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Lauryn Hill, They Might Be Giants and Tune-Yards Play New York City

Wednesday May 30
LA hip hop sensation Busdriver (Regan Farquhar) has been attracting rave reviews with his literate and punchy word play, though his latest release wasn't all plain sailing.  On the sleeve of "Beaus$Eros," he writes, "In the most romantic sense, this record was recorded on a laughable shoestring budget in what seemed like a hailstorm of ‘nos’. My old label dropped me after hearing demos of it, my booking agent ran away from me while we were drinking coffee and discussing how great it was going to be, and my DJ went to law school." At  Santos Party House.

Also tonight: WFMU's "Seven Second Delay" is broadcasting live from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in a show featuring comedian Judah Friedlander and the original nerdy rockers with an ear for a killer pop tune, They Might Be Giants.

Thursday May 31
The one-man project of Luis Vasquez, The Soft Moon gives the darkly hypnotic sounds of Suicide, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and Krautrock new life with a stripped-down, lo-fi approach. Vasquez is also inspired by his Afro-Cuban heritage and the wide-open spaces of the Mojave Desert where he was raised. Hear them do their thing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Friday June 1
Celebrate the weekend with a great lineup at Terminal 5: Tune-Yards, Micachu & The Shapes and Delicate Steve.  Tune-Yards is the off-beat project of gifted singer and producer Merrill Garbus. She created Tune-Yards as an experimental solo project, offering her recordings free online, before she was snapped up by trendy UK label 4AD. The New York Times described Merrill as "“a ferocious voice, somewhere between Aretha Franklin and Yoko Ono.”  Support acts Micachu & The Shapes and Delicate Steve both deal in idiosyncratic foot-tapping sounds that delight and puzzle in equal doses.

Saturday June 2
Former Fugees singer and solo superstar Lauryn Hill  plays Highline Ballroom. She has yet to follow up her smash debut solo recording, although a second album is reportedly in the works.

Sunday June 3
Australian electro house/dubstep duo Knife Party take over The Brooklyn Terminal Project - a huge waterfront complex with killer NYC skyline views.

Monday June 4
Scottish soul and R&B singer Emeli Sande's debut album "Our Version Of Events" topped the charts in the UK and won her the Critic's Choice prize at this year's Brit Awards. Try to catch her at The Bowery Ballroom tonight - she'll probably be playing a bigger venue next time she hits town.

Tuesday June 5
Portland, Oregon's The Dandy Warhols are back with another catchy indie rock album - their eighth - titled "This Machine." Although some reviews have been negative — Pichfork called it "an all-too-fitting descriptor of a band going through the motions" — to my ears the album is another accomplished and tuneful chapter in a lovingly dishevelled career. Check 'em out at Irving Plaza.
Also tonight: Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence and the 40th anniversary of his iconic film "The Harder They Come" as he opens Celebrate Brooklyn's annual summer concert series. At Prospect Park Bandshell.

For more Gigs of the Week, follow @bandupdate on Twitter.