The 10 best things to do the week of June 12 to 18, from Arts & Ideas to Jesse Cook to The Queers
Arts #Arts
Original members abound on Connecticut concert stages the week of June 12 to 18: Terry Adams with NRBQ, Joe Queer with The Queers and Geoff Tate covering two classic albums by his old band Queensrÿche. If you prefer not to recognize famous performers, “The Masked Singer” show is on tour. Here are 10 of The Courant’s top arts picks for the week.
NRBQ, the insanely eclectic rock band that still boasts founding member Terry Adams, who’s been the keyboardist since 1966. The other current members all joined sometime after NRBQ’s 2004-11 hiatus. June 12 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Hall, 20 Greenwoods Road West, Norfolk. $34-$49. infinityhall.com.
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The current conceptual configuration of experimental German synth-rock pioneers Kraftwerk is the immersive multimedia musical/visual experience Kraftwerk 3-D. In various forms, Kraftwerk has been around since 1969 and still boasts the involvement of one of its founding members — Ralf Hütter. The international tour visits Connecticut June 15 at 8 p.m. at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven. $39.50-$99.50. collegestreetmusichall.com.
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Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook turned heads in 1995 with his debut album “Tempest.” He has a new album out, “Libre,” but his current tour is called “Tempest II,” touching on more than a quarter century of virtuoso Cook. June 15 at 7:30 p.m. at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. $38-$70. bushnell.org.
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The former Queensrÿche vocalist continues to perform that band’s songs with his own ensembles. On June 16 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford, Geoff Tate Empire will give live renditions of two classic Queensrÿche albums: “Rage to Order” from 1986 and the one that gives Tate’s current outfit its name, 1990′s “Empire.” $45-$55. infinityhall.com.
Weekly
Our picks for things to do and places to go this weekend
It’s an old-school punk/hardcore mosh pit of The Queers, celebrating 40 years as a premiere punk/pop outfit, still led by Joe Queer; Dwarves, filthy as ever and still anchored by frontman Blag Dahlia and guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed; Two local, more newly minted yet still trad punk acts; The Ratz, with local punk luminaries Jeffrey Thunders and Elvis Belushi; and The Agonizers. June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden. $20-$25. spaceballroom.com.
Country/folk/rock/protest singer/songwriter and activist Steve Earle and his band the Dukes play June 16 at 8 p.m. at Warner Theatre, 68 Main St., Torrington. Earle has released an album a year, on average, for the last 22 years, including heartfelt album-length tributes to Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker and his late son Justin Townes Earle. $32-$82. warnertheatre.org.
New Haven’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas owns June. Among the dozens of events at the festival this week are Dallas Black Dance Theater, (June 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. the Yale University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven; $45-$65; $20 students); and comedian Michelle Buteau (June 16 at 8 p.m. at College Street Music Hall, 237 College St., New Haven; $45-$85, $20 students). artidea.org.
“The Masked Singer” TV show has spawned an equally colorful and costumed national tour, coming to the Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket June 16 at 7:30 p.m. The host is Natasha Bedingfield, and each city features a “surprise celebrity.” $30-$55. foxwoods.com.
Up and coming Memphis rockers The Band Camino, now one album and three EPs old, play the Dome space at the Oakdale, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford, with Renforshort and Games We Play, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. $29.50. oakdale.com.
The New York-based Latino children’s theater group Teatro SEA returns to the Charter Oak Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave., Hartford on June 18 at 3 p.m. with “Pedro Animal Falls in Love,” described as “a comical folktale from the Dominican Republic” about “a simple, fun-loving young man who is crazy in love with a neighborhood girl,” staged with “humorous, interactive puppet play.” $5. charteroakcenter.org.
Christopher Arnott can be reached at carnott@courant.com.