See also: Ten Things Drake Loves
Midge Ure The Soiled Dove Underground : 8:00 p.m. September 9 Throughout the '70s and '80s, Midge Ure performed with Slik, The Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy and Visage but he's probably best known as the frontman of Ultravox. While Ultravox released some successful disc in the early '80s and released its final album in 1985, the same year Ure set on a solo career. He's released nearly a dozen solo recordings over the last two decades, including this year's Fragile.
Drake and Lil Wayne Red Rocks Amphitheatre : 7:00 p.m. September 10 While both Drake and Lil Wayne get along famously, rap fans have contested who of the two is better for a number of years now, and the playful "VS" in the title of the show adds a further element of rivalry to the debate. The sheer amount of street team work, parodying the logo for fighting video game Street Fighter IV, shouldn't be that surprising as Wayne and Drake have been two of the genre's most visually obsessed artists. From Wayne's head-to-toe tattoos to Drake's masterful on-camera performances (seriously, try watching one of his videos on mute), the two know you're looking at them and are maximizing those minutes.
Lil Jon Beta : September 11 Although crunk is no longer the trendiest form of hip-hop, Jonathan Smith - better known as Lil Jon, the self-proclaimed king of crunk - continues to flourish anyway. As a producer, he's churned out radio-dominating hits, like Too $hort's "Let's Go," Usher's "Yeah!" Usher and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek." He collaborated with DJ Snake on the single "Turn Down for What" and in July he released "Bend Ova," which featured Tyga.
The Meter Men Ogden Theatre : 8:00 p.m. September 11 Bassist George Porter Jr. guitarist Leo Nocentelli and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste were three-fourths of legendary New Orleans funk group the Meters, who know pretty much everything there is to know about locking in a groove. The group pioneered the New Orleans funk sound in late '60s into the '70s. Since the original Meters broke up in 1977, the members went their separate ways and the group's frontman Art Neville joined the Neville Brothers and Porter later formed the Funky Meters with guitarist Brian Stoltz and drummer Russell Batiste. Tonight, Porter, Nocentelli and Modeliste team up as the Meter Men with special guest John "Papa" Gros, frontman of New Orleans-based outfit Papa Grows Funk.
• BACKBEAT'S GREATEST HITS • - The fifty best rap lyrics of all time - The ten biggest concert buzzkills - Five more concert buzzkills - From Phish to Floyd, the ten best light shows
Follow @Westword_Music
