Wednesday, June 23

PLAN A: The Psychedelic Furs, She Wants Revenge @ Belly Up. With current bands like Neon Indian and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Grafitti mining some of the corniest sounds that came from the ’80s, it’s the right time for these newwave legends to offer up some sentimental pop hits that literally came from that decade. Expect to hear the 1981 classic Talk Talk Talk in its entirety. PLAN B: G.B.H., Outernational, Rats Eyes @ The Casbah. Sure, it’ll be cool to see old-school punk rockers G.B.H., but I’m most excited about political punks Outernational, who recently teamed up with Tom Morello to protest Arizona’s immigration law with a poignant cover of Woody Guthrie’s ballad “Deportees.” BACKUP PLAN: Black Tusk, Zoroaster, Dark Castle, Darkest Before Dawn, Gannondorf @ Ramona Mainstage.

Thursday, June 24

PLAN A: Dirty Sweet, Scarlet Symphony, The Howls, DJ Morgan Young @ Fluxx. Hosted by FM 94/9’s Tim Pyles and featuring art by locals Eric Wixon, Andrew Rymer and Steven Suiter, the first live-music show at Fluxx has the makings of a memorable night. Dirty Sweet and Scarlet Symphony will rock out in high-definition over the swanky nightclub’s top-notch sound system. PLAN B: Grupo Fantasma, The Earful, DJs SK, Serge @ The Casbah. I get sweaty just thinking about Grupo Fantasma, a Grammynominated 10-piece from Austin, Texas, that mixes salsa, cumbia and funk with deep Afro-Cuban rhythms that demand hip-shaking. BACKUP PLAN: A Flock of Seagulls, A Dull Science @ 4th & B.

Friday, June 25

PLAN A: Jamuel Saxon, Treasure Mammal @ Whistle Stop. The year is only halfway over, but I’m ready to nominate the excellent Landmines & Chandeliers, a collection of feverish electro-pop tracks that cross Kanye West’s auto-tune pop with Boards of Canada’s spacey electronica, as one of the best local releases of 2010. (See our feature on this page.) PLAN B: Kate Miller-Heidke, Rachael Cantu @ The Casbah. Aussie singer Kate Miller-Heidke has the voice of a pop diva but the quirky sense of humor of an indie singer-songwriter. BACKUP PLAN: The Atomic Three, Floyd Burney & The Ship-Shapers, DJs James, Stack-Aly @ Soda Bar.

Saturday, June 26

PLAN A: Author & Punisher, Bear Skull, DJ Tenshun, Monochromacy, Archons @ Che Café. Taking in everything from grindcore (Bear Skull) to ambient drone (Monochromacy), the final show in the month-long “June Gloom” series will likely be a bruising night. The highlight is Author & Punisher, the doom-metal project of Tristan Shone, whose precisionbuilt sound machines could very well be the cause of the 6.9magnitude earthquake on Easter Sunday. PLAN B: Mr. Tube & The Flying Objects, Little White Teeth, Black Hondo, Nothingful @ The Casbah. Mr. Tube is reviving once again to offer up its quirky funk. But I’m most excited to see locals Little White Teeth, who’re celebrating the release of a new album of sublime, strikingly quiet indie-folk. BACKUP PLAN: Strangeloop, Ras G, Teebs, Shlohmo, Timeboy, DJs Illuminauts, Audiocrack, eLan @ Soda Bar.

Sunday, June 27

PLAN A: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings @ Belly Up. With the soulful pipes of Motown favorites like Aretha Franklin, Sharon Jones is the kind of singer you could imagine people still listening to 50 years from now—which helps explain why this Brooklyn nine-piece’s latest record, I Learned the Hard Way, is one of the hottest releases of the year. PLAN B: Bredren Band, River Bottom Rockers @ Dream Street.

In a city full of white-boy-reggae wannabes, Bredren Band keeps it rootsy with leisurely dub. BACKUP PLAN: Lualta, S03, Light Pollution, The Riders, Vinyl Film, Zank, Wendy Bailey @ The Casbah.

Monday, June 28

PLAN A: Wallpaper, Kenan Bell, Rafter @ The Casbah. They’re not helping themselves much with their forgettable name, but Oakland’s Wallpaper certainly know how to put down the kind of electro-funk grooves that Detroit techno favorite Model 500 mastered back in the ’80s. As for L.A. rapper Kenan Bell, he has more of an indie-rock sensibility than most rappers—he’s remixed MGMT and sampled The Smiths. Oh yeah, and he hates hip-hop. PLAN B: Audio-Out, Warring States of

Mind, Early and Often @ Soda Bar. Place your bets on this showdown: I’d wager that the whiny indierock of Audio-Out doesn’t stand a chance against Warring States of Mind’s Black Sabbath-style guitar assault. BACKUP PLAN: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds @ U-31.

Tuesday, June 29

PLAN A: Damien Jurado, Kay Kay and the Weather Underground @ The Casbah. Seattle singer-songwriter Damien Jurado has always had a melancholy streak, but he’s shown surprising musical resilience in nine albums spanning 13 years—he’s penned folk ballads and worked with field recordings. Pitchfork hailed his latest effort, Saint Bartlett, as one of his best. PLAN B: Tomcat Courtney @ La Gran Tapa. At 81 years old, local bluesman Tomcat Courtney can still get down with the Texas blues at his weekly show. BACKUP PLAN: Lindsey Yung, Deblois Milledge, Paul Cannon, The Scott West Band @ House of Blues. CB