Tuesday Happenings

Metal

It's a localish metal showcase featuring the Arkham White, Scourge, We Met Aliens, and The Bathory Silence. It's a hodge podge of styles but with a clear preference for death metal. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 8 p.m. $9. More information.

Punk Rock

If you can't get down with metal, there's a localish punk rock showcase just down the road. Featuring Bad MoFo, the Judo Heirs, Stevus and the Deceivers, and the Turkeys. O'Brien's Pub, 3 Harvard Ave., Allston, 9 p.m. $7.

Showdowns

Sure, we flogged the Alchemist's weekly String Quartet Showdown last week, but it's a slow Tuesday, so we'll mention it again today. Two string quartets vie for supremacy as they work their way through the Western canon and you drink beer, judging their every mistake. (Or paying attention only a quarter of the time, as the case may be.) Last week was heavy on the Schubert and the Mozart; maybe this week will be all Elliott Carter. Alchemist Lounge, 435 S. Huntington Ave., Jamaica Plain, 9 p.m. Free.