FRIDAY 11/2

TACOCAT, G.O.A.T., THE PLURALS, FF

Lansing, Michigan, band the Plurals play bright and unassuming Midwestern punk with a hint of slackery '90s indie rock. The band members say they're "heralding the era of post-fun," but I'd say they are just plain fun rock 'n' roll. On their 2011 LP on Good Time Gang Recordings (high five!), The Plurals Today, the Plurals Tomorrow: A Futurospective, the three-piece get rowdy, straddling Hüsker Dü and power-pop inspiration with rollicking, meaty bass and "la la la la ooh-ahh" boy/girl vocals. Rounding out the otherwise local bill are FF (who call to mind Northwestern flannel-wearing bands like Broken Water), pop-punk mainstays Tacocat, and G.O.A.T., a new band unrelated to the defunct and similarly all-caps jazz-rock group. Hollow Earth Radio, 8 pm.

SATURDAY 11/3

SHORT RUN AFTER-PARTY: BLACK HAT, AIRPORT, NEIGHBORS, THE WEBS

Now in its second year, Short Run small press fest happens at Vera Project Saturday (10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.) with nearly a hundred small-press vendors of zines, comics, and art books selling their wares from 50 cents to $50, and it's free admission. Hooray! DBL | LTD, an imprint of experimental DIY label Debacle Records focusing on "original, small run clothing and print products from up and coming designers," is hosting the after-party. Featuring Seattle electronic artist Black Hat (recent Oakland transplant Nelson Bean), whose five songs on the newly released Spectral Disorder EP (Debacle) are dark and viral, a locust cloud of red-eyed noise filth that grows more terrifying as it becomes unobscured. Black Hat's dirty ambience encroaches on your comfort level but ultimately makes you want more grit and more grime. The alias of Midday Veil bassist Jayson Kochan, Airport is an alien abduction for your ears. Garbled industrial feedback is layered over mutated dance beats on "Madness of Two: Numéro Un" while elsewhere in his songs, shape-shifting electronic pulses crusade into full cosmic-disco mode. You'll also get a taste of Seattle's ever-fertile garage scene tonight with the Webs and Neighbors. Black Lodge, 9 pm.