Weekly Music Picks: Marathon Edition

Everyone is running around today. Well, mostly in a more or less straight path from Hopkinton to Boston. Watching people complete a marathon makes Bostonist feel proud that they’re strong and a little guilty that we’ve never even tried to make it the 26.2 ourselves. We’ll be watching, but when our spirits start to drop it will be time for some good music. An eclectic mix of shows make the picks this week – from classical to jazz, hip-hop and indie, this list literally has something for everyone.

Monday 4/17:
Ladytron
Once famously described as what Britney Spears would sound like had she been born a heroin addict in the former East Germany, these Liverpudlians have outgrown their electroclash roots and Human League meets Nico synth pop sound. As their website notes, Ladytron "rediscovered their leftfield indie roots" and brought "shades of Young Marble Giants, early Stereolab and the Cocteau Twins" shoegaze to their latest album, The Witching Hour. Straight off SXSW, most of their East Coast gigs have sold out in advance. So count yourself lucky if you've already snagged tickets. Brooklyn's French Kicks opens.
Paradise Rock Club
18+, $17, 8PM
Ladytron:myspace | Destroy Everything You Touch.mp3 | purchaseFrench Kicks: msypace | One More Time.mp3 | purchase

Unbusted
Great Scott. Farrelly-brothers approved rockers Unbusted with Appomattox
Seems So Bright.
18+ 9pm $8.00 details
Unbusted: myspace | Vampires.mp3
Appomattox: myspace | Either Way.mp3 | purchase

Tuesday 4/18:
Jon Langford's Ship & Pilot
Members of Alt-country punks The Mekons Jon Langford & Sally Timms appear with former Blood Orange's lead man Jimmy Ryan.
TT the Bears.
21+ 9pm $10
Jimmy Ryan: myspace | Face Up.mp3 | purchase

Darren Barrett & Myron Waldren Quintet
All About Jazz compared trumpeter Darren Barrett's "hard-hitting, energetic" phrasing and attack to a young Freddie Hubbard, while noting that "his soulful, emotional warmth and consistency derive from Donald Byrd." And while we're giving in to big name comparison, Myron Waldren's tenor is described as "combining the 'singing' of Bird with the 'crying' of Coltrane and the 'haunting melodies' of Wayne Shorter." (Sounds damn fine). With Toru Dodo (piano) and Yasuchi
Nakamura (bass).
Regattabar
$15
Darren Barrett: website | myron.mp3 | covenant-agreement.mp3 | middle east.mp3 (clip)

Wednesday 4/19:
Islands
If you miss the lo-fi stylings of the Unicorns, try their post-mortem side project Islands; with Why? and Cadence Weapon.
Middle East Downstairs.
All Ages $12
Islands : myspace | Rough Gem.mp3 | purchase

Jurassic 5
No foolin,' April's been quite a month for hip hop in Beantown (Ghostface, M1, Blackalicious, Fatlip, DJ Logic). And it don't stop. Left Coast progressive hip hop legends Jurassic 5 return to Boston in support of a new album scheduled to drop in late June. Don't miss this chance to hear one of the best tag team deliveries ever as J5 MCs Chali 2na, Zaakir (Soup), Akil, and Marc 7, trade words with a tight, perfect flow complemented by group raps in unison or 3-4 part harmonies. Only disappointment -- phenomenal DJ Cut Chemist is not touring with the group.
Roxy
18+ $20, 8PM
website | myspace | (J5 mash-up by Boston's dj BC)

Thursday 4/20:
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal's orchestral approach to small ensemble composition redefined the sound and possibility of the jazz trio and influenced Miles Davis' formation of his early '60s quintet. The master pianist performs with his trio: Idris Mohammed (drums) and Jamas Camack (bass).
Regattabar
$27, 7:30PM & 10PM
website | wikipedia

Friday 4/21:
The Dresden Dolls
Local bowler-hatted, stripy-stockinged duo celebrate the release of their new album, "Yes, Virginia," and their ascent to the $25-per-ticket price range, against the abused-Victorian backdrop of the Orpheum.
The Orpheum
7:30 pm, $25
The Dresden Dolls: myspace | web site | Half Jack .mp3 | Sing .wma | purchase

Robert Pollard
Paradise Rock Club. We expect Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices fame to offer another epic show. Last time at the 'dise, several hours in, sweaty in sweatpants and a bottle of JD in one hand, he challeneged the audience, "Can you handle it!?" Not for the faint of heart; with Richard Davies (The Moles).
8PM 18+
Robert Pollard: myspace | Hello Forever.mp3 | purchase

Ensemble Doulce Memoire
Accompanying dancers from the Italian troupe Il Ballarino, France's Ensemble Doulce Memoire will play Renaissance songs and dances. They are musicians with an abiding curiosity about period instruments and aesthetics, as well as a commitment to engaging, lively performance.
First Church in Cambridge, Congregational
8 p.m., $53, $37, $21
Boston Early Music Festival

Emerson String Quartet
To mark the 100th birthday of Dmitri Shostakovich, a composer of near-endless passion and elegance, the Emersons play his last three string quartets. Jordan Hall
8 p.m., $53, $48, $43, $38
Bank of America Celebrity Series
Bank of America Celebrity Series blog (really)

Ahmad Jamal
see listing for Thurs, 4/20

Saturday 4/22:
Fluttr Effect
If their singer's Gwen-Stefani-off-her-meds theatrics don't do it for you, their dense synth-vibe-and-cello arrangements will.
TT the Bear's
9:15 pm, $10
Fluttr Effect: myspace | web site | Say Goodbye .mp3| Fat Lady of Limbourg .mp3 | purchase

Ahmad Jamal
see listing for Thurs, 4/20

Lora Valente, Matt Durutti, and C. Fernsebner, and Christina contributed to this post