Expand your musical horizons
This is going to be a killer week for live music in and around Boston, with 18-plus shows running the gamut from punk rock to psychedelic folk.
Tomorrow night, the well-known Boston punk outfit The Conversions will be laying down their spastic, hardcore jams alongside the Life Partners, Brain Killer, and Scapegoat at the Papercut Zine Library in Harvard Square (formerly known as the Harvard Lampoon building). This is the Conversions' last show, so it's bound to be a raucous night for local punks. See you in the pit. All ages. Sat 6 p.m. $6 suggested donation. The Papercut Zine Library, 45 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge. 617-492-2600. www. last.fm/event/654801 (Last.fm is a spectacular member-driven music resource, with concert listings, social networking, and sound clips.)
Monday night, Northampton's Sunburned Hand of the Man, a rotating quintet with a unique, psychedelic take on everything from jam-out Americana to metal is stopping by PA's Lounge in Union Square as part of its No More Bush Tour. Hand of Man's unpredictable live set could manifest in ambient drone-outs or true-to-form rock anthems - you never know; the band's opening acts - including 50 Foot Woman and Axlotl, Bobb Trimble, and local favorite Bill Nace - are equally diverse. 18+ Mon 7:30 p.m. (doors). $8-$11. P.A.'s Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave., Somerville. 617-776-1557. www. last.fm/event/659584
On Tuesday, the noisy experimental trio Hair Police originally from Kentucky, will be at the Middle East in Central Square with locals Heathen Shame, Red Horse, and Puritan Agenda. The band will get the crowd swaying with toe-tapping loops of percussive clicks, beeps, and glitches played over grainy, otherworldly soundscapes produced by tape decks, oscillators, traditional instrumentation, and other gadgets. Such rhythmic yet abrasive grooves frequently dissolve into pure, heavy feedback drones, so don't forget your earplugs. 18+ Tue 9 p.m. (doors). $8. The Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-864-3278. www.last.fm/event/638919
