Weekly Music Picks: Spring Begins

Since daylight savings time kicked it's been hard to get a good nights sleep. Up too late, and up again the next day too early. This week promises to keep us in that very same groove with a list of great music coming to Boston. Who needs sleep anyway? Don't forget to give your support to Exploit Boston Radio, they've got their fingers crossed that Congress and their favor of big label music will be beaten. Listen up for hot local tunes.

Wednesday, 3/21
Emilia Dahlin
Emilia Dahlin is a songstress with moxie. At last year's NEMO Musicmakers Competition, the Maine singer-songwriter drew in an audience surprised by the big, reedy voice coming from the tiny gal at the mic. With jazz-infused folk and detail-rich lyrics, her confience and indie approach draws comparisons to Ani DiFranco, but the music swings much more in the vein of Erin McKeown. She'll be at Lizard Lounge,
1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Free show.
Emilia Dahlin: myspace

Thursday, 3/22
Bonerama
Five trombones spitting funk, jazz, and rock, New Orleans' Bonerama "connect the cities' funeral brass-band tradition and the Meters' electric second-line funk with the air-tight sass of P-Funk's Horny Horns and the melodic poise of the great jazz trombonists J.J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller." And they put on a hell of a show.
Regattabar, $20, 7:30pm & 10pm
website | myspace | frankenstein.mp3 (Edgar Winter cover)

Friday, 3/23
Jerry Gonzalez and The Fort Apache Band
One of the longest running Afro-Cuban jazz groups around, Downbeat called The Fort Apache Band "the most influential Afro-Caribbean jazz band of the past 30 years." The group's latest album, Rumba Buhaina, which All About Jazz calls "a winner on every level," is a tribute to Art Blakey. Catch conguero and trumpeter Jerry Gonzalez and the pride of Fort Apache, the Bronx.
Regattabar, $28, 7:30pm & 10pm
website | myspace | rumba buhaina.mp3 | along came betty.mp3 | purchase

IN+ERACT 2
"Senses working overtime." IN+ERACT 2 fuses art, fashion, music, and cocktails in a funky, former church setting. The event kicks off with a complimentary Peroni beer reception, art exhibits, and body painting accompanied by DJ Solbak spinning jazz, soul, and funk. At 11pm, things get kicked-up a notch with complimentary cocktails, a fashion revue, and light show by Tim Ireland and the Overtone Creative Group. By midnight, everyone is dancing to DJ Francesco Spagna & Enrique Florendo's sexy, deep house.
Villa Victoria, 85 W. Newton, South End, $20 adv (via heyletsgo) / $30 door, 9pm - 2am
website

The Decemberists (also Saturday)
The Decemberists have been known to convince its audiences to sit down on the ground during part of its show. We don't know if that crowd participation tool has carried over into this tour, which supports the release of "The Crane Wife," but we hope not. Nothing
against the band, but the floor of Avalon on a Friday night? Not so much. Colin Meloy and the gang kick off a two-night stint on Lansdowne St. on Friday. Both shows are sold out, but prices on online ticket resale sites are actually pretty reasonable this time 'round and the band's songs are taken up a notch in the live setting.
The Decemberists, Avalon, 15 Lansdowne St., 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Decemberists: myspace

Saturday, 3/24
Bon Savants
The indie glam pop quintet returns to Boston after a tour that included San Francisco (where Thom Moran was interviewed by our SFist friends), South By Southwest and the Mid-Atlantic. The welcome back festivities kick off at the Middle East Downstairs as part of the WFNX Discovery Series, where the band will share the bill with Australia's You Am I and Dallas Crane.
Middle East Downstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 8 p.m. 18+, $12
Bon Savants: myspace

It's a night of local hip hop as Leedz Edutainment presents AWOL and their Shot Heard Around the World CD Release Party. With Terrell Records, Rite Hook, Woodland Creatures and Track 1. DJ SlipWax (Deck Demons) mans the ones and twos.
Middle East Upstairs, 18+ $10, 9pm
AWOL: myspace
Terrell Records: myspace
Rite Hook: myspace
DJ SlipWax: website | myspace

Cassavettes, Hallelujah The Hills, Lady of Spain
Local heroes Cassavettes, Hallelujah The Hills, and Lady of Spain give you your rock money's worth and then some at Great Scott. We know that Cassavettes at least were lurking around SXSW this last week hoping that they'd be discovered. They'll be back in Boston but who knows, maybe they signed with a major label and we'll be saying goodbye to their regular local sets in the near future. Get to it while the getting is good.
Cassavettes: myspace | website
Hallelujah the Hills: myspace
Lady of Spain: myspace

Monday, 3/26
TourFilter Mixtape
Tourfilter founder Chris Marstall will be at River Gods in Cambridge equipped with an evening full of music he'll be playing from the booth as part of the Weekly Wax kicking off at 8 p.m.. The music comes to you powered by collaborations TourFilter has been building with sites like Hype Machine. The bands you'll hear are all tracked using TourFilter and will be hitting Boston venues in the next couple of weeks.
River Gods, 125 River St., Cambridge. 8 pm.
TourFilter: track your favorite bands and dip into some light social networking at the flagship tourfilter.com

Matt Durutti and Victoria Welch contributed to this week's selections