[Thursday, January 8] Talkdemonic pulls off something that many bands fail at: Creating beautiful-yet-technical instrumental tracks. Most bands with a good vocalist and killer lyrics don’t have to worry about what their backing music sounds like. As long as listeners pay attention to the voice and words, the guitar can bust a few power chords and all is dandy. Not so with Portland’s electroacoustic folk duo. On Duality of Deathening, a track from Talkdemonic’s new EP Eyes at Half Mast, rat-a-tat drumming holds steady beneath a lilting viola, creating background music that needs no foreground vocals. With Caro, the Sight Below. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m., $8.

[Thursday, January 8] Early Man singer-guitarist Mike Conte once told me the most awesome story about a show they played on one of their earliest U.S. tours: aEœI looked down and there was this guy in the front row with a plunger in his hand that he’d taken out of the bathroom, and he was smashing the rubber part against the top of somebody’s head. Everyone’s in the pit going crazy, and this guy’s totally beating the shit out of this other dude with a plunger to one of our songs. I don’t think they even knew each other, but it was a total connection they were making, and that’s what it’s all about, you know?aE With Toxic Holocaust, Book of Black Earth, Black Breath, H.M.P. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 7 p.m., $8 adv., $10 dos. All ages.

[Thursday, January 8] If there’s one thing Blue Skies for Black Hearts is known for, it’s quality song writing. The Portland four piece crafts music like a real, honest-to-goodness garage band: Full of pop and reverb, with ooohs and ahhhs as backing vocals. It’s the same guitar formula that made the Beatles famous, with the same sort of indie sensibility that made Clap Your Hands Say Yeah an Internet sensation. Utterly listenable and ultimately infectious, Blue Skies lives up to its slightly optimistic band name. With Little Pieces, Levi Fuller. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m., $6.

[Saturday, January 10] Dear God: Blag Dahlia here from scum-punkers the Dwarves. We’ve been around 20-some years and I’m getting a little older now, so there’s a few things I think I need to get square with you. I’m sorry for putting blood-splattered naked women and a midget holding a dead rabbit on the cover of our Blood Guts & Pussy album. I’m sorry for faking the death of our guitar player and having Sub Pop hold an actual memorial service, only to kick us off the label when they found out the truth. I’m sorry for putting on scary and completely degenerate concerts. I’m sorry for being as offensive as G.G. Allin. Actually, who am I kidding? I’m not sorry at all! I know I’m going to hell, so fuck you! Love, Blag With ZEKE, the Insurgence, the Hollowpoints, Marginal Way. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 8 p.m., $13 adv., $15 dos.

[Saturday, January 10] The first time I heard Glasvegas aE“ the Scottish foursome whose name, if you hadnaE™t already surmised, is a cross between Glasgow and Las Vegas aE“ they reminded me of another widely lauded (yet all-but-forgotten) U.K. band, the Doves. Like that group, Glasvegas crafts rock of the stately, brooding, epic, cinematic variety, with a taste for gray-sky melodies and an ear for Phil Spector-style wall of sound production. With Carl Barat. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m., $16.

[Tuesday, January 13] GarrettaE™s got what every horn player needs: an instantly recognizable sound. His alto sax is in the soul-jazz tradition, with some of Jackie McLeanaE™s sick twist and David SanbornaE™s pop-gospel shouts. Like everyone who was ever associated with Miles, Garrett has been able to trade off that cachet (his latest disc is Sketches of MD), but his work as a leader more than stands on its own. DimitriouaE™s Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave. 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. $24.50.