Thursday 3.22
ttRademacher (Kilby Court); Sevendust (Great Saltair); Bright Light Fever, Broke (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Kev Brown (Monk’s); SLAJO (Urban Lounge); Jerry Joseph (Suede, Park City)

Friday 3.23
ttMonsoon Season (Pat’s BBQ); I Am the Ocean (Broken Record); Swamp Donkeys (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Die Hunns (Club Vegas); Ayin CD Release (Liquid Joe’s); Glinting Gems (Monk’s); The Rubes, Starmy (Urban Lounge)

Saturday 3.24
ttMASTODON
ttLove ’em or hate ’em, Mastodon deserve some serious credit for honoring traditional metal archetypes in their video for “Colony of Birchmen,” an awesomely ridiculous production featuring a unicorn, some kind of Big Foot creature, the group playing in an underground cave with tiny waterfalls and the mother of all climaxes: an animated tree that catches fire, melting into a skull into a mountain into wolves devouring a handsome buck. One wolf then becomes a serpent before morphing into a mythical creature. What does it all mean? It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to understand, or enjoy, D&D imagery and lyrics to love Mastodon’s thundering, melodic metal. Club Vegas, 451 S. 400 West, 8 p.m. Tickets: KTix.net.

DUSTY RHODES & THE RIVER BAND
ttKnown to inspire more than a few audience singalongs, Dusty Rhodes (no relation to wrestling’s “The American Dream”) and The River Band join Cold War Kids as another Orange County band with absolutely no pop-punk undertones (or overtones for that matter). Instead, Rhodes and Co. produce lovely, sideshow country meets old-time saloon ditties with cinematic tension. First You Live brings the sextet’s violin, banjo, keys, accordion, drums, bass, guitar and sitar to a boil before tossing in jarring shout-and-response choruses (“Ghost Trails”) or a lonely, hollowedout solo (“Children of the Terrible World”): “Where do we go from here?” Answer: somewhere up there … Be sure to catch the whole show with Gingerbread Patriots and so fresh, so clean The Wolfs. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Info: 746-0557.

Also Saturday: Ratatat (In the Venue'see Music, p. 52); Maxfield CD Release (Kilby Court); Stacey Board (Pat’s BBQ); Emma Watson Benefit (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Maximum Distortion Benefit (Club Vegas); J.J. Grey, Mofro (Suede, Park City)

Sunday 3.25
ttTucker Rountree (Alchemy Coffee); Dirty on Purpose (Kilby Court); The Human Echo (Monk’s)

Tuesday 3.27
ttBIRDS OF AVALON
ttBirds of Avalon mines Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and even a little Steely Dan (re: the first 30 seconds of “Superpower”) for killer bass lines, dueling power guitars, feedback and fuzz, and makes adds their own unique flair for a straight-up blues-rock/psych-rock party. Founding members/married couple Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler formed the ’70s-throwback band after leaving The Cherry Valence to carve a new niche on North Carolina’s music scene. Singer Craig Tilley and drummer Scott Turkin later joined the fold, solidifying the group’s slightly proggy, though not at all masturbatory, sound. Monk’s, 19 E. 200 South, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Blackhole).

PATO BANTON & THE MYSTIC ROOTS BAND
tt“Although I’ve lost my dread/I haven’t lost my sight,” Pato Banton says on “My Opinion,” reassuring listeners'perhaps even himself'that he never stopped believing in a better world. In fact, after taking a break from music to teach kindergarten in his native Birmingham, England, Banton’s vision is stronger than ever. You can hear it in his voice, on songs powered by sensimilla (“Naturally beautiful/ green and fresh/ with vitamin C for ‘consciousness’”), unwavering spiritual beliefs and The Mystic Roots Band’s tight rhythm section. If that sounds like heavy stuff, take a cue from Marky Mark and just: “Feel it feel it/ Feel the vibration.” Suede, 1612 Ute Blvd. (Kimball Junction), Park City, 9 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com.

Also Tuesday: Band Camp (Kilby Court); Brand New (In the Venue); Agent Orange (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Nice, Meat (Liquid Joe’s)

Wednesday 3.28
ttPIEBALD, MC CHRIS
ttIn January, Boston police successfully disarmed 10 blinking “explosive devices” later revealed as “promotional devices” for Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. While many considered the event rather comical, others are still up in arms about a show featuring a talking milkshake, box of fries and meat patty. It follows that Force character MC Pee Pants, aka MC Chris, poses a similar threat to America. Oh sure, you think that because the nerdcore rapper sounds like a 10-year-old speed freak, writes geek rhymes and name-checks Kevin Bacon, he’s not a true thug? Wow. Listen, if we don’t stop mischievous cartoon icons and their real-life counterparts, then the terrorists have truly won. Velour, 135 N. University Ave, Provo, 7:30 p.m. All-ages. Info: VelourLive.com.

Also Wednesday: Man Man (Kilby Court); The Hero Factor (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

COMING UP
ttPage France (Kilby Court, March 29). Isis (In the Venue, March 30). De La Soul (Harry O’s, March 30). Apples In Stereo (The Depot, March 31). Vicious Rumors (Club Vegas, March 31). Panda & Angel (Urban Lounge, April 1). Galactic (The Depot, April 4). Blackalicious (Suede, April 4). Maria Taylor (Kilby Court, April 5). Appleseed Cast (In the Venue, April 7). Blue October (Great Saltair, April 12). Jedi Mind Tricks (Suede, April 12). Type O Negative (Great Saltair, April 16). Wolfmother (In the Venue, April 17). Lindsay Buckingham (The Depot, April 18). Peepeing Tom (The Depot, April 19). Brazilian Girls (The Depot, April 24).