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Sunday, November 9

by Liza Weisstuch | November 03, 2008

A solid bar band is hard to resist, not least because they’re kinda hard to come by. That’s because the really good ones don’t stay bar bands for very long, even if their reputation as such sticks with them forever. Take, for instance, the Hold Steady, which will forever be branded as “the best bar band you’ll ever hear,” even though they had to move to a bigger label by the time they released their third album in 2006. (Their fourth, Stay Positive, came out in July.) Fronted by Craig Finn, who’s as influenced by classic rock as he is early punk and beat poetry, is a rocker for the This American Life set. Hold Steady’s songs are well􀀐crafted feats of lyricism about things you’d expect bar bands to sing about: crazy broads, lonely nights on tour, and growing up in Mississippi. But as their latest album title suggests, they err on the side of optimism. They bring their beer-sodden sunny disposition to the Orpheum (One Hamilton Place, Boston, 617.679.0810). Drive-By Truckers joins them. Get tickets ($25 to $27.50) at www.livenation.com. Doors are at 6:30 p.m.; the show starts at 7:30.

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Tuesday, November 11: Alejandro Escovedo

by Liza Weisstuch | November 03, 2008
Alejandro Escovedo would be a perfect character in a Rick Moody novel. There’s the epic history that smacks of southwestern Americana (growing up with a father in a Mariachi band, seeing John Lee Hooker as a child). There’s the self-discovery from years of unfettered artistic exploration, rock, and debauchery (playing in the Nuns, a San Francisco punk band in the 1970s; living for long stints at the legendary Chelsea Hotel). And there’s the way friendship was his lifeline when he recently battled Hepatitis C. (Musicians including Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams banded together to make a fundraising album.) Then there’s recovery, which led him to encounters with long-admired idols like the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, who produced an album for him in 2006. Escovedo’s latest project, Real Animal, blends his penchant for rootsy rock with his punk past. He offers his reality check tonight at the Museum of Fine Arts (465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.369.3306) at 7:30 p.m. Get tickets ($25; $20 for members, students, and seniors) at www.mfa.org....

Wednesday, October 29: Soul Touch

by Erin Souza | October 17, 2008

Do some soul searching with Brooklyn-based DJ Cosmo Baker when he makes his first local appearance in nearly two years at Soul Touch at the Middlesex Lounge (315 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.868.MSEX). He’ll spin soul and funk music in his signature hip-hop-infused style, mixing in classics like James Brown with more modern sounds from Wu-Tang Clan, beginning at 9 p.m. For a $5 cover charge, you’ll get a night of hot beats with a cosmic touch from a world-renowned DJ whose musical background includes training on the violin, guitar, bass, piano, and drums.

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Monday, November 3: Matt and Kim

by Liza Weisstuch | October 17, 2008

We’ve tried to imagine the vows Matt and Kim wrote for their wedding. We think it went something like: “I, Kim, take Matt to be my lawfully wedded keyboardist, vocalist, and husband, and I promise to always thwack out exuberant rhythms on my drums to bolster his yelps and earnest crooning, on the road and off.” “I, Matt, take Kim to be my percussive anchor and wife, and I promise to always keep it real with the New Wave riffs on my keyboard.” The couple’s catchy romps, which have a tendency to set off energetic hand-clapping from the crowds, borrow from both the raw energy of the Ramones and the synth-heavy emo of New Order. It’s a match made in rock-and-roll heaven. Go fall in love tonight at the Middle East Downstairs (472 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.864.3278). Doors are at 7:30 p.m. Get tickets ($10) at www.ticketmaster.com or at the Middle East box office.

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Thursday, October 30: Ingrid Michaelson

by Liza Weisstuch | October 17, 2008

Remember when Burke left Cristina at the altar at the end of season three of Grey’s Anatomy? Of course you do, because that’s when you first heard the sweet, sad crooning of Ingrid Michaelson. When the TV show’s music scouts found Michaelson’s MySpace page, the young Staten Island native was an unknown teacher at an afterschool theater program and living with her parents. On the execs’ request, she wrote “Keep Breathing” for the show, and in short order, another song appeared in an Old Navy commercial; she released an album on her own label and garnered comparisons to Lisa Loeb and Norah Jones. Then her second album, Boys and Girls, landed on the Billboard charts, making her the only unsigned artist with Billboardworthy record sales. Now she’s fresh back from a European tour with Jason Mraz and making the rounds in the US. She stops at the Paradise Rock Club (967 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.562.8800) tonight at 9 p.m.; doors are at 8. Get tickets ($15; $17 at the door) at www.livenation.com.

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Thursday, October 30: Of Montreal

by Liza Weisstuch | October 17, 2008

Once upon a time, before indie rock appeared in beer and Apple commercials, it was impolite and raw and it dragged inner demons out on the dance floor kicking and gagging. At least that’s how Kevin Barnes, frontman for Of Montreal, likes to tell it. On his band’s albums, Barnes (who’s actually from Athens) has straddled all sorts of musical styles, setting sinister, morbid lyrics to buoyant pop melodies and, later in their discography, serving up funk and discokissed electronica. They just released their ninth project, Skeletal Lamping. Tonight they’ll mix it up with Gang Gang Dance at the Orpheum Theatre (1 Hamilton Place, Boston, 617.679.0810). Doors are at 7:30 p.m. Get tickets ($20 and $25) at www.ticketmaster.com.

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Wednesday, October 15: Carrie Underwood

by Liza Weisstuch | October 07, 2008

Juice Newton unflinchingly and triumphantly blurred the lines between country music and pop. Years passed. Then more years. And then along comes a little prime-time broadcast exercise called American Idol. Next thing we know, Carrie Underwood, just barely legal, is judged the best, and before long her debut album sells six million copies, the chart toppers start flowing, she’s inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Whether or not her number-one single “All-American Girl” was a salute to her vehicle of fame, we’ll never know, but she sure does sound wholesome, doesn’t she? Underwood’s pop hits blend Midwestern honesty and firmly assert that girls assert themselves. All-American, indeed. She’s appearing tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Agganis Arena (925 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.353.4628). Get tickets ($33.50 to $53.50) at http://www.ticketmaster.com or 617.931.2000.

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Sunday, October 12: Vivian Girls

by Liza Weisstuch | October 07, 2008

The late Henry Darger, painter, writer, hermit, and artsy perv, wrote about young sisters he called the Vivian Girls in his posthumously published 15,145-page epic The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion. They suffered at the hands of brutes. The art-punk female trio from Brooklyn who perform as the Vivian Girls seem ready to kick some brute ass. But for all their hard-driving garage-rock sensibility, their songs are rounded out with the sugarcoated sparkle of 1960s girl bands and sweet, angelic harmonies that remind us of everything from Brit bands like Heavenly and Shop Assistants to the Pixies to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Unlike Darger, they keep it real. They’re at Great Scott (1222 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.566.9014) tonight at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12; get them at www.ticketweb.com.

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