Music Picks 

Friday 9/30

A PARTICULARLY VICIOUS RUMOR, CROOKS & NANNIES

Kid Twist and Miss O saw it coming. In the calm before the storm, they penned songs about the power of water and its potential to obliterate their sultry, sexy town. When Hurricane Katrina confirmed their suspicions, the New Orleans-based artists took A Particularly Vicious Rumor on the road, recruiting fellow Louisiana natives Crooks & Nannies to keep the dream alive. The latter group is a slightly different configuration of APVR, though their sound is more of the “post-apocalyptic alt-country from the swamps” variety. Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0557

Also Friday: Cherum, Lahar (Wild Mushroom Pizza); Every Time I Die, High on Fire (Lo-Fi Café)

Saturday 10/1

JILL COHN

Everyone thinks Jill Cohn should be a star by now. In fact, while the Seattle-based songstress has made peace with her current status, her supporters are still demanding credit where credit is due. Their unsung folk hero has six studio albums under her belt, the most recent of which narrates Cohn’s gracious acceptance of things she cannot change, from failed romance to elusive mainstream success. Her latest, Traveling Companion, captures 16 live performances spanning the seasoned artist’s near decade-long career. If Norah Jones can make it, Cohn can too. MoDiggity’s, 3424 S. State, 8:30 p.m. Info: 832-9000

THE PLUS ONES

Weezer might have completely lost their minds (listen to “Beverly Hills”), but The Plus Ones are proving there’s still hope for power pop. The Bay Area indie rockers ditched their neo-punk roots years ago in favor of straightforward hooks and predictable boy/girl harmonies (the female part being a recent addition). Their courage to take risks paid off. It’s A Calling has been praised for sticking to the basics and ignoring naysayers’ advice to grow up. Kilby Court, 330 W. 741 South, 7:30 p.m. Info: 320-9887 (with In Camera, The Brobecks, New Transit Direction and Return to Sender)

Also Saturday: Burning Spear (Suede)

Monday 10/3

DARK STAR ORCHESTRA

Where were you May 5, 1974? How about Aug. 11, 2005? Thanks to Dark Star Orchestra, serious Deadheads grooved to “Sugar Magnolia,” “Ship of Fools,” and “Casey Jones” on both occasions! The Illinois-based Grateful Dead tribute re-creates specific setlists spanning over 20 years of the legendary jam band’s long, strange career. There’s no telling what’s in store for tonight’s concert since every show is shrouded in mystery'just like hazy memories of the original performance. Velvet Room, 149 W. 200 South, 8 p.m. Info: 478-4310

THE DOUBLE

Thanks to an untimely injury, The Double’s first album, Palm Fronds, flopped around like a wet noodle. The Brooklyn-based band figured it could make do without drummer Jeff McLeod’s stick-wielding ways, but they figured wrong. This error in judgment is made vivid by McLeod’s better-than-ever smashing of cymbals and toms. When the band opened for Interpol last month, his hyperactive performance threatened to tear the roof off Kingsbury Hall. Such dynamism is intoxicating, as is The Double’s Loose in the Air, a fuzzed-out, keyboard-heavy debut that’s best experienced live. Kilby Court, 330 W. 741 South, 7:30 p.m. Info: 320-9887 (with John Vanderslice and Spanky Van Dyke)

GYM CLASS HEROES

Gym Class Heroes is not your older brother’s hip-hop. The freestyling youngsters are Fueled By Ramen and record a million miles away from Death Row. Well, they are a bit Roots-y, with their live instrumentation and humorous-yet-at-times-serious lyrics. The group’s saving grace/tragic flaw is a pop-cultural umbilical cord inspiring random name drops (“Taxi Driver” references Dashboard Confessional and Jets to Brazil in three short breaths) in awkward places. “Makeout Club” is a bit more palatable, its premise copping The Nails’ “88 Lines About 44 Women” as GCH’s emcee laments his Don Juan ways through irreverent remembrance: “There was Erica/She had the stankest breath in America/I tried to slip her Tic Tacs but they were scared of her.” Awwww slam! Lo-Fi Café, 165 S. West Temple, 7:30 p.m. Info: 480-5634 (with Emery)

Tuesday 10/4

CARY BROTHERS

Cary Brothers is not two siblings, last name Cary. It is rather one tremendous singer/songwriter who, along with the Shins and Frou Frou, turned Garden State into a soundtrack Natalie Portman might describe as “the album that will change your life.” Cheesy to be sure, but “Blue Eyes” is more than hook, line and sinker. The song’s soaring choruses complicate simplistic lines. His EP, Waiting For Your Letter, tracks love’s highs and lows over five burner tracks. Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0557 (with Butch Walker and Imogen Heap)

Also Tuesday: Nine Inch Nails (E Center, see Music page 59); North Mississippi Allstars (Suede)

Wednesday 10/5

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

Gerard Way’s songs are best experienced on mute. The lead singer for New Jersey’s My Chemical Romance transfers lyrics to screen better than most contemporary musicians. That he didn’t walk away with a trophy at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards is a travesty. On-screen, Gerard is graceful and poetic. On the mic'well, let’s just say his voice leaves something to be desired. His whiny, off-key cries are jarring for those unaccustomed to screamo. Wow. We sure sound square. If this is your bag, by all means go! Just don’t be late. Way and Co. will construct one hell of an elaborate stage show. McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: 467-8499

Also Wednesday: The Black Dahlia Murder (Lo-Fi Café)

COMING UP

Dios (Halo, Oct. 6). Death Cab for Cutie (In the Venue, Oct. 7). Coheed & Cambria, Blood Brothers (Saltair, Oct. 8). ZZ Top (McKay Events Center, Oct. 11). The Alkoholics (Velvet Room, Oct. 11). The Black Crowes (Saltair, Oct. 13). Stryper (In the Venue, Oct. 15).