Music Picks April 24-30 | Live: Loom, Bill Kirchen, Mike Doughty, Black Hens, Norfolk & Western, DulceSky 

Thursday 4.24
LOOM BENEFIT
Salt Lake City’s ultra-dynamic, experimental hardcore/punk act Loom spent the past year working overtime to establish footing on the national scene. They played out and promoted their album like crazy, recorded new material and started to book a summer tour. Instead of applauding their efforts, some idiot(s) decided to thwart them by stealing Loom’s band funds. To make matters worse, the group’s bus began to break down. Instead of giving up and crying about it, Loom called on their friends and Exigent Records labelmates to organize a benefit show. Tonight’s extravaganza features sets by Loom, Gaza, God’s Revolver, Pilot This Plane Down, Medea and (currently unsigned) Patches. Support your local scene. Bring your own ear plugs. Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 6 p.m. All-ages. Info: KilbyCourt.com

BILL KIRCHEN
You don’t need to be a guitarist or even a fan of honky-tonk to dig Bill Kirchen. Widely recognized as Titan of the Telecaster, the Michigan-raised, Interlochen-trained artist is a born performer. Two licks into the title track off his 2006 LP Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods, and anyone with a pulse starts shimmying to Kirchen’s toe-tapping ditties. What’s not to like about the guitar legend’s consummate musicianship and colloquial delivery? Kirchen can’t lose, whether he’s unleashing a rapid-fire hit like “Red Hot Lincoln” or meandering through the reflective, Dire Straits-esque “Rocks Into Sand.” If you can’t make tonight’s show, Kirchen performs a second gig in Ogden on Friday. Pat’s Barbecue, 155 W. Commonwealth Ave. (2120 South), 8 p.m. All-ages. Info: 484-5963, PatsBBQ.com

MIKE DOUGHTY
Mike Doughty’s last stop in Salt Lake City found the former Soul Coughing frontman unmasking his alter-ego for a surprising set of original electronic material as part of December’s Not So Silent Night benefit. Tonight, Doughty doffs his DJ cap for a more straightforward collection of old and new rock numbers—if anything Doughty creates can ever be labeled “straightforward.” Equipped with a voice that straddles singing, scatting and free-styling (from “super bon bon” to “buh ruh bah da bum” and the more traditional “nah nah nananana nah”), Doughty comes across as a gruff, strange and witty romantic full of stories and myriad ways to spin them. His 2008 ATO release Golden Delicious is ripe with the sort of offbeat humor (see “27 Jennifers” and its accompanying videos) that’s helped Doughty remain on top of uncharted territory. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com

• Also Thursday: Allred (Velour, Provo); Piper Down Five Year Anniversary: Swagger (Piper Down); Zentherstick (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

Friday 4.25
THE BLACK HENS, NORFOLK & WESTERN
The Black Hens’ recorded material is solid, but it hardly does the local group justice. Something magical happens when the foursome steps onstage—be it a proper platform or, in the case of one recent gig, the back corner of a Torrey pizza shop. Powered by principal songwriters Glade Sowards and David Williams, the group locks into a righteous groove the moment Sowards strikes the first chord on his bitchin’ Rickenbacker. Williams and Sowards dig deep to unfurl the true strength of their words—lyrics that 10, 20 ... heck, maybe 50 years from now will resonate just as clearly as they do today. Honest, no-frills ruminations paired with classic rock/pop melodies and male/female harmonies with Jeremi Hanson hitting the high notes. Tonight, The Black Hens open for Portland’s Norlfolk & Western, another killer Hush Records act (Laura Gibson, Nick Jaina) lead by Adam Selzer (who produced new releases by Weinland, She & Him and M. Ward) and—increasingly—Rachel Blumberg (ex-Decemberists). The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Weinland)

• Also Friday: Local Hip-Hop Night (Outer Rim); Lakes (Solid Ground Cafe); The Dollyrots (Avalon); A Cursive Memory, The Medic Droid (Kilby Court); Devilock (Bar Deluxe); Vile Blue Shades, The Wolfs (Paladium); The Sword (Club Vegas—see Music); Bill Kirchen (Wine Cellar, Ogden); Mury, Broke City (Club NVO, Logan)

Saturday 4.26

• Also Saturday: Queer Prom (Library Square); Mac Lethal, Grieves, Blue Collar Theory (Kilby Court); Music vs. Drunk Driving Benefit (Avalon); Zion Tribe 21st anniversary (Zanzibar); Azafady Benefit: Calico, Dead Horse Point, Band of Annuals (Urban Lounge); Junior Brown (Paladium); No Quarter (The Depot); Stephen Pearcy of Ratt (Club Vegas); Blood On The Wall, Bring Your Guns (Why Sound, Logan) Moreland & Arbuckle CD Release Party (Wine Cellar)

Sunday 4.27
Ghosts of Snow, Oh Wild Birds (Monk’s); Gaslight Anthem (Burt’s Tiki Lounge)

Monday 4.28
Leftover Crack, Skint (In the Venue); Rooney (Avalon); Diane Reeves (Sheraton City Centre); Reggae Lounge w/ Half Pint (Monk’s);

Tuesday 4.29
Mark Mallman (Kilby Court); Bryan Scary & The Shedding Tears (Burt’s Tiki Lounge); Indian Jewelry, Stag Hare (Urban Lounge); Lymbyc System (Slowtrain)

Coming Up
The Used (Great Saltair, May 1); Dark Meat, Kid Theodore (Kilby Court, May 2); The Swell Season (The Depot, May 2); Cut Copy, Black Kids (Urban Lounge, May 2); Classic Rock All-Stars (E Center); Elbow (The Depot, May 3); NOFX (In the Venue, May 3); Northern State, Rope or Bullets (Kilby Court, May 3); Lorene Drive (Avalon, May 4); Dusty Rhodes and the River Band (Urban Lounge, May 5); Victor Wooten (Paladium, May 6); VHS or Beta (Urban Lounge, May 6)