The Five Must-See Shows in OC This Weekend

Friday, July 5th

Riff Raff
The Observatory
From the humble beginnings of MTV's reality show “From G's to Gents” Riff Raff's career is hardly as funny to himself as it has been to his fans. Riff Raff's rap trio Three Loco features comedian celebrities Andy Milonakis and Dirt Nasty. He's also garnered a lot of attention for inspiriting Harmony Korine to cast James Franco to play a character that is strikingly similar to Riff Raff in the movie Spring Breakers. If you are a fan of Riff Raff you are more likely to watch his videos on YouTube, vine, or read his tweets than to try and sit through an album. However, the controversial star is now becoming more and more legitimate with his recent signing to Diplo's label Mad Decent and his features on his major label debut including Snoop Dogg, Drake, and Wiz Khalifa. Whether the audience is laughing at him or with him doesn't really matter.

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Saturday, July 6th

Home Fest
The Observatory
Home Fest is one of the biggest collections of musicians that are strictly local. Long Beach Indie rockers The Fling are headlining and Synth-pop group Tapioca and the Flea also on the bill. Although the artists on the bill are all fairly obscure even if you are into local indie rock, these bands are sure to be generating more buzz in the future. The festival features mostly indie acts, but it is not confined to just one genre. With over 20 bands on the bill, this festival is sure to have something for everyone.

Hootenanny
Oak Canyon Ranch
The 19th Annual Hootenanny is here and still rockabilly as ever with local punk legends Social Distortion headlining. Also playing is the Old 97's and Murder by Death along with Exene Cervenka of X who is also an OC Weekly Columnist. Irvine's Oak Canyon Ranch will be packed with everyone from pinup gals, to punks and psychobillies all looking to check out some of their favorite bands. In natural greaser fashion there is a car show and a great selection of vendors to check out while you're there.

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Sunday, July 7th

Agent Orange
Gaslamp
Orange County surf punk Legends Agent Orange are hitting Long Beach's Gaslamp in a long stint of shows they are playing throughout California. The band began their career in Fullerton and joined an emerging Southern California punk scene. The band distanced themselves from other acts with hints of surf rock. The band hasn't released an album since 1996 so you are sure to be hearing hits like their first and most famous song they released “Bloodstains.”

Midnite
Constellation Room
If you've been searching for some real roots reggae and come up blank, it's finally here. In Orange County's beach city world of privileged, rip-off, white boy reggae, Midnite is coming to give Santa Ana a Rastafari kick in the ass. Hailing from St. Croix, a part of the US Virgin Islands, Midnite is the real deal. The Observatory is hosting the event in their smaller Constellation Room, this show maybe a test of the venues ventilation as the room will quickly fill with ganja smoke. With an amazingly high number of 50+ releases since their debut in 1996 it's very likely that you won't be the only one in the room who doesn't know every song on the set list.

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