Durham
THE MARKED MEN
CHAZ’S BULL CITY RECORDS–The Marked Men–four not-so-painfully-normal dudes named Mark, Mike, Jeff and Joe from Denton, Texas–are conservationists. During “A Little Time,” the appropriately named best cut from this year’s Swami Records debut Fix My Brain, the Men take exactly 120 seconds and cram it with the best that power pop can offer: bright guitars ruffled with distortion, spirited vocals refusing to overkill and a hook that takes 30 seconds to sink. They’ll share a great bill with Crossed Eyes, a Raleigh quartet featuring three-quarters of Street Sharks making its debut, and Richmond’s Pink Spiders. Bring donations for gas at 9 p.m. –Grayson Currin
Cary
O.A.R., JACK’S MANNEQUIN
KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE–Former Ohio University frat-band O.A.R., aka Of A Revolution, makes a stop in Cary for their only N.C. performance on their summer tour. After several years on the mainstream market, O.A.R. has cultivated their mixture of white-boy reggae and roots-rock ethics into a sound that’s prepped and primed for top 40 radio, garnering a crowd of loyal fans in the process. They have, however, left much of their raw spunk and rough edges behind. Opening band Jack’s Mannequin, side project of Something Corporate’s Andrew McMahon, warms up the stage with his piano-laden, soul-searching underground pop. The show starts at 6 p.m. and tickets are $27. –Kathy Justice
