Turn it down

Front Bottoms (indie) pop into Lansing

NewJersey-based indie-pop band Front Bottoms headlines an all-ages showThursday at Mac’s Bar. Also taking the stage are Martyr Me, TheUnguarded Moment and PK Fire. While Front Bottoms is a duo made up oflong-time friends Brian Sella (vocals, guitar) and Mathew Uychich(drums, bullhorn), for live shows the band brings along DrewVillafuerte (bass/keys). The band is unconventional, sometimes usingacoustic guitars in punk songs and dance grooves in indie anthems. Theband’s poppy punk sound was influenced by the likes of Green Day, TheReplacements and The Modern Lovers.

Thursday, Nov. 10 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, all ages, $8 advance, $10, 5:30 p.m.

Michigan folk hero Mabus plays the Fiddle

JoelMabus has been a fixture in Michigan folk/Americana music for years,and is also a Ten Pound Fiddle and East Lansing favorite. On Friday,he’llrelease his CD “American Anonymous” at the Fiddle. The album is acollection of traditional American folk songs, collected and alteredover the years by Mabus. He sings and masterfully plays guitar andbanjo on the disc. — and, for the first time on record, he also throwsdown on some autoharp. Although Mabus has toured widely, he makes hisliving while flying under the radar of American pop culture.

Friday, Nov. 11 @ Ten Pound Fiddle — Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St., East Lansing. Box office at 7 p.m.; doors at 7:30 p.m.; show at 8 p.m. $15 public, $12 Fiddle members; $5 for students www.tenpoundfiddle.org.

BerT brings sludge and bludgeon

Lansingsludge-punk-rock fixture BerT will perform a release show Saturday atMac’s Bar. The band is set to release two splits: one cassette and oneCD. BerT’s current lineup is Phillip Clark (bass), Ryan Andrews(guitar/vocals) and Rael Jordan (drums), although the band’s beenplaying heavy jams in various forms since the early 2000s. The triowill release the splits with Triangle and Rhino, a Pittsburgh-based duospecializing in “bludgeon rock.” The first 25 guests to arrive at Mac’sBar receive a free copy of the new split cassette, “June Bug BongCompass” (Madlantis Records). You can also get a free screen-printedposter at the show with purchase of the other release, the “June BugMagnetic North” CD (800wild Records). Set to make some noise is JackPine Snag, a Lansing-based heavy-blues-grunge band that features a castof local rock veterans, including Joe Hart (guitar/vocals), Nicholas Merz (bass) and drummer Todd Karinen.

Saturday, Nov. 12 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over, $5, 9 p.m.

Biddle City Band plays Okemos

Coffeeand Friends Café has been hosting free weekend shows for some time now.On Saturday, the Biddle City Band plays a set of folksy country, evenblending in some traditional blues. The Lansing-based band plays a mixof originals and covers, and features Mike Bratton (guitars, bass,harmonica, vocals), Stuart Campbell (guitars, harmonica, percussion,vocals), Jeanne Donado (guitars, bass, percussion, vocals) and LisaHeller (guitars, banjo, keyboard, vocals).

If you enjoy espresso, WiFi and some legit folk tunes, this show might be worth checking out.

Saturday, Nov. 12 @ Coffee and Friends (Central Park Place plaza), 5100 Marsh Road., Okemos, all ages. FREE, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

(SCENE) gets poetic Muslim visions

Thenational concert tour Poetic Visions stops at (SCENE) Metropsace indowntown East Lansing Saturday. The tour features spiritually inspiredfolk music and hip-hop poetry performed by prominent Muslim musicians.For local support, the Arabic-fusion group Wisaal, which hails fromEast Lansing, will also play a live set. The Poetic Visions tourorganizers say they choose “musicians/songwriters that move beyondsimple, one-dimensional songs” and reconnect to great classical Muslimwriters such as Rumi, Attar, Imam Shafai, Imam Ali and Muhammad Iqbal,as well as renowned Western poets such as Shakespeare, Milton, Danteand Bob Dylan. This event is organized by the Michigan State UniversityMuslim Studies Program as part of Migrations of Islam, a multifacetedproject focused on Muslim Americans.

Saturday,Nov. 12 @ (SCENE) Metrospace, 110 Charles St., East Lansing. Doors openat 6 p.m. and show begins at 7p.m. A donation of $3 is suggested. Moreinformation at poeticvisiontour.com.

Motor City DJ dubsteps into the Capital City

FreddyTodd, a Detroit-area DJ, makes electronic music — or, more precisely,dubstep, glitch hop and lazer crunk. Growing up, Todd became amulti-instrumentalist, learning the drums, piano, guitar and bass.These combined skills have made him an innovative presence in theelectronic scene. His EPs include “Ghost Dance Messiah” (2009),“Hallowz Eve” (2009), and “Illegal Summer ‘Stache” (2010). Some areavailable for free download at freddytodd.bandcamp.com. Openers atMac’s Bar are local DJs Ty Beat and iNoV8.

Wednesday, Nov. 16 @ Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 18 and over. $7, 9 p.m.