Music Picks May 22-28 | Live: Red Bennies, Tally Hall, Swervedriver, The Old Haunts, Mr. Gnome 

Thursday 5.22
Heavenly States (Kilby Court); Langhorne Slim (Urban Lounge); Looker, Thunderfist (Bar Deluxe); Desert Rocks Music Festival (Moab—see Essentials)

Friday 5.23
RED BENNIES, TOLCHOCK TRIO, LASERFANG BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT
If you’ve dabbled even a little bit in Salt Lake City’s downtown rock scene, you know the Red Bennies and Starmy. And while three years ago, Bennies’ leader Dave Payne told City Weekly, “We’re not popular anymore. We’re old fogies. We’re only popular on hipster nights when people don’t come to see us, they come to have an event,” there’s always a few Bennies fanatics at every show, shaking their fists and singing along to every word they know—which might not be so many now that the Bennies have a boatload of new material up their sleeves (new album forthcoming). Starmy also has a loyal following and the energetic sugar-rock band once flirted with major label riches, though the promise of Starmageddon is quickly approaching Chinese Democracy territory. Starmy won’t be playing tonight (drummer out of town), but lead screamer Mike Sartain will be on hand to celebrate another year young along with birthday comrade Payne. Special performances by Laserfang and Tolchock Trio whose long-awaited album actually has a release date (end of July).The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0557

• Also Friday: The Cure (E Center); Periodic Table of Funk (Kilby Court); The Heyday (Solid Ground Cafe); Del the Funky Homosapien (Paladium); 18 Wheels of Justice (The Woodshed); The Whipsaws (Spur Bar, Park City); Desert Rocks Music Festival (Moab)

Saturday 5.24
TALLY HALL
According to Velour owner Corey Fox, the last time Tally Hall played Provo, they sold out the all-ages venue with 300-plus kids lining up to see a band who last toured Utah opening for Guster. Not bad for a bunch of newbies. So what’s the secret to their insta-pull? Well, Tally Hall is cute as a button, but so are a lot of indie-pop bands. Oh, who knows—maybe the four-part harmonies, barbershop quartet breakdowns, classical piano accents, quirky sound effects and clean-cut, missionary-esque matching uniforms? You decide when the Michigan quintet returns to Utah County with opening act Low vs. Diamond, tonight. Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 818-2263

SWERVEDRIVER
Reunion tours can take many forms: washed-up group cashes in on success earned by band’s founder/core, now long dead (Blind Melon); washed-up group tries to launch side project but fails and returns to reclaim heyday, now long dead (Stone Temple Pilots); group realizes after a 10-year hiatus, “Huh, we were awesome, if underrated” and kicks off a new era at Coachella (Swervedriver). Yep, that’s right, Swervedriver is back and maybe better than ever. Even if they are exactly the same, that’ll be fine too. The British rockers traveled the space-time continuum of grunge, psych and pummeling yet hypnotic sound to arrive here, now. Oh, ’90s nostalgia, warm me like a reverb-heavy blanket against a shoegazer wall of sound! The Paladium, 615 N. 400 West, 9 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Furs)

• Also Saturday: Femme Fatality, Jessica Something Jewish (Kilby Court); Catherine, Destroy the Runner (Ritz); Tito El Bambino (Studio 600); Koffin Kats (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); South Austin Jug Band (Bar Deluxe); Desert Rocks Music Festival (Moab)

Sunday 5.25
Nightmare of You (Solid Ground Café); Wizardfest: Sunday School, Teenage Heartthrob, After the Party (Wendover); Desert Rocks Music Festival (Moab)

Monday 5.26
Mike Ness, Jesse Dayton (The Depot—Read Article); The Presets (Urban Lounge); Death Cab For Cutie, Tegan & Sara, Rogue Wave (Thanksgiving Point, Lehi)

Tuesday 5.27
THE OLD HAUNTS, MR. GNOME
Last May, when The Old Haunts first hit town, most of the buzz surrounding their arrival concerned drummer Tobi Vail, who in a past life threw down for seminal punk/riot grrl band Bikini Kill. But the Olympia, Wash., trio kicked out the swamp-rock jams long before Vail joined, with former drummer Curtis James pounding skins for the 2006 release Fuel on Fire (itself a follow-up to Fallow Field), a furious stew of classic rockabilly, ’70s glam and punk, American Gothic roots and voodoo blues propelled by Craig Extine’s jittery, sinister vocal eruptions (think Tom Verlaine or Old Time Relijun’s Arrington DeDionyso). Now that Vail

• Also Tuesday: The Breeders (The Depot—Read Article); Nine Worlds (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Sunday Girl (Club Vegas)

Wednesday 5.28
Matt Costa (Avalon); Scotland Barr (Hog Wallow); Dear Stranger (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

Coming Up
Ghostland Observatory (In the Venue, May 29); Great White (Teazers, May 30); Joan of Arc (Urban Lounge, May 30); The Queers (In the Venue, May 30); Tiger Army (In the Venue, May 31); George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic (Paladium, June 1); Ladytron, Datarock (In the Venue, June 2); Erykah Badu (The Depot, June 3); Danity Kane (Harry O’s, June 4); Panic at the Disco (Great Saltair, June 4); Dark Arts Festival (Area 51, June 8); Stone Temple Pilots (E Center, June 11); Old 97s (Paladium, June 11); Black Angels (Urban Lounge, June 13); Black N’ Blue (Club Vegas, June 14); De La Soul (Harry O’s, June 21)