Amanda Palmer, June 27 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20
You never know what's going to happen at an Amanda Palmer show. The sometimes New York-area cabaret punk might bring along a bunch of Gothic interpretative dancers, and somehow make it seem like a cool idea. She might perform a conceptual story song-cycle from the perspective of conjoined twins. She might make her husband, Neil Gaiman, duet with her. We do know that her current backing band, The Grand Theft Orchestra, helped make her new album one of the most forceful and grand set of songs she's made yet, so no matter what else she pulls out of her hat, you can look forward to some pretty hard-hitting new songs. -Michael Tedder
Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish, June 27 at Best Buy Theater, $23
It's a bill straight out of the Tony Hawk soundtrack, or at least 2000 — two of third wave ska's greatest artifacts are sharing a bill in Times Square. It feels oddly appropriate that these two are making a go of it again. We're far enough removed from the golden age of Warped Tour that we can look back upon the driving, horn-and-guitar-laced sound with nostalgia, and besides, Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish were two of the few bands that managed to transcend the scene through good, old-fashioned hooksmanship. Goldfinger's "Superman" remaining perhaps third wave's finest document and RBF remaining a force as a live band. -Drew Millard
Japandroids, Cadence Weapon, June 27 at Bowery Ballroom, June 28 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, $16
The Vancouver duo's recent Celebration Rock is the sort of album that causes grown men to hyperventilate about the redemptive, soul-nourishing power of rock 'n roll and clever song titles. Bring your best friend to this show, and hug him tightly during "The House That Heaven Built." But make sure to show up early for Cadence Weapon, a Canadian rapper that cut his teeth taking everyone down a peg as a Pitchfork writer before moving on to taking everyone down a peg as a word-drunk cranky pants. -MT
Peaking Lights at Public Assembly, June 29 at Public Assembly, $10
Some bands announce themselves with a bang: it's nearly impossible to forget the first time you heard Sex Pistols or the Wu-Tang Clan, because they were nearly screaming at you. Madison, Wisc.'s Peaking Lights, meanwhile, made themselves known not through gale-force sonics, but with a gurgle. The improvisatory drone-pop duo's debut album 936 was arresting without being flashy, drugged-out without asking its listener to do drugs themself in order to keep up, catchy without trying too hard. It was a remarkable record, one that set high expectations for Peaking Lights' follow-up record, Lucifer. Retaining the haze of their first record and dialing up the "pop" in "drone-pop," Lucifer's sonic depth offers reward to the listener who truly believes that the devil is, as they say, in the details. -DM
