Youth Group, Thursday, May 14: Youth Group is a terrific indie-pop quartet from Australia that may remind you of a good many good things: The melodic power-pop of mid-to-late-period Teenage Fanclub; the refined art-rock of the Church; and the jangly dream-pop of a slew of Flying Nun bands from the aE™80s and early aE™90s (the Chills, the Clean, Volcano Suns, et al.). And frontman Toby MartinaE™s engaging, dramatic vocals have bits of Morrissey and the ShinsaE™ James Mercer floating around in it, too. While theyaE™re showing signs of synthesizing that stuff into their own sound and style, it might take another album or two before casual listeners are able to distinguish Youth Group from its obvious influences. Still, those particular influences aE” and the way Youth Group absorbs them and spits them back out aE” are great enough that you certainly wonaE™t mind being held under their sway live. With Wallpaper, Blue Horns. High Dive, 513 N. 36th. 632-0212. 9 p.m. $8. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

The Curious Mystery, Friday, May 15: Listening to the Curious MysteryaE™s K Records debut, Rotting Slowly, is like taking a hit of the purest sonic LSD. Frontwoman Shana Cleveland croons languid vocals that flow thick and slow like molasses. While her voice is definitely the icing on the cake, Cleveland, the child of country and blues musicians, plays banjo, guitar and autoharp proficiently as well. Guitarist (and maker of original, homemade instruments) Nicholas Gonzalez sometimes takes over the vocals, too, while bassist Bradford Buttons and drummer Faustine Hudson aE” whose complete absorption in her task and seductive hair-tossing makes her one of my all-time favorite drummers to watch live aE” fill in the rhythm section. Something like a cross between the Velvet Underground, Earth and Black Mountain, the Curious MysteryaE™s transcendental songs owe their intoxicating effect to a seamless stitching of honky tonk country, gospel, ambient post-rock drone and Eastern sounds. But while the band cherry-picks elements of sounds from artists all over the world, itaE™s the way the Curious Mystery patches those elements together that makes them stand out. With the Abodox, Lonesome Shack. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W. 9 p.m., $7. Note by SARA BRICKNER

Jeff Samuel, Friday, May 15: In between his rearing in Cleveland and his relocation to Berlin, minimalist jock and producer Jeff Samuel did a stint in our humble gloomsville, where he worked as a sound effects designer in the video game industry. His inner tech-nerd, however, is largely hidden in his tracks, which, despite their bare-bones structures, have a funky bounce and luminescent melody. This is doubtlessly one of the reasons why so many more well-known DJs, from Ricardo Villalobos (who remixed SamuelaE™s Digital Self EP) to Francois K, spin his cuts when on the circuit. Since releasing his critically-garlanded full-length, Step, in 2006, he has maintained a heavy international touring schedule. The Capitol Hill classic aEœBroken DiscoaE event is a perfect spot for the former localaE™s return. With Lusine, Pezzner, Sweet Beets, Kadeejah Streets, Kid Hops, Suntzu Sound, Adlib. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St. 324-8000. 9 p.m. $7 before 10 p.m. Note by KEVIN CAPP

Kristeen Young, Friday, May 15: Two years ago, Kristeen Young stood on the stage of the Paramount in heels and a dress made entirely of plastic bubbles, pounding on her keyboard to make distorted melodies pour out and wailing her powerful, unsettling, sexually charged tales like a deranged hybrid of Tori Amos, Siouxsie Sioux, and Polly Jean Harvey while drummer aEœBabyaE Jef White bashed away on his kit to her right. They were opening for Morrissey, who had hand-picked them for a year of touring aE” an odd combination, but then again, as a master of theater and spectacle, the ex-Smiths singer knew a kindred spirit when he saw one. Several months afterward, Ms. Young was fired from the tour for making what was perceived as an insulting comment about the Moz onstage (she allegedly said something along the lines of: aEœMorrissey gives good head, I mean, er, cunnilingus.aE) That experience seems to have informed her raw, dramatic new album, Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker, at least judging by this quote in the albumaE™s press kit: aEœFor the first time in my life, someone was very giving and loving toward me in a very obvious and public way. It softened my heart a bit. And then, when things went the other way, it destroyed me. I’m better and stronger now. But, during the year it took me to recover, I made this record and it represents the arc of that time.aE A cover of aEœGirlfriend in a ComaaE probably wonaE™t be happening tonightaE¦ With Killola, Furniture Girls, Switchblade and the Surgeon, Shotty. Studio Seven, 110 S. Horton St. 286-1312. 8:30 p.m. $8 adv., $10 dos. All ages. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

Richard Cheese, Saturday, May 16: When you think about the lyrics to NirvanaaE™s aEœRape MeaE, do you ever find yourself swinging your hand back and forth with a gentle snap of the fingers? Richard Cheese does. Since the first time someone staged a rock show by banging on a hollow log while their friend wailed on a conch shell, there have been spoof covers. Most are either of the Weird Al variety aE” same instruments, same chord changes, just replacing lyrics like aEœridinaE™ dirtyaE with aEœwhite and nerdyaE. And then thereaE™s acts like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes that take aE˜60s protest ballads and amp them into punk covers. But only Cheese and his band Lounge Against the Machine had the cojones to take garage, punk, and hip hop anthems, soak them in cheap gin, and strain them out as leopard-print-blazer lounge fare. Cheese is stopping by El Corazon as part of his Martini Tour. To really get the full effect, drink several before he takes the stage. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E. 381-3094. 8 p.m. $38 adv., $45 dos, $100 VIP (onstage). Note by LAURA ONSTOT

Justin Townes Earle, Sunday, May 17: WhataE™s more difficult than having a famous father who named you after a songwriting legend? Releasing albums of your own that are guaranteed to be judged before having been listened to! Justin Townes Earle is the son of outlaw troubadour Steve Earle and was named in honor of lyrical genius Townes Van Zandt. Last year, young J.T. released The Good Life, an album steeped in rudimentary country and folk forms. Very little about it was outstanding, but one thing was clear: He was a pretty sharp guitar pickeraE¦but was no Steve Earle or Townes Van Zandt. This turned out to be a good thing, because it at least lifted the burden placed on him by critics and fans of his father and namesake. His follow-up, Midnight At The Movies, is further proof that JustinaE™s his own boy. A collection of after-hours honky-tonk and smooth countrypolitan tunes, the mood here is one of cool, jazzy heartache, pulled from an era when cigarettes were classy and men wore suspenders without irony. But the music is still bursting with twang. If you can imagine the Old Crow Medicine Show at a black tie affair or Randy Newman at a barn dance, youaE™ll have a good idea what IaE™m getting at here. Northshore Performing Arts Center, 18125 92nd Ave. N.E. 425-489-6018. 7 p.m. $15-$26. All ages. Note by BRIAN J. BARR

Twiztid, Sunday, May 17: ItaE™s tempting to dismiss Detroit horrorcore hellions Twiztid as a goofy novelty act, a self-conscious bizarro sideshow for the under-developed. But, like their mentors Insane Clown Posse, Jamie Madrox and the Monoxide ChildaE™s propensity to play dress-up and pick at the scabs of propriety has a place in hip-hop, specifically, and music, generally. Since their 1998 debut, Mostasteless, Twiztid has provided an ironic, if unsophisticated, service to the same fanboys who once geeked-out at grindhouse flicks: escape from the very real madness of the world to that of the very artificial madness of other peoplesaE™, uh, twisted creations. ItaE™s called catharsis. TwiztidaE™s latest disc, IndependentaE™s Day, released May 10, promises more of the same, which is as it should be. With Boondox, Potluck, Prozak, Moonshine Bandits. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E. 381-3094. 7 p.m. $20 adv., $23 dos. All ages. Note by KEVIN CAPP

The Purrs, Monday, May 18: Seattle-based quartet the Purrs got their big break a few years ago when KEXP caught wind of their psychedelic pop rock and placed it on heavy rotation. The boys have since embarked on several national tours and are currently in the studio completing the follow-up to 2007aE™s The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together, a woozy Velvet Underground-inspired record heavy with delay loops and reverb. The Purrs meditate mostly on love and liquor, which are ideal focuses for a band whose frontman (Jima) often sounds like heaE™s knocked back a few too many. ItaE™s that extra touch that makes these whiskey-drenched melodies all the more engaging. With Army Navy, My Favorite Girl. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St. 709-9467. 7 p.m. $5. Note by ERIKA HOBART

Car Bomb, Monday, May 18: A godsend for metalheads who are sick of listening to the same old tired shit about Satan and gore, this double-bill pairs two of the most inventive, intellectually stimulating metal acts working on the scene today. Opener Car Bomb, which was hand-picked by headliner Gojira, essentially puts into sound what its members do in their day jobs, namely: astronomy, quantum physics, computer programming, and graphic design. On its 2007 debut, Centralia, the Long Island Quartet draws from aspects of all those fields for a technically rigorous and chaotic aE” yet strangely orderly, even graceful aE” sound. In an era where bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan, Cephalic Carnage, Meshuggah, and Fantomas have raised the bar so much already, itaE™s saying a lot that Car Bomb takes tech-metal to a new extreme. But it says even more that the band does so with unprecedented cohesion. At times, Car BombaE™s relentless guitar crunch and bass-drum thunder sounds like a squad of helicopters crashing in succession aE” as such a scene might unfold choreographed by a skilled action director. Which means that often the bandaE™s command of timing and nuance trumps its ability to cram your synapses with as much information as possible. Meanwhile, FranceaE™s Gojira brings its own distinct brand of environmental concern to progressive death metal. Gojira certainly has physiological obsessions and a preoccupation with mortality, but on latest album The Way of All Flesh, the band gets metaphysical by presenting death as a doorway into the life force that runs through everything. Bang that mind that doesnaE™t bang! With the Chariot. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E. 381-3094. 7 p.m. $17 adv., $20 dos. All ages. Note by SABY REYES-KULKARNI

Happy Apple, Tuesday, May 19: Critics who rave about bands for bringing aEœpunk-rock energyaE to jazz always give me a migraine. I mean, is that really such a hard to bring off? Is that a musical accomplishment to rival, oh, I donaE™t know, being able to play aEœGiant StepsaE? Any drunk drummer can pull off aEœpunk-rock energy,aE but to do it in a way thataE™s intelligent, unforced, and earned, thataE™s another thing altogether. And thataE™s where Happy Apple offers a happy example. David King was drumming in this Minneapolis trio well before he hit it big with the Bad Plus, and his group has some of that bandaE™s same controlled abandonaE”but with sax instead of piano, and electric bass instead of acoustic. ItaE™s driving, impulsive, and wry, touching on everything from aE˜60s free jazz to TV jingles. Punks may like it, but luckily itaE™s got more to recommend it than that. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W. 789-3599. 8 p.m. $15. Note by MARK D. FEFER

Dave Samuels & the Caribbean Jazz Project, Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20: It is definitely not easy to adapt the complexities of John Coltrane’s aEœNaimaaE to the rhythms of the Caribbean, but this is exactly the kind of thing vibist and bandleader Dave Samuels has proposed to do since the inception of the Caribbean Jazz Project in 1993: blend the improvisational nature of jazz with tropically flavored beats. On his latest release with the group, the Latin Grammy-awarded Afro-Bop Alliance (Heads Up), the ensemble plays a selection of originals and a handful of covers that includes very creative re-readings of Dizzy Gillespie’s aEœSoul SauceaE and Thelonious Monk’s aEœBemsha Swing.aE Samuels was a member of Spyro Gyra (regarded by some as aEœthe Led Zeppelin of jazzaE) for almost two decades until he decided to leave in 1994 to pursue his own projects. He is also an educator, and has published a few books on the art of jazz over the years. Through his career, he has performed as a bandleader and a sideman with the likes of Frank Zappa, Chet Baker, Stan Getz and many others. No wonder he is currently regarded as one of the best vibists of his generation. DimitriouaE™s Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave. 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. $24.50. All ages. Note by ERNEST BARTELDES