Friday 8
MIKA MIKO Purists may dismiss Mika Miko as just another goddamn Slits clone, with their buzzy, hiccupping guitar riffs and bouncy bass lines, but I’m a fan of the tight-jeans-and-middle-finger style of these five ladies from LA. I prefer the seven-inches they put out on PPM to their latest, C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. (Kill Rock Stars)–the singles are more hectic and fist-pumpy, with slack-jawed Valley-grrrl screaming–but the full-length’s cleaner production values likely won’t follow them to the stage. No matter what, it’ll be a fun show, the kind of thing you’ll want to look good for. The Gossip headlines, Erase Errata plays second, and Mika Miko opens. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, $13, 18+. –Liz Armstrong
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PRESETS Sometimes when bands are asked about their favorite music, they’ll name-check classical works to sound like well-rounded aesthetes, but like Kraftwerk’s Ralf and Florian, Presets’ members actually studied composition before discovering electronica. Songwriters and producers Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kimberley Moyes (drums and programming) met at an Australian conservatory where, Hamilton has explained, “by day we battled with Beethoven, Stockhausen, and 18th century harmony. . . . By night we were out dancing to the Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and acid house.” Not surprisingly the duo’s debut full-length, Beams (Modular), is an eclectic excursion into pop, IDM, and disco. “Kitty in the Middle” recalls the narcotized techno-pop of labelmates Colder, while “Are You the One?” taps the nervous buzz of Daft Punk. Kid Sister, J2K, Protman & Dangergirl, Synergy, and Bald Eagle open. DJ Mother Hubbard spins after the show. 9 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-3160 or 312-559-1212, $10. –J. Niimi
Tuesday 12
RICHARD BUCKNER For his eighth full-length, the new Meadow (Merge), singer-songwriter Richard Buckner pieced together a band whose members have played with Guided by Voices, Cobra Verde, Those Bastard Souls, the Mekons, and the Waco Brothers, among others. So it’s no surprise that most of the record has more of a vigorous indie-rock feel than its sparse, haunting predecessor, Dents and Shells, which rocked out here and there but largely wasn’t supposed to. I’m not sure this is the best way for him to go; his songwriting prowess is still indisputable, but it wasn’t quite clear to me what got flattened out until I got to the closing track, the stark and lovely “The Tether and the Tie,” which is just Buckner playing acoustic. Eric Bachmann headlines the early show and opens the late show. 6:30 and 10 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $15. –Monica Kendrick
