Music: Picks

THURSDAY

Secret Machines. This amazing team, formerly of Texas and formerly known as Comet, has created one of the year's most intriguing mainstream rock albums, blending odd pastoral passages with chugging rhythms. With Blonde Redhead, the New York indie rock trio whose noise is now laced with strings. Emo's, 603 Red River St., 477-EMOS. -- Joe Gross

Gov't Mule. Though this trio began as an Allman Brothers spinoff, the unhappy death of one member and the admirably open ears of those left behind have turned the band into a six-handed tribute to almost the entire history of bass-centered rock music. Chunky, rocking, endlessly curious, the Mule keeps kicking. Stubb's, 801 Red River St., 480-8341. -- Jeff Salamon

Blueprint/Eyedea & Abilities. Word is last week's Quannum show was yet more proof that the hip-hop underground is fast overthrowing hip-hop's reputation for sloppy and indifferent live shows. Expect this blast of funk and wit from the Midwestern rap scene to offer up more of the same. Emo's, 603 Red River St., 477-EMOS. -- J.S.

Taj Mahal and the Hula Blues Band. In more than 30 albums spread over three decades, Mahal has mixed traditional acoustic blues with Caribbean, West African and Latin influences. Now touring with his Hula Blues Band, it seems he's got the whole world to work with. One World Theatre, 7701 Bee Cave Road, 329-6753. -- Austin Bonner

Melissa Etheridge. A 180-degree reversal from the romantic angst of 2001's 'Skin,' her new album is convinced it's 'Lucky' to be alive, in love and playing two nights at Stubb's, 801 Red River St., 480-8341. -- J.G.

Colin Gilmore. He's Jimmie Dale's son, but Colin Gilmore's music sounds influenced as much by another Lubbock patriarch, Buddy Holly. The fine new CD 'The Day the World Stopped and Spun the Other Way' is driving pop run through the roots machine so that the melodies stand out even more. Fans of Two Hoots and a Holler take note. Jovita's, 1619 S. First St. 447-7825. -- Michael Corcoran

The Fall. This band's guiding light, Mark E. Smith, has been ranting for well over 20 years now. The sole constant in the progressive punk band's ever-shifting lineup, his last show at Emo's lacked the energy of, say, your average DMV line, but that might make him even more bile-filled this time out. With Low Flying Owls. Emo's, 603 Red River St., 477-EMOS. -- J.G.

Robert Cray Band. For a generation of mainstream music fans, Cray's smooth guitar operations were the blues. Is his muse still intact? La Zona Rosa, 612 W. Fourth St., 472-2293. -- J.G.

Al Green. See story here.

A-Frames. These Seattle kids play noisy art-punk like they invented the stuff, which they of course did not, which makes their buzz and howl all the more compelling. With local neo-New Wavers Kino Eye and newcomers The Psychiatrists. Emo's, 603 Red River St., 477-EMOS. -- J.G.

Van Hunt. When this up-and-coming neo-soul singer-songwriter-guitarist played SXSW last month, I dug his voice and his groove, but lamented that, like so many other neo-soul singer-songwriters, he didn't have the songs to back up his conceptions. Then, last week, jonesing for those grooves, I put his debut album on again and realized that -- oops -- he does have the songs. My bad. Check him out when he opens for Seal at the Backyard, 13101 Texas 71 W., 263-4146. -- J.S.