The Big Gigs for week of 6/3

POP/ROCK Dengue Fever has a strange, worlds-colliding sound that's as unlikely as the story of how the band came together: Rock musicians and brothers Ethan and Zac Holtzman discovered Cambodian immigrant Chhom Nimol while she was singing karaoke at a club in Los Angeles' so-called Little Phnom Penh neighborhood. They created what might be the first true Pacific Rim rock band, with Nimol's exotic Khmer vocals crashing over waves of California surf-guitar and psychedelic, flower-power garage rock. After a couple albums for Peter Gabriel's Real World label, they just issued their fourth disc, "Cannibal Courtship." Their live show is as fascinating and uncanny as their albums. Chicago rockers the Eternals and DJ Mike 2600 open. (9 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $15.) Chris Riemenschneider

Specializing in punky updates of long-buried soul and R&B nuggets, the Detroit Cobras boast one of rock's meanest-sounding women howlers, Rachel Nagy, and one leather-pants-tight rhythm section. They're taking a break from recording to tour with eyeliner-smearing, all-female Texas rock trio Girl in a Coma. (9 p.m. Fri., Varsity Theater. 18 & older. $15.) Riemenschneider

Last seen locally jamming with Lucinda Williams at the Dakota, helping her out on "Can't Let Go" -- the FM hit he penned for her "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" album -- outstanding roots-rock songsmith Randy Weeks returns at a funkier venue catering to barflies on a budget. Originally from Windom, Minn., and long ensconced in L.A., Weeks now calls Austin, Texas, home. Country cousins the Cactus Blossoms, a surprise hit on "A Prairie Home Companion" last summer, open the show with their citybilly harmonies. (10 p.m. Fri., 331 Club. No cover.) Tom Surowicz

Retro soul man Raphael Saadiq has been gaining a following among the indie-rock crowd for his hip, forward-feeling flashbacks and for producing albums by D'Angelo, the Roots and Joss Stone. The former Tony! Toni! Toné! singer just released his fourth solo effort, "Stone Rollin'," which suggests Curtis Mayfield's guitar-loving work, the blues-rock of Chess Records and even Ike Turner. Guitarist/singer Saadiq, who was cool enough to accompany Mick Jagger on this year's Grammys, is electrifying live. (9 p.m. Sat., Cabooze, $25.) Jon Bream

After cleaning up at their hometown Austin Music Awards in March, sweat-coated Texas party band Bright Lights Social Hour is hitting the road on their way to becoming likely favorites on the jam-band festival circuit. The hippie-ish quartet pounds out a rowdy combo of hard-rocking Lone Star boogie and "Higher Ground"-style funk with hints of modern dance-rock and jazz. (9 p.m. Sat., Fine Line. 18 & older. $15.) Riemenschneider

Singer/songwriter turned Reuters political reporter Andy Sullivan is back in town briefly from Washington, D.C., and that means it's high time for a Steeplejack reunion. The band's other songwriter, Ben Connelly, recently penned the score for an indie romantic comedy, "My Movie Girl," while Sullivan recently released a rock opera about lobbyist Jack Abramoff ("King of the Hill") with his D.C. band Dirty Bomb. Nate Link and Meleck Davis round out the Steeplejack 2011 lineup, and there are lots of opening acts: Tim Casey & the Martyrz, Tremblers and Grande Machine. (8 p.m. Sat., 400 Bar, $5-$8.) Surowicz

How cool is Joe Ely? Cool enough to have been hand-picked to open for the Clash in the late '70s and later tour and record with both Bruce Springsteen and Uncle Tupelo. His early solo albums are hidden landmarks in the alt-country world, especially 1978's "Honky-Tonk Masquerade." After a couple welcome stints with his Lubbock pals the Flatlanders, he has finally cut another album on his own, "Satisfied at Last," loaded with Texana flavor, some choice covers of Billy Joe Shaver and Butch Hancock and his own new would-be anthem, "The Highway Is My Home." Paul Metsa opens. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center. $25.) Riemenschneider

After a kaleidoscopic and somewhat quizzical solo debut, David Bazan strips away a few layers on a new record titled "Strange Negotiations," getting back to the rawer-nerved, ultra-emotional songwriting style he played as the frontman for Pedro the Lion. Just a week after the record's release, he lands in town with a band to showcase the new material. Opener Cotton Jones is a boy/girl indie-folk duo led by Page France singer Michael Nau. (9 p.m. Mon., Turf Club. 21 & older. $13.) Riemenschneider

Irish pop trio the Script has been all over Cities 97 for a few years, sounding like a lightweight version of, by turns, Coldplay, Snow Patrol and U2. The current single, "For the First Time," from the 2010 sophomore album, "Science & Faith," tries too hard for top 40 success. Nothing on the new album measures up to radio favorites "Breakeven" and "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" from the group's self-titled 2008 debut. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Orpheum Theatre, $31.) Bream

Here's a Moody Blues joke for you. Drummer Graeme Edge, who joins Justin Hayward and John Lodge as longtime members, recently turned 70 and says: "I've been through the sixties twice." Rim shot. The only real surprises at a Moodies concert these days are the set lists -- in other words, classics vs. newer, less familiar material. (8 p.m. Thu. Orpheum, $53.50-$103.50.) Bream

R&B Not many 1960s R&B vocal groups can still boast more than a member or two from their heyday. But Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Little Anthony and the Imperials have three veteran voices -- Anthony Gourdine, Clarence Collins and Ernest Wright, who reunited in 1993 -- to deliver "Goin' Out of My Head," "Tears on My Pillow" and "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop." (7 & 9 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Dakota Jazz Club, $45-$75.) Bream

Playing bass for James Brown and George Clinton is enough to give Bootsy Collins props for life. But he's also worked with Fatboy Slim, Snoop Dogg and Doc Watson, to name a few, and influenced everyone from Flea to the Fugees. On his new conceptual solo album, "Tha Funk Capital of the World," Bootsy is joined by Béla Fleck, Ice Cube, Buckethead, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Samuel L. Jackson, among others. The uneven album offers glimpses of Collins' funk-rock prowess and salutes two of his late collaborators, guitarists Gary Shider and Catfish Collins, Bootsy's older brother. (7 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, $31.) Bream

JAZZMaking an American tour with just three stops -- New York City, Minneapolis and Edmond, Okla. (!) -- singer Stacey Kent will be working with her regular U.S. band, co-starring hubby and tenor sax pleaser Jim Tomlinson, excellent young Bay Area pianist Art Hirahara, plus local players Gordy Johnson (bass) and Phil Hey (drums). Tomlinson's a Brit who will remind listeners of Stan Getz. Kent's a Yank who's become one of the most popular jazz singers in Europe. And Hirahara, now based in Brooklyn, has a local connection, having recorded and toured with Doug Little. (7 & 9 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota Jazz Club, $25-$40.) Surowicz

If your tastes run to intimate vocal jazz gigs, the Loring Pasta Bar has had a great little underexposed series going the last few months. It's called "Musique Mystique Monday" and takes place in a cozy upstairs candlelit space called the Chambre Rouge -- that's the red room, and indeed you'll find red glowing walls adorned with steamy artwork. The Monday-night series routinely pairs a savvy singer with a stellar instrumentalist, and this week you get Lucia Newell doing standards, originals and Brazilian tunes, backed by guitar guru Dean Magraw. (7-10 p.m. Mon., Loring Pasta Bar. No cover.) Surowicz

New Orleans classic jazz is in good hands with the Southside Aces, a splendid band that delivers sounds that are steeped in a century of tradition, yet never seem less than fresh. Its new CD, "A Big Fine Thing," lives up to its title with a generous 17 songs, great arrangements by clarinet wizard Tony Balluff, possibly the least expected Amy Winehouse cover ever ("Back to Black"), tasty solos everywhere you turn your ear, and Erik Jacobson's always juicy sousaphone laying down a big fat bottom. Other surprises? An Al Green tune ("I'm Still in Love With You") and a Sidney Bechet gem ("Blues in the Air") arranged by New Orleans clarinet virtuoso Evan Christopher. The band's release party will be a dance-friendly affair. (8 p.m. Thu., Minneapolis Eagles Club, $5.) Surowicz