This week's cool shows: Sonic Death Rabbit, Bleeding Hearts and more!

THIS WEEK'S SHOWS SHOW OF THE WEEK! Thursday, Jan. 8: The Ex-Monkeys with Sonic Death Rabbit The Pour House The Ex-Monkeys are Ian and Eddie from Friend Side Monkey. I know almost nothing about Sonic Death Rabbit, but judging from their myspace, they're a Charlotte-Los Angeles duo that likes to dress up in costumes and make really funny, catchy music with Game Boys. This one will definitely be worth checking out. Thursday, Jan. 8: Goner with A Tin Djinn, Tir na Nog 2009 Local Band Local Beer kickoff. Thursday, Jan. 8: Dillon Fence, Lincoln Theatre Dillon Fence, along with The Connells and Johnny Quest, was one of the premier North Carolina "college-rock" bands of the late '80s/early '90s. If you were in a frat around that time, you were probably passed out at a few parties where they played. If you were never in a frat, don't let that description scare you away because Dillon Fence always wrote great pop music. Event Facebook page. Thursday, Jan. 8: WAUMISS with Tin Star, The Cave Thursday, Jan. 8: Pink Flag with Death to Details and Extacy the Flower, the Pinhook Pink Flag will also be on Sessions on WKNC at 3 p.m. on Jan. 11. Friday, Jan. 9: Hellrazor with Thunderlip Local 506 Wilmington's Thunderlip is, sadly, breaking up. Go see them one last time. Friday, Jan. 9: The New Familiars, Duke U. Student Union I have no idea if this is open to the public or not, but if it is, and if you like beards and The Avett Brothers, you should go. Friday, Jan. 9: The Bleeding Hearts with Strange Faces, The Pour House This will be the first show in quite a while for Raleigh's angsty, high-school-reliving rockers. Strange Faces is part of the new local contingent of sweet-voiced pop bands in the area, only with a slight psychedelic edge. Friday, Jan. 9: North Elementary CD-release party, Cat's Cradle With guests Kingsbury Manx, Erie Choir and Popular Kids (stand-up comedy) Saturday, Jan. 10: The Trousers with Kolyma, Slim's The Trousers are a must-see for fans of early, early, still-covering-blues-classics Zep. Kolyma has aparently undergone a line-up shift. This is from Russ: Russ now on guitar, Bob and Mike still doin' what ya know, Jon Ferrell (Olympus Mons) debuts on bass. Long time coming, hot new originals, gonna rock. Saturday, Jan. 10: Waking the Cadaver, Volume 11 New Jersey deathcore. Sunday, Jan. 11: Jimmy & the Teasers, The Cave NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Wednesday, Jan. 14: Pistil with Pink Flag, The Cave Friday, Jan. 9: Viva la Venus with Lactose Quervo and H.O.W., The Pour House Wednesday, Jan. 14: Secondhand Freespace meet the producers Local 506 Panel discussion on music production with Mitch Easter, Chris Stamey, Rick Miller, Ivan Howard, and moderator Jim Brantley. Event Facebook page Wednesday, Jan. 14: Viva La Venus, Lactose Quervo and HOW, The Pour House Friday, Jan 16: Transportation, Slim's I have, until now, not been aware of Transportation, but when I googled them, I found reviews by esteemed local critics David Menconi, Ross Grady and Grayson Currin. Apparently they're a soft-ish pop group from Chapel Hill, with a CD out on Demonbeach. CORRECTION: This CD is on Fractured Discs. Friday, Jan 16: Colossus with Freedomhawk, The Reservoir Friday, Jan 16: The Explorers Club with The Huguenots, Local 506 Charleston's The Explorer's Club has some beautiful Beach Boys-style harmonies. The Huguenots are finely crafted British Invasion pop. Check out the video I caught of them back in December. Saturday, Jan. 10: Blatant Disarray, Volume 11 Long-running Raleigh thrash band. Saturday, Jan. 17: Kicking Grass with The WhistlestopThe Pour House The Whistlestop is a must-see alt-country-gospel supergroup with amazing harmonies and thoughtful songs. And I'm serious about the gospel part. They don't preach, but neither do they shy away from their beliefs. If you don't want to hear about Jesus, this show might not be for you. Kicking Grass is exactly what their name implies: high-energy bluegrass. Saturday, Jan. 17: Longwave with Animal Music and Mark Kano and Mike Garrigan of Athenaeum Athenaeum was pretty popular around here in the early to mid '90s, so if you were into them (personally I don't remember much about them), this is for you. My understanding is that Animal Music has now changed their name to just Animal. Check out the video I shot of them at Tir na Nog. UPCOMING IN GENERAL Wednesday, Jan 21: Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power, Local 506 Wednesday, Jan 21: The New Familiars with Holy Ghost Tent Revival Local 506 Greensboro's Holy Ghost Tent Revival sound about like you'd expect a band with that name to sound: joyous, rollicking, antique and kind of mysterious. The New Familiars are from Charlotte, and are mining the same Appalachian freak-folk/rock sound as The Avett Brothers. Thursday, Jan. 22: Colossus with Tooth, Tir na Nog Friday, Jan. 23: Viper with Taradactyl, Dive Bar Old-school metal from some pretty young guys. Taradactyl are an Emerald Isle synth-metal group that wears Mexican wrestling masks on stage. Saturday, Jan. 23: The Rosebuds, with Megafaun and the Love Language, Cat's Cradle The Rosebuds and Megafaun you know about. The Love Language is a Rosebuds-ish/Arcade Fire-ish Raleigh band who have a CD out on Matt Brown's (former Ashley Stove) label, Bladen County Records. Friday, Jan. 23: Lutie and Andy's birthday bash with The T's, The Names and Static MindsSlim's T's bass player Lutie Cain and guitarist Andy Kerr apparently share the same birthday (or at least have birthdays close together), so they're going to celebrate with Static Minds (the newest incarnation of Suburban Sweethearts, with Andy now on guitar) and Ohio Knack/Plimsouls lovers The Names. Saturday, Jan. 24: Shipwrecker with Erie Choir, the Pinhook Saturday, Jan. 24: The Rosebuds with Megafaun and The Love Language, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Jan. 24: David Karsten Daniels with Bright Young Things and The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, Local 506 Monday, Jan. 26: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, Local 506 Tuesday, Jan. 27: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, The Pour House Thursday, Jan. 29: Lollipop Factory, The Virgo 9, Animal, The Reservoir Saturday, Jan. 31: The Annuals, Cat's Cradle Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31: Raleigh Undercover, Tir na Nog Your favorite Raleigh bands pay tribute to influences, serious and otherwise, in this two-day festival. Friday, Jan. 30: Schooner with Kingsbury Manx, the Pinhook Also on this bill, from The Pinhook's Web site: DJ dance party til the end of the night (we'll be bringing a bunch of lights and smoke machine and fun stuff to get the dance party vibe right!) Friday, Jan. 30: The Dry Heathens with The Loners and The Homewreckers, the Pinhook A lot of people love Dry Heathens. I've seen them twice, and haven't been blown away. The Loners, however, are always awesome. Saturday, Jan. 31: Annuals with Jessica Lea Mayfield and What Laura Says, Cat's Cradle Monday, Feb. 2: Man Will Destroy Himself, Slim's A loud show for a Monday night! Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 & 7: WKNC Double Barrel Benefit, Slim's A stellar two-night lineup to benefit N.C. State's awesome student radio station. Friday: Lonnie Walker, Lost in the Trees, Schooner and Bowerbirds. Saturday: Polvo, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and I Was Totally Destroying It. Saturday, Feb. 14: Dexter Romweber Duo with Chrome Plated ApostlesLocal 506 Dexter and Sara Romweber make of part of North Carolina's First Family of rock, and this is their CD-release party. Chrome Plated Apostles include Hunter Landen and Clif Mann from The Bad Checks (another long-time local rock legend), and share that band's love of raw, nasty blues rock. Saturday, Feb. 14: The Old Ceremony, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Feb. 14: Pink Flag at Nightlight Saturday, Feb. 14: Chip Robinson & the Heavy Beat Outfit, Slim's Former Backslider's new band. Sunday, Feb. 15: 10th annual Love Hangover, The Pour House A former Kings mainstay, this event features brokenhearted duets for the lovelorn. Friday, Feb. 20: Here Lies ... with Gollum, Dive Bar Friday, Feb. 28: North Elementary CD-release party with The Whalewatchers and Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights, The Pour House