Major Lazer, Thursday, June 25: When Phili’s Diplo and London’s Switch get together, they don’t form like Voltron a la Wu Tang Clan; rather, they become an ass-kicking, one-armed, crime-fighting Rasta cartoon action hero decked out in mirrored shades and armed with a cannon that fires frickin’ laser beams. It’s a loose, playful concept for the two dance producers, sure. But if you’re gonna call yourself Major Lazer, you might as well have a cool mascot. Their debut disc, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do!, is a mash-up of dancehall, reggaeton and hip-hop spiked with techno and smeared with digitized SFX. Single Hold the Line featuring Santigold and Mr. Lex, rides a surf-boogie guitar into periodic bursts of random cell phone rings and other noises. And Anything Goes featuring Turbulence, gives a full-frontal assault of Auto-Tuned vocals and epic violins punctured by, but of course, laser squirts. It’s conceptual in the best possible sense. Or, as Major Lazer likes to say, mad decent. With DJ Ayres, Tigerbeat. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St. 709-9467. 8 p.m. $18 adv. Note by KEVIN CAPP

Reik, Thursday, June 25: In the late ’90s, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin made it clear that there’s nothing hotter than a sexy Latino dude crooning in Spanish. Now, the Baja, California natives of Reik have only contributed to the Latino heartthrob image with their good looks and a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Front man Jesus Alberto Navarro Rosas and back up vocalist Julio Ramirez Eguia will melt you with their silky smooth voices and delicious pop riffs that make me wish they were serenading me right now. After six years of releasing multiple Mexican chart toppers, these guys are due for a US breakthrough. Watch out for panty-dropper Ahora Sin Ti and more upbeat, but equally sexy, Illusionado. Following the last juicy twang of Gilberto Marin’s guitar, these fellas are sure to have ladies (and a few men) stalking them all the way back to Seatac. Caliente. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E. 381-3094. 7 p.m. $27.50 adv. $30 dos. All ages. Note by MALIA MA

The Coathangers, Saturday, June 27: If there was ever a desperate need for a band like Atlanta band the Coathangers, a fierce foursome of punk rock women who can shriek, I’m gonna break your fuckin’ face! and make the biggest beefcake in the place run for cover, it’s now. Sleater-Kinney broke up. The Donnas…um, no. And while Beth Ditto is out there fighting the good fight for rubenesque women everywhere, she’s become as much of a sex symbol as her emaciated foes. It’s gotten so bad that Ditto’s persona — and the Beth Ditto doll, a miniskirt-wearing thing with make-up painted on her little plastic face like 2-D cake frosting — is getting more attention than the Gossip. In new girl groups, you’ve got bands like Von Iva and the Veronicas, who’ve built their success on Suicide Girl looks and a performance style that borders on exhibitionism. But bands like the Coathangers, who recently dropped their sophomore album, Scramble, on local label Suicide Squeeze Records, spit in the eye of all that fluff. They may wear wigs onstage, but they aren’t trying to be sexpots. They may channel Bikini Kill, but they’re not trying to further a cause (provocative band name aside). They’re trying to get attention for their badass music. Music that proves you don’t need to be a sex symbol or a feminist icon to get somewhere as a female musician. With These Arms Are Snakes, the Whore Moans. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m. $8. Note by SARA BRICKNER

Sunset Rubdown, Saturday, June 27: It’s tempting to call Sunset Rubdown the side project of Wolf Parade singer/multi-instrumentalist Spencer Krug (also of Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), but that would imply it’s not as important a gig to Krug, or as well-known as his primary outfit, and neither is correct. Begun as a solo project in 2005, Sunset Rubdown has expanded to a quintet, and has just released Dragonslayer, its fourth acclaimed full-length of zig-zagging, proggy indie-rock (the band also has two EPs to its name). Craggy guitars, psychedelic organ grooves, New Wave-y vocal yelps, skittering rhythms, background female coos, and bursts of joyous noise all play a role in Krug’s epic, engaging jams, and his desperately sung lyrics are among the most fascinating, and inscrutable, in all of indie-rockdom: See the sirens and the lizards lick their tongues behind the stage/See the actor keep a ritual to keep them all at bay/He would like to come home naked without war paint on his face/And appear before you, virgin white if virgins are still chaste. With Witchies, Elfin Saddle. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St. 324-8000. 8 p.m. $13. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

5.1.2

Spindrift, Sunday, June 28: If geographical locales could have house bands, Los Angeles’ Spindrift would be a prime candidate to provide a perpetual soundtrack for Death Valley. Originally conceived as a more low-key trio 17 years ago, while frontman Kirpatrick Thomas was living in Delaware, he eventually migrated to L.A. and nurtured his lysergic, Wild West-embracing vision into a sprawling seven-piece featuring players from Brian Jonestown Massacre and Psychic TV. Those heady ingredients synthesize into an excellent recipe for feeding Ennio Morricone aficionados and fans of dark, narcotic drone a la the Black Angels. It’s also hardly a novelty act; Thomas is a complete artist who has also started to expand to include filmmaking. His neo-spaghetti western, The Legend of God’s Gun, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival last summer. With Black Nite Crash, Levator. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St. 324-8000. 8 p.m. $6. Note by HANNAH LEVIN

Ryan Shaw, Monday, June 29: With their boisterous, vintage R&B sound that almost literally jumps out of your speakers, Ryan Shaw’s recordings have there’s no way this guy doesn’t kick ass in concert stamped all over them. Among the bandwagon hoppers who have embraced classic, 1960s production values, Ryan Shaw’s voice and rousing delivery ring loud and clear above the rest. By its very nature, because it relies on time-proven formulas, any overtly retro music always comes tainted by the possibility that it was calculated by some shady producer with dollar signs in his eyes. But there’s absolutely no denying Shaw’s passion. Or the way his records crackle with energy and verve. Instead of merely carbon-copying from established Motown/Stax blueprints, Shaw’s work reflects a savvy mix of old and new production techniques. Clearly, he wasn’t tapped as Van Halen’s reunion tour opener for nothing, and his enthusiasm translates easily for fans of any genre. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave. 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. $20.50. All ages. Note by SABY REYES-KULKARNI

Emilie Simon, Tuesday, June 30: Those Europeans sure love their electronic music, and in Emilie Simon’s case, we can’t blame them. Simon’s girlishly wispy vocals are similar to those of fellow chanteuse Charlotte Gainsbourg, only she’s backed by an otherworldly aura and killer dance beats that have made her a critical and commercial success in her native France for years. She’s released both floral- (The Flower Book) and plant- (Vegetal) themed albums and composed the score to the original March of the Penguins. Songs like Dame de Lotus feature driving electric guitars and hypnotic melodies, while her music videos singularize her as impossibly cool (Flowers turns Simon into a claymation doll amongst a population of creepy toys, a la Tim Burton) and impossibly sexy (Fleur de Saison depicts her posing nude as vines wrap around her body) all at once. Yet Simon accompanies her music with exquisite lyrics that expose the tenderness underneath all that edginess. With Butterfly Boucher. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave. 441-7416. 8 p.m. $10 adv. Note by ERIN THOMPSON