Thursday, February 6, 2014

This week's hot concerts

Koffin Kats
Friday  9 p.m., The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd., $5-$7, www.themilestoneclub.com
The Detroit punk trio channels the ghost of early Misfits with horror themes, catchy sing-along choruses, Danzig-like phrasing, and haunted-house riffs and mixes it with the thrashing guitar sound of Motorhead.

Vanessa Carlton
Saturday  8:30 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $25-$30, www.visulite.com
After medical issues forced her to postpone last fall’s shows, the piano-pop songstress returns to the road. She recently married and is over halfway done with her next album, which may be her most experimental yet.

Robbie Fulks
Saturday  9 p.m., Double Door, 1218 Charlottetown Ave., $12-$15, www.doubledoorinn.com
Emerging as a favorite of the Americana scene in the `90s, it’s no surprise this Chicago songwriter/guitarist’s latest album, “Gone Away Backward,” is among critics’ favorites of 2013 with its balance of bluegrass notes, classic country delivery, and literary storytelling.

Dom Kennedy
Sunday  8 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $27, www.livenation.com
The L.A. rapper’s decision to decline a major label deal caught the attention of “Forbes Magazine” following the release of his Top 5 charting 2013 album “Get Home Safely.” With his classic hip-hop influences and DIY ideals (think TechN9ne or Jay Z early on) he’s managing to compete with bigger names.

Skinny Puppy
Monday  7 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $20-$25, www.amossouthend.com
Following the release of 2013’s critically acclaimed “Weapon,” the veteran industrial-goth group returns with plans to rerelease 2004’s still timely “The Greater Wrong of the Right” in 2014. 

Lauryn Hill
Tuesday  8 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $69.50, www.livenation.com
The former Fugee has received positive live reviews since fulfilling her three-month incarceration for tax evasion. Backed by a crack live band, she delivers new twists on old solo and Fugees tracks and performs recent singles.

Jon Batiste & Stay Human
Thursday  7:30 p.m., McGlohon Theater, 345 N. College St., $9.50-$29.50, www.blumenthalarts.org
The 26-year-old New Orleans-raised piano prodigy is taking jazz into the future - respecting the old while creating music that’s fresh and contemporary while reintroducing it to the working class audiences that originated it.

Snarky Puppy
Thursday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St., $18-$20, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com
The progressive, fluctuating jazz fusion outfit, who’ve backed Erykah Badu, Justin Timberlake, and others, has finally arrived on the national stage for its own work. The Brooklyn-based group recently snagged the Grammy for Best R&B Performance.

Sun Brother
Thursday  9 p.m., The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd. $9, www.themilestoneclub.com
Imagine Lenny Kravitz with the occasional falsetto fronting an indie rock band and you’re in the ballpark of this Greenville, SC combo that neatly marries math rock, touches of reggae-pop, and jangly funk.