May 3
J.D. McPherson w/ the Black Lilies
The Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St. in Lincoln
9 p.m., $15 in advance/$18 day-of-show, bourbontheatre.com
J.D. McPherson’s excellent debut album Signs and Signifiers wears its retro heart on its sleeve, but McPherson and company deliver these 1950s-rooted rock ‘n’ roll gems with such verve and passion that its hard not to get swept up in it. These tunes feel like they’ve existed on 45 since Alan Freed’s radio days, blasting out of diner jukeboxes and getting feet on the floor at record hops. It’s like McPherson has given himself a Little Richard makeover, combining that with a cuffed-jean rootsy rockabilly punk rocker. Horns, simple drums and roadhouse piano combine with country-fried guitar rock. “Fire Bug” is an obvious highlight, sounding like it topped the charts long before the Beatles came around and messed up rock music.