Music Forecast December 6-12

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Having names vaguely embarrassing to say out loud was an unspoken rule among groups that participated in the brief swing-music revival of the mid-1990s. Hence, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. BBVD is still touring, and the brassy boys in the band are still wearing fancy pinstriped suits and various other accessories popular in the 1940s and ’50s. Has it really been almost 20 years since BBVD’s breakthrough appearance in the cult-classic film Swingers? Oh, let’s just not think about it.
Thursday, December 6, at VooDoo Lounge (Harrah’s Casino, 1 Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City, 816-472-7777)

We Are Voices, with Noise FM
This occasion celebrates the release of Tread Lightly, the second album from local group We Are Voices. The record merges the stadium-sized postrock of groups such as Explosions in the Sky with more Midwestern emo sensibilities. Formerly of Lawrence and now in Chicago, Noise FM is back in the area for its annual Noise for Toys benefit at the Replay Lounge on Saturday night and to open this show.
Friday, December 7, at the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Mr. Marco’s V7
The bizarre musical stew of Mr. Marco’s V7 — which includes dashes of jazz, world music, funk and metal — has been cooking nigh onto two decades now. The group (composed of scene vets who play in other KC acts) released Sparkin Your Mama last year. Recommended if you like theremins, accordions, Middle Eastern vibes, and weirdo time signatures.
Saturday, December 8, at the Brick (1727 McGee, 816-421-1634)

Hooligan Holiday
This Sunday-night shindig includes a fashion show, courtesy of the Bunker, and somebody called DJ Liondub. But probably the biggest draw is the Amy Winehouse tribute, which features some local leading ladies (Lauren Krum from the Grisly Hand and Julia Haile from the Good Foot) backed by a band of about 10 local players. Think of it as sort of like a prom for people who go out in Westport on weeknights.
Sunday, December 9, at the Beaumont Club (4050 Pennsylvania, 816-561-2560)

High on Fire
If the group isn’t there already, High on Fire is at least on the verge of legend status in the world of stoner metal. The Oakland band’s latest, De Vermis Mysteriis, is a sort of concept album — the title is an H.P. Lovecraft reference (or something — it’s hard to parse the lyrics over the roaring din of monster riffs). Basically, it delivers more or less the type of sludgy, headbanging goodness that fans have come to expect.
Monday, December 10, at the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Punch Brothers
Earlier this fall, Chris Thile won a coveted MacArthur Genius Grant — $500,000 over the next five years, no strings attached. Why? Because Thile, who cut his teeth in the bluegrass group Nickel Creek, is arguably the best mandolin player on planet Earth. He now leads the Punch Brothers, a virtuosic folk-bluegrass outfit that employs the primary instruments of the genre — acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, upright bass and mandolin — but draws outside the lines in terms of melody and song structure. (Its latest, Who’s Feeling Young Now?, includes an unironic and pretty great cover of Radiohead’s “Kid A.”) If you’re into bluegrass music, there’s really no excuse not to be listening to these guys.
Tuesday, December 11, at the Beaumont Club (4050 Pennsylvania, 816-561-2560)