Shellac

Unlike most rock bands, Shellac tours when it feels like it, not just when it's got a new album or T-shirt to hawk. Then again, most rock bands don't include Steve Albini (of Big Black) and Bob Weston (ex–Volcano Sun and sometime Mission of Burma sound manipulator), DIY heroes who happen to double as two of the country's most sought-after indie engineers. Consider yourself fortunate that you can spend tonight soaking up their singular wits and jagged thud-rock riffs without feeling guilty that you have no plans to visit the merch table on the way out.