The Five Must-See Shows in OC This Week

Monday, August 26th

G-Eazy
The Observatory
Oakland rapper G-Eazy is coming down south to his home state with a show at the Observatory after a long string of high-profile gigs, including opening for Lil' Wayne and T.I. Rocking his greaser haircut and signature doo-wop flow, G-Eazy is opening up his sound to a more mainstream hip-hop audience. G-Eazy grew up with rap wildcard Lil' B but represents an entirely different, much more serious attitude. After taking the time to graduate from Loyola University, this rapper cracked down and became serious about his music career. Now with both feet in the game, G-Eazy is gaining traction faster than any up-and-comer we've seen this year.

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Wednesday, August 28th

Black Sabbath
Verizon Amphitheater
The grandfathers of heavy metal are still at it. Yes Ozzy is getting old, No it's not exactly what it used to be, but who cares, its Sabbath! In today's much calmer music world, no chickens have lost their heads and you can nap through most of the acts that play at the bigger venues in Orange County. In spring of this year the band dropped their first single and first Australian tour in 40 years. However, Black Sabbath is still one of the best live bands to walk the planet. They may not move around the way they used to, Ozzy may not hit every note, but there is something to be said about seeing legends do their thing on stage.

The Originalites
House of Blues
Huntington Beach's own The Originalites are playing one of their biggest shows yet as headliners at the House of Blues Anaheim. Up-and-comers in a genre that has made a name for itself in Orange County, the reggae rock group have set themselves apart by keeping it local, Often playing at the Surf City Street Fair on Tuesdays as well as taking many small local gigs. Taking influence from acts like Sublime and The Expendables, The Originalites have a lot to still accomplish. Having just released one album, the band has racked up a bunch of sponsors including Black Flys sunglasses and TK Burger but are really pushing at breaking out of the local bubble.

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The Acacia Strain
Constellation Room
One of the heaviest nights in the Observatory history, The Acacia Stain and openers Xibalba will be throwing down in the smaller Constellation room and definitely testing the venues security. With 2-steppers and arm flailing windmills in the pit, the space will be pushed to its limits. The Constellation Room is used to seeing small indie acts, acoustic sets and the guitar fuzz of Burger Records bands, but hardly even sees anything in the hardcore punk or metal subgenres of music. This show is one you could expect to be held at Chain Reaction, hopefully opening up the door for more Orange County venues to hold shows within the subgenre.

Thursday, August 29th

Crystal Castles
The Observatory
Electro punk's favorite Canadians Crystal Castles are in Orange County to make the Observatory pulse with goth-y beats and 8-bit breakdowns. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath have been at it since 2004 and have put out 3 groundbreaking albums, there biggest single featuring Robert Smith from the Cure. On their latest album, the band adopted a “no computers” rule and recorded the synth-based album completely analog. Live they implement the same policy completely revamping their old setup. In the boring world of seeing DJ's standing behind a laptop that resides in pretty much every EDM club night, Crystal Castles puts on a live show that can stand up to just about any punk band or pop performer.

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