THURSDAY | 10/7

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

Yet another example of how Canada has become the world's leading exporter of indie rock, Ontario's Tokyo Police Club went from local party favorite to music blogger's delight in the span of a year or so. Since its debut 2008 LP, Elephant Shell, the quartet, led by singer and vocalist Dave Monks, has gone on several major festival tours, released a couple EPs, and this year dropped the well-received sophomore disc Champ. The synthy garage rock that is the group's specialty draws comparisons to the Strokes and Vampire Weekend, but there is a playfulness here all Tokyo Police Club's own, and the raw energy displayed onstage is a sight to behold. Rio Theatre; $15 adv/$18 door; 8pm. (Curtis Cartier)

FRIDAY | 10/8

AL JARDINE

Perhaps the most underrated member of the Beach Boys, guitarist and vocalist Al Jardine was known for haunting the midrange harmonies and shining front-and-center on tracks like "Cotton Fields" and "Help Me Rhonda." Since the breakup of the band and subsequent court battle over who gets to tour under the Beach Boys name (not Jardine), he's toured as "Beach Boys Family & Friends" with two of his sons and two of singer Brian Wilson's daughters. With his first solo album, A Postcard From California, Al's put together a collection of songs that celebrate the environmental diversity of the Golden State. Henry Miller Library, Big Sur; $35; 7:30pm. (CC)

SHADOW SHADOW SHADE

The members of Shadow Shadow Shade are obsessed with idiosyncratic vestiges of the past, and their sound follows suit. An amalgam of psychedelic sprawl and economical '60s Southern Californian pop music, the seven-piece band is not concerned with coming across as particularly au courant. Which is something of a relief, considering how many of their peers are so fascinated with defining the sound of what's coming next that they seem untethered from their own musical history. The band's rangy epics—some of which exceed 10 minutes in length—avoid the indulgences of jam-oriented bands by remaining focused and placing the attention on indelible harmonies rather than instrumental fireworks. Rio Theatre; $15; 8pm. (Paul M. Davis)

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

Buskers often have a hard time transitioning from the subway station to the stage. What works on the street may not translate to a sweaty rock club, no matter how many similarities there may be between the two venues. The California Honeydrops are the exception to the rule. An Oakland-based five-piece specializing in blues, gospel, New Orleans jazz and early R&B, the California Honeydrops lay down slinky grooves as well-suited for the dance floor as they are the street corner. It's gritty, authentic stuff honed by playing for the toughest, most disinterested crowds imaginable, and the dues paid are apparent in their high-energy performances. Crepe Place; $10; 9pm. (PMD)

SATURDAY | 10/9

GRUPO FANTASMA

Integrating elements of funk, mambo, merengue and cumbia, Grupo Fantasma is a 10-piece taste of percussive Latin goodness. With the stamp of approval from the National Geographic organization, which has released its newest album, El Existential, on the Nat Geo Music imprint, the band brings a credibility hard-won over 10 years of touring. Owning a thoroughly modern sensibility, Grupo Fantasma embraces contemporary Latin American music in all of its stylistic and cultural diversity. The band is as well-versed in North American rock music as in churning polyrhythms and very clearly is living in the now. Moe's Alley; $12 adv/$15 door; 9pm. (PMD)

A BAND OF ORCS

Orcs, by definition, are not pleasant creatures. Besides being typically described as wart-covered, slimy-skinned monsters, they're also known for their lack of table manners, wild mood swings and atrocious personal hygiene. Appropriately, Santa Cruz metal quintet A Band of Orcs does not play pleasant music. The fearsome fivesome dresses up as hulking armor-clad beasts and snarls out fantasy geek lyrics (if you can understand them) while shredding blistering guitar scales and head-pounding blastbeat drums. The group is also at the center of the local metal revolution, recording compilation records, helping fledgling bands, and coming up with pun-imbued nicknames for shows, like this one—dubbed Orctoberfest. Catalyst; $12 adv/$15 door; 9pm. (CC)

SUNDAY | 10/10

GRIEVOUS ANGEL: THE LEGEND OF GRAM PARSONS

The soul of every rocker in the world was screaming with envy when Gram Parsons' road manager stole Parsons' body from an airport and dashed his stepfather's plan for a Louisiana burial—with nothing but a borrowed hearse and 5 gallons of gasoline. Parsons' body was burned in the desert near Joshua Tree as per his final wishes, a fireball that marked the end of a short career laden with drugs, failed relationships and little-known musical attempts that would be later lauded as some of the first inter-genre forays between country and rock. Anders Drerup and Kelly Prescott stage a theatrical concert that weds musical tribute to revelatory monologues in a tragic exploration of the talented train wreck that was Gram Parsons. Don Quixote's; 7pm; $12. (Kate Jacobson)

MONDAY | 10/11

TRIVENI

Israel isn't known for its jazz maestros, but after Avishai Cohen found out he liked the view from behind a trumpet, that all changed. Cohen started playing classical music with the Young Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, but ultimately he eschewed beefy trumpet-section-playing in favor of sparer compositions. His resulting work in Treveni with bassist Omer Avital and drummer Nasheet Waits is complex enough to range from the subject of a heavy-listening session to the background music for any classy dinner party. Kuumbwa; 7pm; $21 (half-price with student ID). (KJ)

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