Friday 12
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LOCKS This show is a benefit for Dax Pierson of the Bay Area group Subtle, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a tour-van accident in February–he’s still in a rehab center near Houston, and though he has insurance, it’s only defrayed a tiny fraction of the cost of his $30,000 motorized wheelchair. Headliners Tortoise are the big-money attraction here, but it’s worth showing up right at ten to see Locks, the local duo of Patrick Scott and Theo Katsaounis (in other words, Weather minus Roby Newton, who’s moved to Baltimore). They create a surprisingly dense full-band sound by switching off on bass, drums, samplers, and other electronics, and despite the near total absence of vocals, there’s a sweet soul sensibility in their warm, rolling music–they play their analog keyboards almost seductively, the way a crooner sings. 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $12 in advance, $15 at the door. –Monica Kendrick
SCHOOLYARD HEROES Just a few years out of high school, Seattle’s Schoolyard Heroes play with a skillful, spastic ferocity, as if they’ve spent their lives listening to Faith No More, Zappa, and Rush at the wrong speed. But front woman Ryann Donnelly breaks the fleet-fingered geek-boy rock mold by changing up her delivery on every song of their second album, Fantastic Wounds (Control Group); with a voice that’s part Rob Halford, part Nina Hagen, and part Laura Branigan, it seems like there’s no amount of B-horror nerdery she can’t inflict her nervous, urgent intensity upon (“Battlestar Anorexia” is my favorite). Vendetta Red headlines, Bayside plays second, and the Schoolyard Heroes open. 5 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 866-468-3401, $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
SONS OF THE NEVER WRONG This local folk-rock act gets better all the time, even as the lure of NPR and the Kennedy Center threatens the slightly feral quality that makes them distinctive. Nuthatch Suite (Gadfly) is their fifth album, and despite the friendly coffeehouse tone of its narratives, the urgency is still there: in their male-female call-and-response bits, they’re like a well-conducted bunch of banshees trying to sound polite and sing pretty songs. They succeed beautifully–but I’m afraid you’re still going to die. This is a CD-release party; Michael Smith opens. 8 PM, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, 773-728-6000 or 866-468-3401, sold out. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
MARKED MEN I can’t say I’ve been worrying the world might collapse for want of one more high-speed, lo-fi power-pop band, but I sure wouldn’t kick these guys out of bed for eating crackers. Three of the four Marked Men–guitarist-singers Jeff Burke and Mark Ryan and drummer Mike Throneberry–are alumni of Texas punks the Reds, and though they’ve been slowed down by Burke’s decision to go to school in Osaka, they’ve got a seven-inch coming out on tastemaking local label Shit Sandwich that ought to be back from the pressing plant in time for this show. (The band has LPs on Rip Off and Dirtnap, but the last one, On the Outside, is a year old.) Burke wrote and recorded the A side, “Nothing’s Changed,” in Japan, overdubbing all the parts himself; it’s a Rezillos-esque pogo boogie complete with boodly-oodly bass line, and about the only thing wrong with it is that Faye Fife never joins in. The Ramonesy B side, “She Won’t Know,” was recorded without him, but he’s flying over for this tour–and the Chicago stop is a Shit Sandwich showcase with headliners M.O.T.O. and openers Headache City and the Busy Signals. 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 866-468-3401, $6 in advance, $8 at the door. –Ann Sterzinger
