Music Forecast 1.9-1.15: David Garrett, the Zero Boys, Ras Kass, Scott Hrabko, and more

Mime Game

For a relatively young band, Mime Game has quite the history. Frontman Dillon DeVoe (what a name) rose to almost-fame in the mid-’00s as the lead singer for Kansas alt-rock outfit Josephine Collective, which was signed to (and later dropped from) Warner Bros. Records. When that band split, DeVoe took up with Mime Game and relocated to Kansas City. This past October, Mime Game released a four-song EP called Do Your Work — a swift pop-rock gem that sounds like someone took a pinch of Third Eye Blind and threw it in a blender with a handful of earnest, protein-laden lyrics and healthy guitar juices and pulsed just so. With the Travel Guide, Psychic Heat and Jared Bond & the Tornadoes.

Friday, January 10, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

The Zero Boys

The Zero Boys are kind of like the ultimate Midwestern punk heroes. The hardcore foursome from Indianapolis — an unlikely birthplace for a punk legend — released its debut, Vicious Circle, in 1982. Though the band never quite achieved the same glorious heights as some contemporaries — the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag — it has remained widely acknowledged as a champion of the movement. And then, in February 2013, like some sort of jankety phoenix, the Zero Boys rose from the ashes and released a four-song EP called Pro Dirt, their first new music in two decades. Pro Dirt isn’t hardcore, but it’s a bright pop-punk offering from a band that doesn’t really need to prove anything anyway.

Sunday, January 12, at the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Ras Kass

It seems that there are two camps when it comes to rapper Ras Kass. Either you’ve been a devoted fan since you first got ahold of his acclaimed 1996 debut, Soul on Ice, or you’ve never heard of the Los Angeles MC and don’t really get what the big deal is. If you’re in the former party, then you have already heard Rassy’s Barmageddon, a massive, 20-track album with unapologetic songs examining race and class issues in hip-hop, and studded with guest appearances from the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Talib Kweli. If you’re in the latter party, well, you should probably catch up and get down to Czar. Local hip-hop supergroup Yawn Johnson opens.

Wednesday, January 15, at Czar (1531 Grand, 816-421-0300)

Scott Hrabko, Mikal Shapiro

Scott Hrabko doesn’t exactly have a name that screams “superstar musician.” (The “h” is silent, and he’s pretty quiet himself.) In fact, nothing about Hrabko really suggests stardom — except for Gone Places, the excellent debut he put out last month. Its 13 country and blues ramblers tumble out smoothly and assuredly. Hrabko doesn’t perform often, so count this as a rare opportunity to hear a brand-new artist who comes off like a veteran. Local roots singer-songwriter Mikal Shapiro is on deck as well, and her haunting, Appalachian-tinged voice will break your heart and then sew it back up. Bonus: This is an early show, so your weeknight can remain relaxed.

Tuesday, January 14, at RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)

David Garrett

David Garrett — a 33-year-old violin virtuoso from Aachen, Germany, who began playing at age 4 — is devoted to making instrumental music sexy. He accomplishes this by performing contemporary-sounding original compositions and classicizing covers of modern pop and rock songs (“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Viva la Vida”), though his cause is helped by a smoldering gaze accentuated by perfectly intense eyebrows. And maybe smoke machines. So, yes, this does seem like an ideal Sunday evening — especially if you’re willing to bring your mom.

Sunday, January 12, at the Midland (1228 Main, 816-283-9921)