The Short List: This Week's Recommended Shows

Les Claypool's Oddity Faire ~ Wednesday, March 11

Even though putting Saul Williams and Les Claypool on the same bill is a little bizarre, naming a Les Claypool–headlined tour the "Oddity Faire" is still redundant. By now you should probably expect that the erstwhile Primus singer-bassist and master/practitioner of almost every style of music imaginable (and member of about 37 other bizarro music projects, including Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains) will come out on a flaming unicycle wearing a tuxedo and a giant platypus head and play Frank Zappa's Uncle Meat in its entirety with his mutating band of crazies, while fixing sandwiches onstage for the audience during some of the lengthy instrumental bits. But maybe he'll just surprise us and play songs from his new album, Of Fungi and Foe, which evolved out of the music he was commissioned to write for the Wii game Mushroom Men. Which reminds me of a joke: A mushroom walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "I'm sorry, I can't serve you." And the mushroom replies, "Why not, I'm a fungi!" With Yard Dogs Road Show. Showbox SODO, 1700 First Ave. S., 652-0444. 7 p.m. $32 adv./$35 DOS. All ages.MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

Disney Cover Night ~ Wednesday, March 11

Kane Hodder lead singer Andrew Moore has been known to end a show with minor injuries. And really, what else would you expect from a hardcore group given to shrieking lyrics like "I hate the taste of your blood, black as pitch/But I'd hate it even more to see my skull mounted next to some pompous grin." Aww. Needless to say, the band named for the man behind Freddy Krueger's vile mask isn't what first comes to mind when watching a cartoon Merlin pack up his things while singing "higitus figitus zumbabazing!" in the Disney classic The Sword in the Stone. But tonight, play it they will. It's all part of Disney Cover Night, a somewhat annual tradition in which local indie-punk-pop stars like Aqueduct, The Catch, and People Eating People return to childhood, rocking out to tunes from Dumbo to The Little Mermaid. This is, however, a 21-and-over show, so no kids are allowed in Chop Suey tonight—just the young at heart. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison, 324-8005. 8 p.m. $7. LAURA ONSTOT

. . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead ~ Thursday, March 12

Based on the last two albums from ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead—which were packed full of bloated, unsatisfying, more-or-less boring prog-rock epics—it seemed like the Austin, Texas band had reached the point of diminishing returns, light-years away from their dynamic 1998 self-titled debut and even from 2002's career high point, Source Codes & Tags. That's what makes their new disc The Century of Self that much more gratifying—it's the sound of Trail of Dead back from the dead. Not that they've completely abandoned their designs on ambitious structures and soundscapes, but here those tendencies are tempered by the in-your-face fire, energy, and chaos of old. Ultimately, they've made their guitar-fueled bombast and feverish vocals a lot easier to get inside, and live, that approach should have no trouble bringing back the fans who may have strayed. With Funeral Party, Midnight Masses. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $12. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

Kurt Vile ~ Thursday, March 12

It's damn near difficult not to froth at the mouth when discussing Philly's Kurt Vile. Along with Ariel Pink and Kevin Debroux (aka Pink Reason), he's the best of indie rock's recent lo-fi/bedroom recordings revival. There's good reason for this: Beneath all the arty shenanigans (four-track crud, vintage drum machines, synthed-out shoegaze dreaminess) lurks a classic pop-rock songwriter and lyricist. Track down a copy of his album Constant Hitmaker, and I guarantee you won't make it past the opening anthem, "Freeway," for, like, the first two weeks. It's perfect the way "Tractor Rape Chain," "Jessie's Girl," and "Hey Tonight" are all perfect. Of course, comparing Vile to Pollard and Fogerty (but not to Springfield) is some kind of artist's kiss of death. But fuck it. The dude just might be that good. Sonic Boom Records, 514 15th Ave. E., 568-2666. 6 p.m. NC. All ages. JUSTIN F. FARRAR

Betty Ford Falcons ~ Friday, March 13

A couple of winters ago I found myself, for lack of anything better to do, in the Central with two ex-friends. The band playing that night was local quartet Betty Ford Falcons, who with their double-guitar attack, towering Marshall stacks, and half-punk/half-metal attack reminded me of a cross between Mommy's Little Monster–era Social Distortion and Motörhead (of any era, really). The shit was punchy, spiky, full of snarling attitude, and loud. Really loud, as any good rock-'n'-roll show in a small, divey joint should be. After barely three songs, my two companions literally ran out of the Central, whining about the volume and how their heads hurt. Pussies! I stayed, and was rewarded by a rippin' set by one of the better straight-up rock bands in town. I was deaf for most of the following day, but so what? Real rock 'n' roll isn't for the meek. With Load Levelers, Shivering Denizens. Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack and Watering Hole, 5606 First Ave. S., 762-7900. 9 p.m. NC. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG