Cinco de Mayo Gig Alerts: Gipsy Kings, Great American Taxi, The Spill Canvas

By Darryl Smyers Wed., May 5 2010 at 3:40 PM

Lordy, it's a busy plate of music happening this fifth day of May. Although Cinco De Mayo is not that big of a holiday in Mexico (where is it celebrated mainly in the state of Puebla), here, we've made it into just another reason to drink up and party. In that sense, the beaucoup of touring acts hitting area stages this evening fits the partying mood.

The obvious place to be tonight is the House of Blues where legendary flamenco band The Gipsy Kings will be dazzling the crowd with its deft instrumentation and impressive vocalizing.

But there are a couple other options this evening. Check 'em after the jump.

Although I'm not much of a fan of jam bands, Great American Taxi actually plays enough roots music to keep me interested. They play at The Granada Theater tonight. In just five years, these jovial guys from Colorado have garnered a dedicated fan base. Sure, it's a lot of the same folk who love Phish, Widespread, etc., but Great American Taxi is actually capable of a little restraint. Imagine that.

At the Loft, The Spill Canvas plays. Hailing from that fertile South Dakota scene, Nick Thomas and the rest of this fine quartet have been plying their indie rock craftsmanship for almost a decade. The Spill Canvas' best effort may well be 2005's One Fell Swoop, but buzz is strong for the upcoming release Formalities.

In any case, it's a nice choice of acts for Cinco De Mayo or any day, really.