Music notes

Worth a ride

Chicago band AM Taxi, which includes members from the suburbs, cooks up a nice, punk-flavored brand of rock that draws inspiration from the energy and attitude of The Clash as well as the classic American songcraft of Tom Petty. The band will make a stop this weekend in the suburbs.

9 p.m. Friday, March 30, at Durty Nellie’s, 180 N. Smith St., Palatine. $8. Go to durtynellies.com.

Local singer

Chicago’s Michael McDermott, a native of the South suburbs who scored a big hit in the early 1990s with “A Wall I Must Climb,” has been a fixture in the local music scene since. He’ll bring his literate songs and passionate live performance to Rosemont for an intimate show this weekend.

8 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at the Montrose Room, located inside the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare hotel, 5300 N. River Road, Rosemont. $12. Go to montroseroom.com.

Wave this Flag

Wild Flag was one of the most celebrated groups to emerge on the indie-rock scene in 2011, partly because the band comprises ex-members of other acclaimed bands (including singer-guitarist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss, formerly of Sleater-Kinney), but mostly because the group’s self-titled debut record is a stunner. Fans of Sleater-Kinney will recognize the punk edge of many of the album’s tracks, but Wild Flag explores other influences, too, like the psychedelic rock of the 1960s and the offbeat New Wave sounds of Blondie and similar groups from the late 1970s. Wild Flag’s shows have been a hot ticket, and while seats remained available as of this writing for next week’s Chicago show, they will likely disappear before the doors open.

9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago. $21. Go to metrochicago.com.

— Matt Arado