Wednesday, Nov. 24CakeThe deadpan Sacramento joke-rockers riffed on their own auto-copycat ways—ever notice how each album sounds a lot like the previous one, only slicker?—with the title of their third full-length, Prolonging the Magic. Thing is, that album did prolong the magic; this year’s Pressure Chief, on the other hand, feels like the end of the road. Moore Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $28Taj Mahal TrioBlues-rock stalwart and Jazz Alley regular Mahal has a superb, diverse catalog, and he should shine in the stripped down setting he’s bringing here this go-round. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $22.50–$26.50. Also Fri., Nov. 26–Sun., Nov. 28.Thursday, Nov. 25Roy Davis Jr.SEE SW THIS WEEK, P. 25. Chop Suey, 9 p.m. $13 adv.Friday, Nov. 26GWARJoke metal can apparently get you this far. Just ask these veteran shticksters, whose rubber masks and fake blood are apparently no less entertaining than ever. No more, either. Dying Fetus and All That Remains open. Premier, 7 p.m. $20Lali PunaThe German group’s third album, Faking the Books (Morr), sounds more like the Notwist—guitarist Markus Acher’s other band—than before, but that just makes the whole sound less chilly and more organic. They still suggest artificiality, though, but in their hands, it’s one tool among many. Alias and Duo 505 open. Neumo’s, 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12Ms. LedLesli Wood and crew generate confident, fun, femme-friendly power-pop that somehow doesn’t sound like a KRS retread. They can play anywhere from a Capitol Hill arts fest to a Pioneer Square butt-rock show, which probably makes for plenty of converts. Expect multiple cuts from newest LP, These Things We Say (Fish the Cat) and prick your ears for rallying cry “Stigma.” Sonic Boom Ballard, 2209 N.W. Market St., 206-297-2666, 7 p.m.Saturday, Nov. 27Dead ScienceIf it’s hard for you to imagine how a rock band might be elegant, you should consider allowing the Dead Science to school you. The local three-piece finds the space to be grinding, mathematical, blunt, ornamental, and lovely—often within the same three-minute song. S.S. Marie Antoinette, 1235 Westlake Ave. N., 206-419-3847, 7 p.m. $5The EvaporatorsThe Evaporators, wherein Nardwuar allows for more “group think” and the New Pornographers’ John Collins rules the school without all the hype, are a band that fulfill where many bands only front: They play smart, funny party-punk with the energy of a hundred flapping starlings trapped under a mosquito net. Comet Tavern, 9:30 p.m. $5Sondre LercheThis has been a banner year for chamber-pop wussbags, and the fact of Lerche’s Swedishness gives him just enough extra angle to attract him to lifestyle mags as well as college radio. Music’s sorta OK, too, kinda. Crocodile Cafe, 8:30 p.m. $12.50 adv./$15MegadethAfter sullying his Megadeth legacy by conceding an obsession with his decades-old Metallica dismissal in Some Kind of Monster, Dave Mustaine’s back on more familiar, sturdy ground—spider-crawling all over the fretboard, issuing irreverent politically charged interviews, and quietly promoting his band’s not-bad comeback album, The System Has Failed (Sanctuary). Moore Theatre, 8 p.m. $27.50Neko Case and Her BoyfriendsSEE REVIEW, P. 46. Neumo’s, 10 p.m. $6 before midnight/$8. Also Sun., Nov. 28.OzomatliThese L.A. pick-and-mixers (funk, Latin, hip-hop, rock, you name it) aren’t just an on-paper good idea that’s easy to fuck up; they’re a scintillating live unit that have released their best album, Street Signs, earlier this year. Plus, three members were arrested at a riot during their South by Southwest show earlier this year, which makes them that much cooler. Showbox, 8 p.m. $18 adv./$20Paul RodgersThe golden mean of generic-gusto hard rock voices of the mid-’70s always had as much glide as strut, and as of the Bad Company VH1: Behind the Music, he’s kept his voice remarkably well preserved for someone who belts so hard. Emerald Queen Casino, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, 206-628-0888, 8 p.m. $27–$50Sunday, Nov. 28DespistadoNot to be confused with the Conor Oberst side project Desaparecidos, and once you hear one note of this spastic, singsongy, jangly-with-a-capital-J emo troupe, they never will be. That said, major “whatchoo talkin’ ’bout Willis” points must be awarded for employing “That’s very anti-patriarchal of you to accuse that man of rape” as a chorus . . . or an approximation thereof. Graceland, 7 p.m. $8 adv.Monday, Nov. 29Moonday: TemperanceIs “post-mandate” America already scaring the shit out of you? Imagine what the Prohibition era was like—literally—by dressing up as a mobster, flapper, or burlesque artist and celebrating sex, booze, and debauchery all night long. Fenix Underground, 8 p.m. $5 with costume/$10Mouseheart FactorFrom Anacortes, that far-away place that’s given you Karl Blau, the Microphones, and the indie label Knw-Yr-Own (and the attendant What the Heck Fest) come Mouseheart Factor, who take proggy, dual-keyboard willfulness and soften it with contemplative, modern-edged pop. Chop Suey, 9 p.m. $6SpartaLook no further than August’s KeyArena date for the low point of this young band’s career, a snooze-worthy walk-through that featured a Temple of the Dog–style duet with the dorko proto-hippie vocalist from Incubus. Porcelain remains a thoughtful, intricately composed sophomore effort, but Sparta seem content acting like just another alt-radio throwaway. Showbox, 7 p.m. $13 adv./$15Tuesday, Nov. 30HimsaSEE FEATURE, P. 46. Premier, 6:30 p.m. $25