Live: Music Picks May 8-14 

FRIDAY MAY 9

Slayer
Of thrash metal’s revered Big Four (Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer), only Los Angeles’ Slayer can lay claim to having never deviated from the formula: doom-doom-doom lyrics, breakneck rhythms, manic guitar solos that skitter like spiders across your coffin, etc. On the 30th anniversary of their first album and tour, the band is powering ahead minus late founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman. There’s been no new material since 2009’s World Painted Blood (Slayer’s final release for American Recordings; a new album on veteran metal indie Nuclear Blast is due out next year), but the song and the tinnitus remain the same. Slayer aren’t making it easy on themselves, choosing to follow still-thrashin’ openers Exodus (the underrated Bay Area band that bred Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, as well as Hanneman’s replacement in Slayer, Gary Holt) and Suicidal Tendencies (who still haven’t gotten that Pepsi). (Bill Frost)
The Great Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, Magna, 7 p.m., $27.50 in advance, $33 day of show, TheSaltair.com

The Cave Singers
With its rolling guitar lines and restless but hopeful energy, the music made by this Seattle foursome would make it the perfect soundtrack for a road trip. But you shouldn’t just listen to The Cave Singers while leaning your head against a car window. The band puts on a fantastic live show, with plenty of between-song banter with the audience and solid musicianship—the addition of flutes, unique percussion and other unconventional instruments elevate their sound beyond just jangly, guitar-strummy folk-rock. And The Cave Singers also let loose onstage more than their often mellow music might suggest. In an interview with Seattle Met Magazine, frontman Pete Quirk said that the only way he can play a show “is by trying to engage the audience and dancing around like a maniac. It’s a great time to celebrate being alive.” The Cave Singers are on tour in support of their latest full-length album, Naomi, which came out about a year ago. The North Valley will also perform. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $12, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com

SUNDAY MAY 11

The Warlocks
When I was 15, I bought a cassette copy of The Warlocks’ debut full-length album, 2001’s Rise & Fall, from a thrift store. I don’t remember what happened to that old tape, but I do remember what it was like to experience psychedelic music for the first time—after growing up listening to Michael Jackson and classic rock, my mind was blown. Since 1999, The Warlocks—founded by Bobby Hecksher, the Los Angeles band’s only constant member—have been in the business of melting brain cells with their sludgy neo-psychedelia/shoegaze sound that’s not everybody’s cup of swamp ooze, layering fuzzed-out guitar on top of monotone vocals on top of hope-crushing drums. Their first new album in five years, Skull Worship, came out in late 2013, and it’s as desolate as a drive through an apocalyptic wasteland. Super 78! and Pest Rulz will start things off. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $12, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

TUESDAY MAY 13

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
A chaotic and mind-expanding mishmash of improvisational jazz, beeping/blipping effects and mysterious droning instruments, the sonic witchcraft produced by Japanese experimental/psych-rock/noise band Acid Mothers Temple doesn’t just float innocently into your ears—it lifts off the top of your head and tickles your brain. Since 1995, Kawabata Makoto and his “soul collective”—which performs and records under various offshoot names—have kept things weird with song titles like “Mammary Intercourse,” “I Wanna Be Your Bicycle Saddle” and “4000000000000000 Love Hotel,” and have been happy to ignore any and all music conventions while creating their spacey, epically strange music. Check out Astrorgasm From the Inner Space, the brand-new album from The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., the most well-known incarnation of the Acid Mothers Temple family. Perhaps will also perform. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $10, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

The Chop Tops
Santa Cruz, Calif., rockabilly trio The Chop Tops are bringing their self-described “revved-up rockabilly” to Salt Lake City on their May Madness tour. The lineup includes lead vocalist Sinner, who sounds like a rowdier version of John Travolta in Grease and plays drums while standing up; Shelby, who manages to slay impressive guitar licks while simultaneously jumping manically around onstage; and Josh, a string sensation on upright bass. Together, they play their fiery “rebel music, ”a high-energy mix of psychobilly, old punk, surf, and rock & roll. Songs like “My Curse,” “Hey Baby,” and “Deadly Love” reveal these wild boys are really just fools for love. Bring an energy drink with you to this one. Tuxedo Tramps and Blue Moon Bombers will also perform. (Deann Armes)
Burt’s Tiki Lounge, 726 S. State, 9 p.m., $11 in advance, $13 day of show

Nathaniel Rateliff
Maybe it’s because he grew up in Missouri, but there’s open feeling in Nathaniel Rateliff’s spare songwriting and his music itself, similar to the kind of breathing room one experiences in a rural setting. His voice—sometimes only a low rumble, other times smooth and folksy—is one that makes you lean in and listen, not that it’s ever overpowered by the background accompaniment on his new full-length album, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, released in April. It’s simply the compelling voice of a man who’s unafraid to sing with every uncomfortable emotion—loneliness, depair, loss—right at the surface, such as in the riveting chorus of “Still Trying,” as he gruffly wails, “I don’t know/ I don’t know a goddamned thing.” Another must-listen from the album is the down & out ode “Three Fingers In.” Carly Ritter is also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 8 p.m., $12, KilbyCourt.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

Danny Brown
In the award-winning music video for the 2012 single “Grown Up,” 9-year-old Dante Hoagland depicts an angsty Danny Brown growing up in Detroit—with the addition of designer clothes. Little Danny falls off of his bike and loses a tooth in the video, offering an explanation for grown-up Danny’s signature missing tooth, which he sports with pride. The hip-hop song captures a rags-to-riches theme that his 2013 album, Old, reiterates with emotional intensity. He raps about living in the crime-ridden scene and the struggle of trying to leave it all in the past. His work borrows sounds from alternative and atmospheric rock, creating songs that are as strong sonically as they are lyrically. (Carly Fetzer)
The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 8 p.m., $21, TheComplexSLC.com