Music Picks Jan. 3-9 | Live: Rise Records, School of Rock: Peter Gabriel, Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band 

Thursday 1.3
Nate Robinson Trio (Hog Wallow Pub); SemAntic (Bar Deluxe); Agents of Change, Funk & Gonzo (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Zion Tribe (Huka Bar)

Friday 1.4
RISE RECORDS SHOWCASE
It’s tempting to describe a hardcore show as violent, especially when you don’t understand the subcultural crowd etiquette. Critics often confuse the intensity as menacing when, in fact, you can enjoy a good hardcore concert by simply avoiding the inner circle. Find a nice spot in the corner or, as I once did, safely take it all in perched on a refrigerator. Best-case scenario, you’ll find the beauty in swinging fists, deep gutturals and, hopefully, a solid message. New York City’s Recon’s set is lively enough to permanently shut down venues, but maybe the club’s just buckled under pressure. You be the judge tonight when Recon joins fellow Rise Records artists American Me, It Prevails, Every Bridge Burned and For the Fallen Dreams. Club NVO, 339 N. Main, Logan, 6 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com

SCHOOL OF ROCK: PETER GABRIEL
Do kids under 20 even know who Peter Gabriel is? Even Say Anything is an outdated reference, unless someone suggests they YouTube the Lloyd Dobler stereo scene from Cameron Crowe’s romantic comedy. But it’s these kinds of pop-cultural hiccups that School of Rock successfully bridges, one backbreaking practice after another. I picture the young musicians crowded around a speaker blaring “Don’t Give Up,” with Kate Bush’s throaty soprano pushing them to succeed—whatever the cost! Or maybe the instructors stand over their students swinging a giant mallet to “Sledgehammer.” Either way, it should be a good show. Social Work Auditorium, University of Utah, 395 S. 1500 East, 7 p.m. All-ages. Info: 542-7179

• Also Friday: Band of Annuals (Kilby Court); Dear Stranger, Paxtin (Solid Ground Cafe); School of Rock: Guitar Gods (The Circuit); Streetlight Manifesto (Avalon Theater); Iota (Bar Deluxe); Last Day of Sun, Xur (Broken Record); Swamp Donkeys, Monorchist (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Birds & Batteries (Monk’s); Blues on First (Huka Bar)

Saturday 1.5
Red Caps, Sign Of Life, Winter Smith (Red Light Books); School of Rock: Peter Gabriel (University of Utah); School of Rock: Guitar Gods (The Circuit); I Am the Ocean (Muse Music, Provo); Dacho, Boomsticks (The Wood Shed); Oxido Republica (Club Vegas)

Tuesday 1.8
REVEREND PAYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND
Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band is a like a massive dude named Tiny. A deceptive moniker, the title implies that Payton leads a sprawling ensemble on par with the Polyphonic Spree or a cappella superstars Straight No Chaser (who, by the way, do a killer version of Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”). In truth, Payton’s band is just him, his brother and his wife going crazy on washboard, dobro, steel guitar and drums. Their boisterous roots-blues demands to be heard live, if only for the opportunity to spray the band down during “Two Bottles of Wine.” Burt’s Tiki Lounge, 726 S. State, 10 p.m. Info: 521-0572

• Also Tuesday: Matt Foley Group (Muse Music, Provo)

Wednesday 1.9
Jilted (Addicted Café); Skid Row (Club Vegas)

Coming Up
Deadbeats CD Release (Kilby Court, Jan. 11); Robert Earl Keene (The Depot, Jan. 11); City Weekly SLAMMYs (Monk’s, Jan. 11; Area 51, Huka Bar, Cisero’s, Jan. 12); School of Rock: Devo vs. Oingo Boingo (The Circuit, Jan. 11-12); Sea Wolf (Kilby Court, Jan. 17); The Bravery (In the Venue, Jan. 19); Mac Lethal (Kilby Court, Jan. 22); Angela Correa, Daniel Ahearn (Area 51, Jan. 22); Brad Paisley (ES Arena, Jan. 24); Michael Franti & Spearhead (The Depot, Jan. 25-26); Job for a Cowboy (Avalon Theater, Jan. 29); Liars (Urban Lounge, Jan. 31); Editors, Louis XIV (Avalon Theater, Feb. 2)