No, really. Scandal is playing at the Cork & Bottle in Dewey Beach, this Sunday! The show is at 6 PM (with the Funsters, a local cover band, playing an opening set starting at 5), and tickets are $40.

I am loving this current wave of 80s retro, you guys. I mean, 60s soul and 70s rock are great and everything, but it’s hard to get nostalgic for a band that had all its hits, you know, before you were born. But sweatbands and shoulder pads I can totally remember.

Let’s keep turning out for these blast-from-the-recent-past acts and hope that they take it as encouragement to keep coming back!

Next weekend is the Convention Center concert series, featuring the Charlie Daniels Band, .38 Special, KC and the Sunshine Band, and the Trammps. The shows are on August 5th and 6th at the Roland Powell convention center, and tickets are still on sale at www.ticketmaster.com and (800) 551-7328.

This is seriously the biggest weekend in August in Ocean City. Who doesn’t love KC and the Sunshine Band? At $35 for the cheapest seats, both shows are a hard-to-beat value. Don’t miss out!

Maybe you’ve heard of Fiction Plane, the distinctive alt-rock group who’ve been opening stadium shows for 311 and Snoop Dogg. The band is known for its sound as well as for a famous pedigree — frontman Joe Sumner is the son of none other than Gordon Sumner, aka Sting. The band has gotten a lot of play in the British music press over the past five years, with three albums and a number of successful alternative singles.

So what’s a British favorite doing headlining at Seacrets,  recording an exclusive performance for Ocean City radio and generally living it up in the Delmarva region on this summer’s tour? According to the band and their managers, they’re just saying thank you to a community that has believed in them from the start. Back in the day, on their 2003 US tour, Ocean City provided the band with one of their best audiences, plus the first stateside radio play of one of their first singles. The band members remembered Seacrets as a favorite venue, and now that they have received national attention Stateside for their most recent album, including TV appearances, they’re back in Delmarva to say thank you and spread the love.

It’s always nice when a band and a town make friends. Here’s hoping that this friendship lasts for many more years and lots of hit albums for Fiction Plane.

It’s a beautiful Friday here in Maryland, and don’t try to tell me you’re not going out tonight. Of course, the great thing about a weekend in the peak tourism season is that you’ll have lots of options about what stops to make on your evening out, rather than just whatever they’re doing for happy hour at your hotel bar.

Option 1:

Semiblind at Trader Lee’s — sure, the West OC stop is a little bit out of the way, but  this is one of those young bands that you check out now so you can spend the next few years telling everyone you saw them before they were big. They’re alternative but not quite indy rock, with just enough edge to endear them to Ocean City’s college-aged crowd.

Option 2:

The DNL Spotlight show at Booty’s, featuring Will Hill Band and Shoreline — this has come to be my go-to  Friday destination, even when I’ve never heard of the bands on the marquee. Delmarva Nightlife are really transforming the local scene by promoting music that is fresh, exciting and largely unsigned and unknown, and it’s always such a thrill to feel like you’ve discovered something new. Plus, I already loved Booty’s; they’re such a friendly bar and the rum drinks are so tasty, and the pirate theme, while cheesy, is always a crowd pleaser.

Option 3:

Jim Long Band, Innasense and Crystal Roxx at Seacrets — in case you don’t share my DNL-fueled overenthusiasm for shiny new rock bands, how about a classic OC night out with bands who have been part of the backbone of the local nightlife for ages? It is really hard to go wrong with a Seacrets party, and you know you can count on local favorites like Jim Long to deliver a consistently strong performance and keep the party going all night. The city has perhaps no more reliable source of drunk Facebook pictures.

What are you waiting for? The weekend is calling. Choose your nightlife destiny!

We’re at the peak of the summer season, and it seems like every night there’s something unmissable going on. Here’s your weekly list of reasons not to care if your hotel has cable:

Monday: Why not take a free Line Dancing lesson at the brand-new Cowboyz Smokehouse, at the Gold Coast mall? Ocean City hasn’t had much of a country scene in the past, so I know a lot of locals and would-be locals who are really hoping that this bar does well right out of the gate. The buzz is that it’s a little bit theme-y in a hokey way, but the beer and food are actually really good.

Tuesday: Roger Hernandez, Chris Button and Joe Mama at the Caribbean Bar & Grille. This week we’re supposed to finally have some sun, so why not kick back around the pool bar and listen to some of our favorite local singer/songwriters? I haven’t mentioned Roger Hernandez in this space before, and that’s my mistake — he’s a talented Maryland-born guitarist, piano player and singer/songwriter who has built up a lot of national-level credentials while maintaining a devoted fanbase in OC. Catch him with local favorites Chris Button and Joe Mama on Tuesday.

Wednesday: Apparently every Wednesday is Guitar Hero night at Macky’s. That might be old news, but it’s new to me, and it sounds like a heck of a good time. Hope I get to be the first one to play “Sweet Child of Mine.”

Thursday: Grilled Lincolns and the Cheaters at Pulse. Delmarva Nightlife is doing such a great job scheduling these really exciting bands, and it’s a great time to see the Cheaters — they’re at a new career high, having just returned from their first ever overseas tour. Let’s welcome them back, Ocean City style.

Friday: Semiblind at Trader Lee’s. This Delaware-based band creates a lot of sound for a group of kids who look like I could have babysat for them. Their music is eclectic rock, with a blend of male and female lead vocals adding a novel sound to both covers and originals, and their attitude is that classic young rocker’s blend of idealism and ambition — they’re selling ringtones and logo t-shirts on their myspace page, but they also dedicate their music to “anyone who tries to do good or make a difference.”

Saturday: The Blue Method at Castaways. The Blue Method are a funk/soul group based in Philadelphia who’ve gotten plenty of attention throughout Philly for their powerhouse vocals and fun, danceable grooves. Now they’re trying to make a regional name for themselves, with shows from Delaware to New Jersey. Don’t miss them — or the tasty tropical drinks — at Castaways this weekend!

Sunday: Love Seed Mama Jump at Seacrets — Seacrets is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week, so you’ve really got to at least stop by. And in case you missed my recent endorsement of LSMJ, they’re one of my favorite local/regional bands, full of feel-good energy and awesome musical chops. A perfect end to a pretty darn good week!

I know it’s a little out of the way, but this Thursday Sister Hazel is going to be doing a show at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach, with the Clarks. Even if I could resist the small venue/big name combination, Sister Hazel’s new disc is an unplugged hits collection, and they’re touring with acoustic versions of songs from throughout their career. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, honestly. And I still love “(Hard to Say) All for You,” that wonderfully catchy Hazel hit from the late 90s.

The first part of the bill at Bottle&Cork is the Clarks, a new find for me but definitely interesting. They’ve been recording 90’s-style garage rock since 1988, based in Pittsburgh and playing shows throughout the mid-Atlantic. Sounds like it’s worth showing up on time to check them out!

It looks like there’s been another brawl reminiscent of the earlier Seacrets tussle, this time at H20, the underage club on Worchester Street. Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected something like that at H20, considering that they don’t even serve alcohol. Police are blaming gang activity for the fight.

Since I’m posting this from my hometown of Washington, DC, I’d like to remind OC locals and vacationers to take these incidents in stride — two nightclub fights in a summer would be downright tame here in the capital. But it is an interesting story to follow, and I’ll be sure to post a follow-up if there are any new developments in the case. In the meantime, Coast Dispatch has the story here: http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/article.php?cid=18&id=3816

MD Coast Dispatch has a great article about the history and unique personality of Seacrets, Ocean City’s most famous little hideaway. Lately the bar, nicknamed “Jamaica USA,” has been in the news for some not-so-pleasant reasons, including a massive brawl and a sexual assault happening nearby, so it’s nice of Dispatch reporter Ali Baker to point out that most of the time, Seacrets is an overwhelming success, providing a reliable good time to both the bar’s original strictly-locals clientele and the tourists who have increasingly sought out Seacrets as it has gained a national reputation.

You can read the article, which comes highly recommended, here: http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/article.php?cid=18&id=3755

may turn out to be none other than the Roland Powell Convention Center! I know, it doesn’t seem super exciting when they’re having a trade show or scrapbooking workshop, but this summer the convention center stage is hosting a pretty impressive lineup of concerts. So far, they’ve got the Charlie Daniels Band and 80s favorites .38 Special lined up for the August 5th Volunteer Jam concert, and (omg!) KC and the Sunshine Band with the Trammps on August 6th. If you aren’t in walking distance of 40th & the bay, you can order tickets over the phone at 1-800-551-7328. Tickets for both shows will sell for $35 and $50.

The Volunteer Jam is a Charlie Daniels Band tradition that’s hitting Ocean City for the first time this year. Every summer the blues and Southern rock band tours around the country and plays shows with whatever acts care to join them. This year, we’re lucky enough to get not only CDB, but .38 Special along for the ride.  I’m hoping that the show will get a good enough turnout to come back next summer.