fetish attire — or at least wear black.” Black Mass organizers also host LGBTQIA-friendly shows, noting, “We hope to create a safe environment for people of all colors, sexes and persuasions.”

Sunday, April 8 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, $3 for 21 and over, $5 for 18 and over, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Beak & Bert get heavy

Drawing influences from the likes of Godflesh, Isis and Killing Joke, Beak was formed by vocalist Jason Goldberg and drummer Chris Eichenseer of the critically acclaimed post-rock outfit The Timeout Drawer. The Chicago-based band, which specializes in “blistering heaviness and melodic prog-rock,” also includes Andy Bosnak (guitar) and Jon Slusher (guitars, lead vocals). The band plays Mac’s Bar April 11. Opening the show is a roster of local heavy hitters, including The Plague Years, American Gothic and BerT. 

Wednesday, April 11 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over. $7, 9 p.m.