Concert picks
Jucifer headlines the Estrojam Fest Thursday at Double Door.
Heavy Trash with PowerSolo, 10 p.m. today at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. $13 in advance, $15 at the door. (773) 525-2508.
Heavy Trash is Jon Spencer and his pal Matt Verta-Ray, former bassist with jangle-pop also-rans Madder Rose. The duo's second LP, "Going Way Out With Heavy Trash" (Yep Roc), is another swampy slice of rocked-up country/blues that owes much to Spencer's characteristic wild-eyed performance; fans of his work in Blues Explosion will not be disappointed.
The Yohimbe Brothers with Haale, 10 p.m. Saturday at The Kinetic Playground, 1113 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago. $12. (773) 769-5483.
Who says world music is stuck in the past -- or even overseas? Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and turntablist DJ Logic lead The Yohimbe Brothers, who mash up electronic, Latin, disco, R&B and rock influences. Meanwhile, New Yorker Haale reflects her parents' Iranian heritage as well as the influence of psychedelia, resulting in tribal, Sufi-inspired post-rock. The show is only one of 63 events making up this week's World Music Festival: Chicago 2007.
Epica with Visions of Atlantis, 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Pearl Room, 19081 Old LaGrange Road, Mokena. $22. (708) 479-5356.
Female-fronted metal is bigger than ever, which has paved the way for Dutch quintet Epica's first U.S. headlining run. Their recent fourth album, "The Divine Conspiracy" (Nuclear Blast), continues to lean toward complexity, with enough orchestral pomp and genuine death metal touches to flatten the lightweight pop approach of many peers. Purely as a bonus, mezzo-soprano Simone Simons remains one of the most stunning women the male-dominated genre has ever known.
Okkervil River with Damien Jurado, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd., Chicago. $15. (773) 276-3600.
Texas' Okkervil River play a similar type of folksy indie pop to that of The Decemberists. But whereas their former tourmates favor twee melodies and epic flourishes, OR is cut from the more introspective, nonchalant cloth, one used to associate with the term "indie rock." Their fourth LP, "The Stage Names" (Jagjaguwar), contains enough instruments, poetic lyrics and winsome dourness for several albums, but its density never overshadows its appealing songs.
Jucifer with Marnie Stern, 8 Inch Betsy, Evil Beaver and The Revlettes, 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $13 in advance, $15 at the door. (773) 489-3160.
The Estrojam Music and Culture Festival celebrates the creative achievements of women, even the less polite types. Georgia duo Jucifer's crusty blues/punk/metal dirges top this slate of modern riot grrls. Direct support comes from indie guitar shredder Marnie Stern, whose debut, "In Advance of the Broken Arm" (Kill Rock Stars), is one of this year's most mind-bending, ear-searing rides.