Chapel Hill
Broadcast, Atlas Sound
Local 506If you feel that indie rock of late has been especially bereft of innovation (which might be the case if you’ve been listening to the bands of Bradford CoxDeerhunter or tonight’s headliner, Atlas Sound), Birmingham, England’s Broadcast returns just in time. The duo’s latest collaborative EP, Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigates Witch Cults of the Radio Age, swells to 23 tracks with its glut of ideas. Hazy pop songs fall in and out of warm analogue interludes and dense sample-based constructions, showing a card briefly enough to promise that there’s a better one in the next deck. With a flow and ease that suggests one of DJ/ rupture’s masterpiece mixes, Broadcast finally might be poised to climb out of the shadow of its stylistic predecessor, Stereolab. Atlanta art-rock outfit The Selmanaires, who shift from Byrds-like drift to something that sounds like Faust on a surfboard, open. Pay $12-$14 at 9 p.m. For more, see www.local506.com. Grayson Currin
Durham
Don Byron’s New Gospel Quintet
Hayti Heritage Center For its five-show By the River series, Duke Performances wanted to explore artists working at the nexus of jazz and gospel music, says director Aaron Greenwald. It makes sense on paper: Both forms have deep, historic roots in America, and both haveat one time or another and in one form or anotherserved as the premier form of artistic expression for African-American culture. But logistically, it’s harder than it might sound, since the principles behind gospel music often forbid its musicians from exploring the other side, and since jazz sometimes did pull its instrumentalists away from that old ethical bedrock. There are those musicians, though, who work best without boundaries, and that’s what this series has captured. Capitalizing on the momentum of last week’s inherently secular-meets-spiritual The Hallelujah Train, clarinet and saxophone master Don Byron brings his New Gospel Quintet for a performance that features gospel singing, a sermon by a Tarboro minister and playing so exquisite and energetic it should be sanctified by someone. An aggressive conceptual artist with the musical skills to execute the most ambitious ideas, Byron has played klezmer music, free jazz, 20th-century classical music, funk, metal, rap and soul. Tonight, he brings it on home. Pay $5-$22 for the 8 p.m. show. For more, see dukeperformances.duke.edu. Grayson Currin
Durham
Kathy Griffin
Durham Performing Arts CenterComedian Kathy Griffin finally turns up in Durham after her scheduled spring show at DPAC was canceled due to strep throat. This self-proclaimed Hollywood D-lister has made a career out of insulting everyone from Jessica Simpson to Jesus. As the latter proves, no one is off-limits to this scabrous performer, nor is anyone likely to receive an apology. Fresh off the fifth season of her Emmy-winning reality show, Griffin appears tonight at 8. Tickets are $49-$79. Visit www.dpacnc.com for more information. Belem Destefani
Raleigh
West Side Story
Memorial Auditorium, Progress Energy CenterYou know what they say: When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the wayfrom your first cigarette to your last dying day. This must be true, given that this musical is 50 years old. Replete with such favorites as “Maria,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Jet Song,” West Side Story was considered provocative when it premiered in 1957 with its beguiling music, risqué dance moves and hot-button themes. Don’t fret if afterward you can’t stop snapping those fingers like a Jet. The show runs until Oct. 26, with ticket prices ranging from $31-$79. Visit www.nctheatre.com or www.progressenergycenter.com for more information. Belem Destefani
