Three's Company

Yes, Kevin Bronson is still out of town. Yes, Jeff Weiss remains your guest blogger. I can see that you're disappointed, but buck up: Kevin will return by the end of next week. In the meantime, to quote David Bowie, "let's dance."

The Thermals had been around for four years before last year's breakthrough, The Body, The Blood & The Machine, a record that this page's regular host named his second best album of 2006. It's not hard to understand why, listening to the manic adrenaline coursing through the album's backbone.

The four-piece punk rockers hail from Portland, Oregon, and distilled their hometown's left-field sensibilities and proudly progressive tradition on the anti-Bush-leaning record. Less overt than many of his punk peers, Thermals frontman Hutch Harris has a sly wit and a broad imagination. But when push comes to shove, his passion and slant come through with a grit and sincerity that recall perhaps the greatest punk rocker of them all, Joe Strummer.

The Thermals play at the Echo tonight with openers Them Hills and Wet Confetti.

Download: The Thermals - "A Pillar of Salt"

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The Dark Star Orchestra probably aren't technically a "buzz band" since they don't play original music. But they might be the most original cover band in the history of cover bands (which isn't surprising when your original inspiration is one of the greatest covers-playing bands of all time, The Grateful Dead).

Playing a different Dead show each night, The Dark Star Orchestra faithfully recreates the experience down to its setlist, with each night's music randomly chosen from a different Classic Grateful Dead show. Sure, it's a bit weird, but there's no denying the band's prodigious chops, uncanny knack for imitation and the faithful following they've accumulated who swear that these guys are the next best thing to Jerry rising from, well, the dead.

The Dark Star Orchestra play at The El Rey tonight.

Listen at Dark Star Orchestra's Myspace

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A lot of artists are called cult artists because they aren't good enough to attract a wider fan base. Richard Swift isn't one of them. Britain has caught on; the onetime KFC cook and Secretly Canadian recording artist received rave reviews there a few weeks ago with the release of Dressed Up for the Letdown. Domestically, Swift's record was met with nearly-as-strong praise, and rightfully so. He plays Spaceland tonight along with a fellow Secretly Canadian recording artist, the T. Rex-influenced David Vandervelde; this might be the strongest all-around bill of the week.

Download: Richard Swift - "Kisses For the Misses"

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Touts for Friday, April 6

Huntington Beach punk/poppers Hellogoodbye headline the Wiltern LG, while punk rockers Billy Talent will shake the Troubadour walls. It's a great night to be at a museum, with Dean and Britta, formerly of Luna, playing a sure-to-be-pleasant set at the Getty Center, while at First Fridays at the Natural History Museum, The Submarines play along with a DJ set from Dntel.

The reconstituted 90s alt-rockers Veruca Salt play the Roxy while the Universal Amphitheater presents a soulful bill featuring John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae. Matador artist Jennifer O' Connor headlines at The Silverlake Lounge.