MERCIES
This Connecticut band records in an old barn they’ve refitted into a studio and cleverly dubbed “The Barn” in the Constitution State’s northern hinterlands. If you think that translates into backporch pickin’ or rustic Americana, think again. The band — co-founded by Josh Rheault and Sammy Dent in 2009 — is touring behind its dream-like EP Ballet, released in March. Instrumental music commissioned for a ballet, its lush textures and minor-key melancholy bear a distinct wintery stamp. Ironically, it was the band’s debut, Three Thousand Days, that it recorded in the dead of winter, often when powering the equipment trumped the electric heaters. Maybe that’s why that album has a wistful, late-summer feel, as though each song were a mini-vacation to some warmer clime. Mercies’ Bandcamp page calls the music “folk rock, beach pop, (and) forest-core,” but more specific sonic toeholds would point to elaborate vocal harmonies influenced by the Beach Boys and sounding like, say, Midlake; keyboards that carry the melody as often as they wash through it, and guitars that serve as accents rather than centerpieces. The singer’s delivery tilts over-dramatic at times, but your mileage may vary. Otherwise, a promising act. With Vess, Wazu. $5. Aug. 24, 9 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. 704-333-9799.

BEFORE THE EYEWALL I miss post-rock, I really do. I was very happy in the mid-’00s, when so many excellent, epic albums dropped — lofty monoliths of inspiring yet hard-rocking instrumentalism. And though the Pitchfork spotlight no longer shines on poor Mogwai, the band’s heady subgenre remains distinctive and refreshing. Therefore, thank the gods for post-rock trio Before the Eyewall, which stops at the Milestone in support of its new EP Euxine Currents, which consists of one 25-minute mammoth composition. It has all the patience and cinematic dynamism I loved six years ago, when this kind of stuff was still all the rage. Yet, time has passed, and Before the Eyewall has evolved accordingly. There’s no plodding through the familiar quiet-medium-loud-loudest-quiet structures that, eventually, were post-rock’s downfall. Let’s put it this way: rather than take you to the mountaintop (see: Mono), Before the Eyewall goes hacking through the underbrush with a machete. With Labyrinthe, Black Pope, Towering Pyre and Alabaska. $7-$9. Aug. 24, 9 p.m. Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road. 704-398-0472.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Pardon me, Broseph, but can you point me in the direction of the nearest testosterone-fueled heavy metal band that’s pop enough to make the radio, but aggressive enough to make me feel threatened? Five Finger Death Punch fits the formula perfectly — they can show off a soft side before heavy chugging guitars and thundering drums drive into your skull with authority. It’s by-the-book stuff, but damn if they don’t pull it off really well. Some of the emo-induced lyrics are laughable — “did you hear the one about me being a punk/did you hear the one about me being a drunk” — but live, the band is a juggernaut. Rarely do you see a quintet with equally kinetic stage presence that pulls your eyes in five different directions at once. The band’s biggest fans probably have fake testicles hanging on the back of their pickup trucks, but if you’re going to listen to soul-less aggro-rock, why not make it one of the few who do it really well. On the Trespass American Tour with Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Pop Evil, Emmure, God Forbid and Battlecross. $20-$65. Aug. 21, 4:30 p.m. Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. 704-549-5555.

STEVE VAI Thank god the Olympics are over. And I’m not being contrarian here — there are some events I genuinely dig (who can hate archery? Or the high dive?). But there is only so much fast-for-the-sake-of-fast, strong-for-the-sake-of-strong or agile-for-the-sake-of-agile a person can take. After a while, sustained overstimulation simply deadens your nerves, rendering you incapable of any reaction beyond “Oh, gee. That woman can outrun a horse. What else is on?” You probably see where I’m going here, since, if shredding was an Olympic sport, guitar badass Steve Vai would most certainly be on the American team. But for all his extreme speed and agility and whatnot on the fretboard, watching him play can be the real endurance test. Much like with the Olympics, once the superhuman “wow” factor wears off, the acrobatics get a bit tedious. With Beverly McClellan. $33. Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m. The Fillmore, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. 704-916-8970.

BANDS TOGETHER FOR LUPUS An inaugural benefit for the Alliance for Lupus Research has been organized as a Sunday afternoon event at the Chop Shop, featuring plenty of music, a raffle and free food. The all-ages event will have a variety of music by local artists who are banding together for a good cause. From the electronica of Andrew Stamper to the folk ’n’ roll of Sy Arden; from the acoustic rock of Ryan Bach Band to the, um, funky stylings of Funky Geezer — there’s a bit of something for everyone. Also on the roster: Jackson Cozort, Flesh & Stone, Leigh Ann Stevens and Friends, Matt Perrone, Vulture and Austin Hill. $10. Aug. 19, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. Chop Shop, 399 E. 35th St.

ZOE VETTE & THE REVOLVERS With a previous Revolvers incarnation, Queen City rock goddess Zoe Vette cranked out guilty pleasures like the giddy S&M rocker “Ground Ginger.” A new line-up continues and improves on ZVR’s glossy grinding punk, thanks in part to secret weapon, guitarist/producer Grey Revell. A product of N.Y.C.’s anti-folk scene, Revell produced luminaries Kimya Dawson and Regina Spektor while crafting solo music that ranges from acoustic punk to Eno-esque atmospherics. His “anti-showbiz” stance and rock solid chord progressions mesh well with Zoe’s Go-Go’s-after-they-gargled-carbolic vocals and “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” attitude. As for that attitude, it’s easy to tag ZVR as Joan Jett fronting hair metalists Faster Pussycat. (Indeed, as a fuck you to the constant Jett comparisons, ZVR covers not Joanie, but fellow Runaways alumni Lita Ford.) Placing ZVR in this pocket ignores their glammy experimental side, evidenced in rocked-up covers of Eno and T-Rex. Still, Zoe remains a gutsy, outspoken evangelist for the Church of Chick Rock. Seated on the right hand of patron saints Fanny, The Runaways and Suzi Quatro, she celebrates the shambolic glory of pre-hardcore melodic punk. With The Joy Kills, The Fill Ins, and Jym Chapman & the Migrant Workers. $5. Aug. 18, 9 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. 704-333-9799.

CICADA RHYTHM Acoustic jazz and roots music duo Cicada Rhythm had the perfect indie rom-com “cute meet.” Self-taught guitarist David Kirslis hopped off a freight train and needed a friend to pick him up. Classically trained upright bassist Andrea DeMarcus was a passenger in the car, and there she met her soot-begrimed future partner. It’s tempting to read too much in the melding of the train jumper and the Juilliard grad, with Kirslis bringing the stripped-down storytelling of an itinerant bluesman to the mix, complementing the experimental, jazzy swing of DeMarcus’ bowed bass. Regardless of how the influences of folk, jazz and blues intermingled, Cicada Rhythm craft an open-hearted, inventive blend of American musics in deceptively simple songs that are both haunting and playfully jaunty. The duo’s tight harmonies suggest Nashville duo The Civil Wars, if only The Civil Wars took anti-depressants. Rarely has a band’s name fit their music so well. Cicada Rhythm conjure up the Southern twilight when the buzz of insects washes in waves through the trees, and that eerie but comforting moment of stasis before the world transforms. $8. Aug. 17, 8 p.m. Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. 704-376-3737.

Leela James is performing at Tempo tonight, August 17. Here’s why you need to stop everything and buy that ticket right now. Leela sings old-school soul without sounding... old. Her new album, Loving You More... In the Spirit of Etta James, doesn’t just cover standards (and some rare cuts) by her hero — it completely reworks the arrangements, stripping them down to bare piano chords or, on the standout “Damn Your Eyes,” amping them up to “Erotic City”-level highs.

It’s a good move for Leela, who, like Etta, embellishes her effortless alto with a grittiness that soothes even as it packs a kick. James is one of the few modern R&B singers who can legitimately hold a tune next to legends like Aretha Franklin or Gladys Knight. Her four critically acclaimed albums showcase her soulful, bluesy, jazzy, even folk-tinged sound.

James has the kind of voice that makes you wanna pin up your hair, put on some pumps and break up with your man, just to make up with him again. And while Leela is flawless in concert, a small venue like Tempo is the perfect setting for her honey-whiskey growl. Backed by Tempo’s live house band, it should transform the spot into the jookjoint of dreams. Since it is Tempo, guys will want to check the website for their stringent and curiously specific dress code (no striped polos), so your night isn’t cut short before it begins. RIYL Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, newer Raphael Saadiq, Jill Scott and Jasmine Sullivan.

$15. Aug. 17, 9 p.m. Tempo, 4809 Wilkinson Blvd. 704-391-8909.

CEMENT STARS This Charlotte combo started as a bedroom-based, lo-fi recording duo enthralled with the buzzy electronics and dense textures of ’80s post-punk and New Wave. Brothers Shaun and Bryan Olson have since expanded to a five-piece, making room for driving drumbeats and synth player Enid Valu’s gauzy vocals. The chilly John Foxx—style synth drones that dominated the Olson’s debut EP remain, but they are joined by melodic New Order-like bass and dual, moody, Chameleons-like guitar. To their credit, Cement Stars expand on their compelling influences, adding prickly, cold atmospherics reminiscent of Portishead in the service of Bryan’s impressionistic lyrics. With textures thick enough to slice with a knife, the Cement Stars wisely use them as a spectral backdrop rather than a sludgy wall between band and listener. A shoegaze haze still permeates the pensive, off-kilter melodies, but the songs are anchored by Shaun’s precise and forceful percussion. It’s the source of Cement Stars’ uneasy appeal that they manage to remain grounded while their floating vocals merge like spirits in the night. With Modern Man, Little Bull Lee and Chemical Peel. $5. Aug. 17, 9 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. 704-333-9799.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS It’s a bit of a drive, but with residency comes variety. Drive-By Truckers are checking in for a two-night stint at Asheville’s Orange Peel that’s sure to showcase the Southern rock/alt-country of the band’s nine studio albums, including recent releases The Big To-Do and Go-Go Boots. Though based out of Athens, Ga., singer, guitarist and master Southern storyteller Patterson Hood hasn’t forgotten any of his Muscle Shoals roots, working in bits of gritty soul wherever he can. The lineup has withstood plenty of speed bumps — the latest was the departure of long-time bassist Shonna Tucker — but the band soldiers on without hindrance (though probably without her songs). I’d say the new arrangement is only now starting to settle in, but the Truckers’ music has been settling in for quite a while now. $25-$30. Aug. 17, 9 p.m. Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. (828) 225-5851.