TENACIOUS D Purveyors of comic rock range from squishy, sub-par GWAR to the sublimely ridiculous Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Tenacious D doesn't aspire to the inspired lunacy of the Bonzos; the duo is pretty much a one-joke band - but it's a good joke. Rotund, unlikely rockers Jack Black and Kyle Gass strum acoustic guitars in front of crack session players, convinced they are the Best Rock Band in the World! Their committed cluelessness is amusing. Gass plays put-upon straight man to Black's likeable but too-eager-to-please update on Gene Wilder's hair-trigger mania. Like the twosome's big-league mentor Dave Grohl, TD makes immaculately arranged, well-played music that lacks killer songs. Much is made of the duo's metal mania, but they owe more to classic rock - the mystic warrior folderol of Wishbone Ash mixed with the regurgitated "Devil's Music" bullshit of the Charlie Daniels Band. Black and Gass have a hard time lampooning this stuff because it's already self-parody, and they only find their mojo when they stick to potty humor and dick jokes. $40. 8 p.m. The Fillmore.

TOMMY CASTRO Tommy Castro is a funky soul man with a blues implant in his heart. The San Francisco-based singer/guitarist can cover Wilson Pickett's panther scream and Otis' grits-and-soul delivery as easily as John Lee Hooker's hoodoo boogie riddims. Recently, Castro found a new career leading jams aboard the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruises. With his stripped down 4-piece outfit the Painkillers, Castro recalls Stax Records' '60s r&b sound mixed in with blues Kings Freddy, Albert and B.B. Part of Castro's appeal is his generosity toward fellow players. Everybody in his band and his jams is allowed a voice and a time to express themselves, as he learned to do while honing his skills in Charlie Musselwhite's backup ensemble, the Dynatones. Castro's guitar screams as soulfully as his vocals while the Painkillers dig a groove you can wallow in. It's a rare opportunity to see one of Bay area's finest. $15. Double Door Inn.

THE YOUNG The early output from this Texas outfit made it seem like leader Hans Zimmerman was intent on playing down his roots - the fuzzy guitars, lo-fi percussion and punk rock tempos located the band closer to Brooklyn than Austin. But the group's latest, Dub Egg, radiates big-sky Texas. There are obvious moments, like the pedal steel-flecked shuffle "Only Way Out," but the other psych rock flavors should be familiar to fans of another Austin-based group - the 13th Floor Elevators - who have clearly laid their psychedelic hand on the fevered brow of the Young's Matador Records debut, and to good effect, too. With Little Bull Lee. $5. 9 p.m. Snug Harbor.

D&D SLUGGERS So much has changed in popular culture. Take rock music and video games. They've flipped in the popular perception, the former becoming the vestige of effete dweebery while the latter is now somewhat hip and acceptable. Even in the age of Amazon.com, freestanding Game Stop stores are everywhere. (Consider music stores' comparative survival.) Bands like D&D Sluggers bridge the gap between those worlds admirably, composing addictive dance-rock with a guitar, a synth, a Nintendo DS and a Game Boy. The thump and crackle of digital percussion and Nintendo soundbites back pop-punk guitar and fuzzy synth work. And the pop-punk quality is alive and well in the vocals of "Jam of the Year," while there's a conversational They Might Be Giants-ness to über-square movie date song "Johnny Depp," and even a refreshing Jamiroquai feel to "I Will Not Be There." Yeah, these are the good nerds for sure. $5. 10:30 p.m. The Evening Muse.

MATRIMONY Dearly beloved, we are gathered in the presence of these witnesses, to join music and lyrics in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate signifying the mystical union between instruments and vocals; the band and fans. Sustaining this hallowed union are the adept songwriting skills of guitarist/singer James Brown and keyboardist/singer Ashlee Hardee Brown, along with drummer Jordan Hardee and multi-instrumentalist CJ Hardee. Having found the support of Columbia Records for their upcoming major-label debut, the Charlotte band plans to rifle through its entire catalog of music on this night for one and all to enjoy. The celebration shall include, but not be limited to, a combination of energetic folk and rock infused with tales of life and love, and sparked by the slightest hints of blues, pop and bluegrass. $12. 9 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre.

TODD SNIDER The Nashville storyteller began his career as a bright and briefly controversial light on the too-tepid Americana singer/songwriter scene - a witty, John Prine-leaning raconteur (he was even on Prine's label) with a smart-aleck streak who'd mockingly incinerate whatever crossed his path. But Snider then took a blowtorch to his own life and, in the aftermath, his songs took on the banal flavor of rehab drunkalogues. Thankfully, Snider's recent output returns to topical socio-cultural fare - including this year's Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables - that at least makes his by-the-numbers country-rock stand out for its intelligence. With Kevin Gordon. $22-$25. 8:30 p.m. Visulite Theatre.

For the third year, Uptown Charlotte Jazz Festival brings more smooth R&B- and pop-based acts than actual jazz to Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre. But at least one of the acts stands out. Fronted by guitarist and producer Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, the U.K.-based acid jazz ensemble Incognito has released a string of compelling, jazz-based dance albums since its beginnings in the early '80s, when smooth jazz first began colliding with hip-hop and funk. The group's most recent CD is Surreal, released earlier this year. Other performers on the festival roster include Boney James, Pieces of a Dream, Joey Sommerville, Soul of Summer (featuring Warren Hill, Maysa, and Jonathan Butler), and Innertwyned. $33 and up. 7 p.m. Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre.