Best of the week: Local music

Monday, May 2 - The Smoking Popes + The Appreciation Post + Zombie Radio

As far as Moog-driven power pop goes, the Appreciation Post are pretty hard to beat on the local front. A diligent, workmanlike schedule of recording and touring has served the Boston five-piece well since their inception in 2005, having taken them everywhere from small clubs along the East Coast to more high profile stints on the Vans Warped Tour. And if you’re ever looking for something to do on Halloween, they’ve proven to be a more than suitable substitute for the almighty Rocket From The Crypt (see the videos on YouTube). The band, along with darkly melodic pop punkers Zombie Radio, will take on opener duties for reunited Chicago punks the Smoking Popes, currently touring in support of their latest effort This Is Only A Test.

Friday, May 6 - Jesse Dee + Jordan Valentine and the Sunday Saints + B3 Kings + PJ Gray

Considering how much of new millenium rock and roll has gotten by on recapturing the grittier sounds of the 60s and 70s, it was only a matter of time before soul music got the new finagled “neo” treatment. And judging by Friday night’s downstairs bill at the Middle East, Boston’s got the soul revival bug in a huge way. The songs boasted on local boy Jesse Dee’s Bittersweet Batch not only sound at home with the Stax and Motown Records they draw much of their inspiration from, but the album’s warm undertones and unfettered production make it feel like a genuine product of the 60s. Jordan Valentine and her backing band, the Sunday Saints, will open with their modern take on the New Orleans R&B sounds of yesteryear, while B3 Kings and PJ Gray (Soullelujah) round out the bill.

Friday, May 6 - The Major Stars + Bill Nance + Greg Kelley Duo + Vile Bodies

After 13 years together, the Major Stars are slowly becoming local elder statesmen. But while they’re racking up the years, the band’s fuzzed-out concoction of thrash, blues and psychedelia has held up more than fine over time. From Zepplin’s bluesy guitar crunch to the molasses-thick sounds of Sabbath, Hawkwind and the Melvins, the Stars’ serve up a potent mix of everything that good ol’ fashioned sludge rock has to offer. The band will play in support of their 2010 Drag City Records debut Return To Form, while the one-two combo of Bill Nance and Greg Kelley will open alongside Vile Bodies.

Saturday, May 7 - The Have Nots + Razors In The Night + Side Effects + Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One

If alienated, militant teenagers continue to have their say, there will always be a place for bands like the Have Nots. Merging the break neck tempos of NOFX and Strung Out, the skittering ska stomp of the Suicide Machines and the street core smarts of the early Dropkick Murphys, the band could best be described as a dense mash-up of everything the bratty punk rock underground had to offer circa 1998. And the formula still works some 13 years later, as the Have Nots takes to the Middle East to kick off their record release weekend in support of their latest effort, Proud. The band hits the stage with fellow Boston punks Razors In The Light, Side Effects and Lenny Lashley of Darkbuster fame in tow.