Music Picks Oct. 2-8 | Live: TaughtMe, We the People, Nikka Costa, A Place to Bury Strangers & Gangi 

Thursday 10.2
TAUGHTME CD RELEASE
On his three full-length albums as TaughtMe, Blake Henderson comes across as somewhat of an imaginary friend, tempting you to skip class and embark on a great adventure. His songs sound like secrets shared under the bleachers, whispered with the occasional outburst lurching from the restless wonder. The new Lady, released on both Own Records and Kilby Records—(Henderson once lived and created out of Salt Lake City before relocating to San Francisco. He also played guitar on Uzi & Ari’s 2007 European tour)—is a beautiful continuation of TaughtMe’s distinct electronic/organic designs: airy and anxious, reflective of Henderson’s refreshingly candid thirst for discovery (self and otherwise). Tonight kicks off the first of three homecoming CD release shows from Provo to SLC and Park City. Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo, 8 p.m. All-ages. Info: VelourLive.com

• Also Thursday: Cold War Kids (In the Venue); Imperative Reaction (Club Vegas); Laughter, Subrosa, Xur (Urban Lounge)

Friday 10.3
Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos, David Vandervelde (Kilby Court—Read Article); Reverend Horton Heat (Great Saltair); The Naked Eyes, Hotel Le Motel (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); TaughtMe (Urban Lounge); Meat Wagon, Godawful (Club Vegas); No Quarter (Depot); Armin Van Buuren (Harry O’s Park City)

Saturday 10.4
The Loved Ones, Jackson United (Kilby Court); Tech N9ne (Great Saltair); Silver Jews, Monotonix (Urban Lounge—Read Article); Truce Killbot, Dead Vessel (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Chris Hough Quartet (Grand Theatre); TaughtMe (Star Bar, Park City)

Sunday 10.5
WE THE PEOPLE
These days, everything seems broken, fractured. It’s easy to feel isolated, cynical and pessimistic. It’s tempting to give up—and get out. Utah United for Change, a nonpartisan group, recognizes the increasingly desperate climate and is working to provide an outlet for local residents to come together in the spirit of community and civic democracy. Red, blue, green … whatever color you rock, it seems we can all agree on building a better tomorrow. Sounds cheesy, right? Well, today’s festival of art and music is probably a cooler way of expressing UUC’s admirable goals. Check out live performances by Kildem Soto, John Henry, Vanessa Shuput, Mushman, Tolchock Trio, Oh! Wild Birds, and DJ Illoom, plus works by artists Eric Overton, Alicia Overton, Noah Phillips, Bradford Overton, Sunny Strassberg, Chris Thompson, Ruby Chacon and Pamela Nielsen. Connect with organizations, bridge gaps and get active. It beats the hell out of sulking. Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 12-9 p.m. All-ages.

Monday 10.6
NIKKA COSTA
Nikka Costa predates Amy Winehouse and Duffy in the blue-eyed soul department, snagging mainstream props on an international level in 2001, five years after winning over Australia with her fourth album, Butterfly Rocket. The blue-eyed soul part? That’s where the comparisons largely end between Costa and her U.K. counterparts. Armed with a set of powerful, bluesy pipes, her style is much funkier, even grooving hard on the old-school hip-hop and R&B tip. She also comes across as infinitely more confident and in control. Like Ms. Jackson, Costa is a tour de force—live and in the studio. Her new LP Pebble to a Pearl is an album Stax Records can be proud to release. In the Venue, 579 W. 200 South, 8 p.m. All-ages. Tickets: 24Tix.com

 • Also Monday: A Cursive Memory, Joy Wants Eternity (Kilby Court); We Are Wolves, Tragic Black, Domiana (Urban Lounge)

 Tuesday 10.7

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, SIAN ALICE GROUP
On Day 2 or 3 of last year’s South by Southwest, I wandered sleep-deprived and increasingly disoriented through a maze of uptight hipsters, trying to find solace from the three-ring circus. Fast approaching my wit’s end, a flash of light appeared at the end of a crowded bar tunnel. Light—and a 100 mph curveball of white noise. Onstage, A Place to Bury Strangers held the audience captivated and slack-jawed with just drums, two guitars and a mess of homemade effects pedals. Brooklyns’s mad-scientist shoegaze/psych-rock trio pretty much provided the sonic equivalent of an overdue enema—or a good slap in the face. Come on, feel the noise when APTBS headlines tonight. Don’t miss opening act Sian Alice Group, a U.K. group who opened for Spiritualized well before releasing their debut album, 59.59. They sound like fallen angels on wine and valium. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com

 • Also Tuesday: Akimbo (Kilby Court); Weezer (E Center)

 Wednesday 10.8
GANGI
Gangi’s “Animals” boasts a refrain as catchy—though far less annoying—as Gwen Stefani’s b-a-n-a-n-a-s, with the Los Angeles-based duo drawing out, recoiling and jamming together the song title’s namesake into a playful run-on sentence. It’s completely addictive, as is most of Gangi’s Office of Analogue LP. Titled simply, A (perhaps the first in a 26-part series?), the record is a pleasing swirl of fairly straightforward songwriting that’s been artfully sliced, diced and re-imagined by its curious inventors. Its tracks swing on a pendulum of neo-psychedelic folk, some dripping in reverb, others recalling similar ventures into contemporary electronic noise bombs in the vein of Animal Collective. Each listen reveals new layers, with information samples from media sources (New York Times, Google, etc.) papered between band-generated contributions. Gangi’s music is out there but not so bizarre that it’s unapproachable. In fact, once digested, it’s hard to get it out of your system. Also, check out their version of “Fire In Cairo” on the forthcoming Perfect As Cats: A Tribute to The Cure, out Oct. 28. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Rainbow Arabia, Palace of Buddies and Navigator)

• Also Wednesday: Neva Dinova, McCarthey Trenching (Kilby Court); Kate LeDeuce & The Soul Terminators (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); DJ Flash & Flare (W Lounge)

Coming Up
Deerhoof (Urban Lounge, Oct. 9); Street Dogs (In the Venue, Oct. 10); DJ Rectangle (Teazers, Oct. 11); The Crystal Antlers (Kilby Court, Oct. 13); Cappadonna (Urban Lounge, Oct. 13); Genghis Tron (Avalon, Oct. 14); Fleet Foxes (In the Venue, Oct. 16)