Raleigh
Portugal the Man, Wintersleep
The BreweryLed by John Gourley’s falsetto wail, faintly echoing Robert Plant’s histrionics, Portugal the Man, a Wasilla, Alaska export (no joke), may not wear lipstick but does dress its art-rock arrangements in other manners. Its latest, Censored Colors, swells with harmony-soaked mini-epics, their modest boogie freighted thicker than Sergeant Pepper’s. Juno-award winning Halifax newcomers Wintersleep is easier to digest, preferring thick atmospheric brushstrokes of melody and somber cloudy churning grooves. The jagged guitar drone strikes a post-punk note, but the dreamy drift more closely recalls early Death Cab for Cutie, augmented by Coldplay’s penchant for grandeur. Tickets are $12 for an 8 p.m. start. Chris Parker
Raleigh
Benefit for Stephen Campbell: The Dry Heathens, Simple
The Pour HouseThis bill will reignite memories of late ’80s alt-rock. Openers Death to Details offer bright ringing, harmony-enriched power pop that suggest the Posies and Teenage Fan Club. Chapel Hill’s Simple mine chewy rhythms and a wavering melancholy vibe like a blend of Luna and Modest Mouse. It’s catchy, dreamy material driven by an insistent bottom-end. The Dry Heathens caps the evening with chunky punk anthems whose muscular guitar crashes come with the Pixies logo emblazoned across the bow. On tunes like “Sociopath,” frontman Darren Sink’s biting reedy deliverywaist-deep in distortionsounds like Peter Prescott in the Volcano Suns. Pay $8 at 8 p.m. Chris Parker
