[Friday, November 28] Forget Sarah. The MayoraE; The real thriller from Wasilla is Portugal. The Man. In the course of three years, this Alaska-based synth-noise four piece went from concocting chaotic keyboard tracks to sounding like a slightly mellower TV on the Radio. But that switch is no surprise, since Portugal. The Man (yes, that’s the correct punctuation) is all about variety. Two members were part of now-defunct Portland hardcore heroes Anatomy of a Ghost; a third hailed from Konami Defense System, a band that sampled Nintendo video game theme songs. And every year since forming in 2005, Portugal. The Man has faithfully released an album, an annual step that brought the band closer and closer to the sound on this year’s Censored Colors: Melodic vocals balanced with half-sparse, half-symphonic guitars and keyboards. With Earl Greyhound, Wintersleep. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 7 p.m., $12 adv, $14 dos. All ages. Listen to Stables and Chairs.

[Friday, November 28] ThereaE™s no doubt the Little Penguins should have received more local attention for Welcome To The Celebration, the bandaE™s first album of somber pop songs. But sophomore release Offer You This Cape, which features a new, fifth bandmate might just get the Penguins the attention they deserved the last time around. Keys, harmonicas and twangy, distorted surf guitar riffs bleed together with the expert touch of a concert pianist pressing the damper pedal. With the Pica Beats, Exploding High Fives, Red Sea Sharks. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m., $6. Listen to Say it Once.

[Saturday, November 29] With drummer Mitch MitchellaE™s recent death, the physical legacy of the Jimi Hendrix Experience finally came to an end, 38 years after its leaderaE™s tragic, premature passing. But just because a rock icon is dead doesnaE™t mean his baby brother canaE™t throw him a rockinaE™ birthday bash, which is essentially what this gig amounts to. JimiaE™s younger sibling is Leon, a 60-year-old former street hustler who didnaE™t pick up a guitar until six years ago, at roughly the same time when it became apparent that his exhaustive legal efforts to regain a cut of his brotheraE™s lucrative estate would prove futile. But while critics will be apt to dismiss Leon and his backing band as a cheap imitation of the real thing, his prowess proves that playing electric guitar is hard-coded in the Hendrix DNA. With Goldy McJohn from Steppenwolf, Roger Fisher from Heart, and Randy Hansen. Club Broadway, 1611 Everett Ave.. 7 p.m., $10-$15, EVERETT.

[Saturday, November 29 and Sunday, November 30] Hawking original Christmas songs has never been the easiest commercial venture, but Ohio duo Over the Rhine renounced the pursuit of mainstream success long ago. Snow Angels, its 2006 collection of wistful holiday music, didn’t reach far beyond the band’s devoted following, but it might be the best soundtrack since A Charlie Brown Christmas for feeling melancholy and lovesick in December. Over the Rhine’s annual holiday shows promise to draw from Snow Angels and the best of their earthy, dark-roasted catalogue. The band sells its own coffee online and the piano-driven music practically begs to be mused upon over one hot drink or another. With Jim Bianco. Triple Door Mainstage, 216 Union Street, 838-4333, 7:30 p.m. $30 adv, $33 dos. Listen to LetaE™s Spend the Day in Bed.

[Sunday, November 30] By now, The Decemberists has its musical formula down pat: Fanciful, story-telling lyrics sung by an off-kilter voice, played over multi-instrumental folk-inspired music. It’s a unique theatrical combination that has helped make Colin Meloy’s band one of the biggest things to come out of Portland since the Nike Air Jordan. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 467-5510. 8 p.m., $30 adv, $33 dos. All ages. Listen to Shiny.

[Sunday, November 30] I once won tickets, (front row tickets, incredulously enough aE“ thank you, Amazon.com!) to see the Rolling Stones play the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Before the concert I was overcome with anxiety, worried that an up-close encounter with the band would deprive me of any formerly held feelings of awe and admiration. I was wrong. So do not hesitate at the opportunity to see AC/DC in concert, the band that just released their sixteenth original album, one which has reached the number one position in, oh, just twenty-nine countries. This is fierce, unapologetic, sneering and jeering rock ‘n roll, just like it has been for the last three decades aE“ and it can still kick your ass. Tacoma Dome, 2727 E. D. St., Tacoma. (253) 272-3663. 8 p.m., $89.50. Listen to Rock N Roll Train.

[Monday, December 1] Three session and touring musicians extraordinaire aE“ musicians whoaE™ve collectively worked with the likes of Tupac Shakur, Mike Patton, 50 Cent, Mos Def, and scads of others aE“ comprise Brooklyn instrumental outfit Dub Trio, which mixes spacey, psychedelic dub with heroic doses of metal and touches of math-rock, jazz, funk, stoner rock and skittery electronics. With Black Cobra, Middle Class Rut, Witchburn. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 7 p.m., $8 adv., $10 dos. All ages. Listen to Not For Nothing.

[Tuesday, December 2] Over the past 15 years, and probably earlier, Bainbridge Island has turned out a series of creepy (but great) rock bands. When I lived there, the lineage began with PUD, a pretty standard leather n’ mohawks punk band. Next came Cold Way Walking, which incorporated a little more Bowie and Cramps. Then, at about the same time, the Holy Ghost Revival and the Dead Science came to be. These bands went on to shape the adolescent tastes of the Gruff Mummies, who won the Experience Music Project Sound-Off competition in 2005 and subsequently broke up. The most recent offspring of this gnarled family tree are the Raggedy Anns, a four piece that draws equally from rock and jazz, the Kinks and Django Rienhardt. Like Anacortes or Seattle’s East Side, Bainbridge is an artistic incubator. Because there’s nothing else to do, a few people create something of their own. With By Sunlight, Garage Voice. High Dive, 513 N. 36th., 632-0212. 9 p.m., $6.

[Tuesday, December 2] A few spins of L.A. quintet Low vs. DiamondaE™s recent self-titled debut revealed a good-but-not-remarkable guitar-centric indie-rock band with plenty of radio-ready polish. However, the band really shines in concert aE“ I caught them two months ago opening for Santogold, of all people, and they were definitely engaging and compelling enough to win over the electro-pop crowd there to dance. With Barcelona. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 7 p.m., $12. All ages. Listen to Heart Attack.