Abstraq the Grindologist. (Hip-hop/Rap) 'Sick' as in 'crunk' as in all kinds of crazy. (Back Room, 9:30 p.m.)

The Album Leaf. (Electronic) San Diego act recorded with Sugar Ros in Iceland to give new meaning to California dreamin' on such a winter's day. (Emo's Main Room, midnight)

American Minor. (Rock) Denim and the '70s must never go out of style in Huntington, W.Va. (Momo's, 8 p.m.)

American Music Club. (Rock) One porkpie hat is stylish, but two is trying too hard. Still, the songs are amazing. (The Vibe, 1 a.m.)

Amplified Heat. (Rock) The brothers Ortiz man the gates to the temple of hard rock. (Whisky Bar, 1 a.m.)

Army Of Me. (Rock) Front man/former scientist-in-training's modest goal: 'We don't want to sound like anyone else.' Good luck with that, son. (Nuno's, 10 p.m.)

Asleep in the Sea. (Rock) Three-part harmonizers can't make up their minds on quirky debut, 'Yay! OK? Yeah.' (The Hideout, 10 p.m.)

Assacre. (Metal) This club-kid art project is about wearing a Godzilla mask and slaughtering an electric guitar inside a laundromat dryer. Maybe not literally. (Jackalope, 8:45 p.m.)

The Bad Plus. (Avant/Experimental) Luring impressionable ears into the forgotten land of jazz with hip covers, then hitting them over the head with originals. (Blender Bar at The Ritz, 1 a.m.)

Benevento/Russo Duo. (Rock) Organ-and-drums combo swims with the phishes. (Blender Bar at The Ritz, 11 p.m.)

Bikini Atoll. (Rock) Steve Albini-produced outfit named after an atoll in the North Pacific that was the site of a U.S. atom-bomb test. (Friends, 10 p.m.)

Boy. (Rock) Not a boy band but a band of boys expanding the Canadian indie-rock scene from the tourist spots and into the taiga and tundra. (Exodus, 1 a.m.)

Bun B & UGK Present MDDL FNGZ. (Hip-hop/Rap) One of these days, UGK's Pimp C will get out of jail. Until then, Bun B is holding it down. (Back Room, 1:15 a.m.)

Burden Brothers. (Rock) The Toadies are hopping around, but the Reverend Horton Heat isn't rising. (Stubb's, 10 p.m.)

Troy Campbell. (Rock) The reason Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is hip to offering live music is because skilled locals such as Troy will play there in their downtime. (BD Riley's, 9 p.m.)

Vic Chesnutt. (Singer-songwriter) The scabrous, wheelchair-bound uncle that turns Thanksgiving dinner into a shouting match. (Pecan St. Ale House, 11 p.m.)

Chops. (Hip-hop/Rap) A wellspring of Asian knowledge for the Wu Tang Clan to absorb. (Back Room, 11 p.m.)

Elvis Costello and the Imposters. (Rock) Ever restless, the other 'King' composed an orchestral piece called 'Il Sogno,' but this set will be all rock all the time. (La Zona Rosa, midnight)

Crank County Daredevils. (Rock) It's the late '80s, on the Sunset Strip, and a dancer is getting friendly with a brass pole. (Red Eyed Fly, 11 p.m.)

Kacy Crowley. (Singer-songwriter) Not sure if a record executive calling her 'Bob Dylan with (breasts)' is a good or bad thing. (Cedar Street Courtyard, 8 p.m.)

The Czars. (Alt Country) 'Mojo' ranked 'Goodbye' No. 38 on its list of the Top 50 albums of 2004, and still their tyranny goes unrecognized. (Friends, 8 p.m.)

Dolorean. (Singer-songwriter) Snow, rain and human elements unkind are plenty good reasons to bare your soul in public. (Maggie Mae's, 9 p.m.)

The Donnas. (Rock) Surely someone in the band thinks Joan Jett knows what's going on. (Stubb's, 11 p.m.)

Drums & Tuba. (Rock) What high-school band geeks do when they lose inhibition. (Blender Bar at The Ritz, 9 p.m.)

Jimmy Elledge Band. (Country/Pop) Yet another gifted but overlooked musician for whom Willie Nelson has written a hit. (Latitude 30, midnight)

The English Department. (Rock) If it worked for Sting, maybe it can work for the rest of the faculty. (Lava Lounge Patio, 11 p.m.)

Enon. (Rock) The membrane connecting all of the games in the arcade. (The Parish, 11 p.m.)

Fantasy's Core. (Punk) High-flying 'yakuza' favorites know how to yuk it up. (Room 710, 10 p.m.)

Hella. (Avant/Experimental) Chaos of the guitar-and-drums variety gets sophisticated. More or less. (Emo's Jr., 1 a.m.)

Robyn Hitchcock. (Rock) The type of eccentric society doesn't fully understand until, unfortunately for them, they're dead. (Emo's Main Room, 8 p.m.)

Whitey Houston. (Rock) Followers of Whitney Houston who don't read carefully should make for a spike in sales in the Whisky Bar's earplugs division. (Whisky Bar, 9 p.m.)

Billy Idol. (Rock) His first studio album in 15 years comes out next week. (Stubb's, midnight)

Jennifer Gentle. (Rock) They're Italian, they're folky and strange, they're signed to Sub Pop, and one of their songs has clocks acting as the rhythm section. (Emo's Main Room, 9 p.m.)

Shooter Jennings. (Alt Country) Plays his pa, Waylon, in the upcoming Johnny Cash biopic, and doesn't stray far from his musical sentiment in real life. (Fox and Hound, 11 p.m.)

La Sinfonia. (Hip-hop/Rap) They modernize their ancestors' corridas, stamping them with positive messages. (Caribbean Lights, midnight)

Laika & The Cosmonauts. (Rock) Supposedly Tarantino is just waiting for the right sequence for their surf-rock. (The Drink, 1 a.m.)

Magnolia Electric Co. (Rock) This evolution of the band formerly known as Songs: Ohia is more Crazy Horse than Seabiscuit. (The Parish, midnight)

Malverde. (Hip-hop/Rap) He wants to be known as a Robin Hood of sorts in his barrio, but probably forgot that the uniform requires tights. (Caribbean Lights, 11 p.m.)

Abra Moore. (Pop) Lilith Fair fare from former Poi Dog Ponder[er]. (Bigsby's, 11 p.m.)

Parker and Lily. (Rock) A slow-motion sequence of tears overflowing from the eyes of a forgotten one. (Pecan St. Ale House, 1 a.m.)

Pinetop Perkins. (Blues) At 91, this former pianist for Muddy Waters isn't getting any younger. (Austin Music Hall, 7:55 p.m.)

Glen Phillips. (Singer-songwriter) Almost hard to believe he was 14 years old when he started singing in Toad the Wet Sprocket. (La Zona Rosa, 9 p.m.)

Asobi Seksu. (Rock) No blondes, no redheads, but in the same category as Kazu and the Pace twins. (The Velvet Spade Patio, midnight)

Skin. (Rock) The shedding of Skunk Anansie scores a guest trumpet solo from filmmaker Mike Figgis. (Elysium, 9 p.m.)

Sleater-Kinney. (Punk) The frame of reference for any girl on a mission to out-rock the boys. (Emo's Main Room, 1 a.m.)

Hubert Sumlin. (Blues) Former guitarist for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf cooks it up at his buddy Clifford's place. (Antone's, 9 p.m.)

The Thermals. (Punk) They've kept mentors Death Cab For Cutie warm on many a cold Pacific Northwest winter night. (Emo's Main Room, 11 p.m.)

Tristeza. (Rock) Instrumental sojourns that unravel like time-lapse photography. (Eternal, 8 p.m.)

We Are Scientists. (Rock) A self-description: 'A three-tusked mastodon, a triple mohawk, a flight from New York to L.A. with three layovers.' (Hard Rock Cafe, 9 p.m.)

Willard Grant Conspiracy. (Alt Country) Head conspirator Richard Fischer has deployed band members throughout the country ostensibly as an AA support system for the road. (The Vibe, 10 p.m.)

The Wrens. (Pop) A facsimile of the triumphs and tribulations of 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.' (The Parish, 1 a.m.)