Music Picks 

Thursday 11/17

MOLOTOV

Check out a Velvet Room show while you can: Oft-misunderstood Mexico City hip-hop-rockers Molotov are either the Beastie Boys with a political bent or Rage Against the Machine with a sense of humor. Either way, the band has graduated from moving mucho units and blowing away headliners in their home country (despite/thanks to the local press calling them “offensive trash”) to winning over U.S. audiences. Molotov are on the American road celebrating 10 years of pissing off the Mexican establishment'but how did they slip past the Utah Minutemen? The Velvet Room, 149 W. 200 South, 9 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com.

Also Thursday: PirQLators (Lo-Fi); Minus the Bear (In the Venue); Vinyl (Egos)

Friday 11/18

ADULT

Anybody remember Lene Lovich? Didn’t think so, but Adult’s new Thrill Jockey album Gimme Trouble features at least one song, “Bad Ideas,” that’s a dead ringer for the long-lost new-wave chanteuse’s sexy hiccup'and the rest is even better. The electronic Detroit trio have been dubbed “the least predictable band in contemporary underground music,” and Gimme Trouble is the Adult way of life. “It’s about your natural inclinations and the tendencies of others to resist them,” says singer Nicola Kuperus. “People like to be able to predict your next move and when they can’t, they like to think they can learn you something.” Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Info: 320-9887, KilbyCourt.com (with Genders, OK Ikumi and TaughtMe).

XYZ

As ’80s hair-metal bands go, Los Angeles’ XYZ were more a bit more about big hooks and musical chops than great hair'though they had a lot of that, too … a lot. Nearly a decade after breaking up in the snotty face of grunge, singer Terry Ilous has reformed XYZ, and at least he’s more honest than most about his reasoning for a comeback in today’s more pop-metal-friendly VH1 Classic environment: “I had, for the longest time, nothing to say as far as music,” Ilous told Metal-Rules.com. “If I have nothing to say, I will just shut up.” The Whiskey, 7 E. 4800 South, Murray, 9 p.m. Info: 262-7428 (with Sunset Strip).

Also Friday: Agony Scene (Lo-Fi); Chariot (In the Venue); The Red Elvises (Egos); Salty Roots (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Afro Omega (Monk’s); Remedy Motel (Hog Wallow); Andy Caldwell (Halo); SLUG Action Sports Night (Todd’s Bar & Grill); The Rubes CD Release (Urban Lounge'see Music)

Saturday 11/19

SALT LAKE SOUNDCHECK

See, KBER 101.1’s Helmut Von Schmidt does this radio show called Salt Lake Soundcheck on Saturday evenings, spinning some of heaviest of heavy local rock bands'now, it’s a live showcase event in a bar, where heavy rock really belongs. The Soundcheck’s first foray outside of the studio features Almost Undone (dark metal with ethereal female vocals), SuperSoFar (melodic hard rock with pop undertones) and Thunderfist (loud, fast and fueled by Pabst). Support local radio and music'all at once! Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West, 9 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com.

Also Saturday: Unwed Sailor (Kilby Court); Children of Bodom (Lo-Fi); Irony Man (Todd’s Bar & Grill); Natural Roots (Egos); Remedy Motel (Hog Wallow); Calabrese (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

Sunday 11/20

MILEMARKER

“We started this band with intention to challenge ourselves and the conventions of being a rock band,” says Milemarker shouter-guitarist Dave Laney. “We wrote hardcore songs without the typical hardcore instruments'mostly keyboards and samplers.” Laney slams together new-wave synths and post-whatever guitars on Milemarker’s new Ominosity for what amounts to nothing less than a hardcore Human League'and who can resist song titles like “Killed on Public Transit”? Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Info: 320-9887, KilbyCourt.com (with Quiet Color).

Monday 11/21

DJ REBEL

According to BabylonDown.com, DJ Rebel’s Monday Reggae Lounge is the most successful and longest-running reggae night in Salt Lake City'of course, it’s his Website, but Mondays at Monk’s are so jam packed, we’ll trust him on this one. Armed with two turntables and stacks of roots, reggae and dancehall vinyl, the Belgian export has opened for the likes of Burning Spear, Culture, Israel Vibrations, Sly & Robbie, Tony Rebel, Half Pint, Alpha Blondy, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & the Maytals and several Marleys (including Damian). If you can squeeze into the club, good times. Monk’s, 19 E. 200 South, 9 p.m. Info: 350-0950.

Tuesday 11/22

Rolling Stones (Delta Center); The Hotness (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Uvada, Loren Cook (Urban Lounge); Damian Marley (Suede [note change of venue]'see Music)

Wednesday 11/23

Yellowcard (Lo-Fi); Go Go Go Airheart, Joggers (Kilby Court); Irony Man (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Obscura Clothing Anniversary Party: Redemption (Club Vegas)

COMING UP

GWAR (Lo-Fi, Nov. 25). Trans-Siberian Orchestra (E Center, Nov. 25). Stiletto (Todd’s Bar & Grill, Nov. 25). King’s X (Egos, Nov. 26). UtahMetal.com 2nd Anniversary (Club Vegas, Nov. 26). Blackalicious (Suede, Dec. 2). Cave In (Lo-Fi, Dec. 3). Kurt Bestor Christmas (Abravanel Hall, Dec. 6-10). Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons (Egos, Dec. 9-10). All-American Rejects (In the Venue, Dec. 10). Dandy Warhols (In the Venue, Dec. 10). Dokken (Whiskey, Dec. 10). Monsters of Metal (Club Vegas, Dec. 10). International Noise Conspiracy (In the Venue, Dec. 13). Neil Diamond (E Center, Dec. 16). U2 (Delta Center, Dec. 17).