Three years ago, Mark Matos disbanded his popular Tucson group, Campo Bravo, and headed west, setting up shop in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He returns this weekend with his new band, Os Beaches. The group comes to town with its debut release, "Words of the Knife."
Matos will play two free shows: on the Hotel Congress patio at 7 tonight with Golden Boots; at the Red Room at Grill at 9 p.m. Friday.
The Soul of John Black revealed Friday at Plush
The Soul of John Black is a band with a sound born of its leader's varied experiences.
John Bigham has played with ska-funk band Fishbone, as well as jazz legend Miles Davis.
The Washington Post called the band "a throwback to those days in the early '70s when artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers and Sly Stone were making smart soul music for adults, full of funky grooves and slice-of-life irony."
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The Soul of John Black will play Plush at 11 p.m. Friday. Michael P's Big Band opens at 9:45. Tickets are $8.
El Ten Eleven on Saturday
El Ten Eleven is a Los Angeles duo formed in 2004. Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty write instrumental, densely layered songs that rely on Fogarty's electric or acoustic drums and Dunn's doubleneck guitar.
The Los Angeles Times says "El Ten Eleven's dense, textured instrumentals recall post-rock standard-bearers like Tortoise or the Mercury Program, except theirs are created by only two musicians — and a whole lot of effects pedals."
They'll play Plush at 11:30 p.m. Saturday with Le Loup and The Static Session opening the show at 9:30. Tickets are $7.
Still Flyin' will land Tuesday at Club Congress downtown
During a recent phone conversation, Club Congress booker David Slutes described Still Flyin' as a "huge band," but what he meant is they're literally large — with more than 15 members, including an all-female chorus.
Sean Rawls, formerly of Athens, Ga., bands Masters of the Hemisphere and Je Suis France, created Still Flyin' in 2004. Pitchfork gave the group's recent release, "Never Gonna Touch the Ground," a passing grade, saying, "Shout-outs to Eddy Grant's 'Electric Avenue' and Lipps Inc.'s 'Funky Town' jostle elbows with nods to Swedish pop and show-tune punk, and it's all channeled through a North American indie sensibility, although one self-aware enough to counter knowingness with an exuberance bordering on silly."
Still Flyin' will play Club Congress at 8 p.m Tuesday. Fatigo and Yellow Fever will open.
Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 day of the show.
Japanese women punkers Shonen Knife on Wednesday
The all-female Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife formed in Osaka, Japan, in 1981.
The trio sings in both Japanese and English and plays exuberant garage rock that echoes both The Ramones and The Beach Boys.
In 1990, Rolling Stone called the band snappy and happy and went on to say: "These girls may well constitute the most unpretentious guitar band on the planet, but what's more exciting is that they obviously derive some kind of perfect joy from making music."
Shonen Knife plays Plush at 11 p.m. Wednesday. The Pork Torta and Jumper open at 9. Tickets are $12.
• Fellow Japanese pop-punkers Melt Banana will play Plush Tuesday. Doors open at 9 p.m., and they play at 11.
All Time Low due at Rialto on Wednesday night
Pop-punk quartet All Time Low — think Blink 182, Green Day — bring its energy, Silly String and beach balls to the Rialto Theatre for an all-ages show at 7 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Glamour Kills Tour.
The lineup includes We the Kings, Hey Monday and The Friday Night Boys. $21 in advance at rialtotheatre.com; $24 day of show.
Desert Diamond Casino to host comedy shows
Desert Diamond Casino on Nogales Highway is teaming up with Comedy Spot Comedy Club in Scottsdale to host monthly comedy shows in the casino-hotel's Monsoon Night Club.
The first show is set for Nov. 12, with Phoenix-area comedian Jay Penn.
Admission to 21-and-older Comedy Spot shows at Desert Diamond will be free.
