They Might Be Giants
9 p.m. • First Avenue • 18-plus • sold out
Although their status as physical giants remains up in the air, these lovable alt-rock weirdos are metaphorical giants thanks to their sneaky presence over the past few decades. You're likely in the minority if you can't recite a piece of Turkish history to the band's 1990 cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" or scream-shout their Grammy-winning theme song to '00s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle." TMBG has dabbled in kiddie music since 2002, but new album "Glean," due out Tuesday, returns to the beloved Dial-A-Song process where the band records songs onto an answering machine. Alex Nelson
The Soft Moon
9 p.m. • 7th Street Entry • 18-plus • $10-$12
The Soft Moon is mainly just Mojave Desert-raised drifter Luis Vasquez, an electronic producer/rocker with a wealth of emotions. Instead of dealing with them like your typical emo kid (by penning awful, melodramatic poetry into tattered and stickered notebooks), this visionary pours his angst into deeply intense soundscapes. His emotions surface in sonic spaces that are at once expansive and claustrophobic, sometimes switching from roaring to sensitive in a flash. Though Vasquez told Vice's music blog Noisey that his music-making is self-serving in a therapeutic sense, he's generously expressing himself across the globe on a massive world tour. Experimental guitarist Noveller opens along with locals Oaks and DJ Jim Frick. A.N.
David Hidalgo and Marc Ribot
8 p.m. • Cedar Cultural Center • $30-$35
