Music Picks 

Thursday 9/22

THE QUEERS, THE INDEPENDENTS, DIE MONSTER DIE

Halloween is nigh (well, the drugstores seem to think so). Time to dress in costume (Napoleon Dynamite, John Roberts, the usual round of slutty nurse and bad-girl cop uniforms) and groove to three frighteningly good bands. Salt Lake City’s Die Monster Die are certainly the scariest of the three, with their scary-mask horror-rock. Geeked-out punk veterans, The Queers, are just tricksters, poking fun at dirt-kickers (“Granola Head”), wooing chicks (“Punk Rock Girl”) and bidding farewell to enemies (“See You Later F'ker”) while The Independents instigate dance-offs. Lo-Fi, 165 S. West Temple, 7:30 p.m. Info: 480-LOFI (with Left for Dead)

Also Thursday: Andy Zipf, The Rattails, The Brobecks (Velvet Room)

Friday 9/23

PIGEON JOHN

Pigeon John is Dating Your Sister, but don’t worry, the Bay Area musician is one cool cat. He first honed his skills at open-mic nights alongside members of The Pharcyde, Black Eyed Peas (in their respectable, pre-Fergie years) and Freestyle Fellowship. John later flexed lyrical muscle with Brainwash Projects and L.A. Symphony before starting his own backpack hip-hop project. Humorous and heartfelt, he’s a welcome alternative to predictable Top 40 emcees. Recommended listening: John’s Slick Rick-ish “Sam the Goat.” Ego’s, 668 S. State, 10 p.m. Info: 521-5255 (with Lyrics Born)

THE GIRAFFES, LOCAL H

The zoo’s not the only place to watch a bunch of animals exhibit primal tendencies. Brooklyn-based sleaze-rockers, The Giraffes, make no apologies for uncivilized behavior. Their gross, over-the-top, boys-will-be-boys sound should pair well with Local “Bound for the Floor” H, a group that neither burned out nor faded away. Bring your lighters and your cell phones. Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0557 (with Starmy)

Also Friday: The Breaks, The Rubes (Monk’s); Big John Bates, Utah County Swillers (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Dramarama (Velvet Room); Jamison Parker, Waking Ashland (Kilby Court)

Saturday 9/24

X96 BIG ASS SHOW

“It was sooooo AweSomE!!!” and “Wow. It was awesome” are typical audience responses to the annual X96 Big Ass Show. Considering how hard the alternative rock station works to keep track of what the kids are into these days, such praises are well deserved. First it’s grunge, then pop-punk, then screamo that floats their little boats. This year’s lineup is sort of a crapshoot featuring Orem-expatriates The Used, well-coiffed lads like The Bravery and Story of the Year, Jared Leto’s very-serious project 30 Seconds to Mars, the awkwardly titled Morningwood and others. Despite Spork’s glaring absence, it’s sure to be soooo awesome! Utah State Fair Park, 155 N. 1000 West, 11 a.m. Tickets: 467-8499

Sunday 9/25

The Visible Men (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Purr Bats, Barbex (Ego’s)

Monday 9/26

TWO GALLANTS

Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel are a combined 46-years-old, but their souls are old and their spirits thick with nostalgic sensibility. As Joyce-derived Two Gallants, the San Francisco duo gets drunk on Americana, mining timeless blues and folk templates to bolster punk ethic. The Throes is equal parts heart and intellect, its lines reflecting poetic wit and grit. This is high-minded music for the common man/woman'sure to please pretentious English majors and homesick day laborers alike. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7:30 p.m. Info: 320-9887 (with Holy Ghost Revival and Q Stands For Q)

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI

Remember when the Arcade Fire ran through neighborhood streets in their video for “Rebellion (Lies)”? Architecture in Helsinki remembers. The Melbourne-based 10-piece has a similar penchant for vast orchestral movements and quirky theatrics as evidenced in their video for “It’s 5,” in which the red-shirted Aussies gallop through neighborhood streets. But the comparisons more or less end there. These playful indie rockers don’t box themselves into one genre. Drawing on influences as varied as Wu-Tang Clan and Brian Wilson, they develop imaginative song structures using myriad instruments (clarinet, tubas, xylophone, etc) resulting in a sound that will make you want to run through the streets. Velvet Room, 149 W. 200 South, 8 p.m. Info: 478-4310 (with New Buffalo)

Tuesday 9/27

PETRACOVICH

Jessica Peters inhabits a magical waking dream set in old-world Russia. She knows little of her grandfather Abraham, a stranger living next door through faded photos and shifting oral histories. An unusual muse, he inspires Peters’ musical project, Petracovich. Her beautiful vocals dance across keys, bells and whistles, coalescing on a laptop. Blue Cotton Skin is make-believe in stereo, the sound of a young girl playing with invisible friends and family. Wouldn’t it be nice if we weren’t older? Sugarbeats, 2106 S. 1100 East, 7:30 p.m. Info: 604-0574

Also Tuesday: The Girlfriend Experience, Last Response (Velvet Room); The National (Kilby Court, see Music, p. 52);

Wednesday 9/28

JOHN WILKES BOOZE

Indiana’s John Wilkes Booze first bonded over shared obsessions with Yoko Ono, “Tania” Hearst, Marc Bolan, Albert Ayler and Melvin van Peebles, fusing bizarre idolatry with serious rock and roll to create Five Pillars of Soul. Their sophomore release, Telescopic Eyes Glance the Future Sick, rests less on post-modern gimmickry. Frontman Seth Mahern unleashes Frank Black-meets-Causey (of the “not-a-cult” Causey Way) vocals over Foghat in a dance-punk blender. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7:30 p.m. Info: 320-9887

Also Wednesday: Franz Ferdinand (Saltair) The Bouncing Souls (In the Venue); Bad Jacks CD Release Party (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Idlewild (Velvet Room)

COMING UP

Heavenly States (Urban Lounge, Oct. 3). Nine Inch Nails (E Center, Oct. 4). North Mississippi Allstars (Suede, Oct. 4). My Chemical Romance (McKay Events Center, Oct. 5). Acid Mother’s Temple (Egos, Oct. 6). Death Cab for Cutie (In the Venue, Oct. 7). Coheed and Cambria, Blood Brothers (Saltair, Oct. 8). Brooks & Dunn (Usana Amphitheater, Oct. 8). ZZ Top (McKay Events Center, Oct. 11).