Hilarious, hypersmart, and happily imperfect, Art Brut is a rush of shouty postmodernist polit-rock with guitar, bass and drums. It’s London art-punk with a stated mission of bringing peace to the Middle East and an equally fervent wish to move to L.A. and drink Hennessey with Morrissey. And yes, that is Eddie’s real voice. Satellite Ballroom, Tuesday, May 16. $10-12, 8pm. 1427 University Ave. 977-3697.
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At 21, Steve Forbert packed his guitar and left his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, for Greenwich Village. Though a rockin’ folkie with a harp-on-a-rack like Bob Dylan, he was actually discovered at the fabled punk rock mecca CBGB’s, where his fierce guitar attack,
raspy voice and sheer energy were able to compete. Now a Nashville veteran with 13 albums, Forbert continues to churn out keen lyrical observations with evocative clarity. See him at Gravity Lounge, Friday May 19. $15-20, 7pm. 977-5590. www.gravity-lounge.com.
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Loudon Wainwright III is a guy with a guitar, a stunning wit, a cutting lyrical sensibility, and a darling son who is an indie chip off the old block. For 30 years Loudon has played the role of courtyard jester in folk-rock music, with songs like “Me And My Friend The Cat,” “Glad To See You’ve Got Religion,” and minor hits like “Dead Skunk.” He’s also known these days for small parts in movies like Elizabethtown and Big Fish. Hear him at Starr Hill, Tuesday, May 16. $20, 8pm. 709 W. Main St.
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You remember Cindy Sheehan. She got to know the road in front of President Bush’s Texas ranch real well after her son, Casey, was killed
in 2004 in Baghdad. Then she co-founded Gold Star Families for Peace. Her nonstop crusade continues. Along with Col. Ann Wright, who resigned from the State Department in protest on the first day the Iraq War, Sheehan speaks
at The Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center, 1400 Melbourne Rd., Wednesday, May 17. $5, 7pm.
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Thrum is analog ambient music with a pulse. Drums (John Allietta) and bass (Christine Ruotolo) lay down organic grooves. Guitars and effects from Lance Brenner (who, with Ruotolo, is two-thirds of power popsters The Naked Puritans) create hypnotic layers. Sit back, take in your favorite poison, talk with your friends, then ease yourself onto the dance floor. The party’s at R2, in the back of Rapture on the Downtown Mall. Free, 10pm. Tuesday, May 16.