Friday 28
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TIM LEE BAND In the 80s the south was a haven for great guitar pop (the dB’s, R.E.M., Let’s Active), and my favorite also-rans from that scene were Mississippi’s Windbreakers. Bobby Sutliffe and Tim Lee, the band’s two key members, have put out decent solo records since parting ways in 1991, but neither has matched the ultrahooky folk-rock of their old band. On his latest disc, Concrete Dog (Fundamental), Lee swaps his pop smarts for garage-rock simplicity: his grainy voice is still in fine form, but his melodies are swallowed by noisy guitar. Healthy White Baby headlines, the Autumn Defense plays second, and the Tim Lee Band opens. 10 PM, Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, 773-404-9494 or 800-594-8499, $10. –Peter Margasak
MEXICAN CHEERLEADER In a reversal of the way getting older typically works, I keep thinking Mexican Cheerleader has been around a lot longer than seven years. Apparently more focused on gigging than on recording for much of that time, these veterans of Apocalypse Hoboken and Oblivion have finally thrown another bone to the home-listening set: the new Mexican Mystery Tour EP (Underground Communique) is eight spicy slices of fiercely eclectic punk, like music hacked from a revolving hunk of al pastor meat. This is the second of two release shows; the Black Beauties, the Plastik Explosives, and Tom Tom Petty open, and DJ Pete Kourim spins throughout. 9 PM, the Note, 1565 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-0011 or 866-468-3401, $5 in advance, $7 at the door. –Monica Kendrick
Sunday 30
Tuesday 1
NICOLAI DUNGER Here’s My Song, You Can Have It…I Don’t Want It Anymore/Yours 4-Ever Nicolai Dunger, the most recent album by this distinctive Swedish singer, finally got a U.S. release in March courtesy of Zoe Records. Cut in 2004 with members of Mercury Rev, the album beautifully captures Dunger’s deeply expressive voice navigating an uncanny mixture of blue-eyed soul, rootsy pop, country, and rock. Jim and Jennie & the Pinetops headline and Barry McCormick opens. 9 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $12 in advance, $14 at the door. –Peter Margasak
