Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar!

Monday, May 26

In the Valley Below
THE ECHO
Closing out a monthlong Echo residency, local coed duo In the Valley Below exhibits at once the telepathy of identical twins and the feral chemistry of fated lovers. Done up like a wedding band from M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, they buttress gauzy Fleetwood Mac – isms with the bulbous grooves of Phil Collins' '80s output, Angela Gail's loaded purr forever cajoling and corrupting Jeffrey Jacob's more grounded and vulnerable vocals. However polished tunes such as wistful single "Peaches" and the achingly charged "Palm Tree Fire" might get, ITVB's breezy, bluesy strums, Americana keys and woozy harmonies consistently conjure rural, sunlight-through-the-eyelids abandon and a seductively mysterious, follow-us aura. – Paul Rogers
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Tuesday, May 27

Liars
THE FONDA THEATRE
The ever-challenging Liars have released several volumes of stubbornly abstruse thump/screech/howl, whose most curious aspect is how the hell it snuck its way into the literal-minded world we call "rock" music. Nothing the L.A.-based trio does is without a twist, so it figures that their new album, Mess (Mute), twists their sounds in the other direction, proffering a finger-snappable set of electronic pop tunesmithery loaded with accessible beats and melodies that you could sing in the shower. The interesting thing is how repeated listenings reveal Mess to be perhaps Liars' most head-squeezingly artful set of "pop tunes" yet. There are big, devious thrills in this Liars-only-type symmetry, where the music makes sense at first, then it doesn't, then it does. Liars are our premier aural-receptor reshapers. – John Payne
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Wednesday, May 28

Thee Oh Sees, Zig Zags, ?Jack Name
THE CHURCH ON YORK
Here are three bands turning psychedelic punk inside out in three different ways, with plenty of reverbed bellowing between them. Thee Oh Sees have the highest profile here – they do Pink Fairies, Pink Floyd and proto-punk all at once – so let's take the time to shine some extra laser light on Zig Zags and Jack Name. Zig Zags are the band Cliff Burton would have started with Jack Kirby, which means head-trip thrash-punk about humanoid aliens and alienated humans. And Jack Name is the L.A. visionary who matches Burroughs-ian lyrics to Brian Eno – ian ambition and ends up with something that sounds like lost Canadian legends Simply Saucer and reads like a Philip K. Dick short story. (He plays in the annihilating White Fence, too.) Freaks, mark your cave walls. This is one for the ages. Also Thursday, May 29. – Chris Ziegler

Parquet Courts
THE ROXY
It didn't take long for post-punks Parquet Courts to go from underground to international headliners. The Brooklyn-by-Texas quartet has been acclaimed across the blogosphere, including writeups in SPIN and Rolling Stone. Their debut full-length, Light Up Gold, turned even the most jaded of punk rockers' heads, and the new Sunbathing Animal EP maintains their rugged reputation. With incessant riffs, pogoing melodies and blaring sing-shouts from the older of the two Savage brothers, you can expect a tooth or two will be lost in the all-ages mosh pit. Put some effort into getting familiar with their tracks, as they are well-known for their attention to lyrical detail. Maybe this time around they'll play fan favorite "Stoned and Starving," but the only real thing you can count on is not knowing what to expect. ? – Britt Witt

Thursday, May 29

Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne
THE FORUM
With more than 130 millions albums sold worldwide, the Backstreet Boys are one of the best-selling bands in history. Once managed by infamous '90s star-maker Lou Pearlman, who allegedly still owes the band over $3 million, the seven-time Grammy-nominated group defined the late '90s with such hits as "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and "I Want It That Way." In 2012, after a six-year hiatus from the band, Kevin Richardson rejoined the group. In 2013, the Boys independently released their eighth studio effort, In a World Like This. Tonight's show is part of the In a World Like This tour and features early-2000s pop-punk darling Avril Lavigne. ? – Jacqueline Michael Whatley

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