Fujiya & Miyagi, Pop Levi
British band Fujiya & Miyagi latched on to the strange idea of sounding like a motorik-groove-lovin' Kraut-rock group circa 1970—Neu! or Can, say—fronted by a soft-spoken Japanese vocalist. The result is music of pell-mell propulsion and understated, clipped funk—aerodynamic and serene, imbued with a pleasant tension. Pop Levi transformed himself from an English post-rockin' funkateer into an L.A.-based, neo-glam, pop-star combo of Marc Bolan and Iggy Pop. His is a lusty, lively sound. (Neumos, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, $13, 21+.) DAVE SEGAL

Smile Brigade
(Full Tilt Ice Cream) The idea of a rock-and-roll show at an ice-cream parlor is appealing, no matter who the band is—I could probably have a really good time with a cone of rocky road and A Flock of Seagulls, for instance—but Smile Brigade's particular ghostly folk-rock (accordions have been known to figure in) should make for a really weird contrast with Full Tilt Ice Cream. The Brigade are not afraid of a good guitar riff, but the nontraditional venue could delightfully highlight the band's more intimate old-world European (downright Mirah-like) songwriting skills. PAUL CONSTANT

Pendulum, Excision, the Dowlz
(Showbox at the Market) The live-band drum 'n' bass field isn't exactly crowded, so a group like Pendulum will stand out even if they're mediocre—which they are. With drum 'n' bass itself in decline, this isn't very surprising. Australia's Pendulum, however, have garnered a substantial fan base (they packed out a tent at last year's Coachella) through diligent touring and a stadium-sized sound that eschews subtlety. Further broadening the band's mass appeal is their embrace of hard-rock riffing and melodramatic male vocals, which abound on their latest album, In Silico. Credit Pendulum for trying an unusual hybrid; demerit them for coming off ham-fisted and doing neither rock nor drum 'n' bass' discerning fans any favors. DAVE SEGAL

And lastly, These Are Powers are playing at the Vera Project—Dave Segal reviewed their new record All Aboard Futures in this week's paper. An excerpt:

This Chicago/Brooklyn outfit—consisting of former Liars/n0 things bassist Pat Noecker, vocalist/guitarist Anna Barie, and drummer/percussionist Bill Salas—bear similarities to neighbors like Gang Gang Dance and Black Dice in that they warp genre distinctions (and sounds, too) into malleable, flavorful mush. While this may give obsessive categorizers and record-store clerks fits, it will benefit those seeking music that repeatedly pokes the rarely touched "WTF?" portion of your art-appreciation neurons.

If there's a predominant style on All Aboard Future (apt title), it's a species of industrial dub aerated by a bracing no-wave anomie. Barie's flexible, swooping vocals lend the disc's downright strange sonic palette a "human" factor (if that's important to you), but the closest TAP come to anything like a song song is "Sand Tassels," which recalls Sonic Youth's stark, quasi-gamelan rock ballad "Shadow of a Doubt."

Now see all the rest of the listings here!